Super Princess Peach (DS) Review
Lets get this out of the way from the start, Super Princess Peach is aimed for younger girls, so if your older then 15, male and sitting there in your chair and thinking that this game must be crap its for girls youd be wrong about the crap part. You see while Princess Peach is aimed at the fairer sex it still contains that great Nintendo platforming magic that you would get in your regular Super Mario Bros, Wario Land etc. Nintendo know how to make a great platforming game and Super Princess Peach is no different. My only wish is that they hadnt of sacrificed the length of the game to suit the target audience, who I suspect may find the game a little short at well.
Like all Mario platformers Super Princess Peach does indeed haves a story. Bowser is up to his usual tricks; kidnapping the inhabitants of the Mushroom Kingdom for no reason, this time however Bowser has smartened up his act and has decided to kidnap Mario instead. Since Mario seems to thwart all his plans he realises if he kidnaps him there will be no one to rescue him. While in theory this is works out great, Bowser didnt count on Peach coming after him armed with her Magical Parasol. While the story isnt that great it does provide a means and a goal for the game.
But enough about the story line how does it play! As I mentioned earlier Nintendo know how to make platforming games and Super Princess Peach while adding its own gameplay mechanics still has the base Mario feel to it. These new gameplay techniques come in form of Peachs Vibe Power and of course her Parasol, with the end result, which the end result of finding three toads hidden throughout the level. The Parasol can be used to wack enemies over the head to take them out, you can also throw them, use it as a boat, float slowly down, shoot out of it and more! However the most interesting feature of the magical parasol happens when absorbing their power. When you start to fill Peaches vibe meter you can then use the vibe powers which adorn the bottom screen along with Peach. For example, her happiness mode allows Peach to twirl around and fly away, it also allows her to use the tornado and whirl enemies away, the princess’s crying mode makes Peach stream out buckets of water allowing you do dissolve sand, grow trees and turn water mills. Then there is the anger power which makes Peach become engulfed in flames and allows her to burn enemies and obstacles in her path. Peachs last power is calm, which allows Peach to regain lost health. While the rest of the game features the usual Mario play mechanics such as ground point, secret tunnels in pipe, its Peachs abilities that stop it from falling into the cookie cutter Mario Clone category.
The presentation of Super Princess Peach is nothing short of Cute everything is bright and colourful and full of life, the in game graphics consist of a Super Mario World/Yoshis Story type look, with all the characters looking like they are on Red Cordial, until the later levels when you get some with different demeanours, this also shakes up the attacks and patterns they use. While the graphics never stretch the DSs capabilities and probably could have been done on the GBA, the added screen resolution and processing power allows for some cool effects. To match the bright and bubbly look of Super Princess Peach is the music and sound effects it uses, there is also the ability playback music tracks you have found in levels. And thats not all you can unlock; hidden throughout the levels is mini games, puzzle pieces of the previously mentioned music tracks. This in turn extends the replay-ability of the game because you havent completed the game completely until you have unlocked all the bonuses (and the touch screen and microphone enabled minigames are pretty fun).
So should you buy Super Princess Peach? If youre a platforming fan for sure, however if youre a seasoned gamer it just may be a bit too easy for you. However you are guaranteed to have fun while playing it, as it really is quite a charming game, I just wish there was more of it.
Super Princess Peach is in Stores for now for $69.95 and is rated G.
