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Princess Peach

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This article is about the princess from the Mario series. For the video game starring her, see Super Princess Peach.
Princess Peach
Super Mario Bros. series character
File:PeachMP8a.png
Peach's current appearance, as depicted in Mario Party 8
First gameSuper Mario Bros. (1985)
Created byShigeru Miyamoto
In-universe information
OccupationPrincess of the Mushroom Kingdom
FamilyGrandmother

Princess Peach (ピーチ姫, Pīchi-hime) is a fictional character in Nintendo's Super Mario Bros. series of video games. She is the princess of the fictitious Mushroom Kingdom, and often plays the "damsel in distress" role in the adventure series.[1][2] She was known as Princess Toadstool outside Japan until late 1996, when the name "Peach" was added in Yoshi's Safari, later solely becoming "Princess Peach". In 2008, Princess Peach landed on Forbes Wealthiest Fictional People list, with a fortune upwards of $1 billion.[3] She is ranked tenth in Electronic Gaming Monthly’s list of the top ten video game politicians.[4]

Creation and conception

Princess Peach's initial appearance was drawn by Shigeru Miyamoto. Miyamoto later asked Yōichi Kotabe to redraw Peach with his instructions. He had asked Kotabe to draw her eyes to be "a little cat-like", and how she should look "stubborn, but cute". With Kotabe's influence, Princess Peach had changed considerably.[5]

Characteristics

Appearance and Wardrobe

Princess Peach has long and wavy blond hair and blue eyes. She wears a pink dress, red high heels, white evening gloves, a sapphire pendant, sapphire earrings, and a gold tiara with sapphires and rubies. In Mario Smash Football, Peach wears pink shorts with a pink crop top, both with blue accents and pink and blue cleats. In other sports games, Peach wears a pink tank top and shorts along with her usual jewelry. The shorts include two light pink hoops at the bottom, and two light pink curved lines running from the side seams to the front waist. She also wears a pair of pink and red tennis shoes with two lace straps on each. She wears various dresses, skirts, and tops in Mario Party 2. In Super Mario Sunshine, Peach wears a pink sundress, red high heels, and jewelry. She also carries a white parasol decorated with pink lace. In Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, when Peach is possessed by the Shadow Queen, she wears a black gown, black high heels, black evening gloves, a black cape, a ruby brooch, ruby earrings, and a pointed gold tiara with rubies. In Super Paper Mario she wears a wedding dress. In Mario Kart Wii, when riding a bike, Peach wears a spandex white biker suit with pink lines along her arms and legs along with pink boots. She also wears a pink scarf. On her back is a white heart with a pink outline, usually covered by her hair. Shown in both Mario Power Tennis and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, she wears pink panties.

Personality

Peach's personality is generally kind natured and well mannered. In most games she is portrayed as selfless and generous. Typically, she does not show an aggressive nature even when confronted by her enemies. This however, varies from game to game. She can be rather hostile if provoked, as seen in Paper Mario: the Thousand Year Door when she threatens to spit on TEC-XX for asking her the meaning of love.[6] And in Super Paper Mario, when she is trapped by Fort Francis and he uses a laptop program called: "nerr2babe" to talk to girls. The player can answer questions or respond in a way after Francis says something. But at the end, Peach will be angry or serious at Francis for doing that, and blows up the laptop. Most of the time, however, Peach behaves more proper and ladylike.

Baby Princess Peach

Baby Peach appeared in Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time. She has short hair, sucks a baby pacifier all the time, and sits in a pink baby stroller. She gets scared easily when there is something loud, such as an alert siren. She will also start crying for a long time if no one will help someone that she is concerned about. In Mario Kart Wii, Baby Peach is infact a playable light weight character.

