#peach might also have it bad for Mario

[angelxd-3303]

Chapter three is finally here! Thank you all for your patience!

More to come!

[elitadream]

The moment Peach realized that her dear, sweet Mario is in another castle... 😟 💥

-

A companion piece to this concept I posted a while back. I really wanted to show the other side of the coin to complete the idea and give you all a glimpse of Bowser’s true nature in my version. He is Mario’s antithesis in every way, meaning that he will be portrayed as truly and deeply evil. 🙇‍♀️

[ponett]

I have now finally seen the Mario movie. It was Pretty Good. Here are my wordy thoughts on it. (I am going to spoil the entire movie. Duh.)

In many ways, the Mario movie does what I wish the first Sonic movie had done. They just took the characters and the premise and the world from the games, and made it a straightforward animated adventure movie. It's bright and colorful and remixes things JUST enough to include fun elements from multiple games, and it doesn't make Mario get adopted by James Marsden or whatever. It even has the music!

That's all you really need, right? Right...?

I'll get this out of the way up front. Chris Pratt was fine. He's fine

If anything, it really feels like they did the movie a disservice by letting us hear so little of the Mario voice in the previews. It took one scene for Pratt to disappear into the role for me. It was totally fine. If anything, I found Charlie Day's normal voice coming out of Luigi WAY more distracting, even if I did like him in the role.

Everyone else was pretty good, for the most part. Jack Black was obviously very good as Bowser, but I'm biased. Seth Rogen does the Seth Rogen laughs as Donkey Kong, but I thought DK was fun, too. (I liked his little rivalry with Mario where he was just constantly giving him shit.) The only casting choice I truly hated was Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong. I hated every line that came out of his mouth. He sounds atrocious. Just the worst. I swear to fucking god if they do a DKC movie and we have to hear him for 90 minutes

I did think Peach was lacking, but that was on the script, not Anya Taylor-Joy's performance. It's cool to see Peach fight, but it's one of those all too common instances where the writers put so much effort into making the main girl kick ass and be an effortlessly confident girlboss that they forgot to give her an actual personality. Not that I'd point to Super Princess Peach and its mood swing superpowers as positive representation or anything, but there's a happy middle ground, surely. Shrek was 22 years ago, just having the princess do flying kung fu kicks isn't enough.

Okay. With the voices out of the way, let's talk about the big picture:

It's way better than the words "Illumination Mario movie" implied, and I mostly enjoyed my time with it. The spirit of Mario is there 100%. But I'd also describe it as "ruthlessly efficient."

This was perhaps the main complaint critics had, and they were absolutely right. People have responded to these totally average reviews with "Well, what did you expect? Shakespeare?! It's MARIO!!" Like, yes, I would prefer it if the movie I paid to see had writing that was good instead of bad. What a shocker. My issue isn't that it's not "high-brow" enough. The problem is that it feels mercenary. It feels like an editor went through and deleted almost every line of dialogue that isn't some form of exposition, at the expense of the pacing. Any scene that's not a montage or some sort of action is kept as short as they could make it, with barely any room for embellishment, character interaction, or anything other than the bare minimum word count to hit all the typical Save the Cat Hollywood screenwriting 101 story beats to the letter. There aren't even as many jokes as you might think (and the ones that are there are extremely hit or miss, including a lot of the slapstick with Mario himself).

Mario and Peach's little arc together in the front half of the film is probably the worst example of this pacing. Even having read reviews that complained about how fast Peach goes from meeting Mario (by her admission the first other human she's ever met) to deciding to train him as the new savior of the Mushroom Kingdom, I was SHOCKED at how fast it was. They don't even lampshade it.

Peach takes Mario straight into the big training sequence where he learns how to use mushrooms and jump over platforming obstacles. Peach is apparently already a hypercompetent platforming pro and a great fighter, so there's no clear reason why she's taking the time to train this random guy to be half as good as her when the world is in danger. Then they set off on their adventure, Toad joins them, and we get a VERY brief travel montage. It's about thirty seconds total - just long enough to give Peach a line about how she wants to protect this beautiful world of hers to try and give her some stakes. We get the genre-mandated nighttime campfire heart to heart, which is exactly long enough to have Mario say he misses Luigi and to have Peach give the two sentence summary of her origin story and not a second longer. Then they reach the Kongs, and their big journey is complete. (They barely interact for the rest of the movie.) So much of the movie is like this - always ready to get on to the next scene as soon as a new one starts.

I'm not criticizing the script because I expect The Super Mario Bros. Movie to be a prestige drama - although there are certainly halfhearted attempts at a dramatic arc. The stuff with Mario's family was a fun enough idea, but again, ruthless efficiency. We get one quick scene with them at the start to give Mario some pathos, because I guess Save the Cat said he's gotta have some pathos. And then Mario gets his dad's approval amidst the action of the final battle in Brooklyn to resolve his arc, just so the movie can end as quickly as possible once Bowser is defeated. (Despite now having the approval of their family and their community back in Brooklyn, Mario and Luigi move to the Mushroom Kingdom off-screen without a single word dedicated to this decision, because that's where they live in the games.)

Look. I am not comparing it to The Godfather. Don't give me that shit. I am not asking for an extra half hour to explore Mario and Luigi's childhood trauma. I am not asking for the complex inner workings of the Mushroom Kingdom monarchy. I know this is gonna be a basic Hero's Journey adventure for kids. It just feels like it's turning down so many opportunities to have a little fun with the characters, to let them interact and play off of each other, to let there be some adventure on this adventure. This is the first time we've gotten to see these characters interact with fully voiced dialogue in a very, very long time! "Yeah, it's not High Art, but it's FUN!" Stories are fun! Character interactions are fun! The script could be having so much more fun!! It is adamantly against making the Story parts of this story-driven movie any more Fun than they functionally need to be!!!

Mario, Peach, and Toad's journey to find the Kongs is shorter than the training montage that precedes it. After the opening, Bowser mostly just sits in his castle and waits for the third act to start. Luigi's there, too, but he only gets one scene with Bowser and then the movie mostly forgets he exists until the climax. He doesn't even get to try and sneak out of Bowser's castle and get up to hijinx. He's just there to be a motivation for Mario, so he sits in a cage for half the movie. It's the bare outline of a script with action scenes added in.

Aside from the fact that it's Jack Black singing as Bowser, I feel like this overly-efficient script might be part of the reason why the "Peaches" scene stands out so much. It's a moment that didn't strictly need to be there to keep the plot moving or to provide an action setpiece. It's not even a reference to another Mario thing. It's just a fun and memorable little character moment that's there for its own sake. That's what the movie needed more of. To stop and smell the roses more often. To play in the space.

To be clear, this isn't a unique problem with this movie. Critics have been noting for years that second acts are disappearing from big Hollywood movies in favor of the Act I plot setup and the Act III action, even though Act II is supposed to be where you get to explore your actual premise. And lots of animated movies give me this exact same vibe of being too "screenwriterly," or feeling like they had an executive breathing down their necks and demanding changes based on focus testing. But these common issues are why I come away mostly feeling like the movie is on the better end of "average," rather than totally blowing my mind. You have seen this movie many times before, just not with Mario in it.

