This could be the plot to a Mario game where the princess has to save the plumbers from "Queen Koopa".
Seriously though. They've played Peach as being capable on her own, even physically skilled, at least as long as Mario is still leading the way and Bowser isn't plotting anything. There's plenty of fan art and pop culture that tries to make the princess look cool and sexy even though she is gaming's number one damsel in distress. With that in mind, I would still consider it enough of a roll reversal to be interesting if she got her own villain to fight and was actually the hero of her own story.
It sounds like something that out of a fan-fic, but who knows? I think that would be a cool game.
This could be the plot to a Mario game where the princess has to save the plumbers from "Queen Koopa".
Seriously though. They've played Peach as being capable on her own, even physically skilled, at least as long as Mario is still leading the way and Bowser isn't plotting anything. There's plenty of fan art and pop culture that tries to make the princess look cool and sexy even though she is gaming's number one damsel in distress. With that in mind, I would still consider it enough of a roll reversal to be interesting if she got her own villain to fight and was actually the hero of her own story.
It sounds like something that out of a fan-fic, but who knows? I think that would be a cool game.
They did make a Princess Peach game. Unfortunately, they apparently thought "we should try to market this only to girls, but not check with any actual women on what they might want" and asked their most tone-deaf sexist programmers to come up with a baby-mode difficulty game where Peach's superpower is to have hot flashes and PMS on demand. I'm not even kidding, it was a puzzle platformer where Peach's ability to do things like cry rivers at the push of a button was used to water plants and such.
The simple fact that it's a Mario game you've never heard of should speak volumes to how well it did.
They did make a Princess Peach game. Unfortunately, they apparently thought "we should try to market this only to girls, but not check with any actual women on what they might want" and asked their most tone-deaf sexist programmers to come up with a baby-mode difficulty game where Peach's superpower is to have hot flashes and PMS on demand. I'm not even kidding, it was a puzzle platformer where Peach's ability to do things like cry rivers at the push of a button was used to water plants and such.
The simple fact that it's a Mario game you've never heard of should speak volumes to how well it did.
Hey, I remember that game! I have heard that her powers in that game were (loosely) based on the 1 Spirit 4 Souls theory, which is about how a god's (and humans') spirit has 4 aspects to it. The official artwork even sorta looks like the representation of the 4 mitamas.
That being said, I agree that having your female protagonist's main power essentially be superpowered mood swings is really bad optics. Especially since, as far as I can tell, the "1 Sprit 4 Souls" view is pretty obscure, even in Japan.
Ahhhh, that reminds me... wasn't this ALSO the game where the ending talks about how Peach gets the "Vibe(rator) Scepter", and how there might be one in the player's house if their father seems frustrated and their mother seems really happy lately, so they should go look for one?
Ahhhh, that reminds me... wasn't this ALSO the game where the ending talks about how Peach gets the "Vibe(rator) Scepter", and how there might be one in the player's house if their father seems frustrated and their mother seems really happy lately, so they should go look for one?
Yeah, in the ending its implied that the scepter magically appeared in the player's house:
Narrator: The Vibe Scepter has strange and mysterious powers, that's for sure...So how do YOU feel about this last adventure? One thing about that scepter! No one knows who created it or why, but...Somewhere, someone might possible be using it right now......What? Your dad got mad at you the other day, you say? Your mom's been laughing happily a lot? Maybe...Just maybe...the Vibe Scepter is hidden away in your house somewhere ...
Hey, I remember that game! I have heard that her powers in that game were (loosely) based on the 1 Spirit 4 Souls theory, which is about how a god's (and humans') spirit has 4 aspects to it. The official artwork even sorta looks like the representation of the 4 mitamas.
That being said, I agree that having your female protagonist's main power essentially be superpowered mood swings is really bad optics. Especially since, as far as I can tell, the "1 Sprit 4 Souls" view is pretty obscure, even in Japan.
My honest guess is that they had a puzzle platformer based on the concept already in development, and then decided to Mario brand it. Somewhere along the line it tumbled down to the tone-deaf nightmare we all remember.
Having played Super Princess Peach, I felt the vibe system was out of place. Like it had its merits but the game was very pushover - getting hit by things like Lava or getting crushed would cause a half a heart or a full heart being taken away. A game over only lasted about 10 seconds and usually caused Peach to cry on the touch screen. And there was no lives system to make it more challenging.
In classic Mario, regardless of powerup state you would die if you touched lava with Mario's flip upside down animation in the newer platformers.
