Follow TV Tropes

Following

Video Game / Super Princess Peach

Go To

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/super_peach.png
Save the Princess? No, YOU are the Princess.

Super Princess Peach is a 2005 Nintendo DS Platform Game Spin-Off from the popular Super Mario Bros. franchise, developed with help from TOSE. Though Peach has had playable appearances dating back to Super Mario Bros. 2, this is the first game where she takes up the starring role.

In a reversal of the typical Mario formula, Bowser has gotten his revenge by kidnapping Mario and Luigi, taking them off to Vibe Island, and is wreaking havoc on the inhabitants' emotions with a wand called the Vibe Scepter. Determined to rescue them, Peach sets off on a journey with the help of a magical talking parasol named Perry. Due to the influence of the Vibe Scepter, Peach also gains powers based on emotions (joy, anger, sadness, and calm) that will help her solve some of the puzzles along the way.

Despite the game's modest success, the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom wouldn't see another solo starring role for almost two decades, in 2024's Princess Peach: Showtime!.


Tropes found in Super Princess Peach:

  • Aborted Arc: There is abundant info about Perry's past in the game. Other than learning how an evil wizard transformed him into a parasol and kidnapped him from his Grandpa, to be later found by a traveler who took him to their shop, to be finally bought by Toadsworth, nothing else comes of it at all.
  • Action Girl: It's called Super Princess Peach for a reason, folks.
  • Adjective Noun Fred: The game's title is "Super Princess Peach".
  • Advancing Wall of Doom: Several levels feature a wall of Boos wearing blindfolds that move towards Peach. In some instances, the only way to outrun them is by using sadness-induced Super-Speed.
  • American Kirby Is Hardcore: The Japanese commercial for Super Princess Peach is a short and sweet montage that shows Princess Peach's emotion-based powers to a catchy song. The American one shows a group of princess soldiers going through boot camp while heavy military fanfare plays in the background, and the emotions are instead touted as being "elements" that must be mastered. Of course, the only one they actually show is the one that involves anger and fire. This game's western-region boxart is a downplayed example, in which the only part that differs from the Japanese cover (aside from the logo, and Peach's face taking up three-fourths of the box for some reason) is what's in the bubbles surrounding Peach. America and Europe get a bubble featuring Mario all tied up, staring angrily at Army Hammer Bro., the Hammer Bro. leader, while Japan gets four bubbles featuring each of Peach's emotion-based abilities.
  • Amnesiac Hero: Perry actually suffers from a double dose of this trope. Initially he has forgotten who he was before he was turned into a parasol but slowly regains his memories as the game progresses ... however, then he realizes he only knew who he was up to the point where he met an old man in the woods and started calling him grandpa, and doesn't remember who he was before that.
  • And I Must Scream: Perry during his backstory right after he's turned into a parasol. After he managed to wriggle free of the evil wizard, he spends days trying to scream for help to any passerby on the road, just barely getting the attention of a wandering merchant ... who then decides to try to sell Perry, instead.
  • Anti-Frustration Features: The game itself isn't overly difficult, but it still has little features that make it easy on the player:
    • If you clear a stage with all of its items collected, it the course marker will be marked with a star so you know you aren't missing anything.
    • Once you collect a special item or rescue a Toad, it stays collected even if you die. Since stages have no checkpoints and death sends you back to the world map, this eliminates needless backtracking.
    • When entering certain rooms, Peach will alert you on the bottom screen that there is something important to collect in that particular room.
    • After clearing boss stages, when you revisit them, you don't have to replay the minigame and can just skip straight to the boss if you so choose.
    • Choosing "Quit" on the Pause Screen temporarily suspends your game, so you take a break and can start right back at the exact place you left your game at.
    • If Peach extended her health with Tough Coffee, she starts each boss stage at full health with the extra hearts filled in automatically.
  • Artifact of Doom: The Vibe Scepter, unknown origin but it has enough power to easily overthrow the entire Mushroom Kingdom including the Mario Bros. with one wave, as well as the ability to turn even the most pathetic Mooks into Elite Mooks.
  • Ass Kicks You: Peach's version of the downhill slide technique that originated in Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World has her sliding down rear-first.
  • Bad Boss: Bowser has shades of this when he uses the Vibe Scepter to affect his own minions to make Elite Mooks. Sure, forcing his minions to experience uncontrollable joy isn't so bad, but what about the ones who get afflicted by extreme sadness, and are forced to run around at top speed with Ocular Gushers? Or what about those who are forced to endure Unstoppable Rage?
  • Badass in Distress: Mario and Luigi get captured by Bowser at the start of the game. However, this isn't Mario's first time with this trope.
  • Bait-and-Switch: Most of the boss battles are set up like this. When Peach enters the boss room, she joyfully finds her prize waiting out in the open, only to approach it and suddenly get ambushed by the boss who steals the prize, forcing Peach to fight for it.
  • Bat Out of Hell: The Fangs from Yoshi's Island appear here. They just fly around lazily, while the Glad Fangs move quicker and dive at Peach when they see her.
