Princess Peach: Showtime!

Princess Peach: Showtime! is a single-player action-adventure for Nintendo Switch, released everywhere on the same day, 22 March 2024. Good-Feel, the studio behind Wario Land: Shake It!, Yoshi’s Woolly World and Yoshi’s Crafted World, built it in Unreal Engine 4, and Nintendo published it. Counting Princess Toadstool’s Castle Run, a 1990 LCD handheld, it is Peach’s third game in the title role and only her second from Nintendo, after Super Princess Peach on the DS.

The setting is a grand theatre on a small island beside a seaside town. Peach and a pair of Toads arrive for a show, and within minutes Grape and the Sour Bunch have taken the place over: guests are blown out, the doors sealed, the posters defaced and the leading players locked in the basement. Stella, the sprite who guards the building, ties Peach’s hair into a ponytail with a magenta bow and lends her the power of Sparkle. From then on, each door in the lobby leads into a play the villains have sabotaged, and Peach’s job is to step into the lead role and see it through to the final curtain.

That gives the game its hook. Early in every play Peach finds the costume Sparkle and changes into the part, and the part changes the game. Swordfighter Peach is a combo-and-counter brawler, Detective Peach questions witnesses and hunts clues, Patissiere Peach bakes against the clock, Mermaid Peach sings fish into formation, and Ninja Peach hides in the long grass. There are ten roles, each with three plays, scattered across five floors and a basement, and the theatre’s staff of round-headed Theets pop up everywhere as cast, crew and audience.

It is a gentle game by design. There are no lives and no game over: run out of hearts and you lose ten coins and restart from the last checkpoint, and an optional Heart Charm raises Peach’s health from five hearts to eight. The challenge for completionists lies in the 235 Sparkle Gems, the hidden Ribboners in every play, the gold trophies in the rehearsal stages and a post-game hunt for 72 Ninja Theets. Critics liked the look, the music and the variety, found the play inside each role shallow, and gave it a Metacritic average of 74.

Short answers to the questions people ask most about Princess Peach: Showtime!, with links to the full section on this page.

A full retelling, spoilers and all. The game tells its story through short scenes in the lobby and inside each play, with the Theets as supporting cast; the stills below are from the game’s levels.

A flyer and a full house

It begins with post. A Toad in the Mushroom Kingdom receives a flyer for a show at the Sparkle Theater, and Peach decides to go along with a couple of Toads. They arrive at a glittering building on a little island, step into a lobby full of Theets, and settle in for the evening.

Then the lights go purple. Grape, a masked witch, bursts in with her gang, the Sour Bunch. A blast of wind scatters Peach’s crown and suitcase, sweeps the Toads and the flyers away and leaves Peach shut inside. Grape seals the doors, swaps the play posters for her own, and has the theatre’s stars, the ten Sparklas, carried off to the basement. Stella, the guardian of the Sparkle Theater, finds Peach, ties her hair up with a bow and lends her the power of Sparkle. Every play in the building has been spoiled, and the only way to set it right is for Peach to take the lead.

1F: swords, scrolls, saddles and sweets

The ground floor offers four shows. The Castle of Thorns is the tutorial: Peach wakes a fainted Theet, blooms a hidden forest path, becomes Swordfighter Peach at the castle gates, wins a cage match against a hammer-swinging suit of armour and finds the King held hostage before beating a giant thorny plant. In Ninjutsu: The Art of Rapids she sneaks into a village elder’s manor, sees a red-clad Ninja Dūke make off with the village scrolls and chases him, finishing the job on top of a tidal wave. Cowgirl in the Wilderness is a Wild West robbery, a horseback chase and a showdown in a cave; Welcome to the Festival of Sweets has Peach shoo away a thieving crow, help on a farm and bake in the festival kitchen.

With all four done, a dark door opens in the lobby. Behind it waits Disco Wing, a puppet bird with a mirror-ball body, who lays disco-ball eggs that Peach turns against it with Sparkle, then starts flipping the arena’s gravity. Beat it and the threads on the stairs fall away.

2F: thieves, skaters and a missing mural

Upstairs, Swordfighter Peach returns for The Ghostly Castle, a haunted sequel full of spectral soldiers. The Perfect Infiltration drops her into a city where the Sour Thieves have robbed a bank; a Theet agent signs her up to a secret society, and as Dashing Thief Peach she cracks the safe and escapes by glider. In A Snow Flower on Ice she frees a troupe of dancers from the Skater Dūke and performs with them, only for a towering rival skater to corrupt them and flee. The Case of the Missing Mural makes her a junior detective in a museum whose prize painting has vanished; the culprits are hiding in plain sight as police officers and statues.

Before the next boss Grape herself drops by to review the performance and orders an attack. The guardian this time is Light Fang, a snake made of stage lights whose gaze rewinds time to the start of the section if it spots Peach, so the fight plays out as a game of hide and seek.

3F: aliens, outlaws and an undersea concert

The third floor widens the repertoire. Mighty Mission: Alien Invasion sets UFOs on a futuristic city; a professor leads Peach to his lab, she becomes Mighty Peach, holds up a bus as a shield and flies after a giant saucer that is carrying off the Theets’ shelter. Cowgirl at Dusk and Welcome to the Spooky Party are second acts for the Cowgirl and Patissiere roles, the latter at a Halloween bash where the sweets have made the guests go strange. In Melody of the Sea a turtle carries Peach to an underwater concert that the Mermaid Dūke keep breaking up, and Mermaid Peach has to sing the fish into place to rescue the band.

The floor boss is Purrjector Cat, a film projector with a cat’s face and paws. Peach turns the mice it sends into bombs and parks them where its shadow paws will slam down, bouncing them into its face.

