Super Princess Peach: Assorted Ramblings
February 2008 Issue
Features
- From the Editors
- Craft Check: Make Your Own Tiara
- Gaming in the Media: “I’m Not Offended, I’m Just Bored”: Gawker Cuts to the Heart of our Apathy
- Market to Me: Marketing Consoles
Interviews
- Industry Interview: Kelley Barnes-Herrmann
- Video Interview: Gabrielle Munoz
Articles
- An Atypical Princess: Ashelia B’Nargin Dalmasca
Author: Melissa Velte
- Princess Peach: Feminist?
Author: Drew Mackie
- Should Gamers Embrace Femininity?
Author: Natalie Hill
Melissa discusses they ways in which Final Fantasy XII's Ashe overcomes negative princess stereotypes.
Drew takes a look at the portrayal of Princess Peach and analyzes her history from a feminist perspective.
Natalie makes the case that embracing femininity allows for more diversity in gaming.
Gamer Stories
Reviews
Odds 'n Ends
Okay. So. I was gonna write this review of Super Princess Peach for the February issue of Cerise. I had every intention of doing so, I swear. But the thing is, I hated the game. Well, no, maybe hate is too strong of a word. I strongly disliked Super Princess Peach and the thought of sitting down and organizing my distaste for the game into a coherent and original critique…well, the truth is I’d actually rather do my coursework. It’s just that bad. So instead of a review, I’m going to ramble instead.
Maybe I’m not being fair. I mean, the game’s not terrible, per se. I just despised it, is all. The actual nuts and bolts of Super Princess Peach are nicely done, though. The worlds are bright and lively, like any good Mario game, and the game doesn’t play poorly or anything. It’s just boring. I mean look, the game is very obviously made for beginner gamers. If you’ve ever picked up a platformer in your life, then you have already developed all the skills necessary to breeze through Super Princess Peach without bating an eye. Hell, you probably don’t even need to open your eyes. Unless you, I dunno, don’t know how to jump or something. So there was pretty much no challenge whatsoever, from start to finish. Thus, the boredom.
So the game is easy. Too easy. There’s no challenge and it was a boring waste of time. But, wait! I am not this game’s target audience, you say? Well then. Let’s talk about that instead. This game was pretty clearly built from the ground up for young girls. It’s sugarcoated in tried and true uber-feminine stereotypes, from Peach’s reliance upon her wishy-washy emotions for power (Okay, so that’s not quite how it works but do the actual mechanics of her powers really matter? I think not) to the playful cheerfulness Peach displays throughout the game (Float on the air and Peach cries out “Weee!;” save a toad and Peach claps her hands in delight) to the usage of an umbrella as a weapon (This is a step up from her usual frying pan in Smash Bros.…I guess?). As many others before me have pointed out, Nintendo’s decision to parade out demeaning stereotypes to characterize their first Peach game is more than just disappointing. Obviously they were trying to design a game that would appeal to girls, but clearly they don’t seem to have much respect for that market, nor do they understand it.
Let me back track a bit. The first thing about this game that gets me is the cover. Take a look at it. Peach’s expression manages to combine fear, bewilderment and an utter lack of comprehension all in one. It’s Peach’s very own pornface. Peach has finally been called upon to save the day and damn if she doesn’t look dumbfounded. Honestly, what kind of message does this send to the consumer? Glance at the cover of any Mario game and you see a plumber who is ready and raring for adventure. Peach just looks confused. Even Mario, tied up and under the watchful eye of a belligerent Koopa, looks fiercer than the game’s would-be rescuer. The rest of the game pretty much bears out the ominous message from the cover: Peach doesn’t know what’s going on and isn’t portrayed as a very intrepid heroine. If anything, her head’s in the clouds and she’s just happy to go along for the ride. And, I mean, ultimately, there is an anthropomorphic parasol who tells Peach what to do at each and every step in the game. Let me make this clear: an umbrella has a better grasp of the situation at hand than Peach herself does. WTF. Nintendo, give your leading lady some respect already. Geez.
But let’s go back to the issue of Peach’s powers in this game. Ostensibly, according to the game’s plot, Peach must traverse her way through “Vibe Island,” a place where emotions run high and Bowser wields the Vibe Scepter, which gives him the power to control the emotions of others. Also, Peach has this talking umbrella that helps her/gives her powers. Or something. I don’t know. You see why I said the hows and whys of her powers don’t really matter? The end result is this is Peach’s first outing as a leading lady in the gaming world, her first opportunity to turn the tables on stupid sexist stereotypes about damsels in distress and Nintendo decided to let her emotions define her character. No matter how you wanna slice it, I’m still cringing. This gameplay twist falls pretty flat too. It’s not really a staple of the game: you rarely need to draw upon Peach’s silly vibe powers, and usually only for side quest type stuff. So basically, the developers pretty much just added on sexist gameplay elements for kicks. Oh joy!
Or gloom. Or rage. Just tap the touch screen and it’ll change in a heartbeat. Must be those tricksy feminine hormones of mine, making me so temperamental. Dang.
I guess it’s a good thing that this game exists. I hear that it’s a hit with its target audience and if that’ll put a DS in their hands then I’ll chalk that up as a positive side effect of Super Princess Peach’s existence. But you know, I just think Nintendo can do so much better.
Article © February 2008 by Olivia Luna.
