"Princess Peach: Showtime!": Fight evil as a ninja, cowgirl or superheroine

I've just beaten up a boss as Ninja Peach and saved a few actors. But there's no time to catch my breath. More levels await me on several floors of the "Sparkle Theatre". So I head straight for the next door and the next level. Here I stumble into a stage version of the Wild West.

Now, as a cowgirl, I find myself in the middle of a wild chase and even get some help: a grey horse trots up to me. I ride after the bad guys with him and use my lasso to pull them off their horses. I can't lose any time, otherwise I'll be run over by an approaching train.

The final boss of the level appears in a saloon. With my new lasso skills, however, the gloomy chap is no match for me and I wrestle him down (almost) without any problems. Yikes, another level done. So I'm back in the lounge of the Funkeltheater and get to choose the next level. And I have absolutely no idea what awaits me there.

Variety through different skills

It all starts quite harmlessly: Peach's friends, the Toads, want to take the princess on a trip to the Sparkle Theatre and enjoy a performance together. But everything turns out differently once they get there. The villainess Grape has taken over the theatre. Together with her "sour troupe", she kidnaps the lovable cast, the Funkelis, and takes over all the stages in the theatre. As Princess Peach, it's now my job to get all the Sparklies back and save the Sparkly Theatre.

At the beginning of the game, I am on the ground floor of the theatre and have four purple doors to choose from. Behind each one is a level that I have to master. I decide the order myself. Once I have completed a level, the door turns turquoise green.

Depending on the setting, I slip into a different role for each level. These range from a swordswoman to a cowgirl to a superhero. The game surprises me again and again.

All versions of Peach play completely differently. However, the controls remain wonderfully simple: I use the A button to jump into the air and the B button to trigger the special ability of the current role. If I'm fighting my way through the prairie as a cowgirl, I throw the lasso and pull opponents off their high horse. As a patissier, I bake biscuits and decorate cakes. I particularly like Ninja Peach's abilities: I use a special combat move to wrestle down opponents. If I run along walls, Peach hides automatically.

The controls and Peach's moveset are kept simple. Nevertheless, the 2.5D view requires a certain amount of precision and concentration from me in order to beat up enemies efficiently. The right timing in the attack is also crucial with some opponents

What happens next?

The gameplay keeps motivating me and I look forward to each new level. Why is that? The developers have given free rein to their creativity.

The fact that I get to play a different version of Peach with unique skills and gameplay mechanics in each level makes for a huge amount of variety. Especially at the beginning, when I don't know any of the roles.

In addition, I don't always know what exactly I have to do. Finding clues as a detective? Yes, but how? Oops, there are also false leads - and they cost me my life. Decorating a cake? Not so easy either, until I find out how to make the cake look the best. I'm a master thief, all well and good. But how do I get to the one platform that's far too far away? Whenever I understand a new gameplay mechanic, I get really excited.

Collecting frenzy with coins and twinkle stars

In the individual levels, there are additional tasks and collectable items that increase the replay value of the game. For example, I collect coins everywhere. If I run out of my eight lives in a level, I can buy another eight with the coins I have collected in the current level. However, I then have to return to the last checkpoint. I can also use the coins to buy Peach and her helper Stella new clothes at the clothes stand on the ground floor of the theatre. However, this is just a visual gimmick and has no effect on the gameplay.

A certain number of twinkle stars are also hidden in each level. I get them in different ways. I either do particularly well in certain sections of the level, smash certain objects or find secret rooms. These are usually well hidden - discreetly placed spotlights or platforms tell me where the entrance to a room might be.

Once I have found a twinkle star, a display appears showing me all the remaining stars. If one is missing from the row, I know that I have missed one or more. Sometimes I can still go back. In general, however, I have to play through the level again to get all the stars. Once I have collected a certain number of twinkle stars, I unlock another level. The motivation to collect as many stars as possible is therefore high.

Then there are two characters hidden in each level. Baloni is a Funkeli with a balloon in his hand. If I find him, I get a gift: coins, another life and the like. And I get a ribbon from the "Ribbon Master" to unlock more clothes for Peach.

I can look in the options to see where I am still missing sparkle stars or ribbons. There I can also find all the costumes I've earned and even the music collection from the previous levels to listen to.

Not everything is perfect

The game generally gives me few clues about the tasks and gameplay mechanics. Due to the low difficulty level, this is usually not a problem. But sometimes I simply can't work out what the game wants me to do. Bosses, for example, have specific weak points. With certain bosses, however, I can't find them with the best will in the world. Instead of giving me hints, the game offers me to skip the boss. I think that's the wrong approach.

Not all of Peach's roles are beyond reproach. Most of them grow on me, especially those characters who appear in later levels. But there are some Peaches who particularly annoy me. For example, the master detective. I go in search of clues with her and have to find clues to solve a case. If I discover a clue, I have to hold down the B button for a few seconds. That takes far too long for me. Enola Holmes would be three times as long. The puzzles that need to be solved should be much trickier, especially on the detective level. Anyone who enjoys solving escape room puzzles will definitely be underchallenged here.

Conclusion: entertaining adventure with lovingly crafted characters

In this platform game, the focus is not on the difficulty of the individual levels, but on the many surprises that await me. The sparkle theatre, Princess Peach and the game environments are detailed and lovingly designed. Even though the levels can be played through quickly, collecting coins and hidden sparkle stars gives me the motivation to play through individual levels several times.

Although the game should be more difficult: For me, it's a real feel-good game. This makes it suitable for both die-hard Switch gamers and very young gaming offspring. I can easily play it in between and be surprised by which role I get to slip into next with Peach. And finally my favourite princess (alongside Leia) has the role of saviour. Go, girl!

*Princess Peach: Showtime! is available from 22 March for the Nintendo Switch. It was provided to me by Nintendo for testing purposes.*