4F: kung fu and a lion of light

On the fourth floor the Ninja, Dashing Thief and Detective roles each get a second play: Ninjutsu: The Art of Flames, The Stolen Statue and The Case of the Rainy-Day Plot. The new role is Kung Fu. A Kung Fu Tale sends Peach up a mountain town, past rival students on gates and bridges, to a training hall at the summit, where she twice beats the corrupted Kung Fu master.

Grape turns up again before the boss, admits she underestimated Peach and Stella, and declares them her rivals. Spotlion, an animatronic lion, fires orbs of Darkle in a cross pattern that Peach must purify and bat back, then reshapes the arena and conjures mirror copies of itself; only the real one has a reflection.

5F: the last four shows

The top floor holds the second plays for Mighty, Kung Fu, Figure Skater and Mermaid: Mighty Mission: The Rescue, A Kung Fu Legend, A Parade on Ice and Blight of the Sea. There is no Darkle boss up here. What is left after it is the basement, where Grape is holding the Sparklas.

The basement: rescuing the Sparklas

Each role’s third play lives in the basement, and each ends with a Sparkla freed. These are darker variations on the earlier shows, opened up through the game rather than saved for the end (the Swordfighter one must be cleared before Light Fang will fight). The Swordfighter Sparkla is guarded by the Dark Swordfighter; the Ninja Sparkla by a red-clad guard and his legion; the Cowgirl Sparkla is tied to the tracks in front of the Dark Locomotive; the Patissiere Sparkla has been corrupted and has to be won back in a bake-off with the Dark Baker.

The rest follow suit. The Dashing Thief Sparkla sits in an electrified cage whose locks must be cracked, the Figure Skater Sparkla is frozen in ice, the Detective Sparkla is hidden among impostors in the Dark Museum, the Mighty Sparkla is locked in a cell that Peach and the professor break open, the Mermaid Sparkla is shut inside a giant clam and the Kung Fu Sparkla is held by the Kung Fu master at his dark school.

It’s Showtime, Grape!

With all ten Sparklas free, the door at the bottom of the basement opens. The Sparklas pour their power into Peach, who becomes Radiant Peach and fires Sparkle at Grape from a circling platform across three increasingly frantic rounds, dodging falling boxes, fire and trains while Dancer Dūke shield their mistress, before flying up to finish her off. Grape falls, and only her mask is left behind.

Then the mask laughs. It swells into Grape the Great, a giant with floating hands, and the blast tears the Sparkle Theater apart and threatens the whole island. The Theets send Peach every bit of Sparkle they have, she becomes Super Radiant Peach, and she beams the mask until she can ram it at full speed. Grape the Great crumbles for good.

Curtain call

Peach uses her power to rebuild the theatre and turn night into day. Back in her own dress she joins Stella, the Sparklas and the Theets on stage; they bow, she curtsies, then gives the player a wink and a thank-you for watching. The credits run over photos of the adventure’s highlights; Peach finds her Toads again, her ponytail ribbon unties itself and Stella sets her crown back on her head, while Grape’s empty mask floats out on the sea. A last image shows a letter on Peach’s bedside table: Stella has invited her back.

And she can go back. The post-game reopens every play, adds boss rematches for extra Sparkle Gems, puts a golden statue of Stella and the rest of the decorations on sale, and hides 72 Ninja Theets behind curtains in plays you have already finished.

Every play in Princess Peach: Showtime!

All 30 plays, the four Darkle boss stages, the five rehearsals and the finale, floor by floor. Sparkle Gems per play: ten in a role’s first play, seven in its second, five in its basement play. Images are the Pictioneer’s album photos; mini-boss names are the ones in common use, several of them romanised Japanese.