  • Beat Them at Their Own Game: Bowser uses the Vibe Scepter to power himself up with Vibe powers during the final battle with Peach.
  • Berserk Button: For obvious reasons, Perry hates magicians, and gets upset when he finds out the boss of one stage is Kamek. A giant version of Kamek, no less.
  • Betting Mini-Game: Awaiting Peach at the end of every stage is a little roulette as the level goal. The item she gets determines what amount of coins she gets:
    • Turnip: 1 coin.
    • Mushroom: 10 coins.
    • Flower: 30 coins.
    • Star: 50 coins. On the seventh time obtaining the Star seven times consecutively, the Star will turn into a literal Peach, giving the princess 777 coins.
  • Big "NO!": Peach utters this upon dying, similarly to Mario's catchphrase "Mamma mia!"
  • Big Boo's Haunt: Shriek Mansion is a very large ghost house that takes up an entire world. Boos and the like are the usual enemy residents here, but for the first time they are joined by Dry Bones. Fangs also make their appearance here.
  • Big Storm Episode: Some areas in Giddy Sky take Peach inside active storm clouds. You can even see the lightning strikes in the background.
  • Blackout Basement: There is no individual level like this, but a few areas within Shriek Mansion and Bowser's Villa have this gimmick. Peach has only a little area of light to herself while everything around her is pitch black. She can traverse the area fine, but of course there are sneaky enemies lurking around in the darkness, forcing her to be cautious. Peach can use the Rage Vibe to give herself some more light to see, but that (literally) burns up her Vibe meter.
  • Blow You Away: Activated when Peach becomes all perky, surrounding her in a tornado and giving her floaty flight.
  • Bombardier Mook: Lakitus fly around, just out of reach and throw bombs at Peach, while The Amazing Flying Hammer Brother throws hammers from a flying platform. Both enemies can be beaten and have their rides hijacked for Peach's own use.
  • Boss Arena Urgency: The Giant Wiggler boss will release a poisonous gas in the room after taking a few hits. Peach has to defeat it quickly before the gas starts to kill her.
  • Boss Rush: Peach has to fight the Army Hammer Bro, then Bowser in both of his forms back-to-back-to-back. With no breaks between them, and dying forces you to start at the beginning of the sequence. Thankfully, you're healed between battles.
  • Bragging Rights Reward: Endless Vibe, the most powerful ability in the game, allows you to use vibes at will without ever draining your vibe meter. The only problem? You don't get it until you've achieved 100% Completion — in other words, after you've already done everything there is to do in the game.
  • Breaking the Fourth Wall: After Bowser gets the Vibe Scepter at the beginning of the game, he notices that his cohort left the doors open, and tells the player to close them using the touch screen!
  • Bubble Gun: During the Subrella sections, blowing into the microphone makes Perry blow bubbles at enemies.
  • The Bus Came Back: Super Princess Peach is notable for bringing back several obscure foes from Mario's past, like Spikes, Nipper Plants, Ptooies, Amazing Flying Hammer Bros, Volcano Lotuses, Fishing Boos, Torpedo Teds, Fangs, and Ravens. And if they weren't cut in the beta stages, the Koopalings were going to make a comeback in this game as well.
  • Bridal Carry: Believe it or not, after Peach rescues Mario, he does one with Peach, with him taking out flowers out of his hat while Peach blows some kisses and hearts.
  • Busman's Holiday: Exaggerated. Peach leaves her castle for a little stroll, only for Bowser's minions to break in and wreck everything with the Vibe Scepter.
  • Butt-Monkey: Luigi, even more than usual. Bowser and Peach herself don't remember his name and call him the man in green. (She is rather happy to see him, though.) When Mario is saved, Luigi is with Peach and he too rushes to hug his brother... only for her to push him and knock him away, causing him to get dizzy after crashing onto the cage. Even the game text doesn't address him by name.
  • The Cameo: The Goonies from Yoshi's Island cameo in Level 5-6. Unfortunately the poor things are already dead in their skeletal forms.
  • Can't Move While Being Watched: The Boos as usual, but this game throws a twist on their behavior with the Mad Boo. Mad Boos do nothing when Peach looks away from them, but attack when she looks at them.
  • Collision Damage: To the point where even a sleeping, immobile enemy hurts on contact. Very uncouth. Bumping into enemies causes Peach to lose a half-heart.
  • Combat Tentacles: Gooper Blooper, the boss of Wavy Beach, naturally attacks Peach with its tentacles.
  • Company Cross References: Starfy appears as an enemy in this game, under the name "Starfish"; both games had TOSE involved in their development. The game overall in fact has many elements borrowed from the Starfy games, such as extras during a second playthrough, active menu screens, health bars, an enemy glossary, and other general gameplay similarities.
  • Continuing is Painful: Die at any point of the final Boss Rush and you to fight them all right at the beginning. Keep that Calm Vibe handy.
  • Continuity Nod:
    • There are quite a few little nods to Princess Peach's first game as a playable character in Super Mario Bros. 2; Peach cannot defeat enemies with a simple Goomba Stomp, but she can pick them up, and throw them at other enemies. There is also the appearance of the Turnip in the end-of-level goal roulette, which rewards Peach with a single coin. There is the use of a Heart Meter like in said game (The SNES and GBA versions particularly), with collectable heart items to replenish it. The life meter even looks similar to the one from Mario 2 graphically (Red when full, blue when empty). Finally, one of the upgrades, Floatbrella, functions very similar to Peach's floating jump from said game.
