Princess Peach: Showtime Review (Switch)

Before Princess Toadstool's Castle Run (1990) and Super Princess Peach (2005), the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom, Princess Peach, has always taken a bit of a back seat. She’s always been a supporting character, often playing the role of damsel in distress waiting to be rescued by famed Mario. But that’s all about to change, thanks to Princess Peach: Showtime. In truth, the previous Princess Peach-focused games didn’t do her character’s potential justice. 

They were pretty much all over the place, stereotypic, and hardly made sense to keep the spin-off series going… until now. Yeah, yeah, Princess Peach: Showtime isn’t quite there yet. We still have some glitches here and there, and overall, there's room for improvement, but it’s a damn good start. Quite honestly, if Nintendo keeps the spin-off going, it could potentially climb up the ranks to compete with Luigi’s Mansion and even Super Mario in due time. 

But what exactly does Princess Peach: Showtime bring to the table? How are the gameplay, graphics, and story? Is it worth your time and money? Let’s pull back the curtain on these and more in our Princess Peach: Showtime review. 

A New Dawn

It’s no secret that the Super Mario franchise and its multiple spin-offs aren’t masters of storytelling. It’s always the same plot over and over again: Bowser has kidnapped the princess. Rescue her, will you? As such, I wasn’t expecting the most convoluted story in Princess Peach: Showtime. Yet despite the low expectations, what’s illustrated here is surprisingly both functional and clean. 

The princess, accompanied by her toads, heads over to the Sparkle Theatre to watch a play. Tables turn as quickly as they get there, with a new villain, the wicked Grape, and her minions, the Sour Bunch, wreaking havoc all across the theater. It falls on Peach and the theater’s guardian, Stella, to restore order and save the play. That’s it. Functional and clean, no? 

Sure, you’ll probably have lingering questions: What’s Grape’s connection to Peach? Surely Grape causing a ruckus just as Peach arrived must have some significance? But we never delve deeper than the ‘save the day’ plotline. And guess what? It totally works soon after you’re thrust into the theater’s wildly differing sets, working your way up to the final boss.

All in One

Save for the toads at the beginning of the game and Princess Peach herself, there isn’t much similarity to the Super Mario franchise portrayed here. I mean, even the Mushroom Kingdom, Peach’s own monarchy barely shows up here. All of the environments you see and explore are solely different sets from the Sparkle Theatre, and therein lies Princess Peach: Showtime’s charm.

Seriously, though. The sets you step into are oozing with charm and creativity. They’re exactly the kind of sets you imagine, complete with wooden puppets hanging on rafters, an ever-present spotlight glimmering atop Peach’s every movement, and so on. Its theater-inspired setting is quite clever, resembling a low-budget drama club set at points and throughout, giving Princess Peach: Showtime the easygoing, cheery romp you didn’t know you needed.

Unfortunately, some settings look real. If you scan the levels with a keen eye, you’ll probably spot a real clock tower, a flowing river, and even some real fish. But the minute, too-authentic props are beside the point. Most, if not all, of Princess Peach: Showtime’s sets are lovely and quite well worth spending your time in. Alongside varying sets are up to ten different Princess Peach roles.

Jack of All Trades

From the ever-graceful Figure Skater Peach to the ruthless combat Kung Fu Peach and the devious detective Peach, you’ll constantly switch up your character, not just in costume but also in gameplay style. Princess Peach: Showtime mashes multiple genres into one to excellent effect, constantly nabbing your attentive thumb. 

Far more Peach types feature here, which I’ll leave to your imaginative mind. Rest assured, each character is vastly different from the other, sometimes to the detriment of the overall gameplay, but more often, working in favor of casting deep intrigue. You’ll jump from swinging swords to throwing kicks, ultimately narrowing down to three loosely grouped types: brawler, puzzler, and rhythm. 

An impressive wealth of unique mechanics is featured here. Whether cowgirl, ninja, or mermaid, Peach is constantly intriguing. You’ll swing your lasso on horseback to capture and throw enemies. You can gracefully glide on ice to win skating competitions and even use the power of song to control fish to do your bidding. Each new ability works like unlocking a new power-up that allows you to flex all sorts of wildly unique play styles.