And, of course, there's the music. The score by Brian Tyler based on various classic Mario and Donkey Kong tunes (frustratingly all attributed to Koji Kondo) is absolutely beautiful, but it's unfortunately frequently overshadowed by the licensed music. Everyone already complained about things like the use of Take On Me in place of a lovingly arranged DKC medley, but it feels illustrative of the tug of war the movie is caught in the middle of, between wanting to be a lavishly faithful Mario movie and wanting to be a generic tentpole animated adventure movie. Every single licensed song used is the most obvious, overused song they could have picked for the scene. It reeks of cynical executive meddling and it took me out of the movie every time.

But there really was a lot of care and love put into this movie - more than probably any other video game movie ever made, not that that's a high bar. I don't want to underplay that too much amidst all my complaints spurred by the absolutely insane response to the reviews.

Aside from the countless background references that people will be picking apart for years, touches like the Captain Toad tune playing in the background of Toad's introduction or the Mario Kart 8 menu music playing in the kart garage really help bring it to another level of authenticity. I also enjoyed seeing some more obscure Mario enemies that felt like they were picked more for being fun to animate than for being nostalgic and marketable. No matter how many times I sarcastically pointed to the screen and deadpanned "reference. reference." I am not immune to noticing these things and smiling. I am not immune to the DK Rap. These alone don't make the movie good, but it's nice to have a video game movie that feels like it was made by people who like video games.

Most importantly, the animation is great throughout. It's leaps and bounds ahead of other Illumination work, and it's the best the Mario cast has ever looked. They even made Donkey Kong handsome, somehow. They're all so squishy and expressive, and they move so fluidly - especially in the action scenes. I particularly liked the more kinetic ones like the aerial Banzai Bill chase and the Mario Kart sequence. Truly, the Mad Max-inspired car battle on Rainbow Road where Mario literally does the speedrun shortcut is this movie firing on all cylinders.

Other, more hand-to-hand fights nail the Popeye-esque vibe Mario should be going for. He's an underdog who gets the shit kicked out of him by bigger, stronger opponents until he gets his signature powerup and turns the tables on them. My favorite animation of all probably came from the use of Cat Mario to turn the tide in the DK fight. They had so much fun making Mario move like a cat. Again, it feels like a choice made because it'd be fun to animate rather than just a nostalgia move.

It's that animation and that attention to detail that carry the film, really. They elevate it from mediocrity into being a fun watch for a fan like me, albeit one I couldn't help but pick apart with Anthony as we watched it at home. I'm glad I saw it, but there's a lot of room to improve with the inevitable sequel. I hope they do. I can't deny that I had fun with the movie, but I hope next time that fun is partially because of the script instead of in spite of it.

Stray thoughts:

Overall, I would say I enjoyed the movie a lot more than Sonic 1, but probably not as much as Sonic 2. Not that these movies need to be pitted against each other.

I hated the Luma. I hated how hilarious they clearly thought the Luma was. They have the fucking Luma break the fourth wall to end the movie and start the credits. This is going to be a deep cut for fans of bad animated films, but the whole time I was just thinking of the little fish from Romeo & Juliet: Sealed With A Kiss who's just the director's kid saying random nonsense. You know I'm right

I rolled my eyes at the "our princess is in another castle" joke and several other jokes that would have been dated in a gamer webcomic 20 years ago but I guess they had to be there

How much of Brooklyn did Bowser's giant floating castle take out? We know 9/11 happened in this universe because the Freedom Tower is there, hasn't New York been through enough

I can't believe there's a Diskun easter egg

The dog is the most Illumination character design in the movie. It felt like it wandered on set from The Secret Life of Pets

Mario being a gamer and playing Kid Icarus of all things just made me remember this tweet:

Yes Anthony did get mad at me for being thirsty for Bowser

[peaches2217]

could i share a goofy mareach idea with you? no pressure to post this ask or whatever, i just probably wont ever post the fic and i figured you might like the concept as is :]

Concept: Mario destresses by using the cat powerup and going cat-mode. He keeps it Very Secret because . well. hes a little (lot) embarrassed about it , but honestly? its just really nice and peaceful. take a day to run off and lay in some sunbeams. chase some butterflies. no worries only catbrain.

The mareach part comes in when peach gets worried that mario seems to have vanished, and luigi doesnt have an answer as to where (just a shrug and "i dont lnow what he's doing, but he always seems a lot more calm when he comes back, so i let it go") so she tries to find him, and does! And immediately melts because she found him catnapping and its very cute and sweet.

idk . i just think mario deserves some rest you know . sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. also i think the cat powerup would be awesome for stress relief . imagine actually being able to knead and skitter around and lay in a sunbeam like a kitty....

Um, hello, this is INCREDIBLE

It's so easy, too! Mario has a hard time relaxing, because he's always burdened with the feeling of needing to do something, if he's not doing something or if he's not taking on tasks then he's wasting his breath. The Super Bell bestows users with the subconscious of an actual cat while not taking away their cognition; the instincts are strong enough that he can give himself to them without even thinking about it, but he's still fully aware and able to actively enjoy himself. It's a little blip of freedom.

And then Peach... one day she finds him napping in a sunny field all sprawled out like this:

and it's fucking ADORABLE. Maybe she sits with him until he wakes up, or maybe she accidentally startles him, but he sees her there with the biggest smile on her face and realizes he's been figured out. And he just starts. Begging her to forget about this and not tell anyone, and he wants to go crawl under a rock and die because how else are you supposed to react to your crush finding out that you’re so bad at relaxing that it takes becoming temporarily part-cat just to get some respite?

But she promises that his secret is safe with her, and she assures him she doesn't find it odd in the slightest; actually, she finds it quite cute, and she's glad that he has some sort of outlet, because stars know he's bad about letting things pile on and insisting he can handle it, even when he can't.

And heck, maybe she joins him sometime. They spend all day destressing by chasing each other around and then curl up for a nap together. If this is pre-relationship, then consider: their cognition is still intact, yes, but Cat Brain overrides most things like shame or shyness, which leads to them sleeping in a patch of wildflowers all cuddles up together, like so:

Ah! I don't think I can do this one much justice either, but I have to share this with the world, because it's way too good not to be seen. 🥰

[weirdmarioenemies]

Hey look. It is one of those Mounds they are always putting in the backgrounds of Mario games! Are they mountains? Hills? Whatever the case, they seem impractical to me! So extremely vertical with nary a foothold. Mario is all about platforming, and yet these iconic structures are not even platformable! What gives? What are they here for? What is their purpose?

They are here to eat trains, of course! Yum yum yum! Honestly, it was bound to happen sooner or later. Trains never get eaten. They’ve had it too good for too long! I love trains, but even I can admit this is a necessary evil to keep them humble.

...Hey, wait! This isn’t right at all! Mountains don’t have digestive systems! There’s no telling what will happen if a mountain eats something!

