Like Super Mario Sunshine, Super Princess Peach takes action away from Mushroom Kingdom and to a place in close proximity, known as Vibe Island, where Bowser has taken up residence, if temporarily. You see, Vibe Island, like most islands holds a legend that a magical implement known as the ‘Vibe Sceptre’ is hidden somewhere on this colourful haven. Naturally Bowser obtains and uses the sceptre to capture Mario and Luigi and a slew of Toads – presumably it would have been Peach again, but alas, she was out having a walk when Bowser crashed the Kingdom. Now Peach is a Princess - and we aren’t talking Australian – with a mission, metaphorically strapping on the overalls and having some handy tricks up her sleave, this time she’s saving the dudes in distress.
She may be no Samus in terms of heroinism, but she is packin’ an umbrella and an array of emotional states to be exact. The multifunctional parasol, also known as Perry; Perry Parasol, not only provides adequate protection from a flash downpour, but also whacks close range enemies and can even consume them in order to regenerate Peach’s ‘Vibe Metre’. This Vibe Metre is the power source of Peach’s other assets and what some men (and women) will argue are the most vigorous powers a girl can have – her emotions. Tapping any one of the four panels on the touchscreen will result in either a cyclonic wind of ‘Joy’ that Peach can use rise to high platforms and blow enemies into oblivion. Then there is ‘Gloom’, which causes our Princess to erupt into a flurry of tears which manipulates the surrounding flora and makes her invincible. ‘Rage’ has Peach seeing red, literally, as she becomes engulfed in flames enabling her to burn through some barriers and enemies and ‘Calm’ sees Peach returning to a placid state and enabling her to regenerate some health.
When first looking at the game, one word comes to mind – candy. There is no denying the sugar-coated look that the game exudes and this could have been done for a myriad of reasons. Perhaps Nintendo wanted to allow fans to differentiate between the Super Mario titles and the Super Princess Peach title, maybe they wanted to give the game a distinct feel and look since the action doesn’t take place in Mushroom Kingdom (again, like in Super Mario Sunshine) or maybe it is just so that it appeals more to girls. Whatever the case, don’t let the visuals throw you – this is far from a dainty romp on Vibe Island.
Koopa Troopas, Chomps and Goombas seem to have migrated to the island for this adventure, seeing as Peach will have to overcome them plus some new enemies on her quest to save Mario, Luigi and the various Toads. Enemies aren’t the only things that make a return, so does coin collecting. Instead of turning the coins into extra lives, in between levels Peach shops at Toad’s store and can purchase things such as extra health and new moves.
Sharing the “Super” prefix of a Nintendo game comes burdened with a big responsibility – as you won’t be able to avoid comparison to the Super Mario series. The simplistic, tight and responsive controls of the Super Mario Bros titles are back, but is the difficulty level up to scratch? Mixed reports about the game being easy flood the internet; the game was never meant to be Ninja Gaiden in that sense, but fans remain troubled over the possibility of being able to fly through the game in a couple of hours. Gamers will have to make their own minds up whether or not this title poses a tough enough challenge for one princess and her smiling umbrella.
You can look at this game in two ways; either it’s just a candy-coated, watered-down girl’s-only version of Super Mario Bros. with some touch screen controls thrown in that could have been implemented with the toggle of a shoulder button, or it’s the first Super Mario Bros.-esque platformer since Super Mario World with an injection of colour and creativity that allows it to stand on its own. While the touch-screen elements aren’t by any means intuitive or make extensive use of the Nintendo DS’s hardware, it certainly mixes up the action.
Whether this game has put the Women’s liberation movement forward due to the game being a heroine driven, power-platforming adventure where only men and their steeds (Yoshi) have ventured before or that it’s taken two steps back since one of the main game mechanics is playing on Peach’s erratic emotional state is another topic entirely. The point is, this is the first original Nintendo sidescrolling platformer since the Super Nintendo Entertainment System days that runs on the Super Mario Bros. engine. With the wait of the New Super Mario Bros. game seemingly lasting forever, you can have your first taste of Nintendo platforming genius… the question that this all boils down to is – are you man enough? (FYI: Ordering it off the internet is cheating!)
Super Princess Peach shimmies into stores on the 30th of March in Australia and the 26th of May in Europe. Stay tuned for PALGN’s review of Super Princess Peach.
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