1. 
   The Castle of Thorns1F · Swordfighter 1 · in the demoThe tutorial: a town, a hidden forest path, a cage fight with a Hammer Katchū and a giant thorn plant at the top of the castle.
2. 
   Ninjutsu: The Art of Rapids1F · Ninja 1Stealth in a Japanese village, then a chase after a scroll-stealing ninja that ends on a tidal wave.
3. 
   Cowgirl in the Wilderness1F · Cowgirl 1 · mini-boss Yami no Big BossA Wild West town robbery, a horseback pursuit and a barrel-and-lasso showdown with the outlaw leader in a cave.
4. 
   Welcome to the Festival of Sweets1F · Patissiere 1 · in the demoA thieving crow, a little farming, then timed cookie baking and five cakes to decorate.
5. 
   Darkle Boss: Disco Wing1F boss · needs 10 Sparkle GemsA mirror-ball bird that flips gravity and lays disco eggs for Peach to Sparkle back.
6. 
   Swordfighter Rehearsal1F · bonus · opens after Disco WingA side-scrolling sword course played on a single heart, with a gold trophy and a dress for the best score.
7. 
   The Ghostly Castle2F · Swordfighter 2 · mini-boss Yami no Yūrei KenshiA haunted castle of ghost soldiers and bats, with a stair climb and falling chandeliers mid-boss.
8. 
   The Perfect Infiltration2F · Dashing Thief 1Bank robbers, a secret society of Theet agents, a grappling hook, a safe to crack and a glider getaway.
9. 
   A Snow Flower on Ice2F · Figure Skater 1 · mini-boss Yami no Top SkaterFree the dancers, fill the 12-light performance gauge, then chase the rival skater who corrupts them.
10. 
    The Case of the Missing Mural2F · Detective 1A museum mystery: unmask criminals disguised as police and statues, then find where the mural went.
11. 
    Darkle Boss: Light Fang2F boss · needs 15 Sparkle GemsA stage-light snake whose stare rewinds time; stay out of sight and Sparkle the pink lights.
12. 
    Dashing Thief Rehearsal2F · bonus · opens after Light FangA one-heart run through spotlights and lasers for a gold trophy.
13. 
    Mighty Mission: Alien Invasion3F · Mighty 1 · bosses Ōgata Arm UFO and Yami no Kyodai UFOUFOs over a futuristic city; lift a bus, fly with a jetpack and hurl a saucer’s fist back at the mothership.
14. 
    Cowgirl at Dusk3F · Cowgirl 2 · Dark LocomotiveThe Cowgirl’s second act, with a runaway Dark Locomotive.
15. 
    Welcome to the Spooky Party3F · Patissiere 2A Halloween party where Halloween Dūke and sweets-addled Theets cause trouble.
16. 
    Melody of the Sea3F · Mermaid 1A turtle ride to an underwater concert; sing the fish into place to free the trapped band.
17. 
    Darkle Boss: Purrjector Cat3F boss · needs 20 Sparkle GemsA projector cat; turn its mice into bombs and let its own shadow paws bounce them into its face.
18. 
    Cowgirl Rehearsal3F · bonus · opens after Purrjector CatLasso and horse-riding practice with a single heart.
19. 
    Ninjutsu: The Art of Flames4F · Ninja 2The Ninja’s second play, with spear-armed watchmen who ambush from the ceiling.
20. 
    The Stolen Statue4F · Dashing Thief 2Another heist, now with one-wheeled security robots on Peach’s tail.
21. 
    A Kung Fu Tale4F · Kung Fu 1 · mini-boss Yami no Kung Fu MasterUp a mountain town to the training hall, fighting the corrupted master on a bridge and again at the top.
22. 
    The Case of the Rainy-Day Plot4F · Detective 2A second case for Detective Peach, with more disguised criminals to expose.
23. 
    Darkle Boss: Spotlion4F boss · needs 25 Sparkle GemsAn animatronic lion firing Darkle orbs; reflect them back and spot the real lion among its mirror copies.
24. 
    Kung Fu Rehearsal4F · bonusKung fu combos on a single heart for a gold trophy.
25. 
    Mighty Mission: The Rescue5F · Mighty 2 · Yami no Kyodai UFOThe alien invasion continues, with beam-firing Dūke and the giant UFO.
26. 
    A Kung Fu Legend5F · Kung Fu 2Pot-throwers, staff fighters and green-clad kidnappers to chase down.
27. 
    A Parade on Ice5F · Figure Skater 2 · Yami no Top SkaterThe skating role’s second show, and another round with the rival skater.
28. 
    Blight of the Sea5F · Mermaid 2 · darkened Mermaid DūkeThe Mermaid’s second play, in which a whole school of Mermaid Dūke turns dark.
29. 
    Mighty Rehearsal5F · bonusThe superhero’s practice course, one heart only.
30. 
    The Dark Swordfighter & the ArenaBF · Swordfighter 3 · Dark SwordfighterBeat the huge Dark Swordfighter to free the Swordfighter Sparkla. Must be cleared before Light Fang.
31. 
    The Dark Ninja & the Legion of GuardsBF · Ninja 3 · Dark NinjaThe quick, disguised Dark Ninja and a red-clad guard’s legion stand between Peach and the Ninja Sparkla.
32. 
    The Dark Locomotive & the Doomed TownBF · Cowgirl 3 · Dark LocomotiveThe Cowgirl Sparkla is tied to the rails; stop the runaway train in time.
33. 
    The Dark Baker & the Bewitching SweetsBF · Patissiere 3 · Dark BakerA bake-off against the Dark Baker to win back the corrupted Patissiere Sparkla.
34. 
    The Dark Prison & the Dangerous TrapBF · Dashing Thief 3Crack the locks on an electrified cage to free the Dashing Thief Sparkla.
35. 
    The Dark Ice & the Shadowy StageBF · Figure Skater 3 · Yami no Top SkaterThe rival skater’s last stand, with the Figure Skater Sparkla frozen in ice.
36. 
    The Dark Museum & the Purple MysteryBF · Detective 3Pick the real Detective Sparkla from the fakes; whoever says Madame Grape gives themselves away.
37. 
    Dark Space & the Great MeteorBF · Mighty 3The Mighty Sparkla waits in a locked cell, broken open with the professor’s help.
38. 
    The Dark Depths & the Swirling CurrentsBF · Mermaid 3Sing enough fish together to prise open the giant clam holding the Mermaid Sparkla.
39. 
    The Dark School & the Twisted FistBF · Kung Fu 3 · Yami no Kung Fu MasterA final bout with the Kung Fu master to free the Kung Fu Sparkla.
40. 
    It’s Showtime, Grape!BF · finale · needs all ten Sparklas and 30 Sparkle GemsRadiant Peach against Grape, then Super Radiant Peach against Grape the Great.

Floor numbers are those of the English versions; in the Dutch, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese versions the ground floor is the Lobby and the others shift down by one.

Every play follows a familiar running order. Peach walks on as herself, uses Sparkle to fix whatever the Sour Bunch have spoiled, finds the role’s costume Sparkle and transforms, then plays out the show in that role to the end. Levels switch freely between 3D and side-on 2D sections, and many add auto-running chases, beat-’em-up arenas and quick-time events, which usually cannot be failed.

Controls and Sparkle

The controls are deliberately few. The stick moves Peach, A jumps and B is the action button, which does whatever the current role does: a sword combo, a lasso throw, a kung fu kick, a song. ZL and ZR strike a pose, which every role has. Jump and action can be swapped in the settings. The game needs a pair of Joy-Con or a Pro Controller; a single sideways Joy-Con is not supported, and there is no touch control.

Sparkle is Peach’s own power, granted by Stella at the start. Out of costume, Peach flicks Stella’s ribbon at things to bring them to life: flowers bloom, stunned Theets wake up, platforms appear and stage machinery starts turning. It is also how Peach fights the four Darkle bosses, who can only be hurt by purifying their dark energy with Sparkle.

