Nintendo surprised just about everyone when it announced Princess Peach: Showtime! back during its September 2023 Direct. It’s been quiet a long time, about eighteen years, since the princess has had her own adventure in Super Princess Peach, and today fans got another glimpse of just what Peach will be capable of this time around.
In the trailer above, six different transformations are showcased. Four of these: Detective Peach, Kung Fu Peach, Patissiere Peach and Swordfighter Peach were already seen in the announcement trailer, but the first two in the video: Cowgirl Peach and Ninja Peach are both new reveals.
Each transformation has its own style of play. Ninja Peach sneaks, backstabs and platforms through her sections, while Swordfighter Peach swashbuckles her way through side-scrolling beat ‘em up segments. Cowgirl Peach is out to rope up all those ornery dopes, but Patissiere Peach is fine just serving up delectable desserts. Detective Peach steadily susses out her nemeses, and Kung Fu Peach just cleans them up with her fists. There’s a lot going on here, so it’s probably safe to say that the game will be doing its utmost to keep things feeling fresh.
Peach will also be working to thwart an entirely new group of baddies rather than Bowser and his Koopa crew. This time, the troublemakers are Grape and the Sour Bunch, who’ve apparently decided to make their acting debut by crashing shows already in progress at the Sparkle Theater. It’s tempting to say that the stakes seem a bit lower than normal, but then Bowser’s shenanigans usually don’t quite amount to much either, do they?
Princess Peach: Showtime will still be launching on March 22, but now it’s no longer the only Nintendo product coming to market that day. Nintendo has also announced that new, pastel pink Joy-Con controllers will be making their debut to accompany the Mushroom Kingdom princess’ new adventure. They’ll be coming in the standard pack of two and will sell at the usual price of $79.99. Both of these together still might not be as exciting as something like Super Mario Wonder, but it’s nice to see Nintendo put the spotlight on one of Mario’s friends again all the same.
Review: Super Mario Bros. Wonder
It’s no exaggeration to say that Super Mario Bros. Wonder is one of the greatest Mario titles to come out in the last fifteen years.