Name: Fawful Mountain

Debut: Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story

Wow! What a scientific breakthrough! It turns out that if a Mario Mountain eats something, it turns into a Funny Guy. Who would have thought? Of course, there is only a sample size of one. Would the same happen if any old mountain ate a train? Or if this individual mountain ate a different train, or something else entirely? We need more tests done! Someone get the train out of this mountain, toss in a chicken parmesan, and see what happens!

Anyway, I love this design a lot a lot! It is so cute for a massive lumbering pillar of earth! The way its dirt arms emerge make it seem like some sort of artificial mech, but then its little feets with toes feel so natural! Maybe there are even paws on the bottoms of those. With this in mind, as well as the closed eyes visible before its awakening in the 3DS remake, I am getting the impression that this is truly some sort of ancient, slumbering dirt giant! Usually content to just sleep, it will awake if it senses anything wrong with the soil it is so in tune with... or if a train goes in its mouth! Rude!

Fawful Mountain appears during Giant Bowser’s battle with the Fawful Express, and that is how Fawful Mountain gets its name, because sadly nobody bothered to ask its name before Fawful laid claim to it. (I would have asked) After the train has taken damage, the Monty Mole operators drive it into a mountain to use as cover while they make repairs, and do not seem at all bothered when the mountain comes to life! Shame on them for leaving this innocent mountain creature to be beaten up for their own benefit.

I will give them one thing, though. That 100 in the corner is a distance counter, and they measure in Kilomoles. That is cute.

This isn’t cute, though! Fawful Mountain is weak to fire, what with all the flammable greenery covering it, and once it is on fire, it will stay that way. It is in pain! This is the worst day of this mountain’s life! Also the last one. Though it fights with all its might, Bowser kills it. Sorry mountain :( you were my best friend who was also a location.

Sorry to post such graphic imagery, but Fawful Mountain bursts into clumps of earth... maybe this isn’t so bad? Maybe it can later reform like nothing happened? Maybe its soul is released and can inhabit another mountain to use as a vessel? I hope so! But we will never know because no Mario game has ever dared to revisit the concept of trains animating mountains into monsters. I wouldn’t mind if they did! It would be pretty cool if that became the new generic plot instead of Peach being kidnapped. Imagine gamers complaining on the internet because ugh they did ANOTHER train animating a mountain plot? And I would just smile.

[telleroftime]

Imagine being put in charge of watching tiny Bowser while he's locked up in the Mushroom Kingdom. Maybe you wete a knight of Peach's and she only trusts you with the task. For whatever reason you're stuck on babysitting duty.

Just, all you do for hours on end is guard a room with a small cage and a shrunken Koopa King while he complains, riots, and plays a little piano. But then you notice just how endearing he can be. You have to stop yourself from complimenting the singing. He's testing out pick up lines on his shadow and his ears can pick up the way you lightly chortle. The next couple might be addressed to you - not that he'd let you discover that.

I just adore the idea of after he inevitably escapes he's enthralled with you. Did he used to lie awake at night thinking about the beautiful Princess Peach? Yes. Is he now blabbering about the adorable, cutesy guard that watched him in jail? Poor Kamek has to hear it. Maybe one day Bowser can confess to you or he'll just kidnap you like he does.

I absolutely adore thinking about having to look after tiny Bowser. It might be the fact that the power dynamic is completely reversed, with Bowser now incapable of using his size as a threat or his fire as warning, or it might be the fact that tiny Bowser means a lot more pouty Bowser, but I love all the scenarios that sprout from this regardless.

It's one of the best forms of forced proximity.

Especially when you think about the relationship between Reader and him. He's not your king. He does not rule over you. He has lost the right to respect after destroying your home - or at least majorly threatning it - so there is no way you need to talk to him. Other than him being the Mushroom Kingdom's prisoner, there is no expectation from you. There is no forced politeness.

No "my lord" or "your Majesty".

He's been temporarily brought down from his throne and, once again other than the fact he's the prisoner, tiny and stuck in a cage with you being his guard, you're more or less on equal standing.

You'd be able to talk to him and he to you.

Not only that but a thin trust could definitely be built up after the initial malice (because let's be honest, both parties here would hold some form of resentment at first). You could ramble to Bowser with no fear of him relaying it to the princess. You had a bad day doing your other chores? You could tell him. Someone has been bugging you? You could tell him.

Bowser would be able to ramble to you with no fear of you snitching to his people too. His worries as king. His reasonings for his methods.

I don't think that's a dynamic Bowser would be used to, not even with Kamek in the mix. I don't think he'd be used to people genuinely laughing at his jokes or being willing to talk to him outside what's deemed as respectful towards one's king. He wouldn't be used to people seeing him remotely as an equal.

Aaaaand when he inevitably gets back to his kingdom with the effects of the mushroom disappearing, as you said I can only imagine his initial thought being to brag about you and also, well, kidnap you. He would. He totally would.

Just imagine how surprised Peach and Mario would be when Bowser and his troops show up at Peach's castle. Mario would step in to protect Peach only for Bowser to ignore them and walk straight to you.

[genopaint]

Aaaaaaand here's Week 11 of Daily Dragons! Just like the last 2 posts. Moving. Tired. Stressed. Major life changes. No time to post. This last week also had a lot of bad days so I had to lump a lot of missed days together. For example, the Yoshis are actually the last 2 days of last week AND the first 2 days of this week. But enough talk, here's what I was cooking last week.

As always you can follow me on twitter where they’re posted daily

And read more info on each of them below the cut

Daily Dragon #70 - Dragon Mario

Happy #MAR10Day!! I won't do it right now cause I'm a little busy atm but I'd like to draw Luigi, Peach, and Toad with the power too! Like I said before, this is an older concept from 2019 like I said! Here's how it used to look, I think I've cleaned it up a lot!

Also I found an attempt to redesign this concept from 2023! Neat! I still think this newest version is best though

Daily Dragon #71 - Dragon Tank

To celebrate Chrono Trigger's anniversary! It didn't come out perfectly, but I mean we only ever see it from one angle, cut me some slack lol

Daily Dragon #72 - Lil Dragon

Small, pudgy dragons that love playing and biting! They're a little rambunctious so you need to give them lots of chew toys so they leave your stuff alone!

Wanted to draw something small and easy today lol this is another redraw of this little fella from 2019 I believe, I don't THINK this is related to the Pico dragons?

Daily Dragon #73 / #74 - Gemini Dragons

Two dragon sisters who fly around the Gemini constellation. They're never seen apart, even fighting side by side with crossover attacks!

Daily Dragon #75 / #76 / #77 / #78 - Yoshis

Coming in many shapes, sizes, colors, and powers, Yoshis are some of the cutest dinosaurs in the world! Do you have a favorite Yoshi color? Mine are easily Black and White!

