It’s been almost two decades since Princess Peach was the protagonist of her own game with Super Princess Peach in 2005. Now she’s getting the spotlight she deserves with Princess Peach: Showtime! on the Nintendo Switch.
The game follows Princess Peach as she attends a performance at the Sparkle Theater, only to have the villain, Grape, hijack the venue and temporarily put it out of commission. With the help of the theater’s guardian, Stella, Peach dons several unique outfits and embarks on a quest in order to restore the theater. Princess Peach: Showtime! is an elegant and charming adventure but tends to struggle with providing a challenge.
Princess Peach: Showtime! is a fun, family-friendly Nintendo Switch game that offers a refreshing change of pace from your typical Mario adventure.
What I liked about it
A diverse variety of stages and transformations
Princess Peach: Showtime’s central gimmick is Peach’s ability to switch through a variety of abilities depending on what stage she’s in. Some of her transformations include becoming a swordfighter, ninja and cowgirl, each of which come with their own unique skills and controls. Each stage is tailored toward one specific transformation, and Peach utilizes all her current transformation’s abilities in order to complete them. With four different stages on each floor of the theater, the game is paced incredibly well, giving you a taste of every transformation before later stages become a bit more complex.
For example, the Ninja Peach transformation lets her blend into the background to avoid enemy searchlights and cut through them with her kunai knives. Mighty Peach takes center stage in a Hollywood set-inspired area, where she assumes the role of a superhero with what looks like a sleeker version of Iron Man’s Hulkbuster costume and smashes alien ships apart.
There are also some non-combat transformations, such as Pâtissier Peach, where she must bake cookies in order to satisfy her enemies’ cravings. Detective Peach must deduce clues from the environment in order to catch art thieves. This variety helps keep the minute-to-minute gameplay fresh between all the different stages.
Plenty of replayability
Throughout all the stages, Peach can collect Sparkle gems, which are this game’s versions of hidden collectibles, as well as regular coins. Coins can also buy cosmetics for both Peach and Stella. It’s unlikely that you’ll find all the gems in each stage your first time around, so there’s plenty of replayability after you roll the credits. There are also a few other features that are unlocked after beating them game; we’ll keep those a secret so that you can discover them yourself.
What I didn’t like about it
It’s not very challenging
Princess Peach: Showtime! isn’t a very difficult game. The bosses at the end of stages are easy to figure out and beat, and the platforming in stages is simple. Thankfully, it’s not as easy as a game like Detective Pikachu Returns, and you’ll at least use your eyes and brain so you don’t overlook Sparkle gems hidden in stages.
There are some technical issues
The game has some issues with its technical performance, including some long load times transitioning between cutscenes and screens. Certain cutscenes occasionally lag, which diminishes the impact of the game’s cinematic storytelling. This isn’t the first major Nintendo release with performance issues (just look at the recent Pokémon Scarlet and Violet games), indicating that the aging console is starting to get pushed to its limits.
Bottom line
Princess Peach: Showtime! is a relaxing game ideal for kids and adults alike. It’s important to come in with proper expectations that the game won’t have dozens of hours of content like Super Mario Bros. Wonder or The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. However, its brisk 10- to 15-hour run time is enough to experience the wonderful stages and costumes that Peach takes on. Hopefully, her next solo performance grants her a bigger theater.