Name

In Japan, the Princess's name has always been Peach (ピーチ姫, Pīchi Hime, Princess Peach). Peach's name is derived from the Peach tree that bears pink blossoms and juicy edible fruit. She was originally known as Princess Toadstool in the United States and other western countries. The English translation of Yoshi's Safari (1993) marked the first usage of the name "Peach" outside of Japan; however, the name did not catch on at that time, as the game itself was not very popular. In Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, she went back to being called Princess Toadstool. However, in Super Mario RPG, if Belome swallowed Princess Toadstool to clone her during the fight with him in Belome Temple, he would comment that she tasted "peachy". It was not until Super Mario 64 that the name Peach became widely known outside Japan. [7]

Voices

In her first voiced appearance in the 1986 Japanese anime Super Mario Bros.: Peach-Hime Kyushutsu Dai Sakusen! (Super Mario Bros.: The Great Mission To Rescue Princess Peach) Peach was voiced by Mami Yamase, a pop singer. In the OVA trilogy released in 1989, she was voiced by Miyako Endo. On the cartoon segments on The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, Peach was usually voiced by Jeannie Elias. In the CD-i game Hotel Mario, Peach was voiced by Jocelyn Benford.

In Super Mario 64 and the English version of Mario Kart 64, Peach was voiced by Leslie Swan, a localization manager for Nintendo of America. Swan voiced Peach again for the release of Super Mario 64 DS in 2004.[8] and in Super Paper Mario in 2007

In Mario Party, Mario Party 2 and the Japanese version of Mario Kart 64, Peach was voiced by Asako Kozuki.[9]

Starting with Mario Golf on the Nintendo 64, Peach has been voiced by Jen Taylor.[10]

In 2005, Nintendo used a new voice for Princess Peach. Although Super Princess Peach and Mario Hoops 3-on-3 still used Taylor's voice, other games, such as Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time and Super Mario Strikers have a new Peach voice, Nicole Mills.[11] The infant form of Princess Peach that appears in Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time, Yoshi's Island DS, Mario Kart Wii and Mario Super Sluggers, known as Baby Peach, is also voiced by Mills, though replaced by Samantha Kelly in Mario Kart Wii and Mario Super Sluggers. However, in Super Paper Mario, Peach is once again voiced by Swan.[12] Additionally, Peach was voiced by Samantha Kelly in Super Mario Galaxy, Mario Party 8, Mario Strikers Charged, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Mario Kart Wii, and Mario Super Sluggers. In Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, Peach is again voiced by Taylor, although much is from sound clips recycled from previous Mario games. Likewise, if a player selects Peach in Brawl using a Wii Remote or classic controller, Peach's taunt from Melee (also then voiced by Taylor) will sound over the Wii Remote's speaker if the volume is on.

Relationships

In the comics Peach's father is the King of the Mushroom Kingdom, who has never made an appearance in the games. It is rumored that Peach and Princess Daisy are related.[citation needed] She is also known for disliking Bowser, her kidnapper. Bowser has tried time and time again to forcefully marry her, always failing when Mario shows up. She is shown close to several of her servants, including Toadsworth. In Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, she has a chamberlain she respectfully addresses as Grandma ("Obaa-san"). By most people it is believed she is in a relationship with Mario.

Appearances

Peach is portrayed as the princess of the world mainly the Mushroom Kingdom were she lives and is born and raised. Within the castle are Royal Guards known as mushroom retainers. In Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars and Paper Mario, a cabinet minister or chancellor is part of the Mushroom Kingdom government. Her mother and father, King and Queen Toadstool possibly rule the kingdom, although yet to be shown.

File:Classic Princess Peach 1985-2001.png
Princess Peach's classic appearance, prior to the Nintendo GameCube era.

Peach first appeared in Super Mario Bros. and has been kidnapped several times by the series' main antagonist, Bowser.

In Super Mario Bros. 2, players could go through the game as Princess Peach. Peach, along with Mario were called by the Subcon to save their dream land from the evil Wart. Peach's main ability was that she could hover for a limited time after jumping left or right. This makes her a popular choice amongst players, since her jumping skills allow her to easily make jumps over larger areas than other characters.

