Princess Peach: Showtime! already has a superfan in Brie Larson

20.02.2024 - 15:55 / digitaltrends.com / Giovanni Colantonio / Nintendo

Nintendo is set to make a bit of history withPrincess Peach: Showtime! on March 22. The upcoming Switch release gives gaming’s most iconic female character her own solo adventure for the first time since 2005’s critically dissected Super Princess Peach. It’s a dream moment for players who’ve spent the last two decades wishing Peach would get another shot as a leading lady.

As it turns out, that crowd includes a superfan: Brie Larson.

The Academy Award-winning actress made an appearance at the first hands-on preview event for Princess Peach: Showtime! last week, where Digital Trends chatted with her about the game. It wasn’t a random cameo. Larson is a vocal Nintendo enthusiast who has shown up in Switch ads and done interviews about the company’s games. She’s almost become an unofficial ambassador, and that’s due to her long history with Nintendo and its games.

• Princess Peach Showtime shines a spotlight on Mario’s leading lady

“They were just everything,” Larson tells Digital Trends. “I don’t think there was a time in my life where I didn’t have a Nintendo console. It was the thing that always bonded me and my sister. So many different consoles, so many different games. And that’s been a real thing that’s never left me and I continue to return to.”

Larson’s Nintendo history runs deep. When asked about her favorite games, she points to classics like Duck Hunt, the original Super Mario Bros., andThe Little Mermaid. Later in our conversation, she spoke to her love of Metroid and offered a strong defense of the polarizing Super Mario Sunshine: “For some people, cleaning up your city and your community is what you want to do in a video game!”

But her focus is onPrincess Peach: Showtime! when I chat with her. That’s because it’s a game Larson’s been wanting to see her entire life. In a 2021 interview with (Not Quite) Susie Homemaker, Larson prophetically said “I’m sitting here going ‘When’s Peach getting a stand-alone game?’” So it comes as no surprise that she was excited to try out a few levels of Peach’s new game.

“I love the game and I’m excited to play more of it,” Larson says. “To see Peach shining in this way and all these different facets … it’s like the games that I’ve known, but it has this transformation twist in it that’s just hers. I love that! … I really want to talk to [my sister] about this because this is stuff we’ve talked about and dreamed about our whole life.

“It’s the Peach Era. We’ve been waiting for this!”

Peach was always the place to get to, and now you get to be the place that you wanted to get to.

Larson’s feelings will likely feel familiar to anyone who has wanted to see the heroine step out of Mario’s shadow again. Princess Peach: Showtime! delivers on that dream with