Princess Peach Showtime Review (Princess Peach Showtime!)
Summary: Who needs Mario with Princess Peach to the rescue in Princess Peach Showtime!
4
Mario who?
Move over Mario because Princess Peach is here to save the day! When a mysterious masked villain called the Grape aided by the Sour Bunch invades the theatre on a night when Princess Peach is attending, a night that was meant to be relaxing turns into a night of mayhem and chaos and only our favourite princess from the Mushroom Kingdom can turn the tides. Fortunately our princess has an ally with Stella, a talking star who provides guidance to our princess – Welcome to Princess Peach Showtime! that is Peach’s second solo adventure since Super Princess Peach (2005). So who is the demographic of this title? I would say the younger gamer and with that said, my 6-year old daughter absolutely loved this title but needed some dad gamer support here and there. It also has this Wario World feel at times as well but in a good way!
At its core, Princess Peach Showtime is an action / adventure title that requires our heroine to visit a handful of different environments which are based on the various productions at Sparkle Theatre. To add to the fun, Princess Peach will wear a different theatre outfit such as a pirate or ninja as she solves puzzles, defeats enemies plus bosses as she frees these areas from the villain and her henchmen.
Thankfully Peach is an impressive fighter as she uses swords and ribbons to unlock her powers in order to free the Theets and discover who this mayhem causing antagonist is. Your ribbon can also be used to access other parts of the game that may be blocked by vines or freeing the theatre goers who have been trapped in darkness. And for those that like to unlock different costume options, you can purchase different clothes in the lobby.
The gameplay of Princess Peach Showtime is a 2.5D side scroller with plenty of combat thrown into the mix, including surprises such as Patisserie Peach and other mini-games like horse riding! With that said, we loved the diversity of the characters from detectives to superheroes and everything in between which is totally out of the norm was well. Additionally the main outfits change with the gameplay which is a nice little diversion, particularly with the combat that is pretty much hack ‘n slash but still fun. Cake making? Ice skating? You betcha! You also need to collect gems while you complete each level and there are some hidden areas placed here and there for those explorers.
For older gamers, they may find themselves lacking the challenge of a more complex title as the formula is relatively straight forward but the developers definitely stack the title with variety. The other missing component is that it is a shame that Princess Peach Showtime has no multiplayer as it would definitely have made the game more fun. Nonetheless, my daughter still thoroughly enjoyed this title from start to finish with support such as those tougher boss battles which require careful timing but thankfully controls are limited to movement, jumping and actions.
Graphics & Audio
Graphically, Princess Peach Showtime is a fun looking game on the Nintendo Switch which channels that colourful Nintendo Mario universe from its characters and of course, it’s protagonist, Peach herself. Environments while simplistic have some clever environmental factors, including excellent use of lighting and special effects. Equally, sound effects go hand-in-hand with the gameplay, including the soundtrack which changes throughout your exploration of Sparkle Theatre.
Final Thoughts?
Princess Peach Showtime is a nice break away from our favourite plumber and his brother and while I enjoyed this as an older gamer, it definitely does have a more younger gamer appeal. Even so, it’s quite a clever premise and if you’re looking for something a little different, check out the demo via the Nintendo store and if you like it, Princess Peach Showtime might be the fun you’re looking for.
Game Details
- Release date: 22/03/2024
- Genre: Adventure, Action
- No. of players: 1 player
- Game file size: 4.66GB
- Developer: Good-Feel
- Publisher: Nintendo
- Supported languages: Japanese, English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Korean, Dutch, Russian, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional)
- Supported Play Modes: TV mode, Tabletop mode, Handheld mode
Bonus Gallery
About the Author
Andrew Bistak When he's not trying to save the world, Andrew enjoys travel (although loathes turbulence), going to the movies, reading and being a dad to his two dogs (and now twins) with his wife.
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