Super Princess Peach

[1CCOSA]

Thanks for the impressions, importers. I feel better about it now.

Anyways, YI is a much more rewarding game than Yoshi's Story ever was. As long as Peach has more in common with YI then I will be happy, health recharge or no.

And Finch, when you get sarcastic I go " " That Mario is Missing/PDA spout off was....interesting.

[Salsashark]

Automatic dashing is a good thing as it was in Yoshi's Island. Holding down a button to run is more awkward; it's just that everyone's used to it from the old Marios.

That's what I was thinking too. How many times do you ever need to just walk in a Mario game? Seems like kind of a dumb thing to complain about. And on the topic of Peach running, I watched a couple gameplay videos and am happy to see she is nicely animated. It's weird but I can't even play games that are horribly/non-animated anymore. Like Circle of the Moon for instance.

And Finch, I probably will get both but this month I've got 30 bucks. It's like a math problem only not really.

[SpoDaddy]

The guy that wrote that IGN piece sounds retarded. I don't know if he said "This is made for girls" enough times, I'm not sure he realizes this is a kiddy game! He must be gay.

[Cheebs]

don't listen to IGN.

Thank you for that bit of news. I, for one, choose to believe it.

[1CCOSA]

Hmm, I actually thought YI was the toughest game of the series (except for SMB2J), especially if you're trying to get 100% on each level

And that is one of the many reasons Yoshi's Story (while fun) was such a bust. The level design was so bland, there was nothing extra to do beyond sniffing for the extra melons. And that didn't even earn you anything cool, not a thing unless you wanted to spend many hours finding them all just to get a black (?) Yoshi in the ending screen.

Getting 100% in YI to earn the extra challenge stages was very rewarding. That reminds me, I need to buy YI GBA one of these days 'cuz I heard it has even more extra levels to unlock than the original.

Glad to hear SPP has additional stages to explore.

[Finch]

And Finch, when you get sarcastic I go " " That Mario is Missing/PDA spout off was....interesting.

It wasn't sarcasm, it was pure inspired (noun). Sorry if you took it that way. ;D

[Kbu Chan]

That reminds me, I need to buy YI GBA one of these days 'cuz I heard it has even more extra levels to unlock than the original.

I believe it has six new levels.

[Razor Ramon]

unless you wanted to spend many hours finding them all just to get a black (?) Yoshi in the ending screen.

He kept the game gansta.

[SpoDaddy]

The IGN review is up, pretty dissapointing:

http://ds.ign.com/articles/691/691008p1.html

February 23, 2006 - When Super Princess Peach arrived in the IGN offices, the box it came in literally permeated the air with an overwhelmingly flowery, peach scent. Call it a clue to where Nintendo's targeting its new platformer. Though the final, released game won't be covered in perfume, it should be clear to you just by the title what you're getting into: a Mario-style game that's more likely than not aimed at a more feminine, and less hardcore, girl audience. Even with this aim, Nintendo still manages to produce a fine platformer with plenty of references to its classic Mushroom Kingdom franchise. Just keep in mind that it won't be nearly as challenging to complete.



Super Princess Peach definitely shows Nintendo's expertise in the platform genre. After all, the company built an empire with the Super Mario series and all that experience has clearly been put into Super Princess Peach, albeit in a slightly more sugared and simplified design. Control is unbelievably tight and responsive, with many of the same gameplay mechanics of Super Mario employed in Princess' adventure: stomping enemies, smashing blocks, and collecting coins are three key elements to Super Princess Peach's design. And many of the locations and enemies in this platformer are welcome nods to the Mario franchise.

Though the game follows the Mario formula of simply getting to the victory point, the actual challenge is to use her powers to find three lost Toad characters in each level. Princess Peach's unique theme is her parasol, which enables her to not just whack enemies over the head, but also to scoop up baddies off the ground and throw 'em up, down, left or right. This umbrella can also gulp down certain enemies, a technique that will fill up Peach's Vibe power - another key element in the overall gameplay. Vibe is Peach's emotional state and taking control over her four emotions is absolutely integral to getting through the game's challenges.

