Poll: What Review Score Would You Give 'Princess Peach: Showtime!'?

I think 8/10 is fair, though I remember Super Princess Peach with more fondness in spite of its more modest production values (and Showtime's more flashy presentation).

My only real annoyance with the game is that you're not often given the option to backtrack if you've missed a collectible, and given how lengthy the levels are... (relative to other platformers) rennnnrnngnngnghghhhhh..... it essentially forces you to replay the level (though you don't have to find all of the collectibles again, which alleviates the tedium a tad).

I've enjoyed my time with it so far, though I'm also a little disappointed that there wasn't a couch multiplayer option as I'm sure people would have appreciated the opportunity to join in as Daisy, Pauline, and Rosalina.

Personally, I think Peach could have benefited from a different genre/style of game entirely. The theatre motif was a good choice, but the game doesn't do much else to distinguish itself from Nintendo's many other platformers. A time-attack game involving Peach as a director or actress for a theatre company, perhaps?

I’d put it at 7.5/10. It has good moments, most of the costumes are okay, a few are really fun, and one in particular is very weak (you know the one). It’s a bit boring at points, and the gameplay is a bit monotonous, but it has a lot of charm and simple joy. It’s very much a “buy it on sale” game, but for Peach fans and younger gamers (especially young girls), it’s still good.

I did like the game quite a bit initially but I'd say midway into the game, things did start to get a bit repetitive. Plus with no backtracking in levels, I just gave up on collecting everything. It's not fun having to replay a level and watch ALL of the same cutscenes again with no skip option...

I've got the game installed but still haven't played it but I hope to get started this weekend, from the reviews and User opinions it sounds like a solid 8/10 which is more than what I expected so I'm quite looking forward to starting it.

I wish I could rate it. Was hoping to play the weekend gone. I ordered through Currys with the deal on here and yet to receive the game. Never doing that again with that company. Awful service

I've only played the demo, but if it's a good snapshot of the entire experience, I'd rank it pretty low, probably 2 or 2.5 Stars.

When you play a Mario game, you don't think "oh, they made this for kids". They started by making a really well-designed game, that just so happens to appeal to all age groups. For this one, I sadly felt it was underwhelming and definitely "for kids", which is really unfortunate. Even breezier experiences like Kirby have mass appeal, but I just didn't feel that way here. Maybe when my daughter is old enough to enjoy games like this I'll pick it up.

In the meantime, I'm playing Super Princess Peach this week on a pink DS, and having a lovely time! It's a great platformer, and I think they should keep producing titles with her as the starring character!

@Citrus_Architect

"When you play a Mario game, you don't think "oh, they made this for kids". They started by making a really well-designed game, that just so happens to appeal to all age groups. For this one, I sadly felt it was underwhelming and definitely "for kids", which is really unfortunate. "

this is my feeling exactly and I think it's offensive to offer this "for girls" while the "boys' game" is so much more legitimate.

more offensive still is all the gaslighting from other users who insist we "just dont like it because it's aimed at/starring a girl/lady."

It is a little bit, like Nintendo doing a movie game. I enjoyed it for what it is.

It's a solid 8 out of 10.
It doesn't quite feel like a $60 game, but it's very good for what it is. A solid double-A action romp, and it definitely soars on the back of its aesthetics and energy.

I, personally, am having a fun time with it. It's light, breezy, and a nice wind-down game.

It's a Good Feel game, which means it is a charming collectathon, with low difficulty and fun ideas and while there are some framerate hiccups the actual gameplay mechanics work correctly. Which means fun game. so I would say a 7 or 8. It sorta gives me the same feeling as wonderful 101 which was "wow they did that too?" Fun potluck game (as in everything in the soup). Or even some of the Goemon games.

Probably a 7. It's good, not great, lot of charm and I'm glad I played it but I think if someone decides to skip on it they're not like missing out on a classic or anything.

I have no clue what this thing's genre is. Most immediate instinct is somewhere between a beat-'em-up and a minigame collection. Doesn't help that "action adventure" is kind of so broad of a label as to be completely useless.

8 for me. My only issues were lag during loading and some cutscenes.

I'd give it a 7. Few of the costumes are pretty fun but some miss the mark, Game is full of that good feel charm and easy difficulty which is good for kids. Framerate issues can be jarring and backtracking for collectables is painfully slow so not a game I'd 100%. Overall mixed bag but I think it does Peach justice.

