The role of Princess peach has not always been that of a helpless damsel in distress. Today, in fact, it is quite the opposite: its presence in the platform sagas of Mario Bros. and its spin-offs of character sports or festive They have made her a video game celebrity on her own merits. A full fighter of Super Smash Bros. and, after several adventures with Mario, in the protagonist of her own game.
That does not mean that Bowser or the villain on duty continue to take advantage of the disastrous security at Peach Castle to kidnap her and leave the Mushroom Kingdom in a state of chaos. And she is not the only victim of the wild igamesnewsism of her kingdom: Mario has also had to go through those in Luigi’s Mansion 3, without going further. However, the trajectory platform Peach's is special.
Already since the time of Super Mario Bros. 2 (known as Super mario usa in Japan) Nintendo itself introduced us to a princess whose huge pink dress was no obstacle to circumventing traps and facing enemies. What's more, it gave him unique advantages over the Mario brothers. A concept that, coincidentally or not, will take hold and add new nuances years later in Super princess peach for Nintendo DS.
Before Toad starred his own adventures and something after Luigi started his career like ghostbusters by force, the princess of the mushroom kingdom had her chance to shine in the days of Touch Generations of the Big N through their own action game and platforms. An adventure for all audiences and, at the same time, tailor-made for the character.
The plot? In essence Bowser still wants to use his dungeonsAlthough this has rarely been a problem: a new threat arises from evil, free time and a powerful scepter that the King of Koopas is dying to test. A crisis habitual in the Mushroom Kingdom with a nuance: This time it will be Peach's turn to rescue the good Mario.
A complete turn to the topic of unprotected princess, although it is not without clichés in other aspects: as a game, in Super princess peach Nintendo fans feel at home – both in a good way, and not so good – throughout their eight worlds, taking up ideas from the classic nintenderos and an aspect that we did not take long to associate with other great platform titles.
But also providing fun playable novelties designed for the occasion. Most of them related to Glitter, a sort of co-star of the game, which is also the sea of results.
Peach (and Brillita) in the main focus: a Made in Nintendo platforms
Technically, Super princess peach It was not the first game produced by Nintendo in which the princess of the series Super Mario received all the prominence, since that honor belongs to Princess Toadstool's Castle Run, a LCD little machine McDonald’s promo presented in the form of a wrist watch. Logically, his second solo adventure is much more interesting.
Launched in 2006 and presented in a humorous tone very much in line with the saga Mario and Luigi, Super princess peach takes us to Bowser's new summer residence located in the Sensa island. An island that, according to the game itself, is not too far from the Mushroom kingdom, although it is hardly spoken of.
What has Bowser's scoundrel lost there? On the island of Sensa a powerful artifact is hidden: the Sensometer, a mysterious contraption capable of controlling emotions. A weapon powerful enough for his troops to infiltrate Peach Castle and be able to win with little resistance to all who were inside. Including Mario, Luigi and Toad.
Luckily, Princess Peach was out for a walk at the time.
Before embarking on his rescue mission, veteran Master Kinopio offers Peach unique help: an umbrella with a life of its own that responds to the name of Brillita and that it will come from pearls to strike enemies, solve puzzles, slide through any means and, with enough coins, we can even turn it into a submarine with which to navigate the aquatic phases.
Although it is inevitable to see in perspective that the role of Brillita ends up being similar to that of the much later Capy de Super Mario Odyssey, the game proposal of Super princess peach It constantly ties in with Nintendo's previous big platforming successes: the multi-level design and enemy behavior is very much in line with the series of Yoshi, its game mechanics are very much in tune with the series Super Mario Bros. and we will even see some other phase that will inevitably remind us of Kirby or Donkey Kong Country.
All seasoned with a simple but very successful pixelart in which the careful animations of its sprites, the very smoothed transformations and changes in sizes or the successful transitions of scroll and between phases to two screens are a reflection of the mastery achieved by Nintendo in terms of platforms.
That said, is it Super princess peach a constant feeling of deja vu? In addition to his wild and colorful huge final bosses, we can gradually unlock all kinds of skills for Brilli. However, the star novelty is in the emotion system to which we will have access from the portable screen.
While the game does not offer power ups as in the main series of Super Mario, based on crystals we can recharge a bar that appears under the indicator of hearts of health and that will allow us to access the advantages of up to four moods:
- Joy It will allow us to float in the air with relative freedom and make a kind of strategic twists in the air. A perfect state to reach the impossible areas.
- The sadness it makes Peach cry excessively, watering the flora and making it grow in an especially advantageous way. In addition, we will greatly increase our speed when running.
- Anger It will wrap our heroine in a halo of fire capable of incinerating enemies. And not only that, it also makes it very resistant to heat. In addition, their landings will be devastating.
- The tranquilityFinally, little by little, recover hearts of health. Like the previous ones, this effect gradually consumes the mood bar, so we must measure it during the first few bars of the game.
Nintendo knew how to take advantage of the combination of the possibilities of Brilli and the four moods of our protagonist to offer eight varied and colorful worlds whose difficulty facing the seasoned player is conspicuous by its absence, but with a very interesting replayability that rests on a host of secrets and unlockables that will demand our observation and having to alternate between the skills of the umbrella and Peach.
To which must be added, as usual in Nintendo games, several extras in the form of three mini-games, several puzzles, music galleries and other additions that, put together, give an extra value to the game.
Enough to play along the same lines as the titles in the main saga of Super Mario? Unfortunately not: the simplicity of its levels makes Super princess peach in a perfect game for those who are not too used to platforms and a colorful ride for everyone else.
Which does not mean that there are enough elements and a formidable base for Peach deserves to start his own series.
Super Princess Peach didn't shine in its day, but it has a good foundation for a sequel (or reboot)
Princess Peach has never spent too much time in her castle and is less and less frequently found in Bowser's: titles like Super mario run or Super Mario 3D World not only do they share adventures with the Mario brothers but – as in Super Mario Bros. 2– They give a very grateful point of variety to the experience of going through the colorful levels imagined by Nintendo.
All in all, we find ourselves in a unique situation: while Super Mario Maker 2 offers Mario fans the chance to explore the endless possibilities of classic platform game formulas, the latest installments in Yoshi, Kirby or Donkey Kong They have caught on wonderfully among Switch players.
Enough to consider reuniting all the key elements of these four titles in a new adventure that radiates humor and endless magic. A sequel to Super Princess Peach. Or a comprehensive update.
Super princess peach It didn't shine as brightly as other platform titles released on Nintendo DS for various reasons. Among them, its little difficulty. But the playable base displayed on the dual-screen notebook offers enormous possibilities today. Above all, if Nintendo channels them to create a classic cut metroidvania that serves as a counterpoint to the much desired Metroid Prime 4. Even more if it is to play two Joy Cons.
I take it for granted that games with similar characteristics are kicking in the eShop, although the list of games that match the mastery that Nintendo has shown on the genre is very, very short. For now, the playable base and the idea are there. Like the potential to launch a new series (or saga) in its own right.
A new batch of platform titles with the playable charm of old time classics and the feeling that in each section there is a secret or is it potentially a puzzle. With an enormous amount of skills, unlockable, huge bosses that force us to study their routines … All well tied to a current and irresistible artistic section.
A second chance for Princess Peach? Rather, a set of elements too interesting to pass up, with the added claim of having a video game superstar as the protagonist.
