Princess Peach Showtime! is the latest title from Good-Feel, the creators of titles such as Yoshi's Wooly World, Kirby's Epic Yarn and Wario Land: Shake It! While I consider Yoshi's Wooly World to be one of my favorite Wii U games, their follow-up Yoshi's Crafted World lost a little bit of the magic for me. Now, they are lending their talents to another Nintendo character that was much in need of the spotlight... The reigning monarch of the Mushroom Kingdom, Princess Toadstool herself--Peach!

Peach has only had the lead role in one other game, with 2005's Super Princess Peach for the DS. I've always found this to be a missed opportunity. Peach is a well designed, instantly recognizable character, and there was always so much potential for a game devoted to celebrating and empowering the iconic OG video game princess. We didn't know the developer for Showtime! ahead of its release, but Good-Feel is a natural fit. Every platformer they have made has been brimming with style and charm, even if they don't quite always match that on the gameplay front.

The visual hook in Princess Peach Showtime! may not be apparent on the surface, but this is surprisingly one of the most stylish games Nintendo has published on the Switch. The twist this time is that every single level is presented as a theatre play. From the stage prop-obstacles, to the screen transitions that sometimes have the stage spin around, or the enemies and NPCs that adapt to the theme of the current level, the dedication to presenting everything as a play is really impressive. The animations are excellent, and everything is super saturated and overflowing with color. It's just a pleasure to look at. It was also a lot of fun watching Peach go through her magical-girl transformations, donning costumes that let her play such varied roles as swordfighter, cowgirl, mermaid or detective.

Unfortunately, Princess Peach Showtime! is another step down from Good-Feel when it comes to gameplay. This is one of the most simplistic games I've ever played from Nintendo, making platformers like Kirby seem complex in comparison. Peach can jump and use a single ability related to her current transformation. Swordfighter Peach can attack with her sword, Cowgirl Peach can use her lasso, Detective Peach can investigate her environments, and so on. These transformations are related to your current level, and you don't choose when you transform like in Kirby. This is not necessarily a problem on its own, but this design simplifies the experience a lot and removes choice from the player in the process.

Levels in Showtime! are heavily scripted, hand-holdy affairs that prioritize presentation above all else. The most fun parts of this game are the more action-packed moments when it loosens this grip, usually with transformations such as Cowgirl Peach, Ninja Peach, Swordfighter Peach, or in the various boss encounters. These levels usually have fun enemies, stealth sections or bombastic events. When Showtime! slows things down with less mechanically demanding levels such as Patisserie Peach, Mermaid Peach or Detective Peach, man it is painful.

The game tries to encourage replaying levels by sprinkling in collectibles, but due to the simplistic nature of the game, I can't fathom wanting to replay them when they play out exactly the same way each time. Ultimately, even the fun level styles lose their luster, and this is where Showtime! transitioned from an enjoyable romp to a complete slog. I ultimately dropped the game midway through, after experiencing each of the 10 transformations and playing long enough to lose interest in it completely. The thing is, this isn't even a long game; there just isn't any depth to it at all.

But I also have to admit that I feel a little ridiculous as a man in his 30s criticizing a game where he is so obviously not within the intended target audience. Princess Peach Showtime! is very clearly meant for very young players, and that is where I think the game might shine. The wide variety of gameplay styles on offer is something that I think kids would especially love. But I've been around long enough to know that just because a game is created to be accessible to kids, it doesn't mean that there can't be depth for adults to enjoy as well. Every single level type is just a simplistic watered down gameplay archetype, and if you're older than your teens, you've probably played superior action platformers, rhythm, detective or cooking games. I think there are some people that may get enjoyment out of Princess Peach Showtime!, whether it be because they are very young, or because they really connect with the wonderful visual aesthetic. My advice is to proceed with caution, and maybe wait for a sale if you're interested in trying it.

Overall a very cute game that feels very cozy and provides what you would expect from a game like this. The game mainly consists of what feels like various minigame elements extrapolated to small 5-10 minute missions based around plays. This enables the game to incorporate very different themes, settings, abilities, and looks for Peach, which does feel nice and at times can be pretty fun. But overall the experience is kind of lackluster, feeling incredibly easy to the point of being boring at times, and not really diversifying itself enough to really keep you engaged. There were a few times I just felt my mind wander due to how little I felt I needed to focus on the game itself. To be fair this is what I expected from the game based on the trailers, but I feel it would have been really cool to get a larger Peach-focused game, especially since some of the abilities here could have been built upon and made a lot more fun.

It's kinda hard to criticize this though since it really does feel like something made for kids, so I, being a 25 year old, feel silly doing so. Criticisms aside, the game was cute and very pretty (first experience emulating a Switch game at 4K, I did purchase it though). I think all of the criticisms about the experience for a $60 purchase are warranted though, it's really hard to recommend it in any way because of that.

