The new Princess Peach Showtime game from Nintendo is a big deal for the Mushroom Kingdom Princess in that it’s her first solo outing since Super Princess Peach released for the Nintendo DS way back in 2005. For her return as a sole protagonist of the game, Nintendo apparently felt it prudent to make the character appear a bit more serious in the game, at least as far as the artwork for it is concerned. Nintendo fans noticed this week that the company had changed the key art for the game with at least two notable instances seen where Peach now looks a bit more determined and serious compared to the previous version of the art.
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The changes are subtle, but they certainly didn’t go unnoticed. Given that the game’s not out yet and won’t be until March and considering the fact that nobody’s been able to see anything from the game aside from what was shown off in the trailers released during previous Nintendo Directs, it’s unclear if the changes to the key artwork will be reflected in Princess Peach’s expressions in-game or if this change is strictly for the box art.
Princess Peach Showtime’s Updated Artwork
The Twitter account No Context Super Mario was one of several that first spotted the change and shared a comparison showing what the old and new versions looked like. The newer box art seems to have already taken the place of the old in many of the places where Princess Peach Showtime is listed for retail including Nintendo’s own site and third-party sellers, though there are some places that still feature the old artwork.
The most notable change is for the version of Princess Peach that we see most often shown at the center of the image. Previously, Peach’s eyes were a bit wider, and she was looking more straight-on at the viewer. The new version of the art has her eyes narrowed a bit more and her head titled slightly down. Nintendo of course hasn’t commented on the update to say what emotion it was going for, but the effect is a more serious and confident one.ย
A similar change can be seen in the Kung Fu Peach transformation shown to the right. Some have drawn comparisons between these changes and the version of Peach that we saw in The Super Mario Bros. Movieย where the princess helped Mario navigate the Mushroom Kingdom which was then so foreign to him. You can see the differences yourself in the images above and below, the one above being the new art and the one below the old.
If you haven’t heard much on Princess Peach Showtime, you’re not alone. Aside from its two appearances previously during Nintendo Directs, we haven’t heard much about it, but we’ll have plenty of time to learn more before it’s released in March. Until then, the preview of the game released so far shares more info:
“Princess Peach’s trip to the Sparkle Theater goes off script when the wicked Grape and the Sour Bunch steal the show!” a preview of Princess Peach Showtime says. “Partner with the theater’s guardian, Stella, to call curtains on this tragedy by using a powerful ribbon and taking on several starring roles-each with their own look and abilities.”
