For the first time since 2005 (believe it or not), Princess Peach finally has her own, standalone adventure called Princess Peach: Showtime! where Peach must explore the sets of multiple plays of a magical theater that have been overtaken by an evil villain. Ive’s always been a big fan of the Mario games, along with his and his brother’s spinoff games, so I was excited to see was Princess Peach: Showtime! would bring. So, here’s my review of the game. By the way, even though there’s nothing in this game that could technically classify as a spoiler, this review won’t be sharing a lot of specific details about the levels and plot (if you haven’t played yet and don’t want to know too much.) And with further ado, let the show begin!
Mario and Luigi are the most popular characters of the series. Mario has his huge library of platformers and spinoffs, while his brother has been featured in many of those games along with his own, such as the Luigi’s Mansion series and New Super Luigi U. In most of those games, the goal was always the same: save Princess Peach from the clutches of Bowser. Since 1985, Mario and Luigi have rescued the princess hundreds of times. It felt like it was time for Peach to go on her own adventure; time for her to do some rescuing for a change. Princess Peach: Showtime! takes Peach to a magical theater known as the Sparkle Theater, where an evil scorceress named Madame Grape takes over every play, and it’s up to Peach and her new ally Stella to stop of Sour Bunch and return each play back to normal.
What makes Princess Peach: Showtime! unique is how the gameplay changes all throughout the game. While it does give the game an unengaging and inconsistent system, it is still fun trying out each mission. To save each play, Peach will have to assume the role as the main character since the Sparklas have been taken. Each play is different; you’ll go from playing as a swordfighter protecting a king, to baking cookies for a baking festival, to even becoming a detective and finding clues to discover the truth of a missing museum piece. It’s all neat to play each role, though the gameplay does eventually take away the idea that Peach is actually performing on a theater stage. By the end, I completely forgot that Peach was just on a stage instead of in actual different worlds. Sure, the areas you explore are confined to the area of a stage, but it still feels weird, especially with how big these stages must be. Serious, some of these plays including segments in which Peach goes much farther than the length of a typical stage, or even a typical theater.
While I did find most of the plays to be fun to explore, the game becomes unappealing fast. Every play is fairly short, and the game as a whole is very easy. Plus, even though it is unqiue that Peach is supposed to be on stage performing, the short distance between the background and foreground made each area feel very small and extremely simple and linear. Even fighting enemies was very simple, as even when Peach hasn’t assumed the role of the lead character yet, she still has a simple ability that allows her to just use a simple attack to get rid of enemies.
Ok, I know that I’m making this game sound like it’s absoluely terrible. But, to be fair, I’m obviously not the exact age demographic for the game. The game is clearly a more family-friendly experience that kids can enjoy. The game is simple and easy enough where kids can understand what to do and where to go, while also having fun with the unique roles that Peach possesses throughout the adventure. While the game did start to get dry for me as it continued on, I still had fun trying out the unique roles. But, like I said, kids will most likely have a blast with this game from beginning to end.
For the most part, I enjoyed playing Princess Peach: Showtime!. The idea of playing in actual plays in a theater was a unique idea, and it felt perfect for a Princess Peach game. However, I found the game to consist of many different concepts that in the end weren’t engaging enough and felt underdone. The idea of saving different plays from enemies started to feel repetitive very quickly, spoiling what I think was a unique idea that wasn’t executed perfectly. Despite that, these thoughts are coming from someone who is much older than this game’s intended audience, as I’m sure families, especially young children, will love playing as Princess Peach and exploring the vibrant and exciting plays that she must save. So, for me, I’m giving Princess Peach: Showtime! as 4.4/6 on the Ryan Meter, however I’m positive that younger players will love this game much more.
What did you think about Princess Peach: Showtime? Let me know in the comments below.
Ryan’s Fortress Twitter: @RyansFortress