Some bonus variants with the other Yoshi colors :)

I know this might seem a touch bit like cheating cause it's 4 Yoshis and also they're dinosaurs not dragons. But before you say this consider: nah it's cool actually

[shygirl4991]

Mario Reacts To Nintendo Corruptions

My thoughts! i dont normally talk about crew eps but some stuff tickle the mind

tbh this computer tells the story of me trying to get gmod maps

oh interesting anyone notice this door inside the castle??? i mean i get why have an exit cause you never know but we haven't seen it used before and i cant for the life of me remember seeing it indoors. Hope its not just a little tease for digital circus.

i see Clench is still around now we know not a one off like a lot of people were worried about, i still dont trust clench even if the hand did protect Tari from a glitch duck. I still feel it might be connected to the adware in some way also since Mario caught them once are we not hiding Clench from him??? i know Tari wanted to hide what happen to her hand but Clench is a wild card so harder to do

Clench can throw people into video games huh *sips drink* interesting knowledge to have i didnt think about that and how bad that can be if clench turns out to be evil.

new crack ship dont worry guys i will be on it once i finish my other stuff!

we do still have that concerning hole in the floor with demon peach in it thank you for reminding us about it crew ep. Also whats that stuff on the top a hat and what looks like a tie or something is that part of the picture or added not sure but Peach castle being dark out with a hole does show that the mushroom kingdom should know what happen and are just vibing a the fact peach doesnt rule them lol

thats a ending lol anyway those were the moments that caught my attention and got me thinking given we havent had a crew in a good while and now we got one i have a feeling Saturday might be something to move plot forward but dont hold me on that its not 100% just a feeling i got!

[jasminedragoon]

Hanahaki Bowuigi

Tehe I'm back 💋

HEAR ME OUT OKAY! You might think that oh yeah because Luigi is timid he'd be our poor victim, BUT OH CONTRAIRE LITTLE BISCUIT TIS BOWSER WITH THINE FLEUR DE BLOOD!

Due to Bowsers pride and natural aversion towards soft emotions he doesn't even realize that shit until Kammy or Kamek points it out to him. Kammy is trying to give him advice and Kamek only gives him sass™ further pushing him away from acting.

After a while of being partnered with Luigi out of nowhere and on rare occasions they get used to one another and even cheer for each other even if they aren't on the same team. It's a comfortable friendship and Bowser likes this new side he sees of him.

Eventually they become so comfortable Bowser invites Luigi on vacation with his family to a Cheep Cheep Island he owns. Junior loves him as his playmate instantly. Wendy bonds with him over their mutual love if dresses and encourages her to become a fashion designer and make a gun dress, on accident. Morton and Roy both like him because he can cook and helps them out with their lady issues.

Ludwig doesn't like Weeg for a while because he thinks he's a spy or something and thinks he'll try to break up their family. Iggy is almost in the same boat until he realizes that he wouldn't hurt anyone and poses no real threat it helps that he shows an interest in his inventions.

Larry is on the fence at first because he loves Wendy and Ludwig very much and values their opinion but he eventually decides he likes Weeg after joining in on their food fight. Lemmy is in the same boat as Larry, but quicker because Lu helps him calm down one of his brothers after a prank goes awry.

Seeing all this changes something in Bowser. He becomes more... feral. He becomes more protective of what his instincts consider his mate. He does his best to keep it at bay as to not scare Luigi. The longer this goes on the more he considers the surgery to remove his feelings entirely, he needs to take care of his children and he can still take care of them even if he won't feel love for them anymore.

Kamek and Kammy notice amidst their insistent bickering. They decide to be as subtle as a tank engine to persuade him to finally tell Weej and after much resistance he promises he will because the great king Bowser fears nothing!

Overtime Luigi notices how standoffish and strained Bowser seems now, even if he's more protective and hovering nearby more often than not. For a time he chooses not to say anything until he notices the cough.

Bowser had been holding back for a while before the flowers started to bloom in his chest. What was worse was that they were also growing through his shell. Scarlet Carnations filled both his waking thoughts and resting mind. It would take him hours of furious yanking to finally look normal again. Until he misses one

Luigi immediately asks him who is it. Who is it that couldn't love him? Bowser eventually spills while Luigi breaks down in front of him. Luigi doesn't get a word out before Bowser leaves acting rashly, thinking he made him feel so bad that he didn't feel the same he leaves to go through with the surgery.

Luigi tells Mario and Peach, they're married, of course the kids overhear and they know where to go and they go quickly to stop the surgery after Bowsers already been put under.

Bowser wakes up in his bed and he can still feel and Luigi yells at him about his actions and how they would have effected everyone especially the kids. Luigi finally gets to the part where it would affect him. He says he would miss him and heartbroken. He confesses his feelings for him and shows his own flowers to Bowser, they had only just started and thus begins the rest of their lives together. ❤️

Background stuffs

Bowser coerced the doctors into doing the surgery that quickly that's how he could do it so fast.

They have raging... Smut after also the older kids are happy ab this they had bets going

Kammy and Kamek are basically Bowsers parents in this.

Luigi becomes king along side Bowser and the koopas are pretty pleased with the change of treatment going forward. Everything's good ❤️

[skulls-soul]

More of peach being the best sister-in-law

(even if technically Mario and her aren’t married yet)

Luigi, Go’s to Peach, asking her if she can help him get ready for his first date and peach is torn apart because on one hand, she doesn’t want to help Luigi to go on a date with a villain but on the other hand  she wants to be there for him.

•Peach lecturing Luigi’s partner about being careful with his heart, and how to have a healthy and consensual relationship all in her princess voice, until at the very end of the lecture, she gives Luigis partner, a cold stare, saying that “if you were to ever break his heart, I will break you”

(Both Mario and peach are ready to fight bowser on site if luigi asked)

 After peach is done, worrying and fretting over Luigi, she asks about how the date went

Luigi would give her the play-by-play, while Mario goes to the kitchen to make some tea

Also, imagine peach first, finding out about Luigi’s crush on Bowser

He’s over here, apologizing saying how he doesn’t know how it happened one moment Bowser is just Bowser, and the next Bowser is giving him butterflies in his stomach that he wishes that he could kill, but no matter what type of pesticide he uses, it just won’t go away.

And peach is just like, “don’t stop yourself from finding love just because him and I don’t have the best of history.

He’s not the most morally sound person, but he’s never once hurt me and I seen the better sides of him before.

he has potential to have compassion and empathy.

Someone just needs to help him bring it out, and who knows?

that someone might be you” 

Luigi totally didn’t cry after this, and peach definitely didn’t give him a hug of comfort 

Peach also totally didn’t say why it’s a bad idea And, even though she won’t stop him from testing out the waters with Bowser. She will definitely at least try and convince him…totally didn’t say any of that

She loves Luigi (platonically) and wants him to be happy and if that so happens to be Bowser then by all means let it be, but also…it’s Bowser. what if he hurts Luigi? one of her favorite people in this entire world!!!

That’s not ok!! and she couldn’t live with herself if she just blatantly allowed it without some sort of hesitation 

[shapeshiftinterest]

A Semi Successful Rescue Mission: bowser x luigi

similar prompt as fic Frightened To Flirty in 3 Seconds Flat + the idea that bowser should have used luigi to roleplay practice his wedding with peach in the movie

first half has the same vibes as THIS post

mario, dk, and peach infiltrate bowser’s castle on a rescue mission

story under the read more

Semi Successful Rescue Mission (also on ao3)

The sound of rushed footsteps echoed through the corridors as Mario, Peach, and Donkey Kong looked for Luigi.

“We have to hurry,” Mario said, finishing a scan of the room and moving on to the next. “Based on the picture of Bowser you showed me, it might be too late!”

Sprinting down another hallway, they almost ran into a platoon  of Bowser’s troops before quickly backtracking. “Too late for what?” DK asked, trying to keep up with the plumber.

Peach gave the all clear on her end and the trio skidded around a corner, checking more rooms. “It’s only been 2 days, Mario,” she said. “It’d be too soon for Bowser to actually harm your brother; I’m honestly surprised we made it this far in so little time.”

It was true. The original plan would have taken at least another day or two, but Mario knew they would have run out of time by then.

“It’s not Luigi I’m worried about. I mean, I am worried about him,” Mario slammed another door shut and opened another. “But the one we should really be worried about is the Koopa King.”

Peach and DK paused to exchange a look. Mario stopped as well, looking to both ends of the hall before ushering the group into an empty room. “Look,” he pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing. “Sometimes when my brother gets to a certain level of scared he’ll get really, and I mean really, flirty. If that koopa is anything like your description of him we have to get to Luigi and snap him out of it.”

The two royals blinked.

“What?” Peach asked, unsure of where this was going.

“It’s some kind of- of self defense or coping mechanism, I dunno the specifics. Our cousins used to joke around about it when we were younger and call him ‘Lady Killer Luigi’ but it was a whole thing.”

Making sure the coast was clear, the three moved out and began checking the rooms for Mario’s younger brother.

“Mario, I still don’t understand-”

The three made their way to the last room with the biggest double doors Mario had seen in his life. He had a bad feeling about this.

DK snorted. “Relax, Princess. He’s probably just scared his brother’s gonna get hurt insulting that overgrown turtle with a crappy pick up line.”

“It’s much worse than that.” Mario said, pushing open the doors. Their eyes took a moment to adjust before Peach and DK’s jaws dropped. There, at the end of the aisle, was Luigi in a wedding dress. The younger plumber was standing next to a fully suited King Bowser, Kamek standing at the podium behind them.

“Not again.” Mario muttered to himself.

DK’s head whipped to the side to stare at Mario in shock. “AGAIN?!?!”

“Oh my god, what is happening right now,” Peach whispered.

“Mama Mia. This is just as bad as the time he charmed the entire wedding party and the couple getting married.”

“HE WHAT?!?!”

DK had never felt so lost and confused, so many things, so much information! He needed to sit down.

“Luigi,” Mario took a cautious step towards the ‘couple’. “Step away from the koopa.”

Luigi looked at his bro, side eyed Bowser, and then back to Mario.

His skirts swished as he shuffled a bit closer to the groom.

“Weegee, you leave him alone right this instant” Placing his hands on his hips, Mario stomped his foot on the carpet and gave his best Disappointed Big Brother stare. “You can’t marry a guy you just met!“

“Is this reality?” DK whispered to Peach as they watched the argument unfold. A few Shy Guys had joined them in the pew and were passing around bags of popcorn.

“I’m not sure anymore,” Peach answered, shoving a handful of snack into her face. She didn’t know if they should be watching but it was so hard to look away.

Luigi grinned, taking hold of the Bowser’s purple ribbon and yanking the king down to his level. The koopa grunted at the motion. “Listen here, you little-” he growled but was cut off by Mario.

“Weegee, no.”

“Good thing I’ve known him for almost 2 days then.”

“Luigi Mario, don’t you dare-”

Catching everyone by surprise, the green plumber grabbed Bowser by the face and slammed their lips together.

“MMPH?!?!?”

“Holy-!” DK and Peach squawked at the sudden kiss. Shy Guys were tossing popcorn everywhere in excitement.

“Damn it, Luigi,” Mario sighed, rubbing his temples.

Luigi pulled away first; sliding a gloved hand under the king’s chin and closing his mouth. With a wink and a playful pat to the larger man’s cheek, he turned and made his way to his big brother, shaking his shoulder.

“Relax bro, we were just practicing for his and Peach’s ‘future wedding’. It’s all pretend.“

“If you say so...”

        - 3 Hours After DK, Peach, Mario, And Luigi Leave Bowser’s Castle-

“Sire?” 

Kamek shuffled into the training hall, decimated exercise equipment was scattered every which way, scorch marks evident on some of them. The advisor even saw a few claw marks on the stone walls that had definitely not been there this morning.

All evidence pointed to one thing: Bowser was furious. Not only had he been embarrassed by that coward of a green plumber, he’d also been seen practicing for his wedding with the princess and kissed said plumber, IN FRONT OF PEACH!

Plus they’d all escaped and somehow set his prisoner’s free in the process. All that hard work for nothing.

“What?” He growled, growing hot with rage just thinking about the absolute disaster today had been. “Can’t you see I’m busy?”

“I- erm, I have some... bad news, about the wedding, Your Majesty.”

The king groaned, running his claws over his face. Stupid practice wedding, stupid rizzed up plumber. Stupid, stupid, stupid!

“Yeah yeah. We’ll have to postpone it again until I recapture the hostages and fix whatever damage to the castle and troops Mario and the others did.”

He swore, the next time he saw Luigi-

“You and Luigi are officially, legally, married to each other.”

“WHAT?!?!”

Kamek barely dodged the burst of flame Bowser threw his way.

“Whaddaya mean me and Greenie are actually married?!”

The king snatched Kamek in one massive paw, eyes blazing as he glared directly at the magikoopa. “Explain!”

Apparently even just reading the scripts for the wedding could count as official if the contract was signed and the ceremony was sealed with a kiss. The advisor hadn’t thought they’d actually get that far. He’d thought even less that the plumber would be the one to initiate it as a prank on his older brother.

“Great, just great!”

Bowser released the magikoopa and tried to ward off an incoming headache. “Aauuggghh, whatever!”

“Kamek!”

“Yes, Your Ruthlessness?”

“Find a way to break the marriage contract and tell the troops to set a course to the Mushroom Kingdom.”

“But Sire! You can’t marry the princess if-”

“We’re not kidnapping her this time,” Bowser snapped, smoke and sparks appearing at the edges of his muzzle.

“We’re getting my ‘bride’ back.