Hearts, coins and no game over

Peach starts with five hearts. She loses one to enemy hits, falls, being caught by a scrolling edge or guessing wrong in a Detective accusation, and gets them back from scenery, finished tasks and set points in the level. A staff Theet on the 1F staircase offers the Heart Charm, which raises the maximum to eight (the extra hearts are green); Stella also offers it after Peach loses all her hearts twice in one section, and it can be taken off again.

There are no lives. Losing every heart costs ten coins and puts Peach back at the start of the section or the last checkpoint. Coins collected in a play are added to a running total, capped at 9,999, which is spent on dresses, ribbons and decorations at the Lobby Shop.

Ten roles, ten play styles

The roles are what the game is built around, and each comes with its own genre. Swordfighter is combat: combos, dodges and slow-motion counters. Ninja is stealth, with hiding spots, wall jumps and thrown kunai. Cowgirl lassoes barrels and enemies and rides a horse in chases. Patissiere bakes and decorates against a timer. Dashing Thief swings on a grappling hook, hacks security and dodges spotlights. Figure Skater spins and leaps through ice shows that fill a performance gauge.

Detective questions Theets, gathers clues and uses a Strike of Intuition to unmask disguised culprits, at the cost of a heart for a wrong guess. Mighty is a superhero who holds up a bus as a shield, throws powerful punches and takes to the air. Mermaid swims and sings, steering schools of fish with the stick while holding B. Kung Fu is a brawler whose attacks are timed to shrinking circles. The full rundown of each role is in the cast list below.

The theatre as a hub

Between plays you walk the theatre itself. Each of floors 1F to 4F holds four plays that can be taken in any order; clearing them makes a dark door appear in the middle of the floor, and the Darkle boss behind it will only fight once Peach holds enough Sparkle Gems (10, 15, 20 and 25, then 30 for Grape). Beating the boss lifts the threads that block the stairs to the next floor. The fifth floor has four plays and no boss, and the basement holds the third play for every role and the finale.

The lobby fills up with friends as you go. Theet staff point out locked doors, the Pictioneer keeps a photo album of every play cleared, and a Star Lift, which opens partway through the story, saves the walk between floors. In the Dutch, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese versions, Canadian French and Latin American Spanish included, the ground floor is called the Lobby and the floors above it are numbered from 1F, so the levels can look one floor out compared with the English versions.

Sparkle Gems, Ribboners and Ninja Theets

There are 235 Sparkle Gems. Each role’s first play holds ten, its second play seven and its basement play five; they are rewards for side tasks, hidden spots and sets of eight Sparkle pieces scattered through a level. After the credits each boss can be fought again for three more gems by meeting conditions such as taking no damage. Only 100 are needed to finish; the spare gems buy lobby decorations, and all 235 unlock the Special Dress and Special Ribbon.

Each play also hides a Ribboner, a Theet who hands over a dress ribbon once found, often after a side task (in The Castle of Thorns you make six trees bloom). In the post-game, curtains in earlier plays can be pulled back to reveal 72 Ninja Theets; find them all for the Secret Dress.

Dresses, ribbons and rehearsals

Peach has 40 dresses and Stella 32 ribbons, and the colour of the pair carries into every role. The Lobby Shop sells patterns such as Polka-Dot, Horizontal-Stripes and Gradient for 100 coins, boss-themed dresses (Disco, Fang, Purrjector, Spotlion) for 200, and Radiant and Grape dresses for 500 after the finale. Other designs come from Ribboners, from Sparkle Gem totals and from the Ninja Theet hunt.

The five rehearsals (Swordfighter, Dashing Thief, Cowgirl, Kung Fu and Mighty) are optional bonus stages unlocked as the floors are saved. Peach starts each one with a single heart and cannot gain more, and a gold trophy earns a dress: Starry, Heart, Geometric, Checkered or Scaly.

Under the bonnet

The game runs at 720p in handheld mode and 900p on a television, at 30 frames per second in both, with some cutscenes at 24 frames per second; sound is stereo. Several reviewers mentioned loading pauses and the odd dropped frame. Save data lives in the console and is backed up by Nintendo Switch Online’s cloud saves, and the demo’s progress does not carry over to the full game.

Roles, forms and collectibles

Peach’s ensembles as the game’s own icons show them, plus the things she collects along the way.

• 
  Princess Peach (Sparkle)Peach as herself, with Stella as a ribbon. Uses Sparkle to revive the set and fight the Darkle bosses.
• 
  SwordfighterSword combos, slides, dodges and timed counters. Plays on 1F, 2F and BF.
• 
  NinjaHides in grass and behind props, wall-jumps and throws kunai. 1F, 4F and BF.
• 
  CowgirlLassoes enemies and barrels and rides a horse. 1F, 3F and BF.
• 
  PatissiereBakes and decorates sweets against the clock. 1F, 3F and BF.
• 
  Dashing ThiefGrappling hook, hacking and spotlight-dodging. 2F, 4F and BF.
• 
  Figure SkaterSpins and jumps in ice shows. 2F, 5F and BF.
• 
  DetectiveQuestions witnesses, gathers clues and names the culprit. 2F, 4F and BF.
• 
  MightySuperhuman strength and flight against alien invaders. 3F, 5F and BF.
• 
  MermaidSwims and sings to steer fish and reveal paths. 3F, 5F and BF.
• 
  Kung FuJabs, kicks and huge jumps, timed to on-screen circles. 4F, 5F and BF.
• 
  Radiant PeachGranted by the ten rescued Sparklas for the first round against Grape. Fires Sparkle shots in flight.
• 
  Super Radiant PeachPowered by every Theet on the island for the last fight, against Grape the Great.
• 
  Sparkle Gem235 in all. They open the boss doors and buy decorations.
• 
  CoinsSpent at the Lobby Shop. Ten are lost each time Peach runs out of hearts.
• 
  Heart CharmRaises maximum health from five hearts to eight. Optional and removable.
• 
  Dress ribbonHanded over by each play’s Ribboner; adds a new design to the wardrobe.