    • Many subtle elements of the game are very reminiscent of their equivalents in Yoshi's Island — the inflating advice blocks, several of the graphic tiles, the action-freezing cut scenes (like waiting for a beanstalk to grow), and even the eerily similar appearance of the Koopa Troopas.
    • A few bosses from Super Mario Sunshine return, namely Petey Piranha and Gooper Blooper, who are the bosses of Ladida Plains and Wavy Beach respectively. Both are even fought similarly to their debut appearances, albeit with some alterations to account for gameplay differences and the limitations of a 2-dimensional playing field. King Boo also returns as the boss of Shriek Mansion.
    • At the very beginning of the game, Bowser sends in a Goomba who used to be a citizen of the Mushroom Kingdom because he wouldn't be noticed as one of Bowser's minions, which is a nod to the fact that good Goombas (as well as good Koopas and Boos) were featured in the Paper Mario series.
    • Peach only Took a Level in Badass here because she was given a magical Parasol of Pain by Toadsworth and having access to Vibe Power due to Bowser's Vibe Scepter going awry, otherwise she has difficulty performing the basic Mario Goomba Stomp, which does make sense since she's never been capable of putting up much of a fight against Bowser before. Of course, she proves to be more of match for Bowser and his minions without Vibe Powers or Perry in her next appearance as a playable character, so it's Peach's better experience showing through this time.
  • Critical Annoyance: Get down to one heart and the critical beeping starts. Peach also assumes an anguished expression on the bottom screen. The alarm may be the real source of the game's ease — it's so annoying that you'll immediately regenerate health just to stop it — Or Peach may look so distressed that you regenerate health so she'll feel better.
  • Darkest Hour: The Mushroom Kingdom is in total disarray and Mario and Luigi are put out of commission. It looks like Bowser has won, until Peach provides a last ray of hope by taking it upon herself to save the day.
  • A Day in the Limelight: After 20 years of sitting on the sidelines, waiting to be rescued, playing the girl, and witnessing Mario's other co-stars hit it big, Princess Peach finally gets her day to shine in her own game.
  • Deadly Gas: Some areas in Fury Volcano are enveloped in a thick smoke. Standing in the smoke hurts Peach gradually unless she uses the Joy Vibe to blow a certain amount of it away, though the smoke will slowly build up again. Also The Giant Wiggler boss envelops the room in a poisonous gas when it gets low on health, putting Peach on a timer to defeat it before the gas starts to kill her.
  • Death Is a Slap on the Wrist: The game has unlimited lives, though dying sends you back to the world map, and getting back to where you were can be an annoyance. You keep all the Toads and items you found before you died, however.
  • Death Throws: As is 2D Mario tradition, Peach and Perry fall off the screen when they run out of health. There are even different variations of the death animation depending on what Peach was doing at the time.
  • Dinosaurs Are Dragons: Blizzaurus, the boss of Gleam Glacier, is an ice-breathing dragon.
  • Distressed Dude: Mario and Luigi have been kidnapped! Are you a bad enough Princess to save them?
  • Does This Remind You of Anything?: There's the name of the MacGuffin, the "Vibe Scepter"... wonder what sort of batteries it uses?
  • The Dragon: Army Hammer Bro., the leader of the Hammer Bros. and the second-to-last boss.
  • Early-Bird Boss: Boss Piranha Plant/Petey Piranha is difficult by way of coming at a time when your health and upgrades are very low, has large hitboxes and his attacks are fairly fast, and the way to damage him is unintuitive if you haven't played Super Mario Sunshine. Once Peach gets health upgrades he becomes much more manageable.
  • Early-Bird Cameo: Mattel, who would properly debut one year later in Densetsu no Stafy 4, can be seen — for a single frame — on the towel of the rare Starfish enemy in Wavy Beach.
  • Easy Levels, Hard Bosses: Unusually for a game set in the Marioverse, the bosses are the only part of the game that present any real challenge.
  • Elemental Powers: Peach can use different powers based on her emotions due to the influence from the Vibe Scepter.
  • Elite Mooks: Of a sort. Due to everything on Vibe Island being emotionally unbalanced, you have superfast Goombas, charging Paratroopas, and Boos that approach when you look their way — in addition to the regular line-up of Mario series mooks.
  • Empathic Weapon: Perry the Parasol.
  • Enemy Summoner: Army Hammer Bro.
  • Escort Mission: In some of the boss levels, there is a minigame where you lose control of Peach and protect her from an onslaught of obstacles. Peach is a One-Hit-Point Wonder here, so you can't afford to let anything get to her. Otherwise, you can only hope the obstacles miss.
  • Expressive Health Bar: A downplayed example. When Peach is down to one heart, she assumes an anguished expression on the bottom screen.
  • Extreme Omnivore: Perry can swallow any enemy Peach can pick up whole. Doing so restores some vibe. Eating Elite Mooks tends to recharge more vibe, as the Elite Mooks in question having their own Vibe powering them.
  • Evil Gloating: Bowser once again cannot resist gloating about his latest victory, as he leaves a taunting letter challenging Peach and rest of the Toads to rescue Mario and Luigi. They do just that and then some.
  • The Fair Folk: Blizzaurus's true form is that of a cute fairy with ice powers who just so happens to be working for Bowser ... that, or she's just trying to kill Princess Peach For the Evulz.
  • Final-Exam Boss: Defeating Bowser requires using all your Vibes.
  • Flame Spewer Obstacle: Fury Volcano has red flame emitters that regularly spew flames.