BONUS

can’t write this part but some possible ideas:

the others get informed about the situation (king consort luigi) via magic ball zoom call with kamek and toadsworth

mario is panicking, peach is worried, DK thinks it’s hilarious, and luigi’s nervous but honestly fine with it

bowser tries to kidnap luigi either loudly or quietly:

loudly:bowser bursts thru a wall or sets a diversion, kidnaps luigi, but luigi switches back to rizz mode; the divorce can only happen if both parties sign

quietly: he gets caught (luigi stalls him) and ends up talking with everyone; there’s a part where he’s like ‘I’m just trying to divorce the guy but all the divorce stuff is at my castle’

bowser’s signature was already on the contract during the practice run, luigi sneakily signed it as a joke when no one was looking before leaving

slow burn thing where bowser starts crushing on luigi while trying to convince him to get a divorce

normal luigi starts being less scared at the koopa kingdom and uses his status to form relationships with other kingdoms kinda behind bowser’s back

luigi also teases mario about liking DK

[elitadream]

I’m sure you haven’t been asked this before (let me you know if you did)

BUT! How would you’d draw Wario and Waluigi compared to the Mario Bros? since Wario and Waluigi are supposed to be exaggerated versions of Mario and Luigi, how would you’d describe them in your own version? would they be the same or drastically different to match your versions?

and How would they interact with your Peach and Bowser? I imagine your Peach would be very shocked and appealed or at least be surprised and curious about Wario and Waluigi? 🤔 Also fun fact, Wario and Mario were depicted as childhood friends at one point so would that be the same for your version? I’m just dying to know! 🙇‍♂️

I remember I've been asked about these two before, but it was admittedly a while ago! 🤭 And to be completely fair, I've never drawn them either. 👀 Oh, it's not that I don't want to! But I'm just really unsure about how I want to portray them exactly. x3 As distant and shady relatives? As mere competitors? Adversaries? Unexpected allies? An odd blend of the two?

Something that I've always liked about Wario and Waluigi is that they are neither villains nor heroes, but rather an indifferent in-between with pure gremlin energy sprinkled on top. They're the very definition of "chaotic neutral"; Doing things not because it benefits evil or the greater cause, but because it benefits themselves, be it good or bad!

If anything, I'd definitely aim to keep that vibe if I were to include them in my art at some point. One specific image that I always have in mind when picturing them is the two standing invasively on either side of a cringing and visibly annoyed Mario, teasing him crudely about Peach or trying to sell him an idea. 😆🗯

Simply put, I'd say I paradoxically view them as mild bullies and very clumsy helpers at the same time, lol. Like those awkward and slightly toxic friends that just won't go away, but at the end of the day aren't all that awful or mean either. 🤷‍♀️😅

I would need to give their characterization a bit more thought to imagine what their interactions with Bowser or the princess might look like, but if that's something people are interested in, then I just might!^^

[oh-hell-help-me]

Day 5: Blaze

They found the culprit eventually, after Mario arrived.

In fact, Luigi was sure that -had he not lead the investigation- Bowser would have disregarded his daily duties to smoke out the Koopa himself.

It turned out to be surprisingly easy.

It also turned out that Luigi.... might have made a bigger impression than he realized?

Like, at least a whole search party made up of vendors, Troopas, and the odd old Koopa ladies (who he once talked to about Koopa style crochet) had taken up the tracking while Luigi and his guards were busy, well... Busy.

In any case, the Koopa left a trail that was particularly messy and caught him before he left the Kingdom via airship.

None of them would explain why the Koopa was hauled to the castle with various injuries, but even Luigi could guess the answer to that -even if the gesture made him feel conflicted.

Is it bad to feel so much gratitude for this? To feel relieved that he meant something to other people?

To feel satisfaction as someone who hurt you refuses to look you in your direction?

He struggles to not acknowledge the part of him that makes him feel nauseous thinking out it- turns his attention towards the Koopa King as he sits on his throne amidst officials and common folk alike. It seems like they have gathered around for... whatever was going on, but the collective silence is deafening.

With his imposing bulk backlit by the lava wall, red eyes gleaming brighter than his scales, Bowser was a sight that had Luigi feel like he couldn't catch his breath.

His face was unreadable, with most of it shadowed, but there was something dangerous in his voice as he spoke.

"What is your name?"

"......Hackson." A jam to the back of his shell. "Sir." The Koopa spat out

Luigi couldn't see his brother from his seat in a makeshift wheelchair, but he could still hear Mario's teeth grind together. He could see Peach, perched next to him on a fancy chair, but the way her gloved hands clenched made him realize that she was just as angry.

By the subtle sound of claws on his stone armrests, Bowser may have felt the same.

"Well, Hackson." The behemoth's voice seemed to get deeper and raspier, something that made Luigi's spine stiffen. "Do you know why you are here?"

"Yes." The Koopa said curtly.

Red eyes narrowed. "Then you should be aware that you should choose your next words carefully." Smoke leaked from Bowser's maw, trailing his head as he leaned forward from his throne. "Why."

It was obviously as much a command as it was a question.

"I was getting rid of a problem you're too weak to get rid of."

Bowser seemed to almost lunge, baring his teeth into a snarl.

"YOU DARE-"

"I DARE ALRIGHT!" The Koopa didn't seem to register the way the crowd shifted away from him. "I DARE BECAUSE THAT-" He thrusts a claw at Luigi, who flinches into his seat- wincing as another panging sting raced from his stomach. "HUMAN AND EVERY OTHER SCALELESS-" he says something Luigi couldn't pronounce, but the way the Koopas around them acted told him enough. "-SHOULDN'T BE HERE! THEY SHOULD STILL BE RUNNING IN FEAR AS WE BURN THEM TO ASHES!"

Hackson seemed to be growing angrier, locking eyes with almost everyone present. "OUR WORKERS SHOULD STILL BE ABLE TO HAVE A ROOF OVER OUR HEADS! HAVE MORE THAN A DAMN MORSEL TO EAT! WE SHOULDN'T HAVE TO PAY FOR YOUR FUCKUPS!"

There is a silence that followed, but Luigi could only focus on the sudden smell of sulfur and the way Hackson flinched as Bowser stood up.

"And what did you gain, hm?" The king's voice was almost soft, but the way started to step down from his throne... "A promotion? A medal?" The sulfur smell grew stronger. "Did you know what you've just done? What you almost did?"

The Koopa, Hackson, seemed to pale and freeze on the spot. He looked less sure of himself, but something seemed to have egged him on.

"I-I could have saved them -finished what we started!" He wasn't making sense- saved? "I WOULD STILL HAVE MY FATHER HERE!"

....

Gradually, the sulfur scent faded, but Bowser kept cold eyes locked on Hackson as he stared down on him.

"....Regardless of your reasons, you have committed a crime against both the Mushroom Kingdom and my Will." He took a step back, beckoning the Troopas to secure him again. "You will be placed in a holding cell, until mine and the Council's judgment will call upon you."

It seemed like that was that.

But then-

Hackson caught a glimpse of Luigi behind his king, his desperate eyes locking onto his before seeming to turning into bubbling anger- no-

Hate.

Luigi couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't move when the Koopa lobbed out a fireball-

A hissing ROAR-

then bright, blistering heat came -cracking stone and sending waves of whipping air -nearly carrying his hat right off his head before he barely caught it against his head.

He couldn't tear his eyes from the sight- the sound -the smell---

He heard Hackson be burned alive.

He saw Mario -his brother, his fratello- take the fireball to his shoulder- crumbling against him in pain as Peach screamed-

He saw Bowser, fire highlighting him and his angry eyes-

-turn into regret, looking away even as he drew closer.

