'Fun times, with my emotions' your "dirty little secret" (I WONT TELL) 'stay back, I've got an umbrella!'
Mario is missing, this time Princess Peach'll have a turn kicking some butt. While Princess Peach most certainly borrows liberally from Mario games, this game plays quite differently from a certain plumber's outings. The meat of the gameplay remains true to a mario-style 2D platformer; with a few notable twists. First is how Peach does power-ups. Let's explain; Peach has both a life bar and a mana bar, the mana bar can be used for 4 different emotion-based spells. Now, I know you must be saying 'emotion-based spells' 'how the heck does that work' and 'my, that sounds rather lame'. The 4 spells or 'vibes' as they're called are Joy, Sadness, Rage, and Love. The Rage vibe turns peach into a fiery inferno, stomping on her enemies with far more force than normal. The Sadness vibe turns Peach into an emotional mess, causing her to a)run around hysterically at faster-than normal speed, with b)huge streams of tears running in large parabolas in either direction.
The Joy vibe engulfs Peach in a small-scale Tornado, letting her fly in the air in an elated state. The last vibe you'll use (and by far one of the reasons this game feels overpowered or easy) is the Love vibe. When Peach is on the outs, in a near-death experience with some spikey guys or flying turtles, activating the Love vibe conjures a green healing aura around Peach, active until she is at full health, or runs out of mana. The careful balance of using these 4 spells for both gameplay and puzzle solving is the heart of what makes Super Princess Peach stand out. For the most part these vibe puzzles are implemented well, are simple, and provide further justification for *not* including classic Mario power-ups. Combat is also a departure from the Mario games. Peach's dainty hooves lack the manly, mustaccio'ed kick of Mario's, so Peach must use another method to dispatch enemies. The vibes work nicely in certain situations where you need to kill a great lot of foes very quickly, but for your average goomba melee, Peach uses an umbrella with magical (perhaps daemonic?) powers. A simple slap in the face is enough for your average Koopa lackey, yet there are more advanced moves to unlock as you progress. Expect an umbrella-powered butt-stomp (a 'la Wario Land), a charged umbrella 'shot' (a 'la metroid/zelda), an 'umbrella-hover' kindof move (a 'la Yoshi's weird foot-grinding hover move), with a great slidetackle move to boot. In short, Peach's moveset is for the most part varied, and fitting for any given situation you're likely to encounter. This is one of the reasons Super Princess Peach makes for a solid platformer. Another key move you'll need to use is Peach's ability to spear/skewer enemies, and subsequently consume them using her daemonic umbrella to restore mana. While it's all 100% decidedly cute and kid-friendly, something about using an umbrella to squeeze mana out of unsuspecting goomba's, then theoretically dispose of their used husks strikes me as well, rather unsettling. Story sequences are sparse, and usually involve Peach's daemonic umbrella reliving his days as a simple country boy. Or something. As far as touch controls go, you'll have to tap the touch screen for each vibe, easily done with a thumb with one's stylus sheathed. Each stage also has a pretty easy touch-screen minigame; tap boulders/ghosts/ fireballs/etc. so they don't hit peach. There's also a pretty fun trampoline one, stretch to launch peach real high!
Submarine and strange 'zip-line' levels add further variety. The game pretty much excels from an A/V standpoint. No complaints, whatsoever. Music majors might want to play on mute. PRO'S
-Great looking, very bright and colorful graphics
-It's Peach! In her very first starring videogame role! You sir must have a heart ot stone to resist her wiles. -A pretty varied moveset, though you'll be hankering for 'classic' mario-style powerups. Peach's moves seem contrived, overpowered, and generally cheap. What mario game in recent memory LETS YOU HEAL YOURSELF. You heard right, Peach can heal herself. -Overall solid platforming action, lots of secrets throughout levels. -a good deal of extras, minigames, unlockables, a new game+ sort of mode with unlockable hidden levels, boss challenges. It's worth noting that you must find 3 toads in each level to finish the game. -daemonic umbrella powers (UMBRELLAS CAN ALSO STOP BULLETS DEAD IN THEIR TRACKS)(Do Not Attempt)
CON'S
-quite short, in comparison to super mario world.
-in a word... EASY. Expect to breeze through this game. Part of what makes a good Mario game great, is the overall variety and depth of challenge in the game. Peach, for veteran 2D platform players, simply is lacking in this. Expect to easily surmount any obstacles you will ever have with this game.
-overall feeling that, given some tweaking, this game could have easily been something very, very special. -Close, but no cigar. 7.5/10 'as if!'
'good vibrations' 'a solid classic style platformer with a twist, Peach proves that a girl can hold her own once in a while, should the Mushroom Kingdom be in peril....'
FINAL VERDICT:
if you absolutely must, are looking for a 'break', are a peach fan, by all means. All others; your far better off seeking out a copy of Wario Land 4 for GBA. Even still, quite, definitely solid. No real complaints, outside of the (lack) of difficulty.