If Nintendo wants to license a Swordwoman Peach figure from F4F they can have some more money.

charm and presentation go a long way with me, so if say this were 7/10 and Big Breakaway 8/10, I'd rather go for this.

I'd give it a 6 or 7.
I enjoyed the 6 hours of gameplay to play through 30 levels and 5 bosses, although I didn't go back to collect any gems I missed.

I'd still class it as a platformer with some unique elements thrown in.

Already sold the game on as I don't keep them these days. I don't think it is worth £40 though. I've gotten a lot more enjoyment out of other 2D and 3D Mario games at the same price.

@-wc-
I don't mean to sound incendiary but I don't think I've ever seen ANYONE frame this game as a "just for girls" experience. How "legitimate" you feel it is as a product is very much up to you, and I've seen it recommended to female gamers more readily than OTHER titles on the Switch, but idk. I feel like getting offended about this being the "slop girls get" is really reductive and unfair :/

Being a guy who grew up with two gamer sisters I very much recognize that instinct to want better content for girls in the field, and you don't have to like this one game, I just don't know if I like this framing of it. Especially since girl gamers have so many amazing options on Switch from series that are popular with that demographic; Hades, Danganronpa, Persona 5, Kingdom Hearts(ish,) Pokémon Animal Crossing, etc.

Just my two cents tho

@Citrus_Architect To be fair that demo is particularly bad. There's a lot more interesting ideas in the full game.

7 is what it deserves...

@Zinba

yeah, can't say I've seen that framing either, more that it's another in the vein of modern Kirby and Yoshi games, which is a shame because, well, we already have 2 Nintendo series like that.
Hey ho, I'm liking the game.

I think the framing criticism is more apt for the first Princess Peach game from what I gather.

@Supervideoman22 I don't know why, but this really puts me off it. If getting the extra goal/optional 100 percent is not fun, but it is the life blood of extending the game's replayability, it makes me a bit unsure of buying.

I don't think it would be called an action-adventure game, since it doesn't have a lot of exploration like The Legend of Zelda. But since the game focuses on Peach using her transformation attack to interact with the stages environment and the level design feels linear, I would call it a action game, but more lighter on the action.

It was good. Probably better than I thought it was going to be, but my expectations weren't high. It falls into a lot of the same trappings as Crafted World--lots of artificial replay value to pad out what is a relatively short game. That said, I did enjoy it. The detective levels kind of sucked, if I'm being honest. The sci-fi ones were also kind of boring, imo. But I enjoyed all the others to varying degrees. The thief and ninja levels were really stellar, and the auto-run segments in those as well as the cowgirl ones felt like something straight out of Tropical Freeze with all the crazy visual pizzazz going on in the background.

It's not my favorite game ever from Nintendo; I would've much preferred Good Feel to have worked on a new Wario Land as it's just been so long. But, it's a good game for what it is. I wouldn't say it's "baby's-first-Mario-game" like a lot of us went in expecting; I felt constantly stimulated throughout the adventure, which is more than I can say for Kirby Star Allies, one of the most boring third-party Nintendo games I've ever played.

I also really like how Peach has her own antagonist now! I wouldn't say I love her design, as the Balan comparisons are obvious. But giving her an evil counterpart just like Mario has Bowser, Luigi has King Boo, DK had K. Rool, and Captain Toad has Wingo is great to see. I'm really happy Nintendo is embracing unique characree designs again.

This game feels innovative in terms of expanding the Mario universe with new races of creatures and portraying Peach in a way we've never seen her before, which is appreciative. But it's the furthest thing from original in terms of the core gameplay and art direction, unfortunately. Its a bit forgettable in the sea of other Nintendo games that embrace a crafted art style and take place on a stage. At its core, this is basically a 2.5D platformer with very simple combat elements.

I'd give the game maybe an 8/10. I'm not offended by this game's existence at all, but at the same time, I could have lived without it. Will be interesting to see whether this is a one-off thing like Super Princess Peach, or if it means we'll see Peach in more prominent roles in the future. For the time being? It's a good enough title to fill out the calendar and not a whole lot else.

5/10 this game is very very boring.

@LavaTwilight The Partner Showcase was our first direct of the year 💀

I plan to buy it for the next (long) weekend. I don’t mind if people deem it easy - Wonder was a pain for me to (almost) 100%. I enjoyed the demo very much.

I'm voting on behalf on my 9 year-old, she finds this game excellent.

As for the genre, it's certainly action/arcade, a sort of mini games collection. Maybe it does give kids the feeling of going on an adventure, even if it's structured in sort of platforming levels for many of them.

