‘Princess Peach: Showtime!’ is the best ‘Barbie’ game I could ever hope for

With the motto “You can be anything,” Super Mario franchise is taking a page from Barbie’s playbook and giving Princess Peach her own dress-up adventure.

Princess Peach: Showtime! was released on March 22 as a rare solo adventure for the monarch of the Mushroom Kingdom. Peach has often been reduced to the damsel-in-distress role in the Super Mario franchise. Fortunately, as years went by, the Princess became one of the most powerful gals in gaming, with her own story to tell, as The Super Mario Bros. Movie proves. Nevertheless, Peach has often been obscured by the shadow of the mustachioed plumber when it comes to video games.

Peach has been a playable character in the Super Mario video games since 1988’s Super Mario Bros. 2. Since then, the Princess has shown up in every title of the Mario Sports, Mario Kart, and Mario Party games. She is also part of multiple platforming titles, and in 2005, she even got her first (and until now only) solo adventure in Super Princess Peach. Yet, even Super Princess Peach doesn’t do much to give the Princess a unique gaming identity, as the title is a platformer in which roles are inverted, and Peach must save Mario from Bowser. The game’s structure is the same as Super Mario Bros. titles, not something Peach can claim as her own.

This short history lesson helps to put into perspective how fresh Princess Peach: Showtime! feels. This is the first time in four decades that Peach has been granted the opportunity to star in a video game that doesn’t follow the rules of the overall Super Mario franchise. Instead, Princess Peach: Showtime! has its own villains, NPCs, and gameplay loop. More importantly, in giving Peach her own voice, Nintendo drew inspiration from another iconic brand, turning Princess Peach: Showtime! into the best Barbie game you could hope for.

How Princess Peach: Showtime! echoes Barbie’s dress-up game

One of the best things children can do with their Barbies is change their clothes and imagine all sorts of adventures. Some people try to reduce Barbie to her role as a fashion model, capable of showing up in fancy dresses or sports clothing. However, entire lines of dolls are dedicated to professions and even mystical creatures. Barbie can truly be “anything,” from an airplane pilot to a fairy in the woods. While the doll has its fair share of controversy and contradictions – as Greta Gerwig’s fabulous Barbie movie shows, Mattel’s most famous doll still has the potential to unleash children’s imagination and teach them to dream big.

Princess Peach: Showtime! has a similar energy to Barbie. The game is set in the magical Sparkle Theater, where hope and joy are vital energies to craft the world’s best plays. Unfortunately, the theater is taken hostage by Madame Grape and her Sour Bunch, who personify fear and distress and want to turn the plays into tragedies. Madame Grape’s first villainous act is to kidnap the Sparklas, the leading stars of each play. So, it’s up to Princess Peach to dress up to the parts and fix the plays by taking the place of the missing Sparklas.

The simple concept of Princess Peach: Showtime! turns into an incredibly varied gameplay loop. As a Mermaid, Peach braves the depths of the oceans, using her singing abilities to charm fish and people alike. The Princess can also play a Dashing Thief, breaking into villains’ fortresses with a mix of grappling-hook acrobatics and hacking skills. 

Kung Fu Master, Patissiere, Ninja, Figure Skater… Princess Peach: Showtime! is not afraid to create entire levels based on activities often seen as feminine, just to give Peach superpowers in the next chapter of her adventure. That’s the beauty of Princess Peach: Showtime!, which, inspired by Barbie’s dress-up game, allows you to transform into a variety of characters that all have their story to tell, be it by punching baddies in the face or decorating cakes for a sweets festival. Also, just as a side note, Peach’s transformation in Princess Peach: Showtime! being inspired by Sailor Moon only makes the game more delicious.

Instead of forcing Princess Peach to fit into the platforming world of Mario once again, Princess Peach: Showtime! dares to experiment with many unique ideas. Each costume Peach wears plays differently, showing that the Princess can be anything she wants. In doing that, Nintendo finally moves towards letting Peach shine on her own.

In the process, the Big N also gave us the best Barbie game ever, where we can play dress-up and let our imagination run wild.