Princess Peach: Showtime! Review
Stealing the spotlight in her newest title on the Nintendo Switch.
It’s been about 19 years since Super Princess Peach, her previous solo adventure. Peach returns dawning many different outfits to save the Sparkling Theater from the wicked sorceress named Grape. A very cozy action-adventure game that won’t necessarily challenge you but has well designed levels that are a joy to play.
Princess Peach: Showtime! was revealed about nine months ago during the June 2023 Nintendo Direct. With other surprises like Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD and Super Mario RPG, Peach was still one of the more exciting announcements during this direct.
The developers are Good-Feel, the same studio behind Kirby’s Epic Yarn and Yoshi’s Woolly World/Crafted World. I’m a big fan of the Yoshi games and Princess Peach: Showtime! looked like a Kirby game with a Peach skin on top.
I mean, transforming into different outfits that’s also an action-adventure platforme…it kind of lines up.
After playing through the 7 hour adventure, Princess Peach: Showtime! feel good action-adventure game. The princess transforms often, changing up the gameplay style from level to level. You won’t be challenged too hard but it’s not a walk in the park either. The levels are well designed to fit the specific outfit while not overstaying their welcome. If you want something new to play on your Nintendo Switch, you can’t go wrong with Princess Peach: Showtime!
The story begins with Peach and a few Toads visiting the Sparkling Theater to watch some upcoming shows. Then, the evil Mrs. Grape traps everyone inside for her evil bidding. Peach then meets Stella who’s the guardian of the Sparkling Theater. In their joint effort, Peach and Stella are going to save the theater from Grape’s clutches.
It’s the same good guy vs. bad guy shtick and that’s okay for Princess Peach: Showtime! Most Mario games don’t have super compelling stories and it’s fine for Peach to do the same. Almost all of the dialogue is done through text with some voice lines happening here and there.
The story is fine. It’s nothing to write home about while also not being a complete dumpster fire.
The gameplay is where Princess Peach: Showtime! shines the most. The levels are structured between five floors and a basement. Each floor has four levels and a boss fight at the end. The transformations change between floors with return costumes happening sporadically. The basement is where you’ll truly test your transformation skills and free the trapped Sparklas.
Levels are set up as a play where Peach will have to go along to rescue the citizens and defeat Grape’s minions. Peach will transform depending on the theme. There’s 10 in total which is a lot more than I expected. They all vary but play somewhat similarly.
You have Swordfighter, Detective, Patissier, Kung Fu, Ninja, Cowgirl, Figure Skater, Dashing Thief, Mermaid, and Mighty Peach.
All the transformations play how you would expect with some being more action based than others. Patissier Peach is all about making cookies and deserts while Swordfighter or Kung Fu Peach is about attacking enemies head on.
Because transformations do return, the gameplay is always getting mixed up. All of them are fun to use with Mighty Peach and Figure Skater Peach being my favorites. Mermaid Peach is probably my least favorite because controlling these fish can be a little janky at times.
The boss fights at the end of each floor are great. They have the traditional three hit structure while having to dodge attacks in between. You won’t have any transformations available but some regular levels do have a mini boss fights at the end.
Throughout your adventure, you’ll find coins which can be used to unlock cosmetic outfits for Peach and Stella. A nice touch to give the players an opportunity to change their look. Also, if you die in a level, 10 coins are taken away as opposed to a live system. I like this design choice because it doesn’t feel that punishing to die in level while not having any punishment at all.
There’s other collectibles to find like the Sparkle Gems. You’ll actually need these to progress through the game but not every single one is required to find. They can be right in the open or hidden behind some stage props.
Other times, you might need to pose under a spotlight to receive the Sparkle Gem. Like I said, there’s a ton of these to find, so don’t feel pressured to find every single one. Also, there’s hidden civilians to find after the adventure is complete which encourages you to go back into every single level again anyway.
The play setting is charming but makes replaying levels a pain because you can’t skip any of the sequences or dialogue. If you want to 100% the adventure, I hope you have a lot of patience.
Princess Peach: Showtime! is a pleasant experience from start to finish.
The game does a fantastic job introducing new transformations at a steady pace. Level design is spot on with a variety of obstacles and challenges ahead. Boss fights aren’t a walk in the park and require precise timing and execution to take them down. Collectibles are plentiful which makes replay value very high. If you’re looking for a well made action-adventure platformer that’s full of variety, Princess Peach: Showtime! is your game.
Presentation wise, it runs okay on the Nintendo Switch. For the over seven year old console to still pump out new games, it looks impressive. Just don’t expect the game to run the smoothest as loading times are plentiful and the frame rate dips whenever one begins. But as soon as you’re back in the game, it runs fine.
The music is a banger and fits the themes of Princess Peach: Showtime!
This is a late Nintendo Switch title but still manages to make the best of the console’s hardware.
If you’re looking for a chill and relaxing action-adventure game, Princess Peach: Showtime! is it. All 10 transformations are great and never get stale. The levels are well structured with difficulty slowly building up. You won’t have the most challenging experience here but one that’s filled with love and enjoyment. The story is nothing crazy and the performance is a bit shaky. But all in all, I had an enjoyable time checking out Princess Peach: Showtime!
Travis “tvsonic” Vuong
Business e-mail: travisvuong56@gmail.com
YouTube
Podcast
Other Socials (TikTok, Instagram, etc.)