Too Easy?

Objectives and challenges are constantly changing. They’re also well-paced, too. None are overstaying their welcome. Plus, the boss battles at the end of each challenge usher in a deeper, eventual twist on gameplay and overall creativity. Unfortunately, with such immense variety, you may find some powers more fun than others. Not every challenge is the same, whether in terms of engagement or difficulty. 

The mermaid sets test your timing, as do the baking mini-games. Detective Peach walks around a compact set, searching for clues to solve rather simple puzzles. However simple, these sections of the game feel more inspired than the action sequences. All you do in fights is swing swords and ribbons, and enemies go tumbling down.

Additionally, combat tends to have slow and near-harmless enemies. Even when facing waves of enemies, you never feel pressure build up. It doesn’t help, either, that Peach can take multiple hits without paying a hefty price. As such, Princess Peach: Showtime feels curated for a younger audience. Veterans, on the other hand, may want more of a challenge, even after the difficulty increases in the later stages. 

As for completionists, you do have hidden collectibles and secrets tucked away, but rest assured, you’re going to miss collecting them all in the first run. Plus, on horseback, levels can speed up enough for even novice players to venture back to pick up every collectible. With the overall ease of gameplay, though, veterans may lack enough motivation to tread back. 

Childlike Joy

Princess Peach: Showtime’s low difficulty combined with its fun levels make it the perfect game for younger kids. Furthermore, the controls, despite being smooth and excellently fluid, are rather too simple to master any complex combos. You use two main buttons for attacks and movement, alongside the analog stick. Parents and family friends can demonstrate to kids, and they'll catch on easily in a matter of seconds.

Older folk can definitely have a spur with it. However, you’ll need to have your expectations in check. If you’re looking for a relaxing escape, for instance. Or are you excited to see Princess Peach ditch the damsel-in-distress role? Otherwise, if you’re looking for a true challenge, you might find better luck elsewhere. Perhaps Super Mario Bros. Wonder?

As for the performance, you’ll run into some minor hiccups. Very minor, I must stress that only a keen eye will find disappointment. A couple of frame rates dip here and there. Loading times can be a bit long. Princess Peach can look fuzzy at times, with occasional wonky movement. We’re nitpicking at this point, though, and I believe most of the performance issues will be ironed out with the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2.

At the very least, the graphics and sound are stellar. It’s no Super Mario Bros. Wonder, but it still exemplifies vibrant and pomp hues. The music score, in particular, inherits Nintendo’s addicting vibe. It’s thematically exceptional and delivers an overall charming adventure.

Verdict

A lot of good can be said about Princess Peach: Showtime. It’s pretty clever to switch up gameplay just before they grow on you. From fast-paced brawls to slowed-down graphical adventures, the game casts its net far and wide, capturing any gamer with even the slightest interest. Its multiple transformations are its best part, with fun-induced and charming little sets to want to return to. The only downside is the gameplay’s overall low difficulty. 

Any gamer with a decent gaming experience will easily run through its course and probably lack motivation to replay. A younger audience, though, will no doubt find childlike joy in its creative styling and ideas. You’ll spot way too many ambitious ideas, all exemplifying Princess Peach’s potential for heroism. Nothing has been left to the imagination, with thematic sets and gameplay incorporating engaging content variety. 

Despite some very minor performance hiccups, Princess Peach: Showtime delivers, using charm to propel it to a new age. Being Peach’s foray into the spotlight in a long time, I must say that she makes an outstanding case to stay on. Whether Nintendo keeps the show going is up for debate. It’s certainly not a far-fetched idea, merely scraping off the few frustrating pitfalls and digging deeper into gameplay. 

It’s unlikely each of Peach’s power-ups can stand on their own two feet. Peach, the Kung Fu Ninja. Peach, the Siren Mermaid, and so on. Well, at least not in their current state. It’s a great first step, though, setting a stable enough stage for what’s to come.