He was shivering, he knows he is in the way that Mario still tries to check him over -frantically looking him over even as Luigi stutters out protests because damnit Mario, you're the one hit with a fireball--!

How can he tell anyone that neither the Koopa's death nor his brother's injury wasn't the only reason he was shivering like a leaf? That it wasn't just fear that had left him otherwise mute as he and Mario were picked up by Bowser and carried away from the blaze?

That even after he heard those screams of agony, and smelt the charred meat of what used to be a living being, those encompassing arms- hot and firm with bumpy shield-hard scales- felt like the safest spot in the world?

[shamelessboiledwater]

After a while all the kingdoms have gone back to normal even dark lands which is unusual but it's still back to normal and all the prisoners that were with Bowser has gone home no thanks to Luigi of course speaking of Luigi how is ge handling this new found love he has for the dark king you may ask? Simple! He's not taking it well and decided to tell Peach about it for help she Actually and secretly supports it because not only will bounce your leave her alone but he'll have someone by his side but it's still Bowser we're talking about the king that not only disrespected and destroyed her lands and also destroyed the Ice Kingdom so he's capable of anything when he wants it and she's worried Bowser's just using Luigi to get closer to the mushroom kingdom so one day Peach decided to have a very personal talk with Luigi will she be able to get Luigi to understand or will his heart be broken into a million pieces by the dark king

~×~×~×~×~×~×~×~

As Peach sat at a table in her favorite café shop she noticed Luigi enter the front door, she waved him over calling his name "Luigi over here!" Luigi jumped hearing his name turned to see Peach and quickly walked toward her "Hey Peach you wanted to talk?" He asked sitting down beside the princess getting a little nervous about this talk she told him "Yes Luigi and..." Peach stopped as she looked around like someone was listening to their conversation and then whispered "It's about Bowser..." Luigi blushed a little bit hearing his name then coughed to clear his head "What about him princess?" Peach didn't want to hurt Luigi but knew it needed to be said: "I understand you've only known him for a few moments but this is still him we're talking about Luigi you saw what he did to my kingdom and what he was planning to do to not only you but the other prisoners..... and I fear he might just be using you for his gains and more importantly might be using you to hurt the people you love..." Luigi listened to every word that was said taking a deep breath "I'll admit I do have my suspicions but like you said when I told you about him opening up to me that has to mean something right?" Peach nods while sighing at the same time "yes that is true but what then... if he wraps his fingers around you who knows what will happen and on a personal matter does even Mario know about these feelings? Would he even be supportive of you not only dating a guy but him of all people and or species?" Luigi was caught there is Mario supportive like that would he hate him? Would he not be able to love Bowser? Would he try to stop him? Multiple thoughts went through his head some bad and some worse then he realized he never answered Peach's question "no h-he doesn't know and now I'm scared what would happen if he did" Peach takes a deep breath grabbing Luigi's hand "I know I have no place to be saying this but... you need to tell him and if anything happens bad or good I'm here to help... ok?" Luigi looked into Peach's eyes nodding slowly then looked down "I just don't want him to hate me"

~×~×~×~×~×~×~×~

Mario was in the kitchen of his and Luigi's new home that Peach gave them he was cleaning the dishes from last night's dinner "Luigi I thought I told you to at least rinse off your plants it's like high-school all over again" he spoke out loud scrubbing the pasta sauce off the dishes when he hears the front door opening and closing "is that you weegee?" Mario yelled out while still cleaning "yeah it's me Mario" Luigi said now standing in the doorway staring right at Mario's back and Mario could feel eyes on him but he stopped what he was doing turning around "is everything alright bro?" Luigi simply nodded sitting at the table keeping his head down now "how did your time with Peach go?" Mario asked drying his hands "Good" Luigi said quite fast and Mario got worried "are you sure you seem nervous" Luigi only nodded as Mario was now standing next to him holding one of Luigi's hands "weegee you can talk to me I'll listen to anything you have to say promise" Luigi looked up at Mario tears running down his face "Spaghetti promise and no interruptions?" Mario got more worried hearing Luigi say that that's a rule neither one could break if asked no matter how stupid crazy or dangerous it was "Spaghetti promise and no interruptions" Mario said taking a seat next to Luigi holding both of his hands "I'm ready when you are bro" Luigi took deep breaths getting ready for the roller-coaster of his life "Mario I-I know you always say we're brothers and that y-your proud of me and all of that but please understand that yes I know who he is and I do care about what happened but I... I..." Mario stared at Luigi confused but also worried still wiping his tears away as Luigi took a deeper breath "I'm in love with someone... a man to be precise.... a-and that man is B-Bowser" he said as Mario's eyes widen he now didn't know what to feel joy that his little bro is opening up to him or anger that Bowser got to his blessed heart and he looked into his brothers innocent eyes he wanted to saying something but he would be breaking the promise and decided to do just that he didn't give a damn right now as he pulled Luigi into a long and tight hug "I first wanna say I don't care who you fall in love with Lu and I'll always see you as my brother no matter what and... if you truly love him than I won't stop and I love you Lu I really do..." Luigi hugged Mario back sobbing into his chest "I'm sorry Mario I really am" Mario shushed him rocking back and forth "it's ok bro it's gonna be ok and Lu?" Luigi slowly looked up at Mario tears flowing down his face "I'm proud of you and I'm proud of the man you have become" Mario said wiping away his tears smiling at him "Do you want some leftover banana pudding?" Luigi only nodded smiling as well as Mario got up going over to the fridge "Mario?" Luigi said still wiping his tears away "yeah Lu?" He asked looking back at Luigi "You broke the promise" he said through wet giggles as Mario chuckled softly "yeah I know but I meant what I said."

[yurizonofanfics]

I checked out your mario proposal and I wanted to ask for the wedding head canons and how his family and brother would rect to it only if you want to

Luigi is happy so long as his brother is happy. He’s also your friend so he knows and trusts you and thinks that you and Mario complete each other, so he’s really happy about the wedding. He’s obviously Mario’s best man.

Mario’s family will be happy about the wedding so long as they know you. They might have some questions if you’re not Italian, but so long as Mario is happy, they’ll be happy as well. They just might give you a bit of a hard time, just like they do him, with the exception of his mom. His mom loves you and cares for you like you’re her own.

You don’t necessarily want a large wedding but given the size of Mario’s family, you do end up with a massive one. You just give in and let it happen because you want to make his family happy, plus his mom helps the two of you plan everything and it takes a load off of you. There’s some things you won’t compromise on, but everything else goes smoothly.

Your best man is Donkey Kong. Princess Peach gets ordained online and officiates the wedding. Or if you want Peach to be your best man, Cranky Kong gets ordained online and officiates the wedding. Donkey Kong just wants to party.

And there is a lot of partying at the reception. With Mario’s side being loud Italians in addition to your Kong friends…there’s going to be a lot of cleaning up to do later. There is so much food and snacks and wine and other beverages, then lots of loud music and dancing. You might feel bad about causing a ruckus at the venue later, but overall your wedding is great and you couldn’t imagine it being any better.