  • Flanderization: Luigi's status as a character nobody respects is oddly turned up in this game in the few scenes he gets. Peach, Bowser and the game text itself don't remember his name, and Peach tosses him aside after rescuing him in contrast to everyone else who get rescued, who celebrate alongside her. Even in the ending, Peach proceeds to shove Luigi across the room as she runs towards Mario. Quite jarring given Peach's status as the Nice Girl who has always been one of the few characters besides Mario to give Luigi his due in every other game.
  • Forced Transformation: Perry used to be a boy before he was turned into a parasol.
  • Four-Temperament Ensemble: Peach's vibes; Joy (Sanguine), Rage (Choleric), Gloom (Melancholic), and Calm (Phlegmatic).
  • Free-Fall Fight: Hoo, the second boss, in his second phase, he destroys the platform Peach is standing on, sending the fight into a constant free fall to give him an advantage.
  • Funny Background Event: In the world maps of Wavy Beach and Gleam Glacier. In Wavy Beach, you can see a Chain Chomp surfing. While in Gleam Glacier, aside from the dancing Snowmen, you can see a Bob-Omb ice-skating in the background.
  • Game-Breaking Bug: A minor example. At the start of level 2-4, there is a vertical autoscrolling section where Peach has to climb up ladders. If she climbs up the second to last ladder, but doesn't move anywhere, the screen will leave her behind, but not far enough to where she'll be forced to start over again. Instead Peach will just stand on the ladder off the bottom of the screen. If you press down to climb down the ladder Peach is standing on however, she loses all of her hearts and dies instantly.
  • Gender Flip: In this spinoff, Peach is the heroine trying to save Mario from Bowser.
  • The Goomba: They're here and accounted for, but in this game they're more threatening than they usually are. There are vibe-infused Angry Goombas that can cause earthquakes by stomping, and Sad Goombas who run really fast. Even the normal basic Goombas try to lunge at Peach to try and attack her. They're still the simplest enemies to beat, though.
  • Goomba Stomp: Oddly enough for a Mario game, this is zig-zagged. Peach can hop on enemies (including Goombas) to disable them, but not kill them ... unless she's using her Anger Vibe Power.
  • Gotta Rescue Them All: There are 126 Toads (and one Green Guy) that Peach must find before she can finish the game. There's also plenty of optional things to collect, as well, including new moves, health and vibe upgrades, puzzle pieces, minigames, music, etc.
  • Green Hill Zone: Ladida Plains is a pristine and colorful flower-filled prairie and fittingly the first area of the game. Level design is very simple with simple enemies, and lot of teaching elements to get players used to Peach's controls and the mechanics of the game.
  • Grievous Harm with a Body: Perry is a living umbrella. Peach hits enemies with him. She can also toss Koopa shells and other enemies.
  • Ground Pound: The Poundbrella ability.
  • Guide Dang It!: You are supplied with a steady supply of Bob-ombs while fighting Bowser in his giant form. Experience with the series would dictate that you have to throw the Bob-ombs at Bowser's face to damage him, but the bombs will just pass through him if you try. It may take a bit for a player to realize you have to time your throws so that the Bob-ombs explode in front of Bowser's face.
  • Gusty Glade: Certain areas in Hoo's Wood, Gleam Glacier and Giddy Sky have a strong breeze that pushes Peach around. The wind in Hoo's Wood is a steady slow gust, Gleam Glacier's wind starts slow then gradually grows more powerful and intense, changing direction to the left and right each time, while Giddy Sky is a powerful force wind that Peach has to manipulate by hitting switches that change its direction. Naturally, the powerful wind may help or hinder Peach's movement, making it tricky to avoid obstacles and enemies.
  • Harmless Freezing: Getting struck by Blizzarus' Ice Breath turns Peach into an adorable icicle. You don't get hurt by it, but you have to move to break free, or Blizzarus will take care of that for you by slamming into you afterwards, which does hurt you.
  • Healing Boss: In the second phase of the Boss Fight against Bowser, once you've damaged him enough, he surrounds himself with a Calm bubble that proceeds to heal him. You need to break the bubble with one of your vibes to stop him.
  • Healing Factor: Activated when Peach becomes calm, surrounding her in a healing bubble that has the added bonus of allowing her to continue to perform any other non-Vibe ability. The bubble disappears the moment Peach takes damage, however.
  • Hearts Are Health: You start out with three, but the increments in terms of taking any kind of damage are done in halves, so right off the bat, you have six hit points instead of three. Big Hearts restore one full heart and small ones only half a heart.
  • Heart Container: You actually have to buy these in the Shop. Tough Coffee is the Heart Container item and increases Peach's Life Meter by half a heart each time you buy one.
  • Hero of Another Story: It's pretty obvious that Perry has his own story going on that's been put on the back burner so that he can help Princess Peach save Mario, complete with his own mysterious Big Bad that's only ever seen in silhouette during his flashbacks.
  • Hoist by His Own Petard: Bowser uses the power of the Vibe Scepter to cause all of Vibe Island to go haywire with emotions, leading to his minions getting power enhancements and effortlessly capturing Mario, Luigi, and Toad. Unfortunately for him, said power of the Vibe Scepter also enhances Peach's powers, leading to her being able to go toe-to-toe with his minions and eventually defeat Bowser.
  • Home-Run Hitter: After taking down his two phases in gameplay, Peach finishes Bowser with a mighty golf swing, turning the Koopa King into A Twinkle in the Sky.
  • Horns of Villainy: The Army Hammer Bro's design includes two small horns sticking out of his helmet, something other Hammer Bros do not have except in the Paper Mario series.