In Super Mario Bros. 3, Bowser made a new attempt on capturing the princess. Hearing of it, Princess Peach asked Mario and Luigi to rescue the Toadstool Kings, sending them items while they were on their quest and providing them with power-ups after completing each level.

In Super Mario World, Mario, Luigi and Peach were having a vacation in Dinosaur Land when Bowser once again kidnapped her. This time, she was held captive in Bowser's castle in the Valley of Bowser. Bowser had brought her inside his Koopa Klown Kar for the final battle against the brothers. Peach was helping Mario in the final battle by throwing mushrooms at him right before Bowser retreated after being hit three times. In the end, Peach was rescued by Mario, and she gave him a kiss on the cheek.

In Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Peach was one of Mario's party members, along with Mallow, Geno and Bowser. Peach possesses healing/resurrection powers similar to Mallow, and can also cast negative status effects.

In Super Mario 64, Peach invited Mario to her castle for a cake, but before Mario arrived at the castle-side, Bowser came and took control over the Power Stars. He sealed Peach in the fresco over the entrance of the castle.

In Super Mario Sunshine, Mario, Peach, and Toadsworth went to Isle Delfino on Peach's private plane. However, Bowser Jr., in the disguise of Shadow Mario, had filled the island with graffiti. The crimes were blamed on Mario, and he was sentenced to clean the entire island with FLUDD. Eventually, Bowser Jr. kidnapped Peach while Mario was away, and took her to Pinna Park, where he revealed his true identity. Bowser Jr. claimed that Peach was his mother and that the evil Mario had kidnapped her. After Mario destroyed Bowser Jr.'s Mecha-Bowser, in which the princess was held captive, Bowser Jr. used a balloon to take the still intact head of the Bowser robot to Corona Mountain, with Peach still inside. Later, Mario made his way to the top of the active volcano and found Peach and was forced to battle with Bowser and Bowser Jr. in a pool of green acid. (Reasoning why she refused to get in the pool) This was described by Bowser as a "family vacation". Mario managed to rescue Peach, and later they were able to enjoy their vacation together with FLUDD.

Princess Peach was kidnapped once again in New Super Mario Bros. However, as in Super Mario Sunshine, the culprit was not Bowser but his son, Bowser Jr.

In Paper Mario, Peach invites Mario to her castle, but as soon as he meets with her, Bowser lifts her castle into the sky and throws Mario out a window. He has to collect star powers in order to defeat Bowser, save her, and return her castle to the Mushroom Kingdom. When lonely in her bedroom, she encounters a Star Kid named "Twink". She is also controlled by a Nintendo 64 controller in the scenes after Mario has rescued each of the seven Star Spirits, except one after Kalmar has been rescued.

Super Princess Peach marked the second time that Princess Peach was cast as the main heroine in a video game. In a role-reversal, Princess Peach had to save Mario and Luigi from King Bowser. She has a talking parasol named Perry who transformed from a real boy and can be used as her weapon with so many uses. She is also the lead vocalist of the band called Peach Hit Five in the music room. When she sometimes hits a star to clear any of the stages, it changes to a pink fruit that inspires her name, shapes like an upside-down heart with a green leaf on top and costs 777 coins.

In Super Mario Galaxy, Peach's castle was lifted into space by Bowser, who wanted Peach to rule the universe by his side. She was brought into Outer Space, along with some Toads, and Mario had to go through different galaxies to save her. Occasionally, she sends letters containing several 1-Up Mushrooms to the Comet Observatory, the central hub for Mario in the game.

Appearances in other games

Princess Peach has appeared in nearly all of the Mario spin-off titles.

Since the first Mario Party, Peach has appeared in every single installment, including Mario Party Advance. However, like all Mario Party games, she has nothing outside appearance and voice to set her apart from other characters. An exception to this is Mario Party 7, in which both Peach and Daisy can use the Flower Orb as their special orb (that is, no other characters can receive it at orb spaces or shops).

