After Bowser comes into possession of a magic wand capable of controlling people’s emotions, he once again storms the Mushroom Kingdom in yet another takeover attempt. Using the wand’s power, not only is Bowser able to take over the kingdom, but he also captures Mario, Luigi and “…some little short mushroom guy.” Upon returning from a walk in the woods, Peach resolves to travel to Bowser’s Castle to rescue the Mario Brothers. Once she arrives at the island, she discovers that the wand’s powers are causing emotions to run rampant on the island.
For the most part, Super Princess Peach is your standard 2D platformer and follows many of the same conventions that made past 2D Mario games so popular. Each of the game’s eight levels have their own theme and feature their own unique obstacles. The ice levels are slippery, fire levels have boiling pits of lava… the list goes on. Layouts are straightforward, though a few have hidden paths. These paths usually lead to collection items before wrapping back around to the main path. This helps to act as encouragement for players to search out secrets since you never feel like you’re being penalized for wanting to stray off the beaten path.
As sexist as it sounds, Super Princess Peach revolves around Peach’s wild, emotional mood-swings. Throughout each level, Peach has access to four different emotions, or Vibes – Joy, Rage, Gloom and Calm – granting her special abilities. Joy lets Peach float and turn wind mills. Gloom allows her to run faster, water plants (causing them to grow) and turn water wheels. Rage, which envelops Peach in fire, lets her burn through wooden areas. Vibes also have special level-specific uses, like using Joy to clear poison gas from a room or using tears to freeze a platform in a cold area.
Vibes don’t last forever and are managed by a vibe meter that slowly depletes as a power is used. There is rarely a time you are not using one vibe or another, which means you will constantly have to keep an eye on the meter as well as ways to refill it. Early on, this isn’t much of an issue, though it does require you to do a little backtracking in later levels. Boss fights also require use of a specific Vibe power, though the exact power is spelled out for you before the fight.
After completing the game, additional levels and items open up, nearly doubling the game’s playtime. The new stages are more challenging than the original ones, though the word “challenge” is a relative term since the game isn’t that challenging to begin with.
