Peach (Super Smash Bros. Brawl)

''This article is about Peach's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. For other uses, see Princess Peach.''

Originally shown in the Subspace Emissary trailer, Peach (, Pīchi) was later confirmed as a playable character on August 17. Her play style appears to be relatively unchanged, as she still possesses her floating ability, as well as her four distinct Special Moves. She has, however, been updated graphically with a more realistic look and based on her most recent appearances in the Mario series. According to an interview with Sakurai, Peach's entire character layout (attack configuration, animation schemes, etc.) was one of the most time consuming of all characters (Mostly referring to Melee to Brawl configurations).

Peach is 19th on the current Brawl tier list. This is because she has high priority on her attacks, the ability to float, decent combo ability, and a very versatile projectile; however she is brought down by her lack of good finishing moves, her poor vertical recovery, and her weak aerial defense (a combination of her light weight, very poor air dodge, and slow falling speed), which prevent her from being in a higher tier. Her ranking in Brawl is considerably lower than her ranking in Melee (where she was 5th), but she is still presently the highest-tiered representative of the Mario series in both games.

Attributes
Peach is suspended somewhere between a light and medium hitter in terms of knockback, but as an in-close brawler she excels. She has plenty of ways to rack up damage on her opponents and boasts high-priority moves, but getting the killing blow can be difficult. At early percents Peach is beastly, wielding the deadly combination of her down-throw, d-air, and floating ability to easily bring foes to 40% and beyond in a flash. Though Peach does have problems killing when killing time is near, her best kill move is her forward aerial, and can be easily used in conjunction with her floating to give her the ability to retreat or approach multiple times while f-airing. Though the move has noticeable start-up lag, this can be remedied with timing while floating, and to finish the move has high priority, good range, and practically no landing lag. Outside of her f-air though, Peach does have an issue with attack range, relying on Glide Tossing Vegetables to approach. Peach's slow dash speed also hurts her approach. Often it is advisable for Peach players to pull turnips throughout the match regardless of attack necessity, simply to increase the chance of pulling a deadly "stitch-face" turnip or any of the other unique items Peach has a chance of summoning (each of which are powerful in various ways). In general Peach can pull turnips quickly enough to have three in the air at any given time (provided she's throwing them straight up), giving her both the chance at better items and providing potential setups for turnip traps, where enemies will bounce off of turnips both falling and being immediately thrown at them. Peach players can use this strategy to land the f-air for the kill.

As mentioned, Peach has a number of high priority attacks, including her f-air crown slap, her d-air foot stomping, and her high-speed jab, all of which allow her to break through the attacks of many other characters. Defensive opponents can easily find themselves getting pressured by repeated d-airs to their shield, releasing it only to meet with a jab and subsequent grab attempt. Like a number of characters in Brawl, Peach doesn't have much of a problem returning to the stage, and can easily use her up special repetitively to stall at the edge (thus making her the only character that can come in and out of her helpless state after using her special jump), as it is difficult to find an opening while she is doing so. Despite having an excellent horizontal recovery, her recovery is very predictable and isn't very good vertically (due to having the shortest second jump in the game and the poor vertