Nintendo Designs Confirm Princess Peach Nearly Looked Completely Different
What would Banjo be without Kazooie, a Big Daddy without a Little Sister, Ratchet without Clank, and Mario without Peach? Although most might pair Mario with Luigi or Yoshi, let's not forget his long-suffering girlfriend. As well as juggling ruling the Mushroom Kingdom, Peach has to also deal with constantly being kidnapped due to a vendetta between her lover and Bowser. Give her a break.
Since her introduction in 1985's Super Mario Bros., Peach has become a legend of the Nintendo world. Sure, she still falls into that whole damsel in distress trope a little too much, but in more recent outings, she's become a feminine powerhouse - even ditching Mario AND Bowser to strike out on her own in Super Mario Odyssey. Even though her look hasn't changed much over the years, did you know she nearly looked completely different?
How Did Princess Peach Originally Look?
Early artwork from Japanese artist Gaku Miyao shows off some bizarre Mario merchandise before Nintendo had properly locked in Peach's design that we've known over the decades. Back then, Peach was actually called Princess Toadstool. Although you can tell it's still her on this pair of slippers, she's got a weird set of eyes on her face.
The translation explains that Miyao only had two bits of material to reference. One was an 8-bit sprite from Super Mario Bros. and some Famicom box art. As you can see for Bowser on the slippers, he was inspired by the box art. Miyao admits he's "shed a few tears" because people think his work is a fake over the years, and concludes that if his design had caught on, modern Peach would likely look like this today.
This isn't the only out-there Peach design we've seen. In a 1987 Japanese strategy guide called How to Win at Super Mario Bros, she's depicted like Toad and his companions, with Peach sporting a mushroom cap instead of her blonde hair. While we kind of dig Miyao's modern interpretation of peach with her anime eyes, it would look jarring against the rest of the franchise's more classic cartoon style.
What's Next For Mario?
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Despite rumours we'll be getting a Super Mario Odyssey sequel, nothing has been made official yet. Early leaks suggested we'd actually get a playable Luigi, and while it all sounds pretty legitimate, we've not heard anything official. When (not if) Mario returns, we bet Princess Peach will be in tow again.
Elsewhere, we know Anya Taylor-Joy is due to play Peach in the upcoming Mario movie, with an all-star cast including Chris Pratt as the lead, Charlie Day as Luigi, and Jack Black as Bowser. We're warned this is the start of a Mario Cinematic Universe, so who knows, maybe Peach will get her own spin-off movie? Hopefully, without her anime eyes.
