Super Mario series Peach made her debut as Princess Toadstool in the 1985
platform game Super Mario Bros. on the
Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The story involves King 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. In the NES game
Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988), Mario embarks on a quest to rescue seven kings from Bowser's
Koopalings but eventually discovers that Peach has been kidnapped by Bowser. The princess is again the victim of Bowser in the 3D platform game
Super Mario 64 (1996), 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 (2002), 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. 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 (2009) 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 (2011) 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 (2012), 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 (2016), 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 (2017) 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 (2019) 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 (2023), 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.
Other Mario games ''
Princess Toadstool's Castle Run, a game based on Super Mario Bros. 2
, which was released in 1990 on the Nelsonic Game Watch, was the first game to feature Princess Toadstool as the sole playable character. In 1993, she appeared in Mario is Missing!'', an educational game developed by
The Software Toolworks. Peach is a playable character in most
Mario spin-offs, including
Mario Sports games, where she is a recurring character. She is one of four playable characters that appear at the beginning of
Mario Golf (1999). She is one of several playable characters appearing in
Mario Tennis in 2000. In
Mario Golf: Advance Tour (2004), Peach is one of the Mushroom Kingdom inhabitants against whom the player competes in story mode. In
Mario Superstar Baseball (2005), she has a star move, which gives her the ability to obscure the ball with hearts. Peach is one of seven core characters that are playable in every game in the
Mario Strikers series. In the soccer game
Super Mario Strikers (2005), she is one of the team captains or strikers. Peach is one of several
Mario characters that can be selected to play for a team of three on the basketball court in
Mario Hoops 3-on-3 (2006). In
Mario Strikers Charged (2007), Peach is one of 12 team captains that can be selected for play. In
Mario Strikers: Battle League (2022), Peach is one of the ten playable characters, each of whom can perform a unique move called a Hyper Strike. Peach's special move involves kicking the ball into a heart-shaped arch and temporarily stunning other characters. Alongside Mario and Sonic, Peach is one of 14 additional playable characters that appear in
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (2007). In the baseball game
Mario Super Sluggers (2008), Peach is one of the main characters that can be chosen for the player's team once before disappearing, unlike secondary characters who can be selected multiple times. As well as being a playable character in
Mario Golf: World Tour (2014), Peach also has a course named "Peach's Playground". She performs a special move in
Mario Tennis Aces (2018), which involves spinning and leaping and finishing with a heart. She is a returning character in the kart racing game series
Mario Kart and appears as one of eight playable characters in the first video game,
Super Mario Kart (1992). A variation named Cat Peach was introduced as one of three playable characters in the first
DLC pack for
Mario Kart 8 in 2014. The game also debuted a variation named Pink Gold Peach.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe features a playable Peach, as well as Cat Peach, a baby version of Peach, and Pink Gold Peach.
Mario Kart Tour increased the number of playable options and includes Cherub Baby Peach, Kimono Peach, Pink Gold Peach, Vacation Peach, and Wintertime Peach as alternate costumes. In 1996, the princess appeared in
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. She is one of the party members and the final character to join the team. In gameplay, she can use defensive and healing moves or attack with a weapon, such as a frying pan or parasol. The game begins with the princess being kidnapped by Bowser, resulting in Mario setting off to rescue her. Although she was named Princess Toadstool in the original game, she was renamed Princess Peach in the 2023 remake released on the Nintendo Switch. She has been a staple character of the
Mario Party series since the first
Mario Party, which was released for the
Nintendo 64 in 1998. In the first game, she is one of six playable Nintendo characters that can be selected in a party of one to four players. One of the game's 2D board maps is named "Peach's Birthday Cake". Peach appears in the
Paper Mario series starting from the
Paper Mario video game (2000). In the first game, she is kidnapped by Bowser after inviting Mario and Luigi to her castle for a party, requiring Mario to retrieve seven Star Spirits in order to rescue her. Players can play as Peach in sections of the game as she repeatedly attempts to escape the castle. In
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (2004), Peach invites Mario to the town of Rogueport for a treasure hunt, but she is kidnapped and held in a fortress by the X-Nauts, leaving Mario to collect seven Crystal Stars while trying to find her. Players control Mario, but at the end of each of the eight chapters, the gameplay switches to Peach as she wanders around the fortress while attempting to escape. Peach is again kidnapped in
Super Paper Mario (2007), in which Mario must set off to recover eight Pure Hearts in order to find her. During gameplay, Peach teams up with Mario as a playable character, where she can perform a floaty jump. In
Paper Mario: Sticker Star (2012), she and the Toads are enjoying a sticker festival in the Mushroom Kingdom until Bowser arrives to cause chaos, resulting in Mario collecting stickers to save the kingdom. In the 2016 follow-up game
Paper Mario: Color Splash, Mario, Peach, and Toad are invited to Prism Island, which is being drained of color. When Peach is kidnapped, Mario and a paint bucket companion named Huey must save the island and Peach. In
Paper Mario: The Origami King (2020), Peach and the Toads are folded into origami versions by King Olly, so Mario and friends must fight to restore them. In the role-playing video game series
Mario & Luigi, Peach is a recurring character. In
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (2003), Bowser recruits Mario and Luigi to help him restore Peach's voice after it was sucked up into a device by a mystery guest and replaced with speech that converts to explosives. In the second entry,
Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time (2005), the brothers must save Peach and the Mushroom Kingdom from being conquered by the evil Shroobs by traveling between the past and the present. ''
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story'' (2009) continues Mario and Luigi's efforts to save Peach after the villain
Fawful tricks Bowser into eating a type of mushroom that causes him to inhale the Mushroom Kingdom, forcing the brothers to save Peach after being trapped inside Bowser's body. In
Mario & Luigi: Dream Team (2013), Mario and Luigi must work with a character named Prince Dreambert to save Peach after she is sucked through a portal into the dreamworld while staying on Pi'illo Island.
Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam (2015) follows Mario and Luigi on a quest to save Peach after both she and her paper version are kidnapped by Bowser. She also appeared in
Mario & Luigi: Brothership (2024). Peach is the protagonist and playable character of
Super Princess Peach (2005), a platform game with mechanics similar to
Super Mario games. Set on Vibe Island, the game begins with Bowser using the Vibe Scepter to capture Mario and Luigi, resulting in Princess Peach embarking on a quest to rescue them with the help of her talking umbrella, Perry. During the game, she must navigate levels, release captured Toads, and finally face Bowser. In gameplay, she can stomp on enemies and attack them using Perry in various ways. Peach's health is measured with a heart meter. She also has a Vibe meter, which governs her four emotions: joy, gloom, rage, and calm. Each emotion power provides a unique ability; joy powers her to float in a cyclone, gloom creates floods of tears, rage engulfs her in flames, and calm restores her health. Peach appears in two turn-based crossover games between the
Mario and
Ubisoft's
Rabbids franchises. In
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, the player begins with three characters, one of which is
Rabbid Peach, a Rabbid version of Peach, who has the ability to heal allies and perform a stylish dash, which can kill multiple enemies. After being unlocked at the end of World 2, Peach is also a playable character and carries a short-range shotgun called a boomshot and tosses grenades at enemies. She also has the ability to perform a healing jump to heal allies. Peach and her Rabbid counterpart return along with other Nintendo characters in
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope. In 2019, a variant named Dr. Peach was introduced as one of ten playable characters in the mobile puzzle game
Dr. Mario World. Her special skill cleared a row of objects when her skill meter was full. Another variant named Dr. Fire Peach was later added in 2020. Peach stars in the
Nintendo Switch game
Princess Peach: Showtime!, which was released March 22, 2024. With a focus on a theatrical theme, it centers around Peach saving Sparkle Theatre from the antagonist Grape and her minions, the Sour Bunch. With the help of Stella, the theater's guardian, she can change into various outfits with specific abilities. Her transformations include Swordfighter Peach, Patissier Peach, Kung Fu Peach, Detective Peach, Figure Skater Peach, Mermaid Peach, and Mighty Peach. The game is the first to feature Peach as the protagonist since the release of
Super Princess Peach.
Other video games Peach is a playable character in the fighting game series
Super Smash Bros. and has appeared in every game since being introduced in
Super Smash Bros. Melee. Upon her debut in
Melee, her moveset included the ability to float in the air and throw turnips at opponents.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl introduced her final smash, Peach Blossom, which causes opponents to fall asleep and take damage. In
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, her fighting moves include using Toad as a shield, jumping upwards and using her parasol to float down, and her final smash, Peach Blossom. Peach is one of several playable
Mario characters that appear alongside characters from the
Dragon Quest series in
Itadaki Street DS, a
Monopoly-style board game published by
Square Enix. In May 2016, a Super Mario Mash-Up Pack released as downloadable content for the
Wii U edition of
Minecraft featured Peach as one of 12 skins used as playable Nintendo characters. Peach's Castle was also recreated as a location in the game. Peach has also made cameo appearances in non-
Mario games. She is depicted in a painting in
Hyrule Castle in
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. In ''
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, a character named Christine sends her picture to a letter writer named Mr. Write, but it is a portrait of Princess Peach. She features as a playable guest character alongside Mario and Luigi in the GameCube versions of the Electronic Arts games NBA Street V3 and SSX on Tour''.
Other media In 1986, a Japanese
anime film was produced titled
Super Mario Bros.: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach!. Written by Hideo Takayashiki and directed by Masami Hata, it was based on the events of the first
Super Mario Bros. video game. The story involves Princess Peach escaping from the video game world into Mario's world before being captured and pulled back to the Mushroom Kingdom by King Koopa. Mario and Luigi are lured into the Mushroom Kingdom by a dog in order to save her. In September 1989, Peach appeared in a children's TV show,
The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, as an 8-bit sprite. She is voiced by Jeannie Elias in
The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! and
Tracey Moore in the two follow-up series
The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 and
Super Mario World. Princess Peach is also prominently featured within
Universal Studios Japan and
Universal Studios Hollywood's immersive
Super Nintendo World areas. A
costume character meet-and-greet with her is located in her pavilion. The interactive "Power-Up Bands" feature a design based on her dress. voices Princess Peach in
The Super Mario Bros. Movie and
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. Peach is voiced by
Anya Taylor-Joy in
The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) and
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026). Her casting, alongside the rest of the principal cast, was announced via a
Nintendo Direct in September 2021. In the film, Peach is Mario's guide and romantic interest, having been raised by the Toads from infancy in the Mushroom Kingdom. Director
Aaron Horvath said that Luigi became the victim Mario must save to substitute Peach's traditional role in video games as the
damsel in distress so she can remain a strong monarch and protector of the Toads. Taylor-Joy said that she was concerned before taking the role but that her portrayal of Peach as a strong, capable leader was "the way she was supposed to be." A song from the film, which was titled "
Peaches" and written and performed by Bowser voice actor
Jack Black, was released in April 2023. In
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Peach is revealed as the younger sister of
Princess Rosalina, who sent her to the Mushroom Kingdom when she was an infant to protect her from danger. == Merchandise ==