  • Hypercompetent Sidekick: Perry appears to be a lot more powerful than Peach, who can't even perform a successful Goomba Stomp. He can shapeshift into a boat, a hanging basket, a submarine (etc.), can fire a Kamehame Hadoken, and knows every boss's weakness before you even meet them ... of course, he's also just a parasol and can't move on his own, so there's that.
  • Idle Animation: Peach twirls Perry around and blinks twice while Perry smile. But leave them idle for a little longer and an animation plays where Peach tries to look up at Perry, where he closes himself on top of her. This is beneficial with the "Natural Power" item, where Peach's Vibe meter refills while idle.
  • Infinity +1 Sword: The Dashbrella ability obtained after defeating Bowser for the first time allows Peach to swing Perry while running. While that may not sound all that impressive, it can actually devastate enemies pretty quickly during New Game Plus.
  • Instant Expert: Despite having never been afflicted by the Vibe Scepter before, Peach somehow is able to perfectly control her mood swings between rage, joy, sorrow, and calm. This is particularly glaring since in the introduction it was shown the Vibe Scepter was only as effective as it was because its targets couldn't control their wild mood swings, unless Bowser wanted them to.
  • Invincible Minor Minion: Thwomps, Big Boos, and some underwater enemies like Urchins and Torpedo Teds (who are immune to your only attack underwater).
  • Just Think of the Potential!: Bowser realizes the Vibe Scepter has seriously powerful applications to his own army after a Goomba swings it around and accidentally causes all of Bowser's minions to become affected.
  • Jumped at the Call: In an establishing moment that Princess Peach Took a Level in Badass, when she finds the note from Bowser stating that he's kidnapped Mario and the Mushroom Kingdom citizens, Peach doesn't sit there and cry about it, she doesn't try to find someone else to save them, she immediately goes to confront Bowser and his forces herself.
  • Kamehame Hadoken: Peach gets a parasol-shaped one after she purchases Chargebrella from the shop.
  • Kicking Ass in All Her Finery: Peach wears the same pink dress ensemble she always does, not exactly a practical outfit to fight in.
  • Kung Fu-Proof Mook: There are several enemies in the game that are immune to certain techniques but vulnerable to others. Enemies who are immune to Perry, enemies who are immune to jumps, and other enemies who are immune to certain vibe powers. Since Peach is so versatile with Perry, she can find different ways to beat bad guys.
  • Lampshade Hanging:
    Peach (end of level): "That was easy!"
  • Late to the Tragedy: Princess Peach goes out for a little stroll long enough for Bowser's minions to enter her castle and wreak havoc with the Vibe Scepter. By the time Peach returns from her walk, everything has already fallen apart.
  • Law of Chromatic Superiority: Army Hammer Bro, the leader of all the others, is the only Hammer Bro with black armor.
  • Leaning on the Fourth Wall: During gameplay, Peach stands on the bottom DS screen and has different reactions to everything that goes on in the game, and will even alert the player on secret objects.
  • Lethal Lava Land: Fury Volcano fits this to a tee. Lots of fire-based obstacles like geysers, deadly smoke, and of course lava to brave.
  • Let's Get Dangerous!: Thanks to the Vibe Scepter, the Mushroom Kingdom was thrown into chaos, several Mushroom Kingdom citizens were kidnapped and to make matters worse, the kingdom heroes Mario and Luigi have been captured by Bowser. When things look bleakest, Peach shows some authority and storms out of the castle, and takes on Bowser's entire army with her umbrella to get the Bros. back.
  • Level in the Clouds: Giddy Sky consists chiefly of solid, smiling clouds interspersed with some balloon platforms, and is mostly inhabited by flying versions of common enemies, cloud-riding Lakitus, and parachuting Bob-ombs.
  • The Lost Woods: Hoo's Wood is a lush foresty jungle and the second world of the game. Naturally, it is home to Piranha Plants and its family members. Peach can scale the tall trees by jumping on the mushrooms. Hoo awaits her as the boss of the area.
  • Made of Iron: Surprisingly, Peach herself is quite durable in this game compared to most examples in the Mario series. While she can still die, from the onset she starts out with a large amount of Hit Points (Six, when most Mario titles allow two or three) and nothing is capable of killing her in one hit. She can take icicles, spikes, fire, and lava with only so much as a scratch, and if that weren't enough, Peach can patch herself up with the Calm Vibe if she's in trouble. The appropriately-named Tough Coffee from Toad's shop makes Peach even more tougher to take out.
  • Making a Splash: Activated when Peach gets all teary-eyed with the Gloom Vibe, giving her Ocular Gushers, and also grants her Super-Speed.
  • Mana Meter: The vibe meter.
  • Mecha-Mooks: On top of having the Bob-Ombs and Bullet Bills and their relatives Torpedo Ted and Banzai Bill in the game also introduces the Rockethand, a pair of mechanical claws that try to grab Peach.
  • Metal Slime: There's an easy-to-miss recurring enemy that shows up in several levels and exists largely to be difficult to defeat (and thus add to your glossary) before it escapes. Oddly enough, it's Starfy.
  • Mighty Glacier: Using the Rage Vibe makes Peach extra powerful. She can cause earthquakes by jumping, break through barriers by stomping, and envelops her in a huge flame aura that burns enemies and stops projectiles. She also moves considerably slower and delayed, and she can't jump very high while using it.
  • Money for Nothing: Once you've purchased all the upgrades, music, and whatnot, all those coins become useless.
  • Money Spider: The Courage Soda item causes every enemy defeated by Perry to become this, dropping gold coins. Amusingly, Perry says outright this soda was created by shopkeepers.