Honestly who can select 10? It’s an average game (5 or 6). My 7 year old daughter loves it… but how can it compare to Zelda, Mario, etc…( to the people that said 10/10).

@Morsel let me guess, you didn’t complete the final level? That was a beast. The invisibility portion tortured me.

@Zinba

i totally respect your opinion and perspective. My POV is similar, I grew up playing mario 3 and nintendo world cup with my two cousins who were both slightly older girls and like sisters to me, at least during the long summers.

I am speaking from experience in another thread, though. i was speaking on the fact that nintendo games used to be almost exclusively made to be "appropriate for kids" yet also challenging and thoughtfully designed enough for everyone, and now we get stuff that is expressly made for kids, and not challenging, which was a point that i was quoting from the review at the time.

The gaslighting came from other users who did insinuate that I and others with my perspective were being sexist in some way, and it just wasn't the case.

I feel that I have fallen for their gaslight now as ive adopted their "for girls" framing incidentally, but I do consider all games to be for all people who enjoy them ✌️ i hope you can understand.

@JRiegler You are right. And “Climb to the beat” was completed by a nice colleague.

A solid 6 easily. In fact, that is why I score it as such; Game is just straightforwardly easy. No options for extra challenge or anything like Kirby and Mario proper.

I mean, it is perfect for that young aspiring gamer to have an easy mellow game that is not tied to some hashed-up license. And it plays solidly to boot.

It's simply just too easy.

@-wc- I remember playing Super Mario 1 and 3 on SNES in winter in a quite cold room, and ice cold sweat flowing down on my body when fighting Bowser. I do not miss that kind of difficulty.

I'd say it's pretty similar to Luigi's mansion in that it's just like odd action adventure?

@-wc- Entirely fair and very valid

The movement in the sword section felt so good that it gave me very high hopes. Countering and everything. But then you realize you have so many hearts and most things are one hit kills.. the Slick movement is meaningless. I can close my eyes press forward and a and beat the whole level.

That's what made it a 6 for me. It made me wonder why they made it so easy for when there's so much polish and fun movesets... but nothing rewarding to do with them.

Maybe if we're lucky we'll get Daisy: Dread next.

I'd probably score it an 8. I enjoyed pretty much all of it except a couple of baking bits. I finished the story but haven't gone back to find the items I missed or the post-game stuff, but I plan to.
I think the sheer amount of variety and attempt to be fun makes up for the lower level of challenge.
Sometimes it's nice to have a simpler, laid back game instead of a crushing challenge or frantic adrenaline ride.

Usually what I want from a game is a solid story, challenging gameplay, or a magnificent world to explore. Not big on cozy or cute unless the story is especially intriguing (like Night in the Woods or Spiritfarer). So it seems like this one isn't for me. That said, it sounds like it's generally really enjoyable so I'm happy this is there for those that want it!

@Morsel

i guess im just a glutton for pain 😅

i did consequently become very good at videogames as a kid, and would spend years in some cases trying to beat them, if they were good enough. I guess you could say i miss that kind of difficulty, but OTOH I'm not at all into "hardcore" new games that are just unfair on purpose, for no reason. 🫤

"Nintendo tough" hit a sweet spot back then that seems a bit elusive, now. 👍

I’d say this is a quality title but it’s just not going to click for everyone. On a face value level, it’s a series of very basic levels, but the game comes together for me as a package. It has a lot of charm which sells it for me, but I can also see it not working for others.

Good game, really enjoying it.

For me, it's a 7/10 so far. Not great, but still fun and charming.

@FishyS I played it on the OLED and it still had the lag and drops. Thankfully nothing game breaking, just surprised at quality.

Honestly, I haven’t played the game enough to know whether or not I like it. I’ve heard some people give it glowing reviews, and I’ve heard others say it’s terrible; or worse, boring.

All I know is that I want more games starring Princess Peach as the playable protagonist. I can count on one hand how many games she has had such a role (not including the Mario Kart, Mario Party, or Mario Sports games).

2, I couldnt stop yawning throughout the demo. Id give it a 1 but I like pastry peach's design. couldnt imagine paying 60 bucks for this.

I've only played the demo. It was fun. So based on that, I'd give it a 7/10.

A lot of people, including Nintendo Life, seems to have forgotten what an action adventure game is. It is a genre that has existed for a long time. It is a fusion of adventure (text adventures, point and click) and action games.

