After “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” powered up to over $1.3 billion at the global box office, Nintendo has announced two brand new original video games in the Mario universe.
“Super Mario Bros. Wonder,” out Oct. 20, is a psychedelic 2D platformer featuring Mario, Luigi, Peach and Daisy as playable characters. In a nearly three-minute trailer released by Nintendo during its June 21 Nintendo Direct, the characters traverse colorful new worlds and fight off enemies. The game even debuts a new power-up: Elephant Mario.
It’s also Princess Peach’s turn to take the spotlight in a brand new video game coming to the Nintendo Switch in 2024. In a 26-second teaser trailer, Peach frolics around a version of the Mushroom Kingdom that looks like a theater production. From the available footage, the game appears to be a 2.5-dimension side-scroller. She also appears to have a star-shaped companion who she can employ to knock out enemies. Plot details, or a title, for the game have yet to be announced.
This isn’t the first time Peach has headlined a video game, as 2005’s “Super Princess Peach” on the Nintendo DS followed the leader of the Mushroom Kingdom as she journeyed out to Vibe Island to rescue Mario and Luigi — a reversal of the classic Super Mario narrative.
In their Variety cover story, Super Mario Bros. creator Shigeru Miyamoto and Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri discussed making Princess Peach a fearless leader in “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” rather than a passive royal in need of saving.
“In the games, we kept Peach as a damsel in distress who is rescued by Mario for a while, but we wanted to make her a playable character and a more powerful princess,” Miyamoto said. “We pushed that even further for the movie.”
With a new original game focused on the princess, Nintendo continues to give Peach the star treatment.
Nintendo also announced that 1996’s “Super Mario RPG” will be coming to the Switch on Nov. 17 with refurbished graphics. “Join Mario, Bowser, Peach, and original characters Mallow and Geno, in an RPG filled with twists and turns,” Nintendo of America wrote on Twitter.
Watch the trailer for the upcoming Princess Peach game below.
