Super Princess Peach (2005)

This title offers a charming reversal of the classic Mario formula by casting Princess Peach as the hero for once. You need to save Mario, Luigi, and Toad that were kidnapped by Bowser, armed not with fireballs, but with her emotions. The game’s central gimmick, the “Vibe Scepter,” lets Peach channel her feelings, joy, rage, gloom, and calm, to affect the environment and solve puzzles. It’s a creative system that gives the game a distinct identity, even if it sometimes leans too heavily on the emotional theme for humor.

Visually, the game shines with colorful, storybook-style graphics and a cheerful soundtrack that fits the DS’s bright aesthetic. Levels are easy to navigate, and the platforming feels smooth and forgiving, making it approachable for younger audiences. However, seasoned fans may find the difficulty too low and the gameplay loop somewhat repetitive after a while. I don't particularly hate this title being easy, sometimes it is good to have a more lightweight experience such as this one.

Despite these flaws, this game remains an enjoyable and lighthearted adventure that gives its long-overlooked heroine a well-deserved starring role. It’s not the most challenging platformer, but it’s one of the most charming and unique entries in the Mario universe. I would only recommend this for fans of the Mario franchise, it is a very pleasant experience, but it is not as special as the mainline games of the series.

After beating Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, I planned on hopping right into Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story. However, when doing some research, I realized I completely overlooked this game. So I added it to my Mario retrospective list and got through it in one sitting.

Super Princess Peach is a game lost in obscurity. Despite selling pretty well, not many people talk about it today. So I really didn't know much going in. What I did know was the general premise.

Bowser, known for always capturing Peach has instead kidnapped, Mario and Luigi with the help of a mysterious scepter that alters people's moods. With the help of a talking parasol, Princess Peach must explore the Vibe Islands to rescue the Mario Bros.

It takes the formula of the series and swaps characters which I find very cool. Now when it comes to presentation

The game looks great and the music is very good as well. However, you can definitely tell this game borrows a lot of resources and sprites from Yoshi's Island DS which is fine... But makes the game struggle to really stand out

The gameplay... Well... It's... Fine. Peach can run, and jump like any platformer. But with the help of her parasol, she can attack enemies, and float. Her main abilities derive from her moods which can be activated with the DS Stylus. Joy, which allows her to float and make cyclones, Anger, which allows her to charge through enemies and melt ice with fire, Sadness, which causes her to run faster and take out fires with tears, and Calm, which heals her. All of this runs on the "Vibe Gauge" which along with your health, must be replenished as much as possible

Each of the 8 worlds consists of 6 levels with the last one being a boss. Each Boss Level has a Stylus mini-game which I am not a fan of. Just felt too gimmicky and tacked on in my opinion.

Despite some moments where the game didn't really tell me where I needed to go, which left me confused, I was able to get through the 8 worlds pretty quickly (This game is a little too easy). Once I reached the final level, however, I was told I had to rescue all the Toads in every level. You see, there are 3 toads in every level you can rescue, and at no point did the game communicate that this was a mandatory objective to beat the game. So... I was forced to go back and rescue all the Toads to unlock the final boss. I don't like games that provide side content and don't communicate that said side content is mandatory until the last minute. It feels like a way to artificially extend the length of a game that was already about 5 hours on its own... This really bothered me but I did it anyway and I beat the game the same day I started

Super Princess Peach is a decent platformer that despite leaving a sour taste in my mouth by the end, is by no means a bad game

Would Recommend

3/5

Platform:

DS version.

Graphics/Sound:

The presentation is sugar sweet in pink and flowery and extremely cute pixel art. It might be somewhat of a cute overkill, but I liked it very much. Even the umbrella you carry is cute and has a face. The soundtrack is equally happy, and reminded me a bit of Yoshi's Island DS.

Gameplay:

It's a sidescrolling platformer, but it features some unique ideas. First off there is no powerup system like in other Mario games, but instead you have a live and energy meter. Both can be increased throughout the game, but are permanent powerups once acquired. The energy meter is used for the different moods, which drain energy. There is a happy mood which lets you float, a sad mood which can grow plants and makes you run faster, and angry mood that lets you stomp stuff and melt ice, and a relaxed mood which lets you regain health over time. While this feature is a bit sexist, it's mechanically interesting. While the levels aren't directly connected, the overworld map is completely linear, with no branching paths. There are a couple of minigames thrown in for flavor.

Difficulty:

Since this is a platformer that at first glance seems to be aimed at little girls I guess the developers thought they needed to make it as easy as possible. So the first few levels aren't that good. But it gets better once you progress. Of course it will always stay lower difficulty than other Mario games, but it's still enjoyable, and after you beat the final boss once, there is some extra challenge levels.

It must say, at the beginning I thought it wasn't worth it, but this has grown onto me while playing. It's just a sweet little game, and it's well made after you get past the boring tutorial world.