First-party games played a big part in the September 2023 Nintendo Direct, and the most surprising of the bunch was Princess Peach: Showtime! Only hinted at in a previous Nintendo Direct, the upcoming platformer puts Princess Peach in the starring role, rather than relegating her to the damsel in distress she’s often stuck playing. And from the looks of it, Princess Peach: Showtime! will be a much more satisfying affair than Super Princess Peach, a 2005 Nintendo DS game that was Peach’s last solo outing and drew criticism for its simplicity.
Here’s everything we know so far about Princess Peach: Showtime!
When is the Princess Peach: Showtime! release date?
As revealed at the Nintendo Direct, Princess Peach: Showtime! launches on Nintendo Switch on March 22, 2024. Pre-orders of the digital edition are already available on the Nintendo eShop and physical editions are available from retailers.
Is there a Princess Peach: Showtime! trailer?
Yes! And the debut trailer is full of information on Princess Peach’s upcoming star vehicle. It offers a quick look at the game’s story along with some interesting details on how it will play.
What is the Princess Peach: Showtime! story?
Story is never a major focus for Mario platformers, but it looks like Princess Peach: Showtime! will lean a little more on its story, or at least have an interesting narrative hook.
As the trailer shows, the game starts when Princess Peach heads to the local Sparkle Theater to see a play. Once there, she learns that a new villain named Grape has taken it over along with an adorable group of ruffians called the Sour Bunch. She also meets Stella, the star-shaped guardian of Sparkle Theater, who joins Peach on her quest. Princess Peach: Showtime! will follow Peach as she works with Stella takes back the theater — hopefully with enough time to catch a show.
The theatrical premise means that Princess Peach: Showtime! will play out against the backdrop of Sparkle Theater’s shows. Background objects become set dressing, giving the game’s levels a unique looks that’s got vibes of Paper Mario. The story also leads to some interesting gameplay that look like they’ll add a lot of variety to Princess Peach: Showtime!
What is Princess Peach: Showtime! gameplay like?
From its trailer, Princess Peach: Showtime! looks to mix a lot of different gameplay types, but it will mostly be a platformer. Stella grants Princes Peach her ribbon, which she can use as a weapon to fight enemies and break obstacles, all while keeping the hair out of her eyes. As she explores the theater, Peach will find costumes from different shows that give her access to entirely new abilities.
The trailer shows off costumes that turn Peach into a nimble swordfighter, a baker, a martial artist, and a detective. Each costume change also gives Peach a new suite of abilities and sometimes an entirely new way to play. For instance, swordfighter Peach is still a platforming character but with better moves, but as a detective, Peach gets the ability to hunt for clues in more puzzle-based levels. Donning the baker costume opens up a cake decorating minigame that looks more like a Mario Party stage than anything in a traditional platformer. In the martial artist costume, Peach can enter one-on-one duels that focus on precise blocks.
According to Nintendo, the final game will have more costumes than those already shown in the trailer. Its eShop listing also indicates that it’s only for one player, so don’t go in expecting the kind of multiplayer mode that’s recently been shown off for Super Mario Bros. Wonder.
