"Metapause and Mario."

Almost every Mario game is under the spotlight for good or bad reasons. Yet Super Princess Peach, a 2D sidescroller, is little played nor talked about. This is most likely due to the feminine tone of the game but that is no reason to ignore it. Though fairly easy and a little tedious at times, it is an enjoyable experience that even your sister can like.

The graphics are one of the best things about this game. Beautiful 2D graphics will awe you at all the colors and vibrant backgrounds. The graphics scream Mario, one of the few things that do. It has a very cartoony feel or dream-like quality, more so than any of the Super Nintendo Mario's. Look over into the background and see the trademark smiling clouds looking down upon you. There is nothing to complain about here, unless exaggerated colors is a pet peeve of your's.

Now in case you don't already know, you're probably wondering why you play as Peach. One day Peach was out for a walk. Bowser had discovered this magic wand located in Vibe Island, that puts everyone's emotions into a frenzy. So after sending his goomba hit-man to go capture Mario, he unleashed the wand's powers. Toads started having severe moodswings and while Mario was distracted they grabbed him and captured him. When Peach returns from her walk and sees what has happened, she sets off to rescue Mario. You'd wonder why Peach ever got kidnapped in the first place if she can rescue Mario, but whatever. It's relatively funny at certain points and gets the game off to a start. Not much here, but this is Mario, not Final Fantasy.

I think Nintendo has something against middle aged women. The main gameplay catch is that, by using the touch screen, you can dramatically change Peach's emotion. The four emotion's are rage, happiness, sadness, and calmness. When you tap rage, you become very angry and your body is engulfed with flames and you rapidly stomp. When you use happiness you literally fly, with a small whirlwind keeping you afloat. Sadness causes you to cry, with streams of tears overflowing from you. And finally, though not necessary to the game, is calm. Calm makes you very peaceful and you slowly restore health. These emotions are vital to the game and you will be solving a lot of puzzles with them. For example, you see a small seed lying on the ground. You simply tap sadness and water the plant with your tears. Unrealistic, yes. Offensive to middle aged women, yes. A unique and fun twist? Yes.

Along with using emotions, you carry a talking, living, parasol. Think F.L.O.O.D. but as an umbrella. You use your umbrella mainly to beat enemies upside the head with and to lift them up and throw them. You can also upgrade your parasol by going to the shop. Some upgrades include Floatbrella which allows you to float for a small period of time, Chargebrella which allows to to fire a blast of energy, and Poundbrella, which allows you to do a classic butt-stomp.

The main gripe with this game is the difficulty. Obviously it is aimed towards young girls, being its very feminine. So its fairly easy and it really won't last you very long, even if you like to take your time with games. The game makes most of the puzzles fairly obvious, with blatant hints as to what to do. Also with the various upgrades you can make, it gets even easier. The only other issue I have with this game is that its just plain slow. Peach moves at a snail's pace, and there's no run button as there is in most Mario games. At some points the game feels tedious because of this.

There are a few extras once you beat the game. You have several minigames which can entertain you for a little while, and there is also several hidden toads located throughout every level. Once again, they're pretty easy to find, and you don't have to go very far out of your way to find them. Overall there isn't a whole lot to of replay value, but at least there is something.

If you're looking for a Mario adventure with a Peach look, this isn't the case. Though there are the classics enemies like goombas and paratroopas, they're very cutesy. The paratroopas sing, and the goombas look lovable. The gameplay isn't very much like Super Mario Brothers other than the fact its a platformer. The only way you can like this game is if you come in with knowing and accepting that this is not a Mario game, but a spinoff.

Its obvious this game was meant for casual gamers, but its still pretty fun all the same. If you can suck up the remarks you'll get for playing this you'll enjoy it to some extent. Some things that bog it down are slow gameplay and lack of difficulty, but the pleasing graphics and decent gameplay make this a nice option if you're looking for a platformer. It'd make a great gift to any girl under the age of eleven, I have proof of that with my sister's. There are better games out there, yes, but there is no reason to completely ignore this game. The overall score is 7.9.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 03/20/07