Princess Peach: Showtime is giving Peach her rightful place in the spotlight in the Super Mario franchise with an upcoming game that will allow her to take on several roles with the help of a magical companion named Stella. The latest spinoff follows Peach as she travels to watch a show at the Sparkle Theater, where dastardly plans prevail, and Peach must save the show and the day. There is no Mario or Luigi in sight this time, and Peach is able to show off her own capabilities as a hero of the Mushroom Kingdom.
In the September 14 Nintendo Direct, a trailer was shown that displayed just a few of the many forms that Princess Peach can take during her new adventure on stage. What Princess Peach thought would be a fun evening of entertainment instead requires her to access all of her athletic and mental prowess as a heroine to take down the Wicked Grape and the Sour Bunch. Whether tracking down clues as Detective Peach or dueling foes as Swordfighter Peach, the game shows that Princess Peach has several tricks up her poofy pink sleeves. Princess Peach’s new game will be released on March 22, 2024.
5 Classic Princess Peach With Stella’s Ribbon
Princess Peach appears capable on her own, but she receives a little help from a magical ribbon for her classic form. Sparkle Theater’s guardian Stella, appears to be some form of a floating star and ribbons that grant Peach the magic hair ribbon. Other than Peach’s hair now being tied into a ponytail, she looks like the traditional character who is also playable in the upcoming Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Princess Peach may be receiving help from magic powers, yet her courage and athletic abilities (despite wearing a ballgown) still shine through to show that she is a capable character deserving of this chance at starring in her own game.
Peach has previously proven in the Super Mario Bros. movie that she can handle herself in sticky situations, but in Princess Peach: Showtime, Stella’s ribbon provides the Princess with a unique ability to cause a swirl of ribbon around her. Whether she is shooting the ribbon out in front of her to knock down enemies with probably much more force than a ribbon should or creating a flying swirl around her to inflict area-of-effect damage, the form is a powerful one.
4 Swordfighter Peach
Swordfighter Peach in Princess Peach: Showtime is the first wardrobe change shown in the new trailer and grants her a sharp sword along with a stylish outfit. In this form, Swordfighter Peach seems to be quickened a bit and uses acrobatic movements in leaps and fancy footwork to her advantage while she duels her enemies and slices through obstacles on the stage. Ever the graceful Princess, her sword-fighting stance is impeccable as she wields the long blade to swiftly make her way through the level toward the ultimate flower boss, shown briefly and menacingly in the video.
3 Detective Peach
Wearing a similar hat to Detective Pikachu, yet still just as feminine and fashionable as ever, Detective Peach takes the floor for a segment of Princess Peach: Showtime to investigate missing artifacts from a museum. This crime-solving version of the Princess does not appear to have any combat powers but has the abilities needed to solve puzzles and track down the culprits in this stage performance. Using her magnifying glass, Detective Peach is able to follow footprints and find hidden clues that use her brain more than her brawn.
2 Pâtisserie Peach
Besides teaching a generation what the word Pâtisserie means, Pâtisserie Peach is an adorably sweet form for Princess Peach to take in part of Princess Peach: Showtime. Although in the trailer this version appears a little out of place alongside the heavy combat and puzzle-solving versions of the Princess, Pâtisserie Peach exhibits almost a minigame approach to a portion of the upcoming title.
Seen in the trailer as sitting high up on a wooden swing while applying frosting to a hugely oversized cake, her skills are still impressive. Despite the confusion of why large oversized sweets were stolen and what it has to do with the overall game, her cute braids and the very Mario Party-like quality of the level still look fun and engaging.
1 Kung Fu Peach
After her sweet distraction as Pâtisserie Peach, she returns to the combat as Kung Fu Peach. After the Sour Bunch somehow managed to overthrow a martial arts studio, Kung Fu Peach is there to show off hidden skills to take back the studio. Using only the power from kicks, leaps, and other impressive acrobatics, Peach defeats hordes of masked grape-like enemies and deftly leaps across large chasms with ease.
In one scene, she is shown in a one-on-one fight against a large puppet, where she times attacks to get what appears to be a powerful bonus. Only a small portion of her kung-fu prowess has been displayed so far, but already, it seems that this form alone could be used in an entirely new game that focuses on time-based attacks and kung-fu movements.
The end of the trailer hinted that these are just a small taste of the various personas that Princess Peach can access during Princess Peach: Showtime. Each of these forms individually shows that Peach has many more talents than have hitherto been hinted at as she works to save Sparkle Theater from the Wicked Grape and the Sour Bunch. Princess Peach: Showtime will be released exclusively for the Nintendo Switch on March 22, 2024.
