Super Princess Peach
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| Super Princess Peach | |
|---|---|
 North American boxart |
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| Developer(s) | TOSE |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo DS |
| Release date |  October 20, 2005 February 27, 2006 March 30, 2006 May 26, 2006 |
| Genre(s) | Action game |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: E (Everyone) CERO: A (All ages) OFLC: G (General) PEGI: 3+ |
| Media | 256-Megabit DS card |
| Input methods | buttons, directional pad, touch screen, Microphone |
Super Princess Peach (スーパープリンセスピーチ Sūpā Purinsesu Pīchi?) is a platforming video game developed by TOSE and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console. It was released in Japan in October 2005, the United States February 2006, Australia in March, and Europe in May.
It is the first game to feature Princess Peach as the main playable character. In the game, Bowser has kidnapped Mario instead of Peach and holds him prisoner at Vibe Island. Peach must go through eight worlds at Vibe to rescue Mario.
Super Princess Peach was praised for the role reversal in the storyline but was criticized for the nature of how Peach attacked, the marketing campaign, and the simple gameplay. It sold over a million copies.
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[edit] Story
According to the instruction booklet and in-game introduction, Vibe Island (a land adjacent to the Mushroom Kingdom) has been rumored to hold hidden powers. Bowser builds his summer villa there in hopes of harnessing the rumored power. His efforts are rewarded when one of his underlings finds the Vibe Scepter. He sends a Goomba and an army of Hammer Brothers to Princess Peach's castle to capture Mario. The Vibe Scepter changes the emotions of those around them – they will become calm, happy, angry, or sad. While all of the Toad servants are distracted, the Hammer Brothers seize Mario, Luigi, and Toad. Shortly after the capture, Princess Peach and Toadsworth come back to the castle to find a message saying that the Mario Bros. have been captured. Peach wants to go out there immediately. Toadsworth tries to convince her not to, but when he sees that she is determined to go, he gives her Perry, a talking parasol that has magical powers.
In the game, Peach and Perry battle through eight worlds, rescuing Toads along the way. They rescue Luigi from the evil wizard Kamek and later Mario at Bowser's Villa. Meanwhile, Perry's origins are revealed through in-game flashback sequences. Perry remembers his origins as a young boy who had mysterious powers and was adopted by an old man he came to call "Grandpa". He was changed into an umbrella and kidnapped by a wizard and his henchman, but managed to secretly escape by wiggling free from his captors and falling on the road. Some time later, a traveling merchant found him and sold him to Toadsworth. Peach and Perry confront Bowser, who uses the Vibe Scepter to grow enormously. Peach prevails and Mario is saved.
[edit] Gameplay
[edit] Main game
Super Princess Peach plays similarly to traditional platformers. There are eight worlds; in each world, there are six levels and one boss battle. Each boss battle requires a short minigame to play. For example, in "Shriek Mansion," Peach is descending down on the umbrella, and the player taps the screen to scare away Boos. If the Boos touch her, the player must start over. After the player has finished the minigame, the player does not need to replay it to attempt to battle the boss again.
Within the levels themselves, there are a number of boxes that will give specific gameplay hints. Three Toads are hidden throughout each level; the boss levels have one Toad to rescue (except World 7's boss where Luigi is captive, and World 8's boss where Mario is). Each world has 16 Toads to rescue. In order to play the final boss battle, the player must rescue all of the Toads.
After the game is completed, the player can go through the levels again to pick up more unlockable items. Beating a boss will unlock three new levels for the next world; for instance, beating the World 1 boss will unlock three new levels for World 2. There are a total of 24 extra levels to unlock.
The game features numerous classic Mario series enemies, such as Goombas, Koopa Troopas, and Hammer Brothers. In a twist, some of the enemies are also emotionally affected, such as the sad blue Goombas or the Bullet Bills burning red with anger.
On the upper left hand side of the screen, there are two bars: heart gauge (maximum of five hearts) and emotion meter. Whenever Peach falls down a hole or gets hit by an enemy, she loses half a heart. When all hearts are gone, she must start over at the beginning of the level. Peach has infinite lives, so the player can continue as much as he/she pleases. The emotion meter corresponds to the four powers she has. The emotions at Vibe Island affect everybody, even some enemies, but Peach can change her emotions at will.
Joy, gloom, rage and calm are the emotions you will use along the way. When the player taps on each mood, it will activate a different ability, which typically helps solve puzzles or defeat enemies.
- Calm: Peach will calm down, become delighted and a 'bubble' will appear, surrounding her. This restores health. This bubble will break if hit by anything hazardous, thus stopping the healing process. (Green Heart)
- Gloom: Peach will cry, making her run faster, or making plants grow for her to climb up to high places. On a side note, this helps her jump farther. (Blue Heart)
- Rage: Peach will become enraged and catch fire, making her invincible, burn enemies and other objects, and able to cause earthquakes whenever she lands. But there are a few disadvantages: she can't run fast, and she won't be able to jump far, either. (Red Heart)
- Joy: Peach gets very happy and becomes enveloped in a powerful cyclone, allowing her to fly. (Yellow Heart)
However, each use will drain the player's emotion mood (the little yellow squiggle at upper left of the top screen). The bar can be restored by capturing blue turquoise jewels or absorbing enemies.
