20 Years Ago Today, Nintendo Broke A Major Mario Tradition

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I’ve been a huge Nintendo fan for years, and I’ve always loved Princess Peach! But it’s kind of crazy when you think about it – she’s been around forever, but she’s usually just the one getting rescued. For decades, she’s been the classic ‘damsel in distress.’ It’s a little disappointing, because she’s such a great character! Believe it or not, over all these years, she’s only actually been the main character in just three games, and one of those wasn’t even a proper console release!

Twenty years ago today, on February 27, 2006, Princess Peach finally took center stage in her own full-length adventure with Super Princess Peach. Unlike most Mario games, this one put Peach in the role of rescuer, tasking her with saving Mario and Luigi from Bowser. Though the game wasn’t perfect, it has a lot of appealing qualities, especially looking back – which makes it disappointing that Peach hasn’t had more opportunities to be the hero.

How Princess Peach Went From Hostage To Hero

Princess Peach has been a playable character in games like Super Mario Bros. 2 and the Mario Kart series for a long time. However, in traditional Super Mario Bros. games, she usually plays a supporting role. Super Princess Peach on the Nintendo DS changed that by making Peach the main hero. The game centers around Peach traveling to Vibe Island to rescue Mario, Luigi, and the Toads after Bowser captures them. Gameplay is similar to classic Nintendo side-scrolling platformers, guiding Peach through vibrant levels.

In Super Princess Peach, Peach explores a magical island and gains powers by defeating enemies with her talking parasol, Perry. While some found the way her abilities tied to emotions a bit problematic, it created a fresh and interesting gameplay style that set it apart from typical Mario games. Critics generally enjoyed the game despite some concerns about its easy difficulty and those thematic implications, giving it a respectable score of 75/100 on Metacritic. Looking back, Super Princess Peach feels like a successful attempt to explore Peach’s potential and imagine her taking a more central role in the Mario universe.

Princess Peach Deserves To Be The Hero More Often

Princess Peach is one of Nintendo’s most recognizable characters, but she’s often remembered as the princess who’s always getting kidnapped by Bowser, which sets the plot in motion for many Mario games – from the very first ones to recent titles like Super Mario Odyssey. While she’s gained more personality through appearances in games like Super Smash Bros. and Mario Party, Peach rarely gets to be the main hero. Super Princess Peach showed how much fun it could be to put her in the lead, and it’s exciting because it flips the usual Mario formula. It allows Nintendo to try new things with gameplay and art style, and it’s funny to see Mario and other heroes taking a backseat while Peach and the Toads save the day.

Although Super Princess Peach still had some traditional gender roles, it genuinely tried to give Peach a distinct personality and gameplay style separate from Mario. The game deserves recognition for this innovation and for establishing Peach as her own hero. Despite being a successful title for its console, Super Princess Peach never received a sequel. It wasn’t until almost twenty years later that Peach led a game again, with Princess Peach: Showtime! on the Nintendo Switch. It’s unfortunate, as both games, despite being somewhat simple, prove Peach can carry her own adventure. This idea has also been explored in other media, like The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which flipped the script and made Luigi the one in need of rescuing, allowing Peach to be a strong, active character. Hopefully, Peach won’t have to wait another two decades for another leading role, and the next game will build on the strengths of her previous adventures to create something truly special.

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2026-02-27 20:15