In the Mario Kart series (except Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart 64), she is in with the medium category characters with the fastest acceleration, the lowest top speed, and the best off-road ability to take the shortcuts on each course. Her special item in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! involves two hearts temporarily rotating around her kart, giving her whatever item they collide into. She shares her special with Princess Daisy who is supposedly her cousin as stated in the Mario Kart Wii official guide, but nonetheless, she is still her best friend, and appears in a few games in the Mario series, including Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games.

In the Mario Tennis and Mario Golf series, she is labeled as a "Technique" character and has one of the lightest hits. She is a captain in the games Mario Superstar Baseball, and Mario Super Sluggers and specializes in pitching. She is also a playable character in Super Mario Strikers and its sequel, Mario Strikers Charged. Peach is fast, agile, and has good passing skills. Finally, she also appears in the first Mario basketball game, Mario Hoops 3-on-3, for the Nintendo DS, and is a technical type (good at taking shots). She appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog and Mario crossover sports game, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, where she is a skill type character. Her crown appears as the "Unspeakable Wonder" in Pikmin 2.

In the Super Smash Bros. series, Peach first appears in Super Smash Bros. Melee, the second game of the series. She has the unique ability to float for a number of seconds, much as she can in Super Mario Bros. 2, an advantage which is balanced by the fact that she is one of the lighter fighters and in Super Smash Bros. Brawl her killing ability has been decreased since Super Smash Bros. Melee and making kills in Brawl can prove to be quite difficult. However, Peach's Float is one of the main elements of her game, as it allows her to combo players from above and dodge horizontal attacks. It also serves as an amazing horizontal recovery. In more advanced techniques, Peach's ability as an edgeguarder (to attack players while they are offstage to prevent them recovering) is unparalleled thanks to her ability to stay in the air for so long. Some of her attacks include the Peach Bomber (where she leaps forward, twirls and rams her hip into her opponent which causes an explosion); her forward grab (a massive slap that kills players at higher percentages); her parasol; using Toad as a human shield; using golf clubs, tennis rackets, and frying pans as melee weapons; and pulling turnips from the ground.

In the Subspace Emissary mode, Peach is first shown with Princess Zelda. They are captured (along with other video game characters) but later on are freed and team up with several of the other characters and manage to enter Subspace.

In The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, Peach has red hair instead of her now-standard blonde (although this may have been due to the original NES games depicting her with red hair, due to technological limitations).

Cameos

Peach has made cameo appearances in several non-Mario games. She is a playable guest character in the GameCube ports of the Electronic Arts games NBA Street V3 and SSX On Tour.[13][14] Peach also made a minor appearance in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, in a painting in Hyrule Castle. A Princess Peach kart toy appears and can be driven in the Labrador and Friends version of Nintendogs. Peach also made a cameo in The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, appearing in a picture sent to Mr. Write from the goat in the animal village. The photo is of Peach with the name "Christine" written underneath the picture. Additionally, she appeared at the King Dedede battle arena in Kirby Super Star, as well as in the mini-game Megaton Punch.

Reception

Princess Peach has been praised by many critics. GameDaily described her as an “ideal woman that's as sweet as can be” in their list of babes that should or shouldn’t meet your mom. [15] The website also ranked her forty eighth in their list of Top 50 Hottest Game Babes claiming that she is “the quiet "quick, come and rescue me" type, but in Mario Strikers Charged she's all action with a sexy sports outfit and shows the boys who's boss”. [16] IGN rated the character an 8 out 10 in the worth saving index on their article “Mario’s Ladies: The Princesses of Mario Galaxy”. [17] New York Times claimed that Princess Peach had “grit as well as grace” and that her “peachiness did nothing to upset the apple cart of expectation: she may have been athletic, smart and strong, but she was also adorable”. The article also claimed that Peach was what “once-unisex, postfeminist parents are shooting for”. [18] In poll conducted by the Official Nintendo Magazine, Princess Peach was voted by readers as the second greatest female character stating that has "some might view her as being a bit useless but we'll let her off as rescuing her is always so much fun". [19]

