Princess Peach
is a character in Nintendo's Mario franchise. She was created by Shigeru Miyamoto and introduced in the 1985 original Super Mario Bros. game as Princess Toadstool. She is the princess regnant and head of state of the Mushroom Kingdom, where she resides in her castle along with Toads. Since her debut, she has appeared in the majority of Mario video games as the main female character and the romantic interest of Mario.
As the lead female character in the Super Mario series, Peach's role is typically the damsel in distress who is kidnapped by the main series antagonist, Bowser. In most of the games, her role is to be a captive until she is eventually rescued by Mario. In several multiplayer games of the series, she is a playable character, such as Super Mario 3D World and Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Outside the series, she has appeared as the protagonist and player character of several video games, including Princess Toadstool's Castle Run, Super Princess Peach, and Princess Peach: Showtime!. She makes regular appearances as a playable character in Mario spin-offs and other video game series, including Mario Sports games, Mario Kart, Mario Party, Paper Mario, and the fighting game series Super Smash Bros.
Peach is one of the best-known female protagonists in video game history, having appeared in more video game titles than any other female character. She has also appeared in official merchandise, comics, and animated series. In The Super Mario Bros. Movie and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, she is voiced by Anya Taylor-Joy. Peach has received a mixed reception, with much commentary being critical of her longstanding repetitive role as a princess waiting to be rescued. She has been described by critics as one of the most iconic and influential female video game characters.
Concept and creation
Characterization
Princess Peach was preceded as Mario's romantic interest by a character named Pauline that appeared as the damsel in distress in Mario's first video game, Donkey Kong, in 1981. Mario's creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, wanted to use the characters Popeye, Bluto, and Olive Oyl from the Popeye cartoon as the main characters but failed to obtain the license, so he transformed them into Jumpman, Donkey Kong, and Pauline. Donkey Kong established Pauline's role as the female character who is rescued by Mario and appears as the damsel in distress in subsequent games. With the arrival of the Nintendo Entertainment System and Super Mario Bros., Pauline was replaced by Princess Peach. Miyamoto later said that Donkey Kong had been designed for arcades, which were frequented by male gamers, so Nintendo did not consider making a character that would be playable by girls. Several characteristics of Princess Peach were introduced in the 1996 role-playing game Super Mario RPG, including her use of a parasol as a weapon and a sleep spell ability that inspired her Final Smash in the Super Smash Bros. series.Following the debut of Waluigi in Mario Tennis, an evil version of Peach named "Walupeach" was pitched by Shugo Takahashi, co-founder of Camelot Software Planning, but the concept was rejected by Miyamoto before seeing the design, saying that it would be "just like Doronjo" from the Yatterman anime series. The design was pitched again by Waluigi's creator, Fumihide Aoki, for the 2004 video game Mario Power Tennis, but was rejected by Nintendo.
Reflecting on Peach's role within the franchise, Miyamoto said that although Nintendo had intentionally kept her as a damsel in distress who is saved by Mario in the games, they had wanted to develop her into a more powerful princess in The Super Mario Bros. Movie. He said that Peach was one of the characters in the film that evolved the most, as her role was changed from a princess that needs to be protected to one who fights for her kingdom. After the release of the film in 2023, Peach's appearance was updated on the box art for Princess Peach: Showtime! to make her appear more angry and determined like her movie counterpart.
Design
Peach's initial appearance was drawn by Miyamoto, who later asked Yōichi Kotabe to redraw Peach with his instructions. He had asked Kotabe to draw her eyes to be "a little cat-like" and wanted her to look "stubborn, but a little cute". A strategy guide titled How to Win at Super Mario Bros., which was published around the time of the first Super Mario Bros. game in 1985, depicted the princess as a human on its cover, but also with an alternative design featuring a mushroom head. Other merchandise designs created around the time of the first game depicted Peach with straight, long blonde hair wearing a red skirt, illustrating that her design was not finalized until later games.When discussing Peach's design for Super Princess Peach, released in 2005, Miyamoto said that it was important for Peach to be "Peach-like", meaning that she evokes the "free optimism of a Princess." He explained that she was designed to convey an image of strength, rather than being protected by Mario, due to many Nintendo developers being used to a matriarchal figure at home.
