Princess Peach: Showtime! demo: first impressions

Princess Peach: Showtime! is only a short time away, debuting on the Nintendo Switch on March 22. Demos seem to be trendy lately: Mario vs. Donkey Kong had one ahead of release last month; so did Unicorn Overlord more recently. Now we’re privy to a small taste of what to expect with our favorite pink princess ahead of her latest solo outing.

The Princess Peach: Showtime! demo is decent in length, giving us the chance to experience two of Peach’s transformation powers: Swordfighter Peach and Patissiere Peach. The full game will boast ten such transformations, so the demo presents us with 20% of Peach’s powers. We’ll still have to rely on trailers to see how the likes of Mermaid Peach, Detective Peach, and Mighty Peach fare. For now, let’s break down the two transformations within the demo.

The demo begins at, well, the beginning. We travel with Peach and her loyal Toads to Sparkle theater for a night on the town. This sets the scene for the game’s plotline, which we’ve seen in previous trailers. While the Toads are acquiring tickets to tonight’s show, events are disrupted by the wicked witch known as Grape, along with her Sour Bunch of minions. 

Stella – the theater’s guardian – appeals to Peach for help, gifting the princess with a magical ribbon. From there, it’s into the first stage to test out Peach’s new spin attack! 

The first thing I love about this game is the way Peach’s spin attack is used not to necessarily defeat foes, but to make people happy. There are small Toad-like creatures who work at the theater, and these poor saps have lost motivation due to Grapes’ actions. Peach’s special ribbon seems to lift their spirits, transforming them into various roles required for the current stage. It’s similar to the way Peach will soon transform.

After this brief introduction, it’s time to transform for the first time! Peach stands in a special space to become Swordfighter Peach, wielding a pointy sword and looking quite dapper in her blue jacket and hat. And her swordplay? Simply incredible. The Three Musketeers have nothing on Peach, it seems.

The demo provides just one level of sword fighting, which serves as a tutorial of sorts. It’s a decent length, though, taking Peach through various areas including a boss fight. Peach’s sword makes short work of some nasty-looking vines that entangle the stages, but don’t get too close – I found myself accidentally touching them and losing a heart a few times.

There are plenty of enemies to conquer, and a number of items to collect. In fact, there are a series of silver star-like objects to collect to complete the level. Will these unlock further transformations or levels? We won’t know until we get our hands on the full version.

After brandishing your sword at the final tentacle-laden boss, it’s time to return to the foyer. Here we find a new stage has opened, this time introducing us to a sweets festival. Naturally, this gives Peach a chance to don a new outfit, transforming her into Patissiere Peach. I’ll admit, I found this to be the oddest of the transformations presented in the trailers. Now, after spending some time in Peach’s cute chef’s boots, I’m completely turned around on the whole subject.

In this level, your tasks include baking and decorating cakes. This is a very different format to the previous sword-fighting sections, giving Peach a chance to test her skills in a fresh way. And it’s actually tricky! The tasks are time-based, so you need to accomplish your baking duties in a timely fashion. Mixing bowls is part of it, but the real fun comes in cake decorating.

We saw Peach’s decorating abilities in an earlier trailer. She sits dangling on a rope from the rafters as she adds icing to giant cakes. Again, time is of the essence, and the goal is to match the picture behind the cake as closely as possible. It’s fast and furious, and a lot of fun.

One of the things I love about Showtime is the little things, like Peach’s abovementioned boots. When she’s idle, she does this adorable little dance, moving from shoe to shoe like a little elf. It’s hard to explain, but it seems so sweet, and I look forward to seeing what else Peach might do when in costume.

Nintendo also dropped a new trailer to coincide with the Princess Peach: Showtime! demo, which you can check out below.

Overall, I had a fun time with the Princess Peach: Showtime! demo. It’s safe to say that we’re super excited about Peach’s upcoming outing. Have you played the demo yet? Let us know if you enjoyed it as much as we did.