[talesfromthebacklog]

Tales From The Frontlog: Princess Peach Showtime.

7/10

Princess Peach Showtime is good. It’s a game I’m willing to bet will be overlooked in the sea of Mario titles that exist on the Switch. It’ll probably be even a bit pricey down the line. The smaller weird titles like this tend to do that.

The best way to describe this game is that it’s a game about a being magical girl who uses various transformations to help people. When you look hard enough almost all the tropes are there and that alone makes this worth a pickup. Because games that are so blatantly like that are rare.

But you really feel like it’s missing something that could’ve made it truly special. Which is weird because it does offer a very complete experience. I guess the best way to put it is it has trouble feeling like a “Mario” world title. And not because Mario is missing. Give me some credit.

I had a fantastic time playing, but we’re about the dissect what I think Princess Peach Showtime is missing.

Firstly I want to get aesthetic out of the way. Partially because there were a lot arguments online if Peach was “fem” enough. Which was peak stupidity. Peach is the fem of fems. It was insane this was even an argument. Also these outfits rocked.

But more importantly her game really lacked that Mario pop. Peach is fun, the premise is great, but you really could swap out Peach for a different magical girl and the premise/world still work. Peach just sells better. And she’s cute. Just look at her.

And I’m not complaining about the absence of most of the Mario cast. Characters as individuals should be able to shine on their own. Peach being the only main cast member used was a great decision. But you don’t feel like you’re in that high fantasy Mario environment. Even when away from the Mushroom Kingdom mario still has a very specific look to it.

Mario is high fantasy in its own way. I wanted to see that better reflected in Princess Peach Showtime. Every once in a while you do see glimpses, specifically in a Paper Mario way. Where the backgrounds are obviously set dressing, the horses have strings, some thorns were cardboard cut out, etc.

I think they needed to lean into this more. In a way I think the environment needed to be less immersive. I get that “there’s evil magic” but I think it should’ve looked a bit more hokey like real plays. Also put some people in the audience watching Peach rescue people. Have curtains close at the end of levels instead of it fading to white and then closing. You’re closing the curtain. You don’t need the fade to white. They’re small details that would’ve gone a long way to really increase the look. Maybe even bring some of the lighting in as part of the platforming where you’re running on the equipment and then reenter on a stage over.

It might be a useless complaint. I think this might’ve been more of a quick budget title for Nintendo at the end of a console life cycle, but don’t quote me on that.

There’s small aesthetic nitpicks I have too.

Like what the fuck is this? And they do this with the green and blue dresses too where they add this clashing purple. I’m not going to sit here and tell you she looks hideous. She doesn’t, but let us have a dress that is completely blue! And they don’t match the shoe color to any of the dresses fyi. Those stay her traditional red. I know that’s a nitpick, like a really small one, but it still… bothers me. I understand why they put it there. I just don’t care. Purple and yellow? And so lazily executed? Hmpf.

And she obviously looks better when everything matches to some degree. Look at that! Why did they restrict the color palette on the dress options so much. I get that pink is her color but… come on. The costumes are allowed to break the mold but the dresses aren’t?

Also just missed opportunity for some simple easter egg dresses. Especially since some of those challenges are tedious as all get out. I did all that to earn this ⬇️ and not something genuinely cool. Fucking ick. It’s not bad looking but not worth doing a frustrating to control challenge for. I’m not even asking for new dress models. But let us put her in a Daisy dress or something. I don’t know.

And the levels… are always fun on a first play through. But if you’re playing without a guide as a completionist you’ll need to run through them more than once because it is easy to miss stuff. And it can be more time consuming than it’s worth. And when you’re on a fourth attempt that shit gets old quick.

Don’t get it twisted though: this game is short, sweet, and regularly mixes up the gameplay to keep gamer’s on their toes. There are no costumes or game mechanics that overstay their welcome. Whenever I walked into a new stage I was uncertain what I would be walking into and the costumes are all equally fun in different ways. They do a good job balancing out the adventure and recreation costumes too. So you get a break from faster paced action by baking instead. Smart. My favorite is you get a magical girl transformation for each new costume you get and only for the first time you get it.

The transformations are fun. Plain and simple.

From a gameplay perspective I don’t actually have that many complaints. It’s not complicated by any means, nor is it hard. But it’s not meant to be those things. Princess Peach Showtime is just a fun cozy game getaway. Maybe even something you play in between other games.

Then there’s Madame Grape. I get what they were going for. They wanted a fruit villain because they have a “fruit” protagonist. (I think there is an homage to Dionysus as well.) But it’s just very eh. I don’t know how to fix that to make it less eh. I think it’s a core design problem. Additionally Madame Grape, despite being mentioned throughout the entire story, isn’t very important. She is a vessel for the plot to exist. Which isn’t inherently a bad thing, a lot of Nintendo villains fill this role, but she also has no iconic qualities to her either. She’s just kind’ve this purple blob that shows up from time to time. I do like that Nintendo didn’t use Bowser though. It keeps the game female centric. So that’s cool.

I can’t get over how she needs to look more grape themed. I know Peach doesn’t necessarily have Peach themes but like… you could’ve told me she was the fucking plum queen and I would’ve believed you. But I’m nitpicking again.

Stella the helper is… nothing. She exists as the vessel to make Peach a magical girl. Stella is the magical girl pet/wand/narrator for the adventure. She’s not bad. She’s just nothing.

The other NPCs (both friend and foe) fall into that Nintendo hole of being the same cardboard cutout person in different costumes over and over too. (At least they had different costumes…) Which is to be expected at this point, they’re just “not Toads”. And I know not every game can have a Mario Odyssey budget but I feel like we needed more visual variety within the NPC cast. Though this is an old ass complaint folks have had about Mario titles for a while so I’m not going to dwell on it too much.

Also while “stars” make sense the little “not toads” should’ve been fruit themed too. That way you could at least swap out multiple colors and call them different “fruits” if you wanted to be lazy about it.

I guess that’s the issue with the game in general. The only real character that has any semblance of personality is Peach. Everything and everyone else is just set dressing so Peach can perform for the player. it makes sense but it leaves the world feeling empty. And I’m not asking for lore. This is not that kind of game. I think I just want more substance. Which is hard to do when you’re boiling down tropes into a 3 act structure for each costume.

And I have a lot of nitpicks here. Almost like I dislike the game. Which was not the case at all. I had a grand time. The costumes are fun, it’s fun to play all the way through, and the levels in the game itself also doesn’t overstay its welcome. At max you’re looking at a 12 hour experience if you’re a completionist.

Under ten if you just want to play it.

Visually the game is beautiful. The music was nothing to write home about.

But. I think because it’s a short experience I’m disappointed it didn’t push itself harder to be high aesthetic. Games that are both genuinely good and girly are hard to find. Often “feminine focused” games like this just fucking suck. You can tell Nintendo cared about this project.

But I think to be an 8 or 9 experience it needed to push its visuals a bit harder.