First off, I want to say that I was actually surprised by all the negative reviews coming in as this is by NO MEANS a bad game! I'm actually giving it a 3.5/5 stars but I put it at 4 to soften the blow from all the 2 and 3 star reviews. I will preface and say that I'm a diehard Nintendo fan so take this review with a small grain of salt.

Pros

• Creative gameplay and interesting concept. Like Mario Wonder, you want to keep playing just to see what the next transformation will be like. Most of the Peach transformations were actually a blast to play (minus the Mermaid one).
• Simple controls/combat with a smooth curve. Very accessible to a younger crowd, but surprisingly difficult for veterans who are going for perfectionist runs. Some late game bosses offer more satisfying challenges.
• Most of the boss designs and fights were insanely creative and reminiscent of a mainline Mario game (that's a compliment that speaks for itself)
• The music score was top notch. As someone who was mildly disappointed by the score of Mario wonder, it's nice to see Nintendo back to form.
• PRINCESS PEACH KICKING ASS!!!

Cons

• Fairly short run time (even playing for 100% completion, this won't take much more than 8 to 12 hrs).
• Awful loading screens. Performance was good, but it felt weird to be staring at level loading screens for a good 20 seconds, especially for a 2024 game.
• Missing star bits from chapter mid sections requires starting the entire level COMPLETELY OVER! This drove my OCD/perfectionist ass nuts in some sections and was further compounded by the awful loading screens.
• Pretty generic story, however, the final boss fight was still satisfying.
• The $60 price tag is a little ridiculous considering the amount of game content you're getting. I was able to purchase it half off for about $30 and that felt about right.

Regardless of how you feel about Princess Peach Showtime, it's nice to see Nintendo taking their IP in new and creative directions! It's definitely intended for a younger audience, but there's still a lot of fun for everyone. Now if only we could get an entire game with Kung Fu Peach!

It's been a while since I wrote one of these, and I'm not looking to lose my whole night to this, so we'll see how this goes.

Not in a bad way, and not that there is more than one previous example to draw from, but in short, it's a Princess Peach game. I'm a bit surprised they haven't done more of these between Super Princess Peach and this one, because like the first one, I found this to be pretty fun overall. It's at least fun in a cute, straight-forward, relatively simple way.

Similar to what I think I remember from Super Princess Peach, and unlike traditional Mario games, the focus isn't so much on the platforming or technical aspects, but more on giving Peach a gimmick and finding interesting ways to play with that.

In this game, that gimmick is that Peach has been tasked with saving a performance theater. Each level is a play, and you gain and use your powers based on being the lead in each play, in place of the original actor you are attempting to save along the way.

The variety of plays lead to a variety of characters, with drastically different powers and in a few cases, feeling like you're playing a completely different game from level to level. You might be playing a beat-em-up, and then decorating cakes, and then side-scrolling shooter to tracking down clues to solve a mystery.

The set pieces are fun; all built as stage plays, which gives an opportunity to play with ideas like flipping the scene around to "go inside", finding your way back or under stage, etc. Peach's costumes are great, and each fits the different characters she's playing well.

While the core game is pretty light and straight-forward, essentially walking from one side of the screen to the other, with pretty low risk of being defeated for probably anyone a bit more used to Mario platforming, this could make it a great entry game for younger players, or especially players who might find the variety of costumes and set pieces more interesting than jumping from platform to platform.

If you want to blast through the game, it will probably be pretty quick and come off pretty simple, but one of the game's strengths is the number of collectibles to find along the way. These really encourage you to search around, poke in different areas, find your way backstage, collecting Sparkle Gems, additional dresses for Peach and ribbons for her sidekick, and eventually some hide-and-seek friends on subsequent playthroughs of each level.

I just completed the game, having gone through and found all of these collectibles, with a bit of guidance here and there, but I don't know if I would recommend that level of play for everyone. It was relatively quick and easy to go back through and collect them all, especially looking some up here and there if I just couldn't quite figure it out, but some of the levels really just aren't as fun the second or third time through. Coupling this with not being able to speed up or skip dialog, and some of the final bits of collecting really did just feel like a slog.

I did think that the 2nd playthrough each to find the hide-and-seek friends was a good reason to at least see the levels again, try to look a little deeper while you're at it to get the Gems you can find or ones you know you missed, but that might be about it. From there, I'm not sure how much more replay this game would expect to have.

I do think it's worth a playthrough to enjoy the design and the more leisurely pace, and just see what Princess Peach is up to these days when she isn't being kidnapped by Bowser. Just temper any expectations for depth, and enjoy the ride for what it is.

I really wanted to like Princess Peach Showtime. Nintendo has already proven that then can make a great Princess Peach game with Super Princess Peach back on the DS, so I expected this to be a spiritual successor to that game... I was wrong.

Showtime sees Peach attending a night at the theater when it gets hijacked by a villain named Grape. She needs to assist with each of the plays to save the actors and take back the show. The main gimmick here is that she gets to take on many different roles and each level has a vastly different gameplay style.