Peach’s big night spilled out of the theatre into other Nintendo games, shops and promotions.

Super Smash Bros. UltimateSpirit and event, March 2024Peach and Stella became a Legend-class spirit, fought on the Luigi’s Mansion stage with Assist Trophies standing in for Swordfighter, Patissiere and Kung Fu Peach, and a spirit board event ran from 22 to 26 March 2024.

Super Mario RunMissions, 22 March to 7 May 2024Nine Princess Peach missions awarded Sparkle Gems, and every three gems unlocked a statue for the Kingdom Builder, including Swordfighter Peach and a Peach & Stella statue.

Tetris 9939th Maximus Cup, 5 to 8 April 2024A Showtime! theme with Stella in its banner and icon was the prize for the event.

Nintendo Live 2024 TokyoEvent merchandiseOfficial stickers of Peach’s roles were handed out at Nintendo’s Tokyo fan event.

My Nintendo Store extrasEurope and UKEuropean store orders came with a Peach and Stella pin and notebook, and the UK store sold the game with a shopping bag printed with Peach’s transformations.

Plush toysSan-ei and SegaPrizeSan-ei made a Peach and Stella plush and a Swordfighter Peach; SegaPrize made a Stella of her own.

Super Princess Peach (2005)Nintendo DS · the predecessorPeach’s first Nintendo-published lead role, nearly two decades earlier. Read our Super Princess Peach page.

A small cast with a lot of costumes. Peach is the only playable character, but she plays ten parts; Stella, Grape and the Theets carry the rest of the story.

Character	Who they are	In this game	Abilities & notes
Princess PeachHeroine · the only playable character	Ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom, here on a night out that turns into the job of saving a theatre. Voiced by Samantha Kelly, in what was her last new recording as Peach in a Mario game.	Plays the lead in every show, using Sparkle when out of costume and a different set of moves in each role.	5 hearts (8 with the Heart Charm) 40 dresses to choose from
StellaGuardian of the Sparkle Theater · new	A sprite with a yellow star for a head and a turquoise dress and ribbon; her name means star in Italian. Cheerful, often too hopeful that the next show will be easy. Voiced by Yuka Terasaki.	Ties Peach’s hair up, grants her Sparkle and each transformation, and acts as her ribbon. Gives hints at the start of each play.	32 ribbons to wear A golden statue of her goes on sale after the finale
GrapeVillain · new	A masked sorceress who uses the power of Darkle; her minions call her Madame Grape. She wants to create the ultimate tragedy by plunging everyone into despair. Voiced by Yuhko Kaida.	Seizes the theatre, imprisons the Sparklas, drops in before Light Fang and Spotlion, and is fought twice in the finale.	Final boss, then Grape the Great Her name and her gang’s are a play on sour grapes
The Sour BunchGrape’s gang · new	Grape’s minions, usually known individually as Dūke. They come costumed for whichever play they are spoiling.	Most of the regular enemies are Sour Bunch members in costume: knights, ninjas, outlaws, skaters, aliens, mermaids, kung fu fighters.	Dozens of costumed variants (see below)
TheetsTheatre folk · new	Small dot-eyed creatures with round heads and big round noses, in every colour. They run the theatre and act in its plays.	The cast, crew and staff Peach rescues and helps; the lobby has 96 of them by the end.	Staff Theets run the shops and the Heart Charm desk
The SparklasThe ten stars · new	Ten Theets who star in the ten kinds of play, one for each of Peach’s roles.	Locked up in the basement by the Sour Bunch. Each role’s third play ends with one freed, and together they turn Peach into Radiant Peach.	Swordfighter, Ninja, Cowgirl, Patissiere, Dashing Thief, Figure Skater, Detective, Mighty, Mermaid and Kung Fu
ToadsPeach’s subjects	The flyer comes to a Toad, and two of them travel with Peach to the show. Also voiced by Samantha Kelly.	Blown away in Grape’s takeover; reunited with Peach in the credits, with her crown.	Artwork shown is the standard Toad design.
RibbonerTheet · new	A Theet who hides somewhere in each play, sometimes in plain view and sometimes behind a side task.	Gives Peach a dress ribbon that adds a new design to the wardrobe.	One per play
Swordfighter PeachRole · 1F, 2F, BF	A sword-fighting heroine: the first role Peach learns and the one seen in the first trailers.	Clears The Castle of Thorns, The Ghostly Castle and the Dark Swordfighter’s arena.	Sword combos, slide and timed dodge into a counter, upward spin attack in 2D
Ninja PeachRole · 1F, 4F, BF	A ninja for the plays set in Japanese villages and strongholds.	Chases scroll thieves and slips past lantern-carrying watchmen.	Hides in grass and behind props, wall-jumps, wall-runs, throws kunai
Cowgirl PeachRole · 1F, 3F, BF	A frontier heroine for the Wild West shows.	Takes on outlaw gangs, their purple Badness Horses and the Dark Locomotive.	Lasso grabs and throws, horseback riding
Patissiere PeachRole · 1F, 3F, BF	A pastry chef with a piping bag, starring in the cookery plays.	Bakes for a sweets festival, a spooky party and a bake-off with the Dark Baker.	Timed baking and decorating tasks
Dashing Thief PeachRole · 2F, 4F, BF	A thief working for a secret society of Theet agents.	Takes back stolen loot from the Sour Thieves and frees the Dashing Thief Sparkla.	Grappling hook, hacking, avoiding spotlights and lasers, glider
Figure Skater PeachRole · 2F, 5F, BF	A figure skater for the ice shows.	Performs with the dancers and duels the rival Top Skater three times.	Spins, jumps and dance moves; fills a performance gauge
Detective PeachRole · 2F, 4F, BF	A sleuth with a magnifying glass.	Solves the missing mural, the rainy-day plot and the purple mystery of the Dark Museum.	Questions witnesses, finds clues, Strike of Intuition; low jump
Mighty PeachRole · 3F, 5F, BF	A superhero for the science-fiction shows.	Fights off an alien invasion and follows it into space.	Super strength, powerful punches, flight
Mermaid PeachRole · 3F, 5F, BF	A singing mermaid for the undersea musicals.	Saves an underwater concert and the Mermaid Sparkla from a giant clam.	Swims, sings to steer fish (hold B and tilt the stick)
Kung Fu PeachRole · 4F, 5F, BF	A martial artist for the kung fu plays.	Climbs to a mountain training hall and beats its corrupted master.	Jabs, kicks, very high jump; attacks timed to on-screen circles

