Princess Peach: Showtime! Review

From damsel in distress to kicking ass like the rest, Princess Peach Showtime takes our favourite Nintendo princess and makes her the star of the show(s)! It’s been a hot minute since Princess Peach was the main protagonist of a game. A lot has changed in gaming since 2005’s Super Princess Peach. It’s hard to believe Nintendo has released four pieces of gaming hardware without a Princess Peach game, but now it’s time for Princess Peach to finally get her flowers in this charming platformer.

Princess Peach is invited to Sparkle Theatre, which is abruptly taken over by a Witch called Grape. Peach teams up with the theatre’s guardian, Stella, to take down Grape and her minions, appropriately called the Sour Bunch. Peach must navigate each theatre floor, enter each play, and save the performers from the bad guys.

Princess Peach Showtime has the perfect balance of platforming and puzzles which is spread across 30 levels and 6 floors of the Sparkle Theatre. Each level is set on a stage, and the game heavily leans in on that. The levels are made up of props and set pieces you would typically see in a real-life theatre play. 

Upon entering a level, Peach will transform into a costume that changes her appearance and gives her new abilities. Despite being predominately a platformer, Showtime allows itself to be much more, thanks to the 10 costumes Peach obtains throughout the game. The excitement of trying a new costume on was never lost on me. My favourite costumes were Detective Peach, Figure Skater Peach, Kung Fu Peach, and Cowgirl Peach. These costumes, in particular, provided the most captivating gameplay and had the most exciting action sequences of the game. That’s not to say there were any dud costumes. They were all fun in their own way. 

Each floor of the theatre includes a boss stage, which can only be accessed after acquiring a certain number of Stars, which are hidden cleverly throughout each level. These stars are hiding behind set pieces, given to you after completing certain tasks, or can be found in hard-to-reach areas. As it is unlikely you will collect every star during your first playthrough, completionists will find a decent amount of replayability. The boss levels aren’t too difficult but contain the most challenging aspects of the game.

The minute details found in the game are fantastic. Peach runs and moves differently in all 11 of her costumes, and each level utilises Peach’s different abilities to their maximum potential. In the Ninja Peach levels, which require some stealth, Peach can pull out cardboard branches to blend in with the other props on the stage.

While the graphics aren’t groundbreaking on a technical scale, thanks to the Switch’s capabilities, it is packed with the Nintendo charm that you can find in modern Mario games. Unfortunately, there are instances where the frame rate drops significantly, particularly in the loading screens, where it seemingly drops to 2 frames per second. These infractions are rare during actual gameplay, but with first-party Nintendo games, you expect a polished product at launch.

Princess Peach Showtime may not be up there with the likes of Super Mario Bros. Wonder or Kirby and the Forgotten Land, but it is genuinely a good time. Some adult gamers may struggle to find enjoyment due to how light the difficulty is, but this game was certainly developed with a younger audience in mind. For Princess Peach’s first game as the main protagonist in 19 years, Showtime offers a great experience with a respectable price tag.