Brie Larson on What to Expect When Playing ‘Princess Peach: Showtime!’

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Nintendo knows how to do a good tease. For the last couple weeks, the company has unveiled many of the transformations Princess Peach will undergo in her first solo game in almost 20 years, Princess Peach: Showtime!. The iconic Nintendo heroine is trapped in a theater but, throughout her adventure, becomes a pastry chef, a cowgirl, a detective, a thief, a superhero, a ninja, a swordfighter, a mermaid, a figure skater—the list goes on.

The biggest mystery? How all those roles will work in one game. ELLE and Nintendo ambassador Brie Larson found out that answer at a Valentine’s week press preview for the game ahead of its March 22 release date. It was not what either of us expected.

“There was a lot that surprised me about the game in particular, the transformations,” Larson told ELLE.com after she played through the demo that involved trying five of Peach’s transformations (swordfighter, cowgirl, pastry chef, ninja, and figure skater). “I didn’t know exactly how that was gonna play out in the game.”

Princess Peach: Showtime! is not heavy on story—at least in the demo Larson and ELLE experienced. (Peach is trying to save the theater from villainess Grape, who is trying to make every play end tragically.) But it will give you more variety in gameplay styles than arguably any Mario platform game before it.

Here’s how it works: Peach enters different plays in the theater where she will take on one role or “transformation.” Each play feels like a separate game itself. In the ninja play, for example, Ninja Peach can wall climb, blend into backgrounds, sneak up on enemies, and strike them. It is a very traditional platformer.

On the completely opposite end of the spectrum, Pâtissière Peach will make cookies and decorate cakes on a time limit. That level is a cross between Cooking Mama and one of the hardest Mario Party mini games you will ever play. Larson, a very skilled gamer, called it out as particularly challenging. “Decorating the cakes went horribly wrong,” she said. “I was frustrated, and I’d like to do it again.”

The actress took ELLE through her first-time experience with Princess Peach: Showtime!, her thoughts on the character, and her other favorite Nintendo Switch games. She also offered the most relatable update on her Animal Crossing island that ELLE saw in 2020.

I want to start by asking about your history of Princess Peach growing up.

Oh, well, I mean, I don’t think I’ve lived without Princess Peach in my life. I mean, the first Nintendo console, those are some of my earliest memories. So she’s been around my whole life. I’ve grown up with Peach.

How has the character inspired you?

Well, she was always this beautiful vision in the games and also then with more time whether it was like Mario Party or Mario Kart, you could see that she was just able to keep up with everybody else. And so I always just had such an affinity. She was the character that we fought over, me and my sister.

What surprised you most playing Princess Peach: Showtime!?

The transformations. I didn’t know exactly how that was gonna play out in the game. I’d seen the poster, I’d watched the trailer, I knew what was gonna happen. I just didn’t know how it was going to happen, and every single time that happened, I felt just shocked and excited. And then you have this adventure of discovering what this character can be, how it works within the rules of that game. And getting to see Peach play all of these different characters and see how multifaceted she is after all this time is just spectacular.

Was there a favorite transformation of yours?

I knew you were going to ask me that, and I wanna have a clear answer for you, but I think I was so excited every time it happened that I don’t have a clear favorite. Like, I started off with Cowgirl. Cowgirl Peach was huge for me that I thought, “Oh my gosh, does it get better than that?” But then I’m suddenly decorating cakes and then I got a piece of bamboo, and I’m underwater as a ninja. Oh, and the figure skater, I didn’t know about the figure skater because I guess that was just announced. So I’m just really excited.

Which Princess Peach transformation would you most want to play in real life?

The swordfighter was pretty great—the boots were really good—and figure skater were my favorite. [Pâtissière Peach’s outfit], that’s like what I would wear in my day-to-day life.

Do you have any tips for the levels that you played?

I think just allowing yourself to get immersed into the gameplay. There’s so many things to learn and be surprised by. I’m curious to see how it progresses because once I started getting the hang of it, I wanted to see how much further it could go. So I just felt like I was in this constant state of surprise. Timing, as with anything, is important. Just like with any of the games you’ve played in the past, it’s all about pressing the jump button and when to attack, when to hide. And so there’s things that make it seamless throughout the game, but it’s also changing enough that you’re constantly surprised and challenged.

I want go a little broader now. What are your other favorite Nintendo Switch games to play?

It always changes. It’s kind of like whatever I’m playing is my favorite game. But right now I’m pretty deep into [The Legend of Zelda:] Tears of the Kingdom. I don’t know actually how far I [am]. I would imagine I’m maybe halfway in at this point. So I’m very deep into it, and it’s like all I see and all I’m thinking about when I’m out in the world.

Princess Peach™: Showtime!

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

WarioWare™: Move It!

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Do you have a favorite Nintendo Switch game to play with friends?

We’ve been playing WarioWare: Move It! a lot, which over the holidays was hysterical. I highly recommend getting friends and family to play that game because it’s easy to learn, and it’s just totally absurd.

Do you have a favorite character in that game to play as?

No, because you know what? We’ll just kind of pick one—actually, that’s not true. Be Wario. Always be Wario. It took me too long to figure that out and then I realized that I think you get—this could be my own thing, but I’m pretty certain that it plays better if you are Wario. I think. It seems like it. Am I right?

I wanted to check in on your Animal Crossing island. I played with you back when the game first came out. How is it looking these days?

I don’t really want to talk about it. I’m concerned that there’s gonna be a lot of like, passive aggressive neighbors on my island. I just need to start over. I just need to start over. I’m too scared. I’ve let people down.

I wanted to ask between Peach, Daisy, and Rosalina, which one do you most relate to yourself?

Gosh. Well, I don’t know, it goes back and forth because Peach was just around for so long that she was just an icon to me. She was just always around. Then when Daisy came in the picture, I love Luigi and so then I was like, OK, I’m on team Daisy. So I guess in the end I don’t really feel the need to pick one. I just think they all get to exist, and they all get to be great. And I’m just so excited that with this game, we get to see all the different colors of Peach. Isn’t that amazing?

Totally amazing. Which one would you dress up as if you were cosplaying as one?

Maybe Cowgirl. Yeah, I think it would also just like wear well throughout the day. It’s not so fussy.

And for our grand finale, we wanted to ask you some rapid-fire “this or that” questions.

Ninja Peach or Pâtissière Peach?

Pâtissière Peach.

Cozy video game or high-action video game?

Why do I have to pick? Cozy. Action. No, cozy. Was it action or adventure? What did you say? Action? Yeah, yeah, OK, action.

Mario Kart or Mario Party?

Party.

Working on your Animal Crossing island or showing it off?

Well, I always want to work on it. I’m too embarrassed to show it.

Nintendo Switch with friends or solo play?

With friends.

And Peach or Zelda?

How dare you? Honestly, honestly, how dare you, really? Well, Peach is really winning me over today. OK, Peach. Sorry, Zelda, but it’s Peach.

Learn more about Princess Peach: Showtime! here.

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