Princess Peach has really gotten the raw deal in terms of spotlight recognition since the Mario universe started spinning into side character games. Luigi’s Mansion is a fantastic series, Captain Toad warms my heart, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is tough as nails, and we’re all just waiting for a Rampage style Bowser game. But Peach? She got this arguably mediocre DS title where it felt just a little offensive that she basically got emotional and those were her superpowers. With Princess Peach: Showtime!, it’s clear the developers wanted to do right by the royalty with a lot of big swings, interesting premises and complex executions with varying difficulty stretches. The end result is a significantly better game to grace with the Princess’ official blessing.

Peach and her convoy of Toads have decided to take in a show at the Sparkle Theater, run by some bulbous nosed little people called Theets who will probably get a mobile game spinoff someday. Sadly, this theater is immediately taken over by Queen Grape, a villain hitherto never mentioned, and now Peach is left without entertainment or her crown. Suddenly, a talking star named Stella appears, because talking stars seem to befriend princesses in this universe willynilly. Stella and Peach team up to beat back the Sour Bunch, because of course that’s the name of Queen Grape’s gang, and Peach will do so one show at a time. Imbued with powers from Stella in the form of a ribbon and transformative talents depending on the play, Peach will help out the Theets and prove that, regardless, the show must go on!

Princess Peach: Showtime! is a fascinating title in terms of intent and execution. While it’s distinctly a platformer, each and every stage is a separate play, which means totally changing costumes, objective and, often, gameplay. For example, the first floor of the playhouse will ask Peach to be a swordfighter, a cowgirl, a dessert chef and a kung fu master, respectively. The plays all ask the player to approach in different ways: swordfighter hits and parries, kung fu is about stealth and reflexes, cowgirl involves roping and timing and the dessert chef is a whole Mario Party adjacent style of rapid button mashing and cake decoration. Over the course of the game, you’ll also experience problem solving, full on puzzle mechanics, some rhythm game-esque moments and, eventually, some alien blasting. Peach runs the gamut of outfits and abilities in this title.

Not to say there isn’t some common thread between stages. Each play has three collectibles to look out for: coins, stars and one ribbon. Coins are everywhere and just involve standard Mario level engagement of hitting everything (only using your magic ribbon instead of a hammer/jumping). The Stars are often obvious, though some involve looking behind scenery and keeping a keen eye out for things out of place. The ribbon comes from helping a Theet who is usually in a side area that you wouldn’t think to investigate unless you looked for it. That is one nice part about Showtime!, how you have a standard game path for younger players and a clear completionist route available for more seasoned gamers.

The stars are vitally important to both unlocking the boss fights and also your own OCD of finding everything, and their positions and timing can be a very irritating part of Princess Peach: Showtime! This adventure title is constantly moving forward in that, once you leave an area, it’s almost never possible to backtrack. There’s a counter of stars that goes in order when you discover one, so you’ll immediately notice if there’s a black spot of a missing star that now is out of your reach. As the plays/stages aren’t terrifically long (usually 10-15 minutes per stage), having to restart to get something isn’t impossible, but it does rub me the wrong way. Particularly if it’s a star towards the end of the stage and now you have to do the whole damn thing again.

Also, the outfits that you can unlock are cute enough but decidedly lackluster in comparison to the costumes Peach wears within the play. You can earn different patterns that give subtle nods to the actual stage dress (I particularly liked the Mighty dress with little UFOs), as well as special dresses from the boss fights. It’s something where it’s nice to have and a fun little extra, but it doesn’t even have enough incentive to make it a mandatory thing as coins are plentiful and the costumes are purely cosmetic. On the one hand, I suppose it’s better there isn’t a dress that makes Peach do a double jump or something (which would wreak havoc in almost any play), but, on the other, without a reason to get something other than “you can do this” it tends to fall off my radar.

The nitpicky nature of the minor annoyances aside, I was really impressed with how Princess Peach: Showtime! handles the actual gameplay nature of it all. Each and every play feels very distinct, even with ones that are repeating costumes. For example, the first Ninja Peach stage relies more on wall jumping and water movement in order to remain undetected. The second, by contrast, asks players to use spinning wall mechanics and shadow fighting to occasionally dispatch enemies. Even when things are repeated, they do so with a bit of flair: while the first dessert chef level is pretty standard button mashing and joystick movement, the second adds a pressure element of possessed Theets trying to break down the doors to get to the cookies if you’re not fast enough. Very similar to me at Krispy Kreme on a Sunday morning.

The levels also give you plenty of choice in terms of how long you want the game to be. You will, eventually, unlock the ability to “free” the costume spirits from separate basement levels, which are shorter but also markedly more difficult. This completionist support element shows that the developers wanted to make sure there was something extra for players just looking to get surface gameplay and those who wanted a more involved, dedicated time with Peach, whether she’s searching for clues, trying to steal back gems or is landing a triple lutz before smashing Daisy’s kneecaps with a lead pipe.