  • Mood-Swinger: One of the main features of the game is Peach's ability to attack enemies using her various emotions.
  • Morton's Fork: One secret level in Shriek Mansion has Peach placed in a room with a Big Boo and a Mad Big Boo. The Big Boo initially chases her, so it would be a good idea to turn and face it to make it stop, except now the Mad Big Boo has Peach in its sights and chases her instead, meaning she's hosed either way. The solution? Just run for it.
  • Monster Compendium: The "Glossary" where (almost) all of the games' enemies are listed. New entries are added when they are defeated (Or if the enemy is invincible, simply encountered).
  • New Game Plus: After beating Bowser, the player can choose the play the game again with all their power-ups retained along with a new power-up called Dashbrella. In addition, three new, harder levels are unlocked at the end of the first stage, and by refighting the bosses Peach can unlock three additional, harder levels in the next stage.
  • Nobody Here but Us Statues: A few rooms in world 8 have a giant Thwomp in the background who will eat Peach and send her to the start of the room if he catches her. Fortunately, there are several statues that resemble actions Peach can do, such as gliding or crouching, and if she mimics these statues, the Thwomp will be none the wiser.
  • No Hero Discount: A pretty glaring case, since not only is Princess Peach saving the Mushroom Kingdom in Mario's absence and it's a Toad who's the shopkeeper, but she's, well, the Princess! Then again, knowing how honest and goodhearted Peach is, maybe she insisted the shopkeeper charge her fairly for his wares?
  • Non-Lethal Bottomless Pits: Falling down a Bottomless Pit causes Peach to respawn in the same room with half a heart missing.
  • No-Sell: Peach is completely unaffected by the effects of the Vibe Scepter. Not only is Peach unaffected by the vibes, she turns them around and makes them powers of her own, and can freely control them at her beck and call. Which is pretty amazing considering the Vibe Scepter was so effective because its victims could not control their mood swings, unless Bowser willed them to.
  • Notice This: When Peach enters certain rooms, she will alert the player on the bottom screen of a special collectable in the game.
  • Ocular Gushers: Peach in "Sadness" mode.
  • Ominous Owl: Hoo, the boss of Hoo's Woods.
  • One-Hit-Point Wonder: Not during the actual game, but during the special stylus challenges in the boss levels and some of the minigames. Get hit once and you'll have to start it all over again.
  • One of These Doors Is Not Like the Other: Peach has to explore a few of these segments in Shriek Mansion and Bowser's Villa. Peach is faced with a choice of three doors, and she has to enter the correct door to move forward. Picking the wrong door sends her back to the beginning of the segment.
  • Pain-Powered Leap: Landing in lava gives poor Peach this reaction.
  • Palmtree Panic: Wavy Beach is the fifth world on the adventure. A bright and sunny beach where Peach coasts on the water with Bowlbrella, rides the waves, and explores underwater with the Subrella. She has to watch out for obstacles like Giant Chain Chomps and falling coconuts. Cheep Cheeps and Bloopers are the usual residents here. The boss of the world is Gooper Blooper.
  • Parasol of Pain: Besides her Vibe Power, Peach's primary weapon is Perry the Parasol, which she can swing like a sword/club, use to grab, throw, and devour enemies, fire an energy projectile from, and transform into a variety of different objects like a parachute and submarine (and that's not even everything).
  • Parasol of Prettiness: Despite being a Parasol of Pain, Perry is a yolk-yellow umbrella with a baby blue frilly trim and big, happy smile with an overall cheery and heroic disposition.
  • Parasol Parachute: Once purchased, anyway. The Floatbrella ability costs 200 coins lets Peach float for a few seconds, similar to her signature ability in Super Mario Bros. 2.
  • Personal Space Invader: The Micro-Goombas make a return appearance. They are dropped by the Paragoombas and latch onto Peach to limit her jumps as well as speed up her fall. Peach can shake them off, but its even better to fry the buggers with the Rage Vibe, which gets rid of them instantly.
  • Plant Mooks: The famed Piranha Plants are here, akin to their Yoshi's Island versions that appear tiny then swell up into huge side when Peach gets close. The Glad versions are capable of spitting fire. This game also re-introduces the Nipper Plants and Ptooies. The Volcano Lotus also makes a reappearance after a long absense, and Pokeys appear in Wavy Beach.
  • Playing with Fire: Activated when Peach enters "Rage" mode, surrounding her in a large fiery aura that makes her invulnerable to most enemies and some projectiles, also comes with an earthquake stomp.
  • Pretty Princess Powerhouse: Princess Peach goes one-on-one (or two-on-one if you include Perry) with Bowser and wins, freeing Mario, Luigi, and her entire kidnapped kingdom. Not bad for being the one who's typically kidnapped herself.
  • Psychoactive Powers: The Vibes are the central gameplay mechanic of Super Princess Peach, which are abilities based on four emotions. In Joy, Peach creates a tornado and gets the ability to fly. In Rage, she gets surrounded by fire and gets a Shockwave Stomp. In Gloom, Peach gets Ocular Gushers that spray Swiss-Army Tears and lets her run extremely fast. And in Calm, Peach heals herself.
  • Production Foreshadowing: There are three random encounters with Starfy from The Legendary Starfy, a series from the same developers. In Wavy Beach, Starfy is sleeping over a mat that depicts Mattel from the then in development fourth Starfy game.
  • Projectile Platform: Some of the levels feature spears are that are fired out of holes and Peach has to ride them usually to a bonus prize or secret collectable. She can stand on the non-pointy end of the spears without being hurt.