On the other hand, the character has faced some harsh criticisms. GameDaily had named her in their Worst Video Game Girlfriends list citing that her “fatal flaw is her chronic inability to not get kidnapped by Bowser, leading our favorite plumber to, time and again, have to risk his neck in order to save her”. [20] The same website had also named her one of the worst Mario characters stating that she “knows her whipped boyfriend will come and save her” and that she was a “total drama queen”. [21] GameSpy called Princess Peach “the worst woman in gaming” claiming that she is a “woman of immense potential power who refuses to use any of it”. The website stated that she was “neither a feminist nor sexy” and criticized many aspects of her character including her wardrobe and her position as a ruler. [22]

Her relationship with Mario has also been praised and criticized. IGN placed Mario and Peach third in their Top 10 Tuesdays: Best Video Game Romance stating that a “stranger match could not be found”. [23] In contrast, GameSpy stated that Peach merely leads Mario on claiming that she is a tease. [24]

References

  1. ^ Princess Peach analysis Nintendoland.com. Retrieved April 22, 2006.
  2. ^ Super Smash Bros. Melee Princess Peach character analysis Gamefaqs.com. Retrieved April 28, 2006.
  3. ^ "#15 Princess Peach - Forbes.com". Forbes.com. Retrieved 2008-09-17.
  4. ^ Scott Sharkey, “EGM’s Top Ten Videogame Politicians: Election time puts us in a voting mood,” Electronic Gaming Monthly 234 (November 2008): 97.
  5. ^ "Iwata Asks Volume 8- Flipnote Studios-An Animation Class 4.My First Project: Draw a Rug".2009-08-11
  6. ^ April 07, 2009 (2009-04-07). "Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door: Peach's Scene#1". YouTube. Retrieved 2009-08-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ "Princess Peach - Super Mario Wiki". Mariowiki.com. Retrieved 2009-08-12.
  8. ^ Leslie Swan actress summary Imdb.com. Retrieved April 23, 2006.
  9. ^ Asako Kozuki actress summary Imdb.com. Retrieved April 23, 2006.
  10. ^ Jen Taylor actress summary Imdb.com. Retrieved April 23, 2006.
  11. ^ Nicole Mills actress summary Imdb.com. Retrieved April 23, 2006.
  12. ^ "TMK | Reference | Game Credits | Super Paper Mario". Themushroomkingdom.net. Retrieved 2008-09-17.
  13. ^ NBA Street V3 information Amazon.com. Retrieved April 28, 2006.
  14. ^ SSX On Tour information Amazon.com. Retrieved April 28, 2006.
  15. ^ "Ten Babes Who Should and Ten Babes Who Shouldn't Meet Your Mom". GameDaily. 2008-06-25. Retrieved 2009-08-20.
  16. ^ "Top 50 Hottest Game Babes on Trial". GameDaily. 2009-02-25. Retrieved 2009-08-20.
  17. ^ "Mario's Ladies: The Princesses of Mario Galaxy". IGN. 2007-11-13. Retrieved 2009-08-20.
  18. ^ "What's Wrong with Cinderella". New York Times. 2006-12-24. Retrieved 2009-08-20.
  19. ^ "Leading Ladies". Official Nintendo Magazine. 2009-09-12. Retrieved 2009-09-12.
  20. ^ "Worst Video Game Girlfriends". GameDaily. 2009-02-11. Retrieved 2009-08-20.
  21. ^ "The top 10 Worst Mario Characters". GameDaily. 2007-12-01. Retrieved 2009-08-20.
  22. ^ "Princess Peach: The Worst Woman in Videogames". GameSpy. 2009-07-21. Retrieved 2009-08-20.
  23. ^ "Top 10 Tuesday: Best Videogame Romances". IGN. 2006-02-14. Retrieved 2009-08-20.
  24. ^ "Princess Peach: The Worst Woman in Videogames". GameSpy. 2009-07-21. Retrieved 2009-08-20.

External links

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