Published , by Ozzie Mejia
Published , by Ozzie Mejia
It has been more than 15 years since Princess Peach starred in her own game. It was a game that felt heavily inspired by the Mario titles, right down to the usual dynamic being flipped around and Peach having to be the one to save Mario and Luigi from a kidnapping. By contrast, Princess Peach: Showtime! is a very different game.
For starters, there's no Mario presence to be found at all. He isn't so much as mentioned, nor is her frequent pursuer Bowser. Even her trusted friends, the Toads, are written out after the opening cutscene. This is Peach's show and she makes the most of it, though the closing number feels like it comes all too quickly.
Princess Peach: Showtime begins with a trip to the Sparkle Theater where a troupe of performers known as the Sparklas is set to put on a show. It doesn't take long for trouble to descend, as Madame Grape and the Sour Bunch take over the theater. The violet villain isolates the theater from outside help, leaving only Peach to save the day with the assistance of the theater guardian, a ribbon named Stella.
To save the theater, Peach must save the various Sparklas across all of its floors. To do so, Stella helps her tap into their power, which gives Peach a different costume and ability that allows her to sock it to the Sour Bunch.
Showtime's story feels like one to be appreciated. The plot and the premise of 2005's Super Princess Peach have earned my derisive mockery for nearly two decades, mainly for feeling derivative and almost offensive. By comparison, Showtime should be lauded for totally distancing Peach from her role in the Mario games and making her feel like a capable heroine. The main downside is that after getting to know the Peach character for nearly 40 years, there's nothing to suggest that this main character had to be her and that this game couldn't star an entirely original protagonist. With that said, it's nice to give Peach an identity that's uniquely hers.
Peach's journey through the Sparkle Theater takes her through a multitude of short stages. Each one has her take on a different transformation with its own unique mechanics. Sometimes, she'll be a Cowgirl who can use her lasso to rustle up some Grape galoots. Other times, she'll be a Dashing Thief, who must break through traps and make daring escapes. The high number of Peach's transformations and the fact that they all differ almost makes Showtime feel like a variety game. Sometimes, you're in an action-heavy stage, striking as a Ninja or punching faces in as a Kung Fu master. Another stage requires low-level investigative skills in order to solve mysteries as a Detective. The Patissiere transformation puts Peach in the middle of some Mario Party-style mini-games to vanquish enemies through delicious baked goods.
There's risk of information overload with so many different mechanics at work, even though the game does a capable job of offering optional tutorials for each transformation. With that said, some of them will throw some curveballs and introduce new mechanics, which aren't explained clearly. Some of them involve quick-time event button presses, which don't display any cues to press a button. It almost felt like the developers thought that if they exclude the button cues, then it's not a quick-time event, but that's not how the gaming world works. Normally this is one of many things that can be addressed through the in-game options menu, but Showtime's options are almost gallingly paltry.
What's amazing is, out of these ten transformations, I don't think there's a dud in the bunch. There wasn't an instance where I hit a stage and groaned over what's coming or felt like I'd rather do something else. All of these transformations, their unique mechanics, and their individual story arcs feel worthwhile and add to the experience.
The problem is that it all feels like it comes to an end too quickly. For each transformation, there are only three stages and once that third stage is done, you never see that transformation again. One could step back, do the math, and realize that this equals 30 stages. That's a fair number, but the issue there is that a vast majority of these stages are short. I really dug being a valiant Swordfighter, learning to parry, and taking on dozens of Grape grunts, but by the time I felt like I was really starting to get into it, it was all over. Sure, wishing for more because the experience is so enjoyable can be a good problem to have, but it can leave some players wanting.
The one instance where Peach won't have her transformations to aid her is in boss fights. There are a handful of these in the game and, like the transformations, their experiences vary. While I did dig elements of it, this was the most disappointing aspect of Showtime for me, as I wish I could have used some of the transformation powers (or even selected between some of them) to approach these and truly tie together the whole idea of Peach tapping into different roles.
Nintendo's sense of whimsy in Princess Peach: Showtime shows through beautiful set pieces that carry the theater theme all through the story. There's a lot of charm in going through Mermaid stages and seeing crafted cardboard turtles or stepping out of a saloon as Cowgirl Peach and being greeted by a horse that's clearly on strings.
There's a lot of imagination that comes through the game's set pieces, but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that I hit more performance hitches than I'm used to from a first-party Nintendo title. As Peach opens up more of the Sparkle Theater, she'll be witness to some cool lighting and shadow effects, but these moments frequently lagged during my game. When I stepped through the basement door for Swordfighter Peach's third stage, I was thrown into an illuminated loading screen filled with swirling patterns and glowing lights, but the loading screen chugged, too. It's not often that a loading screen throws me off, but this happened frequently throughout my playthrough of Showtime, which isn't ideal, because there are some lengthy load times in this game.
Even with some flaws, Princess Peach: Showtime is worth its price of admission. Peach shows her superstar potential by stepping into nearly a dozen roles and nailing them all. After spending almost four decades as a princess, it's nice to see her show some range.
This review is based on a Nintendo Switch code provided by the publisher. Princess Peach: Showtime will release on Nintendo Switch on Friday, March 22 for $59.99 USD. The game is rated E10+.