Like true adventure games they focus on puzzle-solving and exploration, but also gives a weighty focus to mechanics from action games.

The first one was called Adventure and was for the Atari 2600. The Legend of Zelda is another one. Both Metroid and Symphony of the Night are action adventure games. These last two are often called metroidvanias these days, and that is a subgenre of action adventure games.

Action adventures typically have an overhead view or a sidescrolling view, but action adventures in 3D also exist. Defining hat action adventures means for more modern games have become difficult. Especially because the label have been thrown around a lot by marketing people and journalists on games which aren’t action adventures at all.

But it is a real genre with its own history. People often mix together action adventures and action RPGs, which is understandable, since those two genres shares many mechanics and became very influential upon each other in the 8 and 16-bit days. But basically, if a game with action elements has RPG elements like stats, xp and levels, it is an action RPG. If it hasn’t but has puzzle solving, exploration and action elements, then it is an action adventure. At least in 2D space. Sorting out the genres for 3D games is a thornier undertaking.

I guess 7,5 is the right score for this game. Not a bad one, but nothing outstanding. Perhaps this is the beginning of a new series that will get better and better.

@BASEDSAKRI from what I hear, the actual game is significantly better than the demo.

7.5/10 for me.

It doesn't peak to the likes of Good-Feel's other Nintendo-labelled greats like Yoshi's Woolly World and Kirby's Epic Yarn, and it definitely doesn't hold a candle to Super Princess Peach on Nintendo DS...but Princess Peach: Showtime! is still a fun and enjoyable ride for me regardless, and while I'm not usually a fan of these clashing mechanics in my games, this game somehow manages to make those similar mechanics that I somewhat despise fun and consistently enjoyable for me; I even enjoyed the Detective Peach stages for what they were, despite being my least favorite transformation in the game.

I give it a 7. A fun charming game.

5/10. Remove Peach as a character and the game falls apart on its own. Compared to Captain Toad or Luigi's Mansion and the impact those had on the characters it is a major step-down. It is also too short with no replay-ability.

I think Nintendo need to be held to higher standards even for B tier games like this. Especially for the price they are charging.

The demo was a solid 3. It definitively sold me on not entertaining a future purchase.

It's honestly "just ok", very very inoffensive and plays a lot like recent Kirby and Yoshi games, not surprising considering they are made by the same developers. There are a few challenges like getting all the sparkles but nothing really to keep your attention, Peach along with the rest of Nintendo's female characters who aren't named Samus deserve their moment in the spotlight

10/10 - The smile my 9-year-old daughter had when she first saw it and then the first time playing it and her absolute love for Peach and this game may have swayed my opinion…

"A high 7" , if that makes sense. But still a 7.

@Kienda yeah for me it’s probably 7 or 8, but watching my 3 daughters play and the joy on their faces it’s impossible not to give a 10

I feel like puzzle platformer could be a genre that fits? the costumes give different abilities and collecting the star glitter things are kind of a puzzle? Action platformer works too. I rated it 7/10 because its pretty good, but its not "can't put it down" type of game like Splatoon. It will be entertaining on the go or on roadtrips though. And I love Princess Peach (can you tell? LOL) so it gets extra points from that bias as well.
edit: But I seriously dislike the box art. Why did they give her the American Kirby treatment? :,(

7/10 - a good game but not a must-have

Based on the demo I'd give it a 6/10. Full of sound and fury, ultimately signifying nothing.

That said, I'm grateful that Nintendo was considerate enough to put out a demo, making my decision to avoid it certain. I hope that in future, games like these don't teach too many Nintendo fans to settle for too little, just like what's been happening with many open-world games.

I'm feeling a 6 or 7
I realize I'm not in the "intended audience" for the game because it's not really gripping me. Having to replay an entire play to get sparkles you've missed is deterring me from replaying stages, and I'm not feeling as motivated to keep going. I may finish it in the next week or two if I get time, but between FF7 Rebirth and Balatro taking up most of my time, Peach isn't really in the spotlight for me.

If I had to classify this as a genre, a few ideas:

Variety Sampler Genre
Showcase Anthology Genre

Like the variety shows of old or even SNL skits as a more recent example, I'd say that fits what this game offers. as for my second suggestion, pretty sure showcase is self explanatory and the definition of anthology is a collection of works. It is what is is ultimately. A game to enjoy.

Based on this specific scale, I'd give it a 5/10. It's average. Though I don't personally consider a 5/10 to be average. That's below average. 7/10 is average in my opinion.