Bosses, mini-bosses and the Sour Bunch

Bosses first, then the mini-bosses that end individual plays, then every known costumed enemy type. The game gives most of them no English name, so the names in common use are given; many are romanised Japanese (kenshi is swordsman, yūrei ghost, kōmori bat). No hit points are shown in the game.

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  Disco Wing (boss)1F Darkle boss · 10 Sparkle GemsMirror-ball puppet bird in three phases: disco eggs, gravity flips and rolling blocks.
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  Light Fang (boss)2F Darkle boss · 15 Sparkle GemsSnake of stage lights; if it sees Peach it rewinds the section. Three areas, three phases.
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  Purrjector Cat (boss)3F Darkle boss · 20 Sparkle GemsProjector with cat paws; bounce Sparkled mouse bombs into it off its own shadow slams.
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  Spotlion (boss)4F Darkle boss · 25 Sparkle GemsLion statue firing Darkle orbs in cross and diagonal patterns; makes mirror copies in phase three.
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  Grape (final boss)It’s Showtime, Grape! (BF)Fought by Radiant Peach in the air, shielded by Dancer Dūke, across three rounds.
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  Grape the Great (final boss)It’s Showtime, Grape! (BF)The mask grown giant; Super Radiant Peach beams it, then rams it at full speed.
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  Yami no Kyodai Ibara (mini-boss)The Castle of ThornsA giant thorny rose; cut its vines, dodge its slam and hit its head.
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  Yami no Yūrei Kenshi (mini-boss)The Ghostly CastleA phantom knight fought in two phases with chandeliers in between.
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  Dark Swordfighter (mini-boss)The Dark Swordfighter & the ArenaA huge knight guarding the Swordfighter Sparkla.
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  Dark Ninja (mini-boss)The Dark Ninja & the Legion of GuardsQuick and fond of disguises.
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  Yami no Big Boss (mini-boss)Cowgirl in the WildernessA tall outlaw chief; stun him with barrels, then lasso him.
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  Dark Locomotive (mini-boss)Cowgirl at Dusk; The Dark Locomotive & the Doomed TownA runaway train.
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  Corrupted Patissiere Sparkla (mini-boss)The Dark Baker & the Bewitching SweetsThe Patissiere star, possessed by Darkle.
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  Dark Baker (mini-boss)The Dark Baker & the Bewitching SweetsPeach’s opponent in a bake-off.
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  Yami no Top Skater (mini-boss)All three Figure Skater playsA tall rival skater who corrupts the dancers.
• Ōgata Arm UFO (mini-boss)Mighty Mission: Alien Invasion; The RescueA saucer with fists; Peach grabs one and throws it.
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  Yami no Kyodai UFO (mini-boss)Mighty Mission: The RescueA gigantic mothership with fists.
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  Mermaid Dūke, darkened (mini-boss)Blight of the SeaA whole school of Mermaid Dūke turned dark.
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  Yami no Kung Fu Master (mini-boss)All three Kung Fu playsThe corrupted head of the training hall.
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  DūkeSwordfighter playsThe basic hopping Sour Bunch member; one slash.
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  Kenshi DūkeSwordfighter playsSword-wielder; two slashes.
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  Yari DūkeThe Castle of ThornsCharges with a spear behind a shield.
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  Hammer KatchūThe Castle of ThornsArmour with a hammer that sends out shockwaves.
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  Heishi DūkeSwordfighter plays and rehearsalSoldiers that charge in groups.
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  Yūrei Kenshi, Yūrei Yari, Yūrei Heishi and Yūrei Kōmori DūkeThe Ghostly CastleGhostly versions of the swordsman, spearman, soldier and bat.
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  Kōmori DūkeThe Dark Swordfighter & the ArenaBat-winged flyers.
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  Mihari MushaNinja playsWatchmen with lanterns; red ones go in disguise, spear-carriers drop from ceilings.
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  Ninja DūkeNinja playsObstacles in the chases; a red one makes off with the scrolls.
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  Karasu DūkeNinja and Patissiere playsCrow-costumed flyers and sweet thieves.
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  Narazumono DūkeCowgirl playsOutlaws who hop about and ride horses.
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  Gunman DūkeCowgirl playsShoot rubber bullets.
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  Badness HorseCowgirl playsPurple steeds that carry the gang and its loot.
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  Halloween DūkeWelcome to the Spooky PartyParty-crashers who spoil the sweets rather than fight.
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  Konran Shita CastonWelcome to the Spooky PartyTheets driven strange by the sweets.
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  Hikō Patrol and Laser PatrolDashing Thief playsFlying drones and laser-firing eye drones.
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  Keibiin RoboThe Stolen Statue; The Dark PrisonOne-wheeled security robots that give chase.
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  Skater DūkeFigure Skater playsSpinning skaters.
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  CriminalDetective playsDisguised culprits to be exposed.
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  Uchūjin DūkeMighty playsAlien-costumed hoppers.
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  Enban Gata UFOMighty playsSmall saucers that abduct Theets.
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  Carry AlienMighty playsSquid-like chasers with pulse beams.
• Shageki Gata and Tosshin Gata UFOMighty playsGreen UFOs that shoot and pink ones that ram.
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  Beam DūkeMighty Mission: The RescueAntenna-headed beam shooters.
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  Mermaid DūkeMermaid playsTrap the band in bubbles.
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  Kung Fu DūkeKung Fu playsMartial artists in waves.
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  Bōjutsu DūkeKung Fu playsFight with a staff.
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  Tsubonage DūkeA Kung Fu Tale; A Kung Fu LegendThrow pots.
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  Kung Fu Dūke (green)A Kung Fu LegendKidnappers Peach has to chase down.
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  HinadoriDarkle Boss: Disco WingPurple chicks hatched from Disco Wing’s eggs.
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  Little SnakeDarkle Boss: Light FangSmall snakes from portals.
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  Dancer DūkeIt’s Showtime, Grape!Swirl around Grape and soak up Peach’s shots.

