The Princess Peach



"Ah, so that's the vessel known as the Princess Peach? How...subtle."

- Captain T. Ode

The Princess Peach is a location in Paper Mario: The Origami King, a cruise ship named after Princess Peach. It is found floating in the Great Sea, located in the purple streamer district. Princess Peach's emblem is engraved on the ship's funnel.

The Princess Peach is first explored after Bob-omb has an epiphany from having witnessed Olivia getting crushed by a huge boulder by King Olly in Sweetpaper Valley; he asks Mario to return to Toad Town and set sail for the Great Sea. During Mario's first visit to the ship for an item of important value for Bob-omb, he is forced to fight Paper Macho Gooper Blooper on the deck for the item.

History


According to Bob-omb, long before he met Mario and Olivia, he was traveling aboard the Princess Peach with his Bob-omb friends in the VIP room. It was a wonderful trip until Paper Macho Gooper Blooper attacked. He joined the others in trying to defend the ship, but ended up getting his fuse cut off and falling into the sea. He washed up at Toad Town without a fuse or any memories. He set off on a journey to see some sights to recover his memories and eventually met up with Mario and Olivia on a Toad Tram. He finally remembered his fate when he saw fireworks at Shogun Studios and decided to return to the ship to retrieve his late best friend's fuse, which he had kept hidden away in the VIP room. He uses the fuse to detonate himself for the sake of destroying the boulder and rescuing Olivia.

Layout
The Princess Peach is bright and colorful, with an interesting design. It is found in the Great Sea, so it can only be accessed by a boat. Right after Mario and Bob-omb get off the boat, they can head up the steps onto the main layer of the cruise ship. This takes them up to a small pool with a few origami Cheep Cheeps in it, as well as a few Not-Bottomless Holes along the edge. From here, Mario can head behind the stairs leading to the second layer to find a short trail of coins leading to a treasure chest containing a collectible. After this, Mario can head up the stairs to the second layer. On the left side of the large column is a treasure chest containing a MAX UP Heart, giving Mario twenty extra HP. Behind this column are a few worthwhile coins. After Mario opens the chest, two origami Fire Bros. drop down from atop the column. They do not have to be defeated, but they do start throwing fireballs at Mario whenever he gets near.

Mario and Bob-omb must then enter the door on the main floor to reach a darkened, spooky room. When they try to use the elevator, it does not work due to the ship not having any electricity. There is a model of the Princess Peach that can be viewed in the northeast corner of this room, as well as a crumpled Toad in the southwest corner. If Mario rescues him, he simply shrieks before passing out. There is also a sign near the northwest corner Mario can view to see his specific position on the ship.

From here, Mario can head left to an adjacent room with two doors to the lounge, which is also in bad and dreary condition. There is a purple polka dot vase nearby revealed to be another traumatized Toad. Aside from this, there is also a nice table next to a sofa, a few tables and pillows tipped over, a large hole in the floor, and a crack in the window. Mario must hammer the crack to break open the window and jump through to reach the deck. If they enter the bow, Bob-omb gets another realization, most likely remembering the battle with Paper Macho Gooper Blooper.

Back on deck, Mario must walk around the left side of the ship and enter the first door. There is a ? Block containing a Flashy Hammer, an origami Snifit huddled in the corner, a ladder leading to the lowest floor, and a set of stairs leading to the higher floor. As Mario and Bob-omb climb these stairs, they accidentally step on another crew member, startling them both. At the top of the stairs are two doors - the one on the right is blocked off by a Scuttlebug, while the one on the left leads to the captain's quarters. Here, there is the wheel to the ship, a few portraits depicting Princess Peach's appearances in past games, and a lever in a glass case in the southeast corner. Mario must break the glass and collect the lever, which can be used on the machine in the basement, restoring power to the ship. However, shortly after the power returns, the ship starts shaking.

Mario and Bob-omb must head back up the cruise ship, where some of the rooms are now covered in black goop that slows him down. Now that the power is back on, they can use the elevator to reach the inside of the second floor. There is a ? Block in the northeast corner containing Shiny Iron Boots, and a door in the northwest corner leading to the VIP room. This is a fancy room with luxury furniture, as well as a safe containing Bob-omb's special item. However, just before Bob-omb can open the safe, Paper Macho Gooper Blooper's tentacles break through the windows, grab the safe, and take it to the bow, where Mario must fight the Gooper Blooper. Mario defeats the Paper Macho Gooper Blooper, releasing a group of Toads who were trapped inside, including the ship's captain, and saving the cruise ship. As Mario and Bob-omb are about the leave the Princess Peach after recovering Bob-omb's item, the captain informs Mario of passengers who had abandoned ship and are stranded in the foggy sea.

When Mario comes across the Princess Peach with Captain T. Ode, the latter recognizes the ship and charts it in territory D-6 on the Sea Chart. After the fog is cleared, Mario can return to the ship and inform the captain, who then begins to pilot the ship in search for passengers who are scattered across the sea. Mario must travel to various islands in the Great Sea and rescue all the Toads on those islands if he hasn't done so yet. After all those Toads are found and rescued, they are seen on the ship's deck when Mario comes aboard, and the captain of the ship gratefully rewards Mario with a collectible treasure of the Princess Peach, comparable to a model of the ship inside the trophy case in the first floor lobby.

Profiles

 * Collectible Treasure No. 56: "A beautiful cruise ship offering relaxing ocean getaways. Its captain's fondness of the real Princess Peach is...evident."

Trivia

 * One room in the ship has pictures of Princess Peach's appearences from each of the past games of the Paper Mario series.
 * It is possible for the player to visit the Princess Peach before Olivia gets crushed by King Olly in Sweetpaper Valley, although at this point in the game, the doors leading inside the rooms will be blocked off upon entering.
 * The Japanese name of this ship is one of the only two instances where Peach's title is officially translated into its katakana form as 「プリンセス」 (Purinsesu) rather than the kanji form 「姫 」 (hime), the other being the Japanese title of the game Super Princess Peach.