The Princess Peach Problem

I haven't been playing New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe the way Nintendo wants me to for years, all because my daughter's singular obsession.

Though New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe is not my favorite Mario game, it is my oldest daughter’s favorite Mario game, because it was her first. I suspect this might be true across generations, like Star Wars. You can grow to appreciate other Mario games, but the one that you hold closest is your first. For her, it’s New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe.

There is nothing intuitive about playing a game, but here, characters move from left to right, which means you don’t need to understand how three dimensions work, nor try to manipulate a camera. Heck, you don’t even really need to know how to play at all, because another player can drag you to victory. It’s truly ideal for a learning player.

It’s a game we’ve revisited often, and each time was a joy. (The funny part is, we’ve never made it past the second world; we always replay the first world!) It was a benchmark for measuring progress, because each time we returned to you could see what she’d learned in in real-time. Jumps that once caused frustration were no issue. 

And yet, I’ve always had a big problem it. The Princess Preach Problem. All my daughter wants to do when she plays is play as Princess Peach, but she is not a playable character without jumping through hoops. Every time we play, I jump through them! Every time, I make sure my daughter gets to be Princess Peach.

Making this happen, however, means playing the game in a way I cannot imagine Nintendo ever expected people to play the game.