Super Princess Peach

So, Super Princess Peach(Japanese page, thanks to igosplashman there) looks like just what the doctor ordered for some oldschool Mario platforming, and a pretty good holdover until New Super Mario Bros. hits.

Hell, “holdover” may be an insult; it looks like the game can hold its own as well as any other Mario-related title.

Graphically, it reminds me of Yoshi’s Island, but with less crayon effect.

Peach has a nice redesign, somewhere between maybe a 2-D representation of her Smash Bros. form. It looks good, though, and as I’m sure rorita is happy about, seems to be entirely oldschool-styled Mario art, unlike Mario vs. Donkey Kong, which I’m sorry to say lost my interest a chunk of the way through. It just didn’t compare so well to the classic Super Game Boy Donkey Kong in the end, mainly due to level design, I think. Later on, it starts to remind me of Mega Man X6, in that it’s probably more enjoyable if you know EXACTLY what to do.

But anyway, back to Peach. I’ve got mixed feelings on Perry the Parasol.

On the one hand, it gives Peach some badass moves. Check out the vids in the link to see what I mean.

On the other hand… it’s a fucking parasol. And not only that, the game strangely enough takes away Peach’s trademark float… so that the parasol can allow her to essentially do the same thing.

Just seems wrong somehow.

I dunno, something about Perry just doesn’t set right with me. Funny that this would be my biggest complaint so far. The use of the umbrella in Smash Bros. Melee didn’t even bug me. Maybe it just pushes the “girly” quotient a tad too far for me here? Which is funny, given my tolerance of all the rest. Anyway, I’ll get over it.

Sadly, Peach seems to remain the airhead she became after the N64 era(give or take), going by the voice on the website above. Maybe she’ll at least get some dialogue to alleviate that perception. I miss Peach/Toadstool from the Super Show-World toons. Even in Mario 64, she seemed to command some level of respect, however little that may have been depending on who you are. Lately, it’s just felt like her head is what allowed her to float in the first place.

Hey, maybe this is a positive thing. Maybe her inability to float is somehow related to an increase in brain-mass.

Or, she just forgot how. D’oh.

The story for the game seems to be surprisingly unoffensive, at least in how I’ve read it.

Most people have decried the story and gameplay as making Peach seem overly emotional, and that it’s sexist stereotyping that has her running around, alternating from flooding enemies with her tears to burning them with her anger.

What I’ve read of the story seemingly has Bowser getting this wand, called the Vibe Wand, from some far-off land that can apparently control emotions. Unfortunately, Bowser’s been a bit of a klutz lately… I guess ever since being Giga Bowser wore off, he’s become inept. In any case, this leads to some sort of misuse of the wand that basically affects the entire Mushroom Kingdom, and everyone seems to suffer some sort of emotional breakdown as a result of the wand. The way I read it, it sounds like this included the Koopas, but I’m not sure, as this whole mess enables the Turtle Tribe(oldschool reference for the win, yo) to snag Mario, Luigi, and Toad and take the whole lot captive. And perhaps a number of other Mushroom Retainers as well.

As it happens, Peach was away during the attack. Spitting on Wart’s grave, having an affair with Daisy, I’ve not seen any specifics, so imagine what you will. She returns to the chaos and is unaffected as a result, and it’s supposed to be her control over her emotions, or “vibes,”(as a result of the place to which Bowser has taken the crew) that allows her to do her stunts as she goes off to rescue her friends/ambiguous lovers on Vibe Island.

In a way, I’d think it’s sort of complimentary to females that the star here is able to overcome adversity because she’s got that sort of control. Seems like a common Japanese perception, if what I hear is true and the reason that Pan from Dragon Ball GT never goes Super Saiyan is because she’s got more control than the rage-roaring males of the Saiyan species. That’s one way I’ve heard it, anyway.

So long story short, Mario & Co. = emo, Peach = cool & controlled.

Feb. 27th is the release date for this one according to Nintendo, and I cannot wait.

LBD “Nytetrayn”

David Oxford

David Oxford, or “LBD ‘Nytetrayn’,” as he is sometimes also known, is a freelance writer of many varied interests who resides in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. If you’re interested in hiring him, please drop him a line at david.oxford (at) nyteworks.net.

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