Princess Peach Showtime is really putting my cake decorating skills to the test. I'm suspended over a big, star-shaped lime cake on a swing, and a screen to the left shows the decorative layout I need to mirror. Peach is outfitted in her new pastry chef garb, and, armed with an oversized piping bag, I try to place blobs of cream in just the right spots. To add to the challenge, the dessert rotates below me as a timer ticks down. With more cakes to finish, I need to make quick work of this - especially if I want to complete enough of them to fill up a measuring meter and get one of the many collectible Sparkles in this stage. Not unlike the Power Moons in Super Mario Odyssey, the Sparkles can be found throughout a stage by exploring the hidden nooks and crannies of a level, completing a challenge, or interacting with my surroundings.
Once I complete the star cake just so, a different one takes its place with a more intricate design and a faster spin rate. It gets quite frantic and I lose precious seconds botching one side of the cake with a wayward line of cream.
Prior to this, everything was going so well. I'd mixed up batch after batch of cookies in rapid succession, and my first round of cake decorating made me overly confident. Judging by the final cake, I may not be able to call myself a pastry chef extraordinaire just yet, but I'm having a blast all the same. These sweet treat escapades are in the 'Festival of Sweets' show, which is the last stage on the first floor of the Sparkle Theater I check out in my hands-on session. With the chance to try three other transformations that star in different scenarios, Princess Peach Showtime puts on a varied performance with a mixture of action-orientated platforming and puzzles.
Peach time!
I was instantly intrigued by the idea behind Princess Peach Showtime. The beloved pink royal decides to visit the Sparkle Theater after receiving a flier, but everything is sent into disarray when the villainous Grape and their minions, the Sour Bunch, take it over. With the help of the theater guardian Stella and her ribbon power, you set about trying to take back the stolen shows. The theater itself is said to be made up of several floors and stages, with the lobby acting as a kind of hub. While I only get to check out the first floor, I can see shades of Luigi's Mansion 3's hotel in the set up, with blocked off stairs that can only be opened up after completing a selection of shows.
The first show I enter is called Castle of Thorns, which, as the name suggests, is themed around a castle. The princess exclaims "Peach time!" as the stage begins, and I can't stop the smile that spreads across my face. Heck yeah, it is. I encounter various actors and inhabitants of the theater known as Theets as I make my way through the level. Designed after lightbulbs, the little guys are all dressed as small sword fighters, with some cowering away from nearby enemies.
Thanks to my trusty ribbon power, I can clear away the foes, and better still, I can light the Theets back up; it's as if my powers restore their confidence on stage after their show was stolen by the sour bunch. They then return the favor by helping me push open a heavy door. I love the way Theets factor into the puzzles in different ways throughout the four stages I try, and each time, it's in-keeping with the setting and style of the show.
The new transformations of Peach are what I was really itching to experience. While my time ended as a pastry chef, it began as a sword fighter, and nothing beat the moment I saw Peach's first Sailor Moon-like transformation unfold before me. I don't get to transform in the first stage right away, since you have to reach a Sparkle that lends you a special power at a particular point. Fortunately, it's pretty early on, and I relish the chance to get stuck into some swordplay. Swatting at the Grape's lackeys, and hitting thorns that spring out like theater decorations with a floral flourish, I get to rescue more Theets along the way. Peach really is the real star, and hero, of Showtime.
Yeehaw
While I breeze through the first stage as a Sword fighter, the next two shows are the main highlights of the demo. With the second letting me turn into a ninja, and the third a cowgirl, both shake up platforming and puzzling to again match up to the transformations. There's definitely some parallels to Kirby's copy abilities when it comes to the different powers, but unlike the adorable pink puffball, Peach's transformations can't be used interchangeably in other stages. Each power is fixed to certain shows on each floor, which does make sense given its theater backdrop. Every power plays into the theme, so it feels like you're doing a costume change to get into a new role in every stage. Even so, I can't help but imagine what it could be like if you were able to mix and match the transformations at will.
As a ninja, Peach is all about stealth, with me sneaking past enemies using patches of grass Assassin's Creed style, which lends the stage a distinctly different feel from the sword-wielding action that came before. There are some charming touches here, too, with the princess-turned-ninja holding up a fake shrub above her head to hide, or using a piece of wallpaper to camouflage herself against a wall as I slink by nearby foes. At one point, I have to go past a bad guy underwater, and Peach uses a bamboo shoot to breathe. The entire level feels quite varied, with stealthy sections, action, and even a side-scrolling platform sequence that sees me move a wave backdrop up and down to reach coins.
The cowgirl stage is equally playful, with plenty of rootin'-tootin' antics. From lassoing enemies to riding on prop horses to chasing some Sour Bunch outlaws, I feel like I'm making Arthur Morgan from Red Dead Redemption 2 proud. There are lots of occasions where the ribbon power lets me interact with stage elements to earn coins and as with many Nintendo platformers, there are some secrets tucked away for you to find in every stage. For Peach's first action-adventure, the theater backdrop serves up some playful and just plain fun stages, and the transformations give it variety. While I only get to experience what the first floor has on offer, I'm already eager to try out some of the other starring roles Peach will take on.
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