Names
Miyamoto said that Peach's name came from associating princesses with girls, and when thinking about girls, he would think of pink. In Japan, Peach's name has always been since her debut in the original Super Mario Bros. in 1985. However, she was localized as "Princess Toadstool" in the English-language manual. The English version of Yoshi's Safari, released in 1993, contained the first usage of the name "Peach" in the Western world, though she was called Princess Toadstool in Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3, released in 1994. In Super Mario 64, released in 1996, she uses both names in a letter addressed to Mario, signing it "Peach". From the 1996 game Mario Kart 64 onward, the name Peach is used in Western versions.Voice acting
Several voice actors have provided the English voice for Princess Peach. From the 2007 Wii game Mario Strikers Charged to the 2024 Nintendo Switch game Mario & Luigi: Brothership, Peach was voiced by Samantha Kelly. She has also previously been voiced by Jen Taylor. Beginning in 2025's Mario Kart World, she is currently voiced by Courtney Lin. Her other voice actors include Jeannie Elias in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, Tracey Moore in The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World, and Leslie Swan, a localization manager for Nintendo.Characteristics
Peach is the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom and ruler of her subjects, known as Toads, a species of mushroom-like people. Although she has appeared in a variety of outfits, Peach typically wears her pink princess dress with puffy sleeves combined with long white gloves. Her royal abode is a large castle with white walls and a red roof, adorned with a stained-glass portrait of the princess. Peach is the daughter of the Mushroom King, a character that appears in the Super Mario Bros. comics and is mentioned in the manual for the first Super Mario Bros. video game but has never appeared in the video games. She is presented as one of the few humans in the kingdom, despite the Toads being the predominant race. Throughout the mainline series, the Mushroom Kingdom is under persistent attack from Bowser and his minions, and Peach's role is to be his kidnapping victim. Her age has never been officially confirmed, but it varies between mid-teens and early twenties.Despite being the lead female character of the Mario franchise, Princess Peach has rarely been the protagonist of Mario video games. Since the first Super Mario Bros. video game, she has repeatedly been the damsel in distress of the main series, typically appearing at the end of the game to reward Mario after successfully rescuing her. She is a playable character in various spin-off games and has wielded several weapons, including a frying pan and a parasol. She also demonstrates magical powers, such as the ability to heal in Super Mario RPG. In the first Super Mario Bros. game, her white magic is the only way to undo the chaos caused by Bowser to the Mushroom Kingdom. Peach's relationship with Mario is a central element of the series, yet it remains ambiguous. Although Nintendo describes them as friends, suggestions of a romantic relationship between Peach and Mario recur throughout the series.
Appearances
''Super Mario'' series
Peach made her debut as Princess Toadstool in the 1985 platform game Super Mario Bros. on the Nintendo Entertainment System. The story involves King Bowser Koopa kidnapping her and hiding her in one of eight dungeons, necessitating Mario and Luigi to find and rescue her. After navigating his way through eight worlds and defeating King Koopa over a pit of lava, Mario receives a "Thank you, Mario!" from the princess as a hero's reward. A sequel to the game was released in Japan in 1986 as Super Mario Bros. 2 and was eventually released in North America as part of Super Mario All-Stars in 1993, titled Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels. Like its predecessor, the game involves Mario or Luigi attempting to rescue the princess from Bowser. In 1988, the princess was upgraded to a playable character on the NES with the release of a second sequel titled Super Mario Bros. 2. As one of four playable characters in the game, she had the unique ability to float over obstacles. The game was made from a preexisting Japanese game named Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic to repurpose it for a Western audience; thus, Princess Toadstool was used in place of Lina, one of the characters in the Japanese version. In the NES game Super Mario Bros. 3, Mario embarks on a quest to rescue seven kings from Bowser's Koopalings but eventually discovers that Peach has been kidnapped by Bowser. After Mario's quest to rescue the princess is complete, she rewards him with a joke and a dismissive "Bye bye".Princess Toadstool returned as the kidnapped princess on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in Super Mario World, which places Mario in a location called Dinosaur Land. Mario embarks on a quest that involves navigating through 9 locations to save Dinosaur Land from the Koopalings before rescuing the princess from Bowser. The princess is again the victim of Bowser in the 3D platform game Super Mario 64, released on the Nintendo 64. The game begins with Mario receiving a letter from "Princess Toadstool, Peach", asking him to come to her castle as she has baked a cake for him. Peach's Castle acts as a hub world and contains paintings that Mario can use to enter various worlds to complete challenges in order to win stars. At the end of the game, he must finally face Bowser and save the princess. After Bowser is defeated, the princess emerges from the stained-glass window that adorns the castle, having been held captive within its walls. In the GameCube title Super Mario Sunshine, Mario, Peach, and some Toads take a holiday to Isle Delfino. Upon arrival, they find the tropical paradise is being polluted with paint by Shadow Mario, a mysterious doppelgänger of Mario. Shadow Mario is secretly Bowser's son, Bowser Jr., in disguise, and, after framing Mario for polluting the island, he kidnaps Peach. Bowser Jr. initially accuses the princess of being his mother, but after Mario defeats Bowser and rescues Peach, Bowser confirms that Peach is not Bowser Jr.'s mother.