  • Quicksand Sucks: Pits of sinking sand appears in Wavy Beach. Its considerably downplayed, because quicksand is harmless and sinking in it doesn't harm Peach in anyway aside from slowing her down. In fact, some hidden items are found at the bottom of certain sand pits.
  • Removable Shell: Stomping any (unwinged) Koopa ejects it out of its shell; the Koopa, clad only in boxers, doesn't seem to mind all that much but will gladly put it on upon re-encountering.
  • Repetitive Name: In the Japanese version, Hoo's name is Mōri. Mori means forest. Therefore, the Japanese name of Hoo's Wood is Mōri no Mori.
  • Royals Who Actually Do Something: Along with Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario RPG, Super Paper Mario, Super Mario 3D World, and Super Mario Run (after rescuing her) this is one of the games with Peach as a Action Heroine rather than a Damsel in Distress, and the most important one given that she's the only heroine.
  • Save the Princess: A famous inversion. You're the princess and you have to rescue the knight.
  • Sequel Hook:
    • Perry's backstory receives no resolution, and the evil wizard that transformed him into a parasol and kidnapped him is apparently still at large (and may still be looking for him), which could very well have been explored in a sequel.
    • Also, at the end of the game the Vibe Scepter was never recovered after the final fight with Bowser, and it could have resurfaced in a sequel as a way to allow Peach to use the Vibe Power mechanic again.
  • Sequence Breaking: Joy Vibe Power can allow Peach to fly. What is weird is that the developers obviously took the time to set up puzzles to be completed without it (hopping on a giant rubber ball, walking slowly across crumbling platforms) but it's way easier to just use Joy and fly over these obstacles. Granted, it may have been intentional to give players multiple options based on their skill using the Vibes, or taking into account if they ran out of their Vibe Meter. To give credence to the theory that the game designers did this on purpose, there are ghostly enemies whose only purpose is to weigh Peach down when she's flying with the Joy Vibe, and force the player to complete the challenge as the developers intended.
  • Ship Tease: In one of their most clear moments as Love Interests, after Peach rescues Mario, she enthusiastically calls for his name, dances and spins around with him a bit (after slapping Luigi out of the way), and Mario does a Bridal Carry with Peach, complete with him finishing taking out flowers out of his hat while Peach blows some kisses and hearts.
  • Shout-Out: The game references the first game in its sister franchise with the line "It's far too risky to go alone... I insist you take this with you..." as Toadsworth's more formal version of the famous "It's dangerous to go alone! Take this."
  • Slapstick: It's the very prim and demure Princess Peach on her own little adventure in the Marioverse, with all the little hijinks and dangers that come with it. Falling in lava in particular results in a Pain-Powered Leap.
  • Sleepy Enemy: Some enemies will be seen sleeping, but will wake up if Princess Peach gets too close. The best way to get past them without waking them up is by sneaking by them.
  • Slide Attack: One of Princess Peach's basic attacks, not to mention one of the only attacks she has that doesn't involve using Vibe Powers or her Parasol of Pain. She can also use this attack to get through narrow floor-level gaps.
  • Slippy-Slidey Ice World: Gleam Glacier is the sixth world on the adventure which is filled with slippery tiles and falling icicles. The snowy ground has its own physics and controls to account for as well. It even has a few areas where a strong gust blows that affect Peach's controls.
  • Snowy Sleigh Bells: Gleam Glacier's level themes are strongly evocative of the Christmas Season with lots of bass and bells in the song.
  • Spikes of Doom: They appear in Hoo's Wood, Shriek Mansion, Gleam Glacier, and Bowser's Villa. You don't even have to land on them. Just touching them damages you.
  • The Spiny: The Trope Namer is here, with a special vibe-infused Spiny that runs faster. Boos, Pokeys, Thwomps, and Spike Tops cannot be jumped on either.
  • Spin-Off: As mentioned above, this game borrows many visual elements from the Yoshi's Island series. It was probably meant as this for that series had it not become a Stillborn Franchise. Ironically, Yoshi himself never appears in the game at all.
  • Stalactite Spite: Rather spiteful Coconuts in Wavy Beach detach from their trees and drop on Peach when she walks under them. Ice stalactites also fall on Peach while in Gleam Glacier.
  • Stalker Shrine: In Bowser's Villa, Bowser has several rooms that are filled with Princess Peach statues. The real purpose of the statues is to tell the player which correct pose to take when the Giant Thwomp in the background opens his eyes. If Peach isn't mimicking the statues correctly when its eyes are open, it opens its mouth and sucks her in, forcing Peach to do the entire room sequence over again.
  • Steel Drums and Sunshine: Steel drums are used extensively in the games' soundtrack, fitting for its island adventure theme. As to be expected, Wavy Beach features this in its level themes.
  • Strapped to a Bomb: In some rooms in Bowser's Villa, there are a pair of mechanical claws that fly in from the sides of the screen trying to trap Peach. Get caught by the claws and Peach is left helpless while a bomb counter ticks down, and you have to shake free from the bomb before it explodes and damages her.
  • Super-Speed: The Gloom vibe when activated, lets Peach run very fast. Its helpful for evading the Advancing Wall of Doom of Boos in certain areas.
  • Swapped Roles: Princess Peach has always been the Damsel in Distress waiting for Mario or Luigi to save her. This time Mario and Luigi are the damsels and Peach must set out to save them.
  • Swiss-Army Tears: Peach's tears can make plants grow for her to climb, make her run faster, make water wheels go round and defeat the bad guys.
