Game: Super Princess Peach
Genre: Platformer
Developer: Tose
Publisher: Nintendo
System: Nintendo DS
Release date: 2005
It doesn't happen often, but every once in while I ignore the bad buzz surrounding a game and buy it anyway--simply because there's something about said game that makes me believe (hope) that it has to be better than everybody says it is. As I'm sure you can imagine, sometimes that works out well and sometimes it doesn't. Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light is a good example of the former, while this game, released in Japan in 2005 and elsewhere in 2006, is a good example of the latter. That's too bad, because Super Princess Peach could have been a worthy addition to the ever-growing, Nintendo-dominated list of "world's best platformers." It certainly looks like it belongs on that list, at least to an extent. Yes, its graphics have that generic sheen typical of developer Tose, but they're also colorful and well drawn. It also controls well and features quite a few interesting and unique gameplay quirks--the most noteworthy being that Peach can use her chatty parasol to protect herself and to dispatch foes in a plethora of ways--that separate it from the platformer pack. Unfortunately, all of those positives are let down by the game's negatives, which include boring, derivative and uninspired level design and nearly non-existant difficulty.
See also: Previous 'Great Gaymathon' posts
8 comments:
Yes, the game is entierly too boring for its own good. I bought it awhile back expecting something much better than I actually got... And a talking umbrella? I think someone was ripping off of a certain talking hat...
Well, that's sad. I've always wanted to play it, mostly because it's PEACH! And she's kicking ass for once! But...not so much, huh? Well...okay, then.
I've always wanted to play this one! Well at least now I can tell not much is being missed by still not owning it.
Strangely enough, I have a Super Princess Peach lunch box. Still not entirely sure what that's doing in my stuff :P.
I actually liked it quite a lot! It was charming. Relaxing. I actually had some problems with the emotion change-controls on the touchscreen. Desperatly taping with my DS pen I was pretty frustrated at certain areas. But it was a really, really bad reward for finding every Toad and jigsawpussle piece throughout the game.
And then we have the "I'm a girl, and I play with my emotions"-kind of aspect to it...
Gaelach Rose: Yes, it definitely was a bit boring. Actually, it was *really* boring, in my experience. Which is too bad because I'd really love to play a good game centered around Peach.
Justin: Yeah, I'd have a hard time telling you that you missed something special with this one. The worst part about it is that it's boring. Too easy. And the whole "emotional" Peach thing is weird. Maybe someone like Miyamoto will take a stab at a Super Princess Peach game someday and do it justice.
So, Marcus, how did you come about a Super Princess Peach lunchbox? Was it some kind of promo item?
Well, Linnea, I'm definitely *someone* liked the game! Honestly, I didn't hate it, I just thought it was uninspired and fairly boring. I really wanted it to be like Super Mario Bros. 2 -- challenging and interesting, etc. Also, like you said, the "emotion" aspect of it was offputting. Anyway, strictly in terms of graphics and music, I definitely found it charming.
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