This could have been great and a ton of fun! Take Kirby games for example; he is centered around new gameplay mechanics and its fun! The same cannot be said for Princess Peach. The biggest flaw is that the gameplay is just not deep. There is no point in this entire game where you need to press the y button and the x button only shows the controls. How do 2 entire face buttons get forgotten in a 2024 first-party Nintendo game??? Most of the different roles are only gimmicks and are never explored to their fullest extent.

The other largest issue with Princess Peach is difficulty. I know there is a place for easy games and I don't expect every game to challenge me extremely. In fact, Super Mario World is one of my favorite games ever made and it is considered to be one of the easiest Marios. The issue is that I could have beaten Princess Peach Showtime with my eyes closed for many of the levels. I didn't die a single time in this game. Do you restart the level or just go back a couple minutes? I don't know because the game was so easy that I didn't once die. Every game doesn't need to push me to the edge, but I am going to argue that there needs to be some sort of resistance.

This is the first game that has ever made me think that the people who argue for Dark Souls to have a difficulty option may be right. Those people argue that they can't have a fun time playing those games because it is too hard and disrupts their enjoyment. Princess Peach Showtime is so easy that it disrupted my enjoyment.

Would I recommend people to play this game? No, not at the 60 dollar price that I paid for it. If you have a YOUNG child in your life who may not be ready for a normal Mario game then they may enjoy this; however, I don't think someone who has been playing video games for 20+ years (as I have) will be challenged enough to have a fun time here... despite how absolutely adorable it can be sometimes.

J'ai attendu ce jeu super longtemps ! Pour cause j'avais été une grande fan de Super Princess Peach sorti sur DS. Quelle a été ma surprise de voir que Princess Peach Showtime! avait reçu des critiques public assez tièdes en France. La technique notamment s'est faite descendre en flèche.

J'ai joué uniquement en mode portable sur ma console Nintendo Switch OLED et j'avoue ne pas avoir été confrontée à de grosses chutes de framrates. Sauf durant les temps de chargement. Alors évidemment, on est sur un jeu switch, ça manque de quelques polygones et on a parfois des textures qui bavent mais le style cartoon de l'univers Mario fait encore une fois des merveilles.

Le jeu étant sur le thème du théâtre, la direction artistique est faite de carton-pâte et de figurines articulées. Le tout donne au jeu un caractère tout à fait charmant. Les multiples transformations de Peach sont dans l'ensemble visuellement réussies même si certains chara-design sortent clairement du lot. Un des collectable du jeu est la possibilité d'acheter des robes pour Peach inspirées des différents niveaux et boss et si, sans surprise, on tourne souvent autour du rose, les motifs sont sympa. Les musiques sont enjouées et variées...

Bref, on est sur un jeu nintendo avec le polish que ça implique.

L'autre grande critique que j'ai vu passer sur ce jeu c'est celle de la difficulté. Alors, j'en ai justement fait un statut il y a quelques jours. Hear me out: Peut-être que certains joueurs devraient apprendre à être un public secondaire. Franchement, cela se voit à des kilomètres que ce jeu se veut être accessible, c'est une porte d'entrée dans les jeux d'aventure pour un public vraisemblablement de petites filles ! BIEN SUR QUE CA VA ETRE FACILE ! Les adultes ont d'ailleurs quelques challenge supplémentaires à se mettre sous la dents avec des étoiles un peu cachées et des niveaux beat them all légèrement plus coriaces.

Je pense vraiment que certains d'entre vous doivent arrêter d'avoir une relation masochiste au jeu vidéo et d'avoir besoin qu'un jeu soit dur pour l'apprécier. Si on prend ce jeu pour ce qu'il est, un pur divertissement dédié aux enfants, on prend son pied !

Le message est sympa ! Le super pouvoir de Peach c'est d'inspirer les gens à devenir acteurs de leur sauvetage et réveiller des pouvoirs enfouis en collaborant avec les autres. C'est un super messages pour des jeunes et un joli contrepoint à sa posture de demoiselle en détresse.

Les transformations de Peach ont chacune un gameplay différent, j'ai vraiment beaucoup aimé les transformations pâtissière et sirène, cette dernière proposant un gameplay à la deuxième personne que je trouve très original.

Chaque transformation est utilisée dans 3 niveaux ce qui est à la fois trop court et un brin répétitif. Peut-être que dans des zones semi ouvertes cela ce serait moins vu ? C'est peut-être la seule remarque que j'ai à faire sur ce jeu: son level design. En effet, sur le modèle d'une pièce de théatre, l'action se déroule et vous ne pouvez pas revenir en arrière dans le temps ou le décor. C'est à dire que si vous avez loupé une étoile, vous devrez rejouer le niveau en entier pour la récupérer et donc vous retaper des parties que vous avez déjà jouée ce qui est un peu frustrant.

Pour moi ça reste un très bon jeu et je suis un peu attristée de voir la volée de bois vert qu'il reçoit :/