One of the things I often commend the teams at Nintendo for is how they're unafraid to experiment. Sometimes those experiments lead to groundbreaking innovations in gameplay, other times they lead to the occasional disappointing entry. But regardless of the level of success, they tend to learn from the experimentation and use that going forward to craft even better games.

Princess Peach: Showtime! is a mixed bag because it is a game of experiments. It dares to pose many questions: What if Peach was a superhero? What if she was a detective? A cowgirl? A mermaid? And so on and so forth. Some of these questions lead to really interesting answers. Others probably didn't need to be asked.

With such wide variety of mechanics and level design, it's only natural that some power-ups shine while others fall behind. Some are really fun and made me wish I was playing an entire game designed around them. Others were just plain boring. There are a few that are strikingly similar, with one being the clear standout, leaving me to wonder why the others were included to begin with. And still others were refreshingly innovative but lacked the opportunity to be fleshed out in any meaningful manner. As there are only three levels per power, there isn't much room for depth or challenge.

Don't get me wrong — this game is a lot of fun. It has possibly the best boss fight designs for any platformer in the Mario universe (why Mario can't seem to get good boss designs of his own is beyond me). The different transformations keep any one from growing stale, although the game's runtime is rather short to begin with. But at the end of the day, this game feels very much like an experiment. A test to see if there is any interest in Peach as a protagonist, and if there is, this is a chance for them to figure out what to do with her. It's a really good experiment, but I'm hoping whatever comes next for her is more finely tuned and focused.

If we're being honest, this is really a dress-up game. And Princess Peach is a fashion icon. I love it.