In the late 80s and early 90s, Nintendo was a ridiculously huge part of my life. The main reason I don't play any video games today is because I realized at a young age how all-consuming my gaming habits become when unchecked (and it scared me). Like most of my peers, the game that started it all was Super Mario Bros on the NES. There are parts of that game that are so imprinted into my memory that I still dream about them 35 years later. And one of the most iconic visuals is that of Princess Toadstool in the final screen of the game. Seeing her was the culmination of hours of concentration and adrenaline, and holding this today today still gives me a whisper of that same feeling. I wish the packaging called her Princess Toadstool instead of Peach. I know they are retroactively supposed to be the same person, but to me this red-headed princess is always a unique character. (The name Peach (in English) wasn't used until Super Mario 64 (1996)). Let's check out the 8-Bit Princess below!
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The 8-Bit Princess Peach was re-issued twice: One on a bubble card. And once in an SDCC Collector's Set from Entertainment Earth (I remember this showed up at Walgreens a year later as well).
This version of Princess Toadstool went through several design changes over the years. The original NES game was released on several platforms and was fitted for an arcade version, GameBoy Color, and various re-masterings. I discovered all this today while watching a YouTube video from Retromantra. I took a bunch of screengrabs from that video to assemble this image.
And here's a graphic I found showing the evolution of Princess Toadstool into the Princess Peach we know today.
Time for a Comparison Pic!
Cheers!
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