  • Sword of Plot Advancement: While it may not have been intended this way, the Floatbrella ability is this in practice. One of the trapped Toads (all of which you must find and free before being allowed to fight the Final Boss) in Bowser's Villa is at the end of a series of rooms where you must periodically imitate the pose of the statues in a room to avoid being sucked into the mouth of a giant background Thwomp and sent back to the start of the room. No points for guessing what the pose in question for one of the rooms is.
  • Tactical Suicide Boss:
    • During the final battle with Bowser, his only weakness are the Bob-ombs he himself summons as one of his attacks. Added bonus in that the Bob-ombs also give Peach a way to replenish her Vibe Meter.
    • All the other bosses do something similar, as most of them can only be defeated by using a Vibe Power, and one of their attacks either summons obstacles that contain Vibe Crystals, or they summon enemies that Perry can consume to restore Vibe.
  • Take Your Time: Peach does not have a time limit to complete stages. She's the princess and she makes her own time.
  • Tender Tears: Dying results in Peach quietly shedding tears on the bottom screen.
  • Tentacle Rope: Gooper Blooper can grab Peach and throw her into the air, where she gets damaged upon landing. It also has another attack where it grabs her and squeezes the life out of her until she breaks free, which is quite easy to do. They're not hard to avoid attacks, as they are easily telegraphed.
  • Throw the Mook at Them: Peach can scoop up enemies and other objects with Perry and carry them around and use them as a throwable weapon. Doing this is actually required to hit out-of-reach switches.
  • Title Scream: A downplayed example, Princess Peach reads the Nintendo logo when it appears at the start of the game.
  • Took a Level in Badass:
    • Peach, compared to her usual Damsel in Distress role in most Mario platformers.
    • The Goombas also deserve a mention, not only are there Elite Mooks that use sadness for Super-Speed or anger for an earthquake stomp, but even the basic Goombas will actually lunge towards Princess Peach to try and attack her.
  • Troll: The Giant Wiggler boss in Fury Volcano. At first it looks like Peach isn't going to subjected to another Bait-and-Switch as she finds the friendly-looking Wiggler holding the Toad Bubble and it seems to be willing to just hand it to her, but nope, the Wiggler tosses it away and the fight begins.
  • True Final Boss: You can't face off against Bowser until you rescue all 126 hidden Toads and Luigi.
  • Turns Red: Whack a boss enough times and they start pulling out the big guns, utilizing one of their own Vibe Powers, or in Blizzaurus' case, show her true form, an ice fairy. Bowser plays this more straight, using the Rage Vibe to become faster and more powerful.
  • Useless Useful Stealth: The game instructs players that when they come across a "Calm" enemy (always found sleeping) to walk (hold L/R while you move) so Peach doesn't wake them up and they attack. That's a good idea, except for one thing: Peach gets hurt anytime she touches an enemy regardless of what they're doing, so it's impossible to make use any practical use of this mechanic. You can't sneak past any sleeping enemy directly in your way. You have no choice but to wake up the enemy and fight or avoid them. Adding insult to injury (literally), getting hit wakes the sleeping enemies up anyway. About the best thing you can get out of this mechanic is the ability to sneak attack enemies before they attack you.
  • Variable Mix: Depending on Peach's mood, the background music will either raise or lower in pitch and tempo.
  • The Very Definitely Final Dungeon: Bowser's Villa. The eighth and final world of the game. A big storming castle on top of Vibe Island. By this point the game stops pulling its punches and starts throwing a wide variety of obstacles and enemies at you, on top of having a series of boss battles awaiting Peach at the end, including one with Bowser himself.
  • Voice Grunting: Peach does this plenty, with some full voice clips to go along with it.
  • Was Once a Man: Perry used to be a young boy that lived in a mountain with his Grandpa, until a fateful day an evil wizard transformed him into a parasol and kidnapped him, separating him from his Grandpa. Perry managed to escape, however, and was found by a traveler who took him to their shop, and was finally bought by Toadsworth.
  • Weaponized Offspring: Hoo the Owl throws its own eggs during its boss battle, which also hatch into baby owls to attack Peach.
  • What Happened to the Mouse?:
    • Princess Peach saves Luigi at the end of Stage 7 ... he's not seen again until the very end of the game, despite the fact his brother is still in danger and he theoretically has experience fighting Bowser. The obvious answer is that this is Peach's game which is why she's the only one who goes to Bowser's Villa, but still, an in-game reason would have been nice, too.
    • Perry's story is left unresolved; we never meet his "Grandpa" nor any of the villains shown in his flashbacks.
  • Wingding Eyes: Peach gets fire in her eyes when in "Anger" mode.
  • Wolfpack Boss: In the penultimate battle, Army Hammer Bro takes on Princess Peach with a gang of Hammer Brothers (That he himself summons).
  • Would Hit a Girl: This is the first time Bowser and Peach fight in platforming combat. The Koopa King pulls no punches on the princess, and treats Peach just as if it were Mario fighting him.
  • Your Little Dismissive Diminutive: Right before the final showdown, Bowser and Army Hammer Bro trash talk Princess Peach, with the Army Hammer Bro referring to her as a "brat" and Bowser mocking her courage.

Top

Fury Volcano

A lava area and the fourth world in the game.

How well does it match the trope?

4.83 (6 votes)

Example of:

Main / LethalLavaLand

Media sources:

Report