Key staff

Names and roles from the end credits.

A Nintendo-published game whose developer was kept off the box until launch, made by a studio best known for knitting Yoshi out of wool.

Good-Feel and Etsunobu Ebisu

Good-Feel had already made several games in Nintendo’s Mario family, among them Wario Land: Shake It! on Wii, Yoshi’s Woolly World on Wii U and Yoshi’s Crafted World on Switch. Its founder, Etsunobu Ebisu, is credited as both producer and director, his first directing credit since Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon at Konami in 1997. Yoshihiro Hobo was art director, and D.A.G Co., Ltd. is credited for production alongside Good-Feel. On Nintendo’s side the producers were Nobuo Matsumiya and Shinya Saito, with Shinya Takahashi as general producer.

Like Yoshi’s Crafted World, the game was built in Unreal Engine 4, as Nintendo Life reported in February 2024. That made it the engine’s second Super Mario-family game, both of them from Good-Feel.

From a mystery teaser to a title

Nintendo first teased the game in its Nintendo Direct of 21 June 2023, in the same show that announced the Super Mario RPG remake and Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD. The teaser had no name: just Peach on a stage, a glowing spot under her feet, and an unnamed sprite who wrapped around her as a ribbon while her dress turned pale blue. In August Nintendo’s financial results listed it only as a new game in which Peach would star.

The Nintendo Direct of 14 September 2023 filled in the blanks: the title, Stella, Grape and the Sour Bunch, the first transformations (the pale-blue change from June turned out to be Swordfighter Peach) and the release date of 22 March 2024.

A more determined Peach

In October 2023 Nintendo quietly replaced the key art and box art. Peach’s gentle smile became a more determined expression, IGN and GamesRadar+ were among the outlets that noticed, and commentators compared the new face to her look in The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Some cutscenes were touched up to match, Kung Fu Peach’s transformation among them.

Wait for the credits

Nintendo did not say who had made the game before release. Good-Feel’s name turned up in the demo’s code in early March, Nintendo Life reported; asked directly, Nintendo told Eurogamer that players would have to wait for the credits. When the full game arrived, the credits confirmed Good-Feel and named Ebisu as director (VGC, 21 March 2024).

The voice cast was led by Samantha Kelly, who recorded new lines as Peach and the Toads. It was the last Mario game with new recordings from her before the roles were recast for Mario Kart World. Stella is voiced by Yuka Terasaki and Grape by Yuhko Kaida, and the music is by Good-Feel’s Soshiro Hokkai, Yuki Minami and Taichi Tada.

Demo and launch

A free demo arrived in early March 2024, about two weeks before release. It held the prologue and two plays, The Castle of Thorns and Welcome to the Festival of Sweets, so Swordfighter and Patissiere Peach were the first roles anyone could try; its save data could not be carried over. The game launched worldwide on 22 March, on cartridge and as a 4.7 GB download, with tie-ins in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Super Mario Run and Tetris 99 in the weeks around it.

What this game did first, checked against Peach’s earlier games and the Mario series.

There are no cheat codes, but there is plenty hidden. These are the unlockables and secrets worth knowing.

Gem thresholds for each boss

Disco Wing needs 10 Sparkle Gems, Light Fang 15, Purrjector Cat 20, Spotlion 25 and Grape 30. If a dark door will not open, go back to a cleared play for the side tasks you skipped.

The Heart Charm

Talk to the staff Theet on the upper left of the 1F staircase for the Heart Charm (eight hearts instead of five). It can be removed again at any time, and there is no penalty for wearing it.

Boss rematches

After the finale, every boss can be fought again for three more Sparkle Gems by meeting conditions. Light Fang, for example, wants no time rewinds, all eight Sparkle pieces and no damage.

The 72 Ninja Theets

In the post-game, press A at the ninja curtains that have appeared in earlier plays to uncover hidden Ninja Theets; The Castle of Thorns alone has three, all before the transformation. Find all 72 for the Secret Dress.

Rehearsal trophies

Each rehearsal starts Peach on one heart with no way to heal. Win the gold trophy for a dress: Starry, Heart, Geometric, Checkered or Scaly.

Shop unlocks

Boss dresses (Disco, Fang, Purrjector, Spotlion) go on sale after each first win; the Radiant and Grape dresses and ribbons after the finale; the Sparkle Dress and Ribbon at 100 Sparkle Gems; and the Special Dress and Special Ribbon at all 235.