New Super Mario Bros. returned the series to 2D platforming on the Nintendo DS. The game centers on Princess Peach being kidnapped by Bowser Jr. and Mario traveling through eight worlds to save her. Peach initiates the events of the 2007 Wii game Super Mario Galaxy by asking Mario to come to her castle because there is something she would like to give him. The plot involves Bowser kidnapping Peach and transporting her castle into outer space. Mario's quest requires him to complete levels and collect 60 power stars before he can travel to the center of the universe to rescue the princess. New Super Mario Bros. Wii was the first 2D side-scrolling platform game in the series to introduce multiplayer, with up to four players choosing to play as Mario, Luigi, or two Toad variations. Miyamoto said that Peach was not included as a playable character because her skirt would require special programming. The game opens with the princess being kidnapped by Bowser and his minions, necessitating Mario and Luigi to rescue her. In 2010, Nintendo released a sequel to Super Mario Galaxy with a 3D platformer on the Wii titled Super Mario Galaxy 2. Like its predecessor, the game centers on Princess Peach being abducted by Bowser, requiring Mario to travel through various worlds to save her.
The Nintendo 3DS game Super Mario 3D Land begins with Bowser kidnapping Princess Peach at the outset. The player controls Mario as he navigates through eight worlds to rescue her, with each ending in a boss fight with one of Bowser's henchmen. In New Super Mario Bros. 2, the Mushroom Kingdom is again under attack from Bowser and his Koopalings, who kidnap Peach. The game involves Mario and Luigi traveling through platform levels, collecting coins, and fighting bosses to save the princess. In Mario's 2012 Wii U debut, New Super Mario Bros. U, the action takes place in Dinosaur Land. The plot involves Bowser and his Koopalings taking Princess Peach hostage and Mario and friends making their way to the center of Mushroom Kingdom to save her. The game offers multiplayer for up to four players, featuring Mario, Luigi, and two Toads as playable characters. The game's director, Masataka Takemoto, explained that Princess Peach was not included as a playable character because he wanted all of the characters to have the same moves as Mario, and Peach was not well suited for that.
Although not initially planned to appear in the 2013 Wii U video game Super Mario 3D World, Peach was suggested by producer Yoshiaki Koizumi. The game was the first in the mainline series since Super Mario Bros. 2 to feature her as a playable character. Koizumi thought she could offer a more competitive choice in multiplayer. He also hoped that players would be able to play alongside their girlfriends or wives. Peach has the ability to use her gown to float while jumping, allowing her to avoid gaps and other obstacles. She can use power-ups that provide various effects and boosts, such as the cat suit, which gives her the ability to crawl and climb walls like a cat. When Peach gets the Fire Flower power-up, she transforms into Fire Peach, where her dress changes from pink to the colors of Fire Flowers. In the mobile game Super Mario Run, Peach is one of several playable characters and is unlocked following the completion of the World Tour mode. The story of the World Tour mode involves Peach being kidnapped by Bowser. After she is unlocked, Peach can use her floaty jump ability during gameplay.
Peach begins the Nintendo Switch game Super Mario Odyssey being abducted by Bowser, who wants to marry her. She is confined to Bowser's flying boat, while Mario must travel the world to rescue her. At the end of the game, Bowser and Mario compete for Peach's affections, but she rejects them both, opting to travel the world on her own. In addition to her wedding dress, Peach wears a variety of outfits on her travels. Super Mario Maker 2 includes a story mode that tasks Mario with reconstructing Princess Peach's castle. By working through 100 courses, he can collect coins to pay for the construction of parts of the castle. When the castle is complete, Princess Peach allocates jobs via the Taskmaster, which unlocks wearable Mii outfits, including a Princess Peach Dress, Princess Peach Wig, and after completing all the tasks, a Princess Peach Tennis outfit. In Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Princess Peach is one of several playable characters alongside Mario, Luigi, and others. The game centers on their visit to the Flower Kingdom, which is disrupted when Bowser steals the Wonder Flower and transforms into a flying castle.