With Perry the parasol, Princess Peach has many abilities at her disposal. Stomping on the enemies does not defeat them; Peach must use the umbrella to whack them. The player can press "B" to immediately sweep them aside or "X" to put them on top of the umbrella. Once an enemy is on top of the umbrella, the player may press "X" again to put the enemy down, "B" to throw the enemy, or down on the D-pad to absorb the enemy, which refills part of the emotion meter. As the game progresses, Perry gains new abilities. The "Subrella" allows Peach to travel underwater. The player blows into the microphone to blow bubbles to defeat the undersea enemies. The "Slidebrella" turns Perry upside down and uses his handle like a hook. It is used in areas with a maze of high-flying wires. The "Bowlbrella" puts Peach in the umbrella and allows her to navigate through surface water.
In addition, the game features a shop where players can buy things. The currency is coins. The player can buy increment upgrades to expand the heart gauge or the emotion meter, as well as three new abilities. The "Floatbrella" allows Peach to stay afloat for about five seconds. "Poundbrella" shakes the ground and stuns any enemies nearby. "Chargebrella" creates a small charge that will stun the closest enemy.
[edit] Minigames and other bonuses
Super Princess Peach contains three minigames, which use the touchscreen or microphone. In "Toad Jump", the player blows into a microphone to make Toad jump and avoid running into enemies or falling down. "Toad Tote" involves the player to using the stylus to navigate Toad through a maze of fire. "Toad Shot" requires the player to tap the screen to defeat enemies. The first seven levels for each game are buyable at the shop, but the last three levels are hidden in the levels.
Eight puzzles are also featured. A few of the pieces are buyable at the shop, but most of them are hidden throughout the worlds. After the pieces are found, it becomes a minigame. The player uses the touchscreen to rotate and piece together the puzzle. The game records and displays the fastest time.
The "music room" features a band called the Peach Hit Five. There are two band members (Peach and Toadsworth) initially, but 3 more members appear when the player unlocks 30, 40, and 50 songs, respectively. Some songs are buyable at the shops, but most of them are hidden in the levels, the majority of which are inaccessible until after the game has been beaten once.
Along your journey, Perry will have dreams that will slowly unvail his cold past of being a young, lost boy being turned into an umbrella by a band of evil magicians. Unlock these as a bonus and watch them in the menu option. Beat the game to unlock his full past story.
[edit] Reception
Super Princess Peach currently has an average rating of 77% on Game Rankings.[1] The game was praised for being the first 2D Nintendo platformer in several years. It was also praised for "turning the tables" by having the usual damsel-in-distress save the usual hero and for starring Princess Peach in the main role instead of being a secondary character. Points of criticism, however, were leveled at the fact that Peach relies on oversensitive and hyperactive emotions, a stereotypical female characteristic.
The game's difficulty was intensely criticized. The gaming web site GameSpy noted that the number of shop items and the "Joy" vibe made it "quite hard to die"[2] Another web site, IGN, was more critical, criticizing Nintendo for "going out of its way" to "spoon-feed" the player full of tips and information.[3] Reviewer Ryan Davis from GameSpot similarly wrote that the game was "way too easy for the average platformer player."[4] X-Play's Morgan Webb also commented that the game was very easy to play and should be played by first timers to platformers and gave it a 4/5. Most reviewers concluded that the difficulty was due to Nintendo's intentions, which were aiming and marketing the game at a more casual, female crowd instead.
The nature of the vibes and Nintendo's marketing campaign were also noted in many reviews. Davis accused Nintendo of putting "weird sexist undercurrents" into the game,[4] while GameSpy's Bryn Williams wondered if Nintendo was trying to say that all females were "emo"[2]. Craig Harris from IGN said that the copy that Nintendo sent to him came in a box scented with perfume.[3]
"Now here were some girls who had grit as well as grace. I loved Princess Peach even as I recognized that there was no way she could run in those heels, that her peachiness did nothing to upset the apple cart of expectation: she may have been athletic, smart and strong, but she was also adorable. Maybe she’s what those once-unisex, postfeminist parents are shooting for: the melding of old and new standards. And perhaps that’s a good thing, the ideal solution." -New York Times[5]
As of July 25, 2007, Super Princess Peach has sold 1.15 million copies worldwide.[6]
[edit] References
- ^ Super Princess Peach Reviews. Game Rankings. Retrieved July 9, 2006.
- ^ a b Williams, Bryn. GameSpy: Super Princess Peach Review. GameSpy. February 27, 2006.
- ^ a b Harris, Craig. IGN: Super Princess Peach Review. IGN. February 23, 2006.
- ^ a b Davis, Ryan. Super Princess Peach for DS Review. GameSpot. February 24, 2006.
- ^ "What’s Wrong With Cinderella?" New York Times originally published December 24, 2006
- ^ Matt Casamassina (2007-07-25). Nintendo Sales Update. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-07-25.
[edit] External links
- Official North American website
- Official Japanese website
- Super Princess Peach at Nintendo.com (archives of the original at the Internet Archive)
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