Super Princess Peach (Nintendo DS)

Super Princess Peach was released for the Nintendo DS in 2006. As a game obviously aimed at young girls, this is not something I played or would have had an interest in at the time. Having said that, as a platform game, it is more or less on par with similar games featuring Super Mario.

Super Princess Peach features eight worlds, each of which contains six levels and a boss battle. If you've played Super Mario Bros. games from the same era then much of the scenery and enemies will look at least vaguely familiar. There are, however, a few unique twists in terms of game play. Princess Peach has various "vibe" powers that are controlled by her emotions. The player can change her mood at any point. Each mood, of which there are four, comes with a different power and affects enemies differently. Each power is needed to solve certain puzzles or defeat certain enemies.

The plot of the game, not that it really matters, involves Vibe Island, a location near the Mushroom Kingdom. Bowser has built a castle there in his search for the rumored Vibe Scepter, a magical weapon that controls the emotions of others. Obviously, your goal is to stop him.

Generally speaking, this game got good reviews. However, it is clearly aimed at a younger audience because the one significant complaint is how easy the game is. You have unlimited continues so in effect you have infinite lives. It can also be quite hard to die. While those that like platform games can find plenty to like with this game, the lack of difficulty will certainly be off-putting or those wanting a real challenge.

If you do want to give this one a try, the only release I am aware of is for the Nintendo DS so you'll have to find an original cart or make do with emulation. There also aren't any sequels that I know of. However, there was one previous game that starred Peach as the main character. That was a Nelsonic Game Watch game titled Princess Toadstool's Castle Run.