Hitting her "happiness," for example, will make her float with glee, sending her flying around in a whirlwind that will allow her to reach new heights as well as blow away certain enemies with a powerful gust. Princess can also hit a bout of flaming rage that will burn bridges, light torches, and ignite specific items blocking the path. When Princess cries, she bawls a river of tears that'll grow flowers and spin watermills. Since her Vibe power is limited, there is a level of balance and conservation needed to put these powers to use - no Vibe power, no emotions. So players will have to do a bit of back-and-forth in a level to build up her Vibe meter.

As solidly designed as this platformer is, it's hard to believe that this game was originally intended for the Nintendo DS. Oh, sure, there are dual-screen and touch-screen elements in play, including a batch of collectible mini-games and pre-boss challenges that require the use of the stylus. But the majority of the game's second screen functionality is relegated to simply giving players four more buttons to activate Peach's different vibe powers. If you think about it, this control could have easily been assigned to a shoulder button toggle instead. With this in mind, through most of the experience Super Princess Peach feels like it was a title originally created for the GBA but shelved and brought back from the dead for the Nintendo DS platform.

The graphics could be a give away that the game might not have been originally intended for the Nintendo DS: its style definitely keeps with the look and feel of classic Super Mario Bros. games, but Super Princess Peach lacks a bit of visual pizzazz that Nintendo's platform designs adopted when the teams got their hands around more powerful hardware. Classic Super Mario games looked simple because the hardware dictated it - Super Princess Peach looks simple because that was the design team's choice. The DS is certainly way more capable than what's going on here - while it's officially a DS product, it's just a little suspicious if the DS was the intended platform.

But that doesn't hurt the game's entertainment value. For a very traditional Mario-style platformer, Super Princess Peach is a quality product. It might not quite reach Nintendo's A game, but it definitely exceeds the expectations that people might have for a "girlie" product such as this.

What does affect the enjoyment, especially for gamers looking for a decent Nintendo challenge, is the main game's easy level of difficulty. Nintendo goes completely out of its way to spoon-feed the player, going so far as to nearly spell out the solution to every boss battle before the player enters the fight. Princess Peach can get hit multiple times without dying, and she even has the ability to heal herself with a Vibe emotion. On top of this, players can spend their coins to add more hit points to her power bar, making things even easier for the player. The game's puzzle elements aren't exactly mysterious or challenging, and even the "hidden" elements, like the lost Toads, puzzle pieces, and mini-games, aren't exactly in a mysterious spot -- the game alerts players when they've entered a room where one is scattered.

But the benefit of an easier Nintendo platformer is, ultimately, an easier way to get that fun, satisfying sense of accomplishment. Super Princess Peach's main game is a good length for a Nintendo action game on the go, with a bit more added to the mix by a smattering of mini-game challenges to purchase and unlock. None of these extras offer a whole lot of creative use of the Nintendo DS platform, but they do a decent job of beefing up the experience.


Closing Comments
There are two sides of the Super Princess Peach fence: on the one hand, you pretty much know what you're getting into with a game starring Nintendo's very, very female protagonist - a game most likely designed and marketed for the girl audience. On the other hand, it's a Nintendo developed platform game, and these generally have a level of expectation. It's an interesting balance, and ultimately Nintendo did a good job with Peach's first starring game. Even if it's a little too easy for the usual gaming crowd.


7.0 Presentation
It's a good and fun game design that downplays a lot of the DS creativity. It's biggest problem is that the meat of the game could have been done on GBA.

7.0 Graphics
The developers purposely held Princess Peach back into the old-school. Bright and colorful, but very conservative in processing.

8.0 Sound
The game definitely sounds like a Mario-style game with its soundtrack accomodating the action. The highpitched, gleeful princess voice may seem grating at first, but eventually it fits.

7.5 Gameplay
Nintendo's platformer experience shows through in this original design. The levels are fun but lack some of the more creative layouts of past Mario games. And this game is what we'd call "easy."

6.5 Lasting Appeal
Its difficulty level doesn't give this platformer a whole lot of lengthy challenge, but the purchasable mini-games extend the play a bit further.

7.8
Good OVERALL
(out of 10 / not an average)


Who's planning on picking this up still?

[sethsez]

I'm not really surprised. This has always struck me as something closer to Super Mario Land 2 than, say, Super Mario World.