Starting the finale in Radiant form

Replay It’s Showtime, Grape! and Peach begins the stage already transformed into Radiant Peach.

Few glitches are documented. The best known is a rare one involving the language setting.

Unresponsive Star Lift after a language change

Very rarely, changing the console language between sessions leaves the Star Lift and some Theets (the Pictioneer and the Heart Charm staffer among them) refusing to respond to the A button. Walking up or down a floor fixes it; on 1F, talk to a shopkeeper.

Trailer and final game differences

Not a glitch but a change: in the announcement trailer, Detective Peach’s question-mark markers were blue and the Junior Detective office was much darker. Both were changed for release.

Two official videos, both from Nintendo’s own YouTube channels: the September 2023 reveal and Nintendo UK’s pre-launch overview.

• Grape and the Sour Bunch are named after the phrase sour grapes.
• Stella’s name means star in Italian, which suits her star-shaped head.
• When Peach breaks into a fast run, Stella switches to a special form to keep up with her.
• The audience is never shown. You only ever hear it clapping, though it is heavily implied to be made up of Theets.
• In the Dutch, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese versions (Canadian French and Latin American Spanish included) the ground floor is the Lobby, so every floor number is one lower than in the English game.
• The coin counter stops at 9,999.
• The pale-blue transformation teased in June 2023 was revealed in September to be Swordfighter Peach.
• In August 2023, before it had a name, the game appeared in Nintendo’s financial results simply as a new game starring Peach.
• Good-Feel’s name was found in the demo’s data before launch, but Nintendo told players to wait for the end credits.
• Light Fang’s real weapon is the clock: if it catches sight of Peach it hurts her and rewinds time, sending her back to the start of the area.
• Grape’s empty mask is last seen floating on the sea during the credits.
• The only time the Sparkle Theater is seen by day is in the scene after the final battle.
• Once Grape is beaten you can buy a large golden statue of Stella for the middle of the ground floor.

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  By the end, 96 Theets have gathered across the five lobby floors.
• This was the last game in the Super Mario family with new voice recordings from Samantha Kelly as Peach and Toad.
• The game runs at 900p docked and 720p in handheld mode, at 30 frames per second.

Packaging from around the world. The pre-release covers show Peach’s softer expression from before the October 2023 redesign.

More from the stage.

Official artwork, logos and models from the game.

A one-off so far, with no re-release or sequel at the time of writing. Its life after launch was mostly in other games and in Nintendo’s shops.

Release timeline

• Nintendo Direct 21 June 2023Untitled teaser of a Peach game for 2024.
• Nintendo financial results August 2023Listed as a new game starring Peach.
• Nintendo Direct 14 September 2023Title, Stella, Grape and the 22 March 2024 date announced.
• Key art October 2023Box and key art revised to give Peach a more determined look.
• Demo Early March 2024Prologue plus The Castle of Thorns and Welcome to the Festival of Sweets.
• Nintendo Switch 22 March 2024Released worldwide on cartridge and download.
• Tie-ins March to May 2024Smash Bros. Ultimate spirit event (22 to 26 March), Super Mario Run missions (to 7 May), Tetris 99 Maximus Cup (5 to 8 April).
• The Game Awards 2024Nominated for Best Family Game.

Peach after Showtime!

Stella has carried on as a cameo: she shares a Legend-class spirit with Peach in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, has a statue in Super Mario Run’s Kingdom Builder and decorated a Tetris 99 theme. For more of Peach on Switch, see our pages on Super Mario Bros. Wonder and the rest of the Switch games, or the full games index.

Sales

The game started fast. Famitsu counted 77,562 physical copies in Japan in its launch week (18 to 24 March 2024), enough for number one, and it stayed top the week after, according to Nintendo Life. It entered the UK chart at number three, and it was sixth on Circana’s American chart for March 2024, which did not count its digital sales, and the month’s best-selling Switch game.

Nintendo’s results briefing of 7 May 2024 listed it among the year’s million-sellers: 1.22 million copies worldwide by 31 March 2024, only ten days after launch, of which 210,000 were in Japan and 1.01 million elsewhere, downloads included. Nintendo’s first-quarter material of 2 August 2024 put cumulative sell-through, its estimate of copies bought by consumers, at over 1.3 million by the end of June, about half of it in April to June alone.

• 1.22mworldwide by 31 March 2024 (Nintendo, 7 May 2024)
• 1.3m+sold through to consumers by 30 June 2024 (Nintendo, 2 August 2024)
• 77,562Japan, launch week (Famitsu)
• No. 1Japanese chart, first two weeks

Reviews

Reviews were mixed to positive: Metacritic’s average is 74, and 60 per cent of OpenCritic’s critics recommended it. Scores below are as listed by Wikipedia.

Almost everyone liked the presentation. The sets, costumes, music and sheer number of genres won praise, as did Peach finally getting a starring role; several reviewers singled out the bosses. IGN’s Logan Plant enjoyed the variety but felt the cutscenes made levels drag, and noticed slightly blurry character models and loading hitches.

The complaints were about depth. Many critics found each role simple and the game easy throughout, and GamesRadar+ felt there was little reason to replay it. The Guardian, the harshest of the major outlets, called it repetitive and shallow, while still enjoying the ice-skating and kung fu sections. Technical niggles, mostly loading times and frame-rate dips, came up in several reviews.

Honours

Princess Peach: Showtime! has yet to receive a community review on Super Luigi Bros.

If you’ve played Princess Peach: Showtime! and would like to submit a review, please get in touch.

Related coverage on Super Luigi Bros.

Screenshots, key art, box art, and promotional artwork for each transformation appear throughout the sections above. Nintendo trailers are in the Videos section.

Every fact on this page was checked against the 16 sources listed here.