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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. character
File:PeachMP8a.png
Peach's appearance as depicted in Mario Party 8
First gameSuper Mario Bros. (1985)
Created byShigeru Miyamoto

Princess Peach (ピーチ姫, Pīchi-hime) is a 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 within the adventure series.[6] She was known as Princess Toadstool outside Japan until late 1993, when the name "Peach" was mentioned in Yoshi's Safari, later solely becoming "Princess Peach". In 2008, Princess Peach landed on Forbes magazine's Wealthiest Fictional People list, with a fortune upwards of $1 billion.[7] She is ranked tenth in Electronic Gaming Monthly's list of the top ten video game politicians.[8]

Creation and conception

Princess Toadstool'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 that she should look "stubborn, but cute". With Kotabe's influence, Princess Peach changed considerably.[9]

Characteristics

In Japan, the Princess's name has always been Peach (ピーチ姫, Pīchi Hime, Princess Peach). 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. It was not until Super Mario 64 that the name Peach became widely known outside Japan.

Appearance and wardrobe

Princess Peach has long golden blonde hair, cyan eyes, a pale pink complexion, full pink lips, and a heart-shaped face. Peach's makeup is black mascara, pink lipstick, and pink nail polish. She wears a pink ball gown, hot pink high heels, white evening gloves, a sapphire pendant, sapphire earrings, and a gold tiara with sapphires and rubies. She wears pink panties as an undergarment. In sports games, Peach wears pink shorts and a pink camisole, with pink ballet sneakers. She wears various skirts and tops in Mario Party 2. In Super Mario Sunshine, Peach wears a pink sundress, hot pink stiletto heels, and jewellery. She 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 ballet flats, black gloves, a black cape, a ruby brooch, ruby earrings, and a pointed gold tiara with rubies. In Super Paper Mario she wears a veil and wedding dress. In the Mario Strikers series, Peach wears pink running shorts and a pink crop top with pink track spikes. In Mario Strikers Charged, Peach wears pink midriff-baring battle armor. In Mario Kart Wii, when riding a bike, Peach wears a white jumpsuit with pink boots, pink gloves, a pink shawl, and a pink belt with a white buckle. In Mario & Sonic at the Winter Games, she wears a long pink top over a purple ski suit with figure skates and white gloves.

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. [10] And in Super Paper Mario, when she barges into 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. However in The New Super Mario Brothers Wii she complains in a letter to Mario saying that Jr. Bowser's Castle is so dingy.

Abilities

One of Peach's most common traits during her playable appearances is her ability to temporarily float in the air with her large skirt. This was first featured during Peach's first playable appearance in Super Mario Bros. 2. She was one of the more popular character choices in this game since her ability made navigating across platforms easier. This ability has also appeared in Super Paper Mario and her playable appearances in the Super Smash Bros. series. In Super Princess Peach, she uses a parasol to float. Baby Peach also uses a parasol to assist Yoshi in Yoshi's Island DS.

Baby Peach

Baby Peach first appears in Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time, where she is kidnapped by Bowser and Baby Mario and Baby Luigi save her. She has short blonde hair and wears a pink baby suit. Her second, third, and fourth appearances were in Yoshi's Island DS, Mario Super Sluggers, and Mario Kart Wii, respectively.

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

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. 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 voiced by Mills, though replaced by Samantha Kelly starting with Mario Kart Wii. However, in Super Paper Mario, Peach is once again voiced by Swan. Peach has been voiced by Samantha Kelly since Mario Strikers Charged. 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 (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. Her cousin is princess Daisy, she has an apparent dislike for Bowser, Toadsworth is her grandfather, and the toads/toadettes are her servants. She is known to be part of a love interest with Mario. '

Appearances

File:Peach Mario 2.jpg
Peach as seen in Super Mario Bros. 2. This video game marked her first appearance as a playable character.

Peach is portrayed as the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom, her birthplace and current residence. 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 rule the kingdom.

Peach first appeared in Super Mario Bros. and has been kidnapped by the series' main antagonist, Bowser, many times since. In Super Mario Bros. 2, Princess Peach was a playable character. Peach, along with Mario were called by the inhabitants of 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 skill allows her to easily make jumps over areas larger than other characters could. In Super Mario Bros. 3, Bowser's children capture the seven Toadstool kings. Hearing of this, Princess Peach asked Mario and Luigi to rescue the them, sending them items while they were on their quest and providing them with power-ups after completing each level. She is eventually captured herself and later saved by Mario. 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. 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. In Super Mario 64, Peach invited Mario to her castle for a cake, but before Mario arrived at the castle, Bowser came and took control of the Power Stars. He sealed Peach in the fresco over the entrance of the castle. 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 a playable character in the scenes after Mario has rescued each of the seven Star Spirits, except one after Kalmar has been rescued. Her segments involve her sneaking past guards in order to gain intelligence that Twink can pass onto Mario. When she reads Bowser's diary, she learns that he actually has a crush on her.

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 had told him 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. 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. Bowser later admits that Peach is not Bowser Jr.'s real mother. 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.

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. In Super Paper Mario, Peach is forced by Count Bleck to marry Bowser against her will, in order to unleash the destructive Chaos Heart. She is later rescued by Mario and manages to convince Bowser to join their cause in stopping Bleck. 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 Toads, and Mario had to go through different galaxies to save her. Occasionally, she sends letters containing 1-Up Mushrooms to the Comet Observatory, the central hub for Mario in the game. In New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Peach is kidnapped on the day of her birthday by Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings.