Granted, the action stages of Princess Peach: Showtime! are infinitely more exciting than the puzzle based ones. I liked the slower pacing of the mystery levels, but simply looking for inconsistencies/oddities in the landscape and then gesticulating wasn’t terribly involved. The ice skating levels felt like they had a bit more speed to them, but the limitations were still just moving about the ice. Conversely, if I’m lifting up cars to throw them at baddies (Mighty) or doing wicked flips before air kicking some dude off a roof (Kung Fu) then I’m dancing with joy at a solid combination and upsetting the neighbors below (Oliver).

The bosses were a delight to encounter in every single instance. Each boss has its own style of attack and way to approach, and there isn’t any “jump on the head” simplicity that the male counterpart of this game series might exhibit. Instead, it’s all about paying attention, deducing the right way to find an opening with your ribbon attack and then executing it perfectly across multiple incarnations as the bosses get more and more complex. My daughter and I worked together to figure out Purrjector Cat, and it was a serious victory to finally knock that weird feline out fully.

The graphics are obviously cartoonish, colorful and detailed, and absolutely look better on the big screen than the handheld. Plus, being able to see it at a larger scale lets you appreciate the choices to make everything theater centric, from the obvious fake buildings and scenery to the strings holding up certain NPCs and obstacles. It was very evocative of the way Super Mario Bros. 3 was designed, and I hope there’s a bit of a cap nod there and not just coincidence. Plus, the larger screen lets you more easily spot where you’re supposed to pose to unlock secret areas, because missing a single pose spot can mean missing a single star and then you’re full of that loathsome “incomplete” sensation that comes from a game trying to trick you.

Lastly, the audio. Princess Peach: Showtime! has taken a lot of care to craft a soundscape that works on the levels of music, voice and effects. The music is well suited to every play, with plenty of dynamic, dashing notes for the thief, ethereal aqua tones for the mermaid and the powerful, heroic scoring of Mighty Peach. Peach herself has opportunities to speak, but the creators (rightly so) went with a less is more approach and had the Princess only dropping the occasional quip or line. I’m starting to realize we’ll probably never get a fully voiced Nintendo 1st party game, but whatever. 

The sound effects, though, is where the game really shines. When you hear that curtain call buzzer before each stage, the effect is electric. There’s different and distinct sounds for jumps, kicks, explosions, spins, and every little moment inbetween. Nothing feels recycled, which keeps each game world in its own biome. There’s such an effort to add almost tangibility to the sounds of the game, and the payoff is that it’s the necessary element to make everything feel unique. Yes, the Sour Bunch are the antagonists in each locale, but they’re dressed differently, acting different and sounding different. It’s important, and I appreciate it.

I absolutely love this for Peach. She’s a fantastic character, and her personality really shined in Super Mario Odyssey, The Super Mario Bros Movie and here, now, with Princess Peach: Showtime! This is such a trip of a title where it feels like the player is doing absolutely everything under the sun. You get to have that passion for every incarnation for just a short time, then move on to something different. Being able to sample so many interactions and scenarios keeps the game fresh from start to finish, allowing players to revel and replay the plays they enjoy and just quickly bust through the ones they don’t. There’s charm, there’s cuteness, there’s a generous difficulty curve and there’s a plot that passes the Bechdel test. This is the right step forward for Peach into the spotlight, and I hope Showtime! is the first of many more adventures to come.

Graphics: 8.5 Incredible variety in costumes, landscapes, enemies and bosses. Nothing ever fell flat or didn’t encapsulate the thematic of the play. Peach’s own outfits lacked serious variety, but her stage presence more than made up for it.	Gameplay: 9.0 Learning how to play ten different roles in order to move forward should have been complex and daunting, but it wasn’t. Plenty of variety, no stages dragged too long, the collect-a-thon element was kept in check and the effect always left me wanting more, not less, of each interaction.
Sound: 8.0 Well crafted music that was shot through with superb effects and minor voice cues. Only downside was the music for the Disco Wing fight grated on my ears a bit, and that fight also took longer than I’d care to admit.	Fun Factor: 9.5 Anytime I have a game where the whole family crowds around to watch, shout and celebrate is a win in my book. Peach’s adventure was exactly what the Princess needed, and it stands proudly as a strong entry point from a character who hasn’t gotten nearly enough showtime.
Final Verdict: 9.0

Princess Peach: Showtime! is available now on Switch.

Reviewed on Nintendo Switch.

A copy of Princess Peach: Showtime! was provided by the publisher.