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 the medium category of 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 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 a playable character in Super Mario Strikers and its sequel, Mario Strikers Charged. Peach is fast, agile, and has good passing skills. Finally, she 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.

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 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 serves as an amazing horizontal recovery. Her attacks include the Peach Bomber (where she leaps forward, twirls and rams her buttocks 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.

Once again in The New Super Mario Brothers Game for Wii Peach is the damsel in distress. She gets kidnapped on her birthday by Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings. That short story sets up the game for Mario, Luigi, Yellow Toad, and Blue Toad for their adventure to save Peach.

Appearances in other media

In the cartoon series by DiC, 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 technical limitations). Unlike in the video games, she is occassionally seen using power-ups such as the Raccoon Leaf. She is voiced by Jeannie Elias in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! and Tracey Moore in the two follow up series, The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World.

Cameos

Peach has made cameo appearances in non-Mario games as well. She is a playable guest character in the GameCube ports of the Electronic Arts games NBA Street V3 and SSX On Tour.[11][12] Peach 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 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. She appeared at the King Dedede battle arena in Kirby Super Star, as well as in the mini-game Megaton Punch. In Kirby Super Star Ultra, she is once again seen at the Dedede arena.

Reception

File:Peach Striker.jpg
Princess Peach as depicted in Super Mario Strikers. Her clothing is skimpier than what she usually wears.

Princess Peach has been praised by 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.[13] The website 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”.[14] IGN editor Matt Casamassina stated that Nintendo prudes would be "taken aback" by her outfit, which he describes as more revealing than any outfit she's ever worn.[15] IGN rated the character an 8 out of 10 in the worth saving index on their article “Mario’s Ladies: The Princesses of Mario Galaxy”.[16] The 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 claimed that Peach was what “once-unisex, postfeminist parents are shooting for”.[17] In poll conducted by the Official Nintendo Magazine, Princess Peach was voted by readers as the second greatest female character; the magazine stated that "some might view her as being a bit useless but we'll let her off as rescuing her is always so much fun".[18] Peach was included on GameDaily's list of hottest blonds in video games; they cited her appearances in sports games such as Super Mario Strikers and SSX On Tour.[19] She was also included on their top 50 hottest game babes list (again with reference to her Mario Strikers incarnation).[20] They listed the "damsel in distress" as one of their top 25 video game archtypes, using Princess Peach as an example of this due to her frequent kidnappings.[21] The Game Reviews editor Mark Fujii listed Peach as one of their "top 10 video game women who don't use sex to sell", citing her playable role in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. He describes her as a "force to be reckoned with" in spite of her attire.[22]

On the other hand, Peach has faced harsh criticisms. GameDaily 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”.[23] The same website had 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”.[24] 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 aspects of her character, including her wardrobe and her position as a ruler.[25]

References

  1. ^ Leslie Swan at IMDb
  2. ^ Asako Kozuki at IMDb
  3. ^ Jen Taylor at IMDb
  4. ^ Nicole Mills at IMDb
  5. ^ Samantha Kelly at IMDb
  6. ^ Ley, Ana. "Treated". The Monitor. Freedom Communications, Inc. Retrieved 2009-11-10.
  7. ^ "#15 Princess Peach". Forbes.com. 2007-12-11. Retrieved 2009-11-10.
  8. ^ Sharkey, Scott (November 2008), "Top 10 Videogame Politicians", Electronic Gaming Monthly, no. 234, retrieved 2009-11-10
  9. ^ "Iwata Asks: Volume 8". Nintendo of Europe. Retrieved 2009-11-10. See page 4.
  10. ^ http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/gamecube/file/920182/50110
  11. ^ NBA Street V3 information Amazon.com. Retrieved April 28, 2006.
  12. ^ SSX On Tour information Amazon.com. Retrieved April 28, 2006.
  13. ^ "Ten Babes Who Should and Ten Babes Who Shouldn't Meet Your Mom". GameDaily. 2008-06-25. Retrieved 2009-08-20.
  14. ^ "Top 50 Hottest Game Babes on Trial". GameDaily. 2009-02-25. Retrieved 2009-08-20.
  15. ^ http://cube.ign.com/articles/673/673293p1.html
  16. ^ "Mario's Ladies: The Princesses of Mario Galaxy". IGN. 2007-11-13. Retrieved 2009-08-20.
  17. ^ "What's Wrong with Cinderella". New York Times. 2006-12-24. Retrieved 2009-08-20.
  18. ^ "Leading Ladies". Official Nintendo Magazine. 2009-09-12. Retrieved 2009-09-12.
  19. ^ http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/galleries/babe-of-the-week-hottest-blondes/?page=5
  20. ^ http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/galleries/top-25-hottest-game-babes?page=4&cp=4
  21. ^ http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/galleries/top-25-video-game-characters-archetypes/?page=11
  22. ^ http://thegamereviews.com/articlenav-1530-page-2.html
  23. ^ "Worst Video Game Girlfriends". GameDaily. 2009-02-11. Retrieved 2009-08-20.
  24. ^ "The top 10 Worst Mario Characters". GameDaily. 2007-12-01. Retrieved 2009-08-20.
  25. ^ "Princess Peach: The Worst Woman in Videogames". GameSpy. 2009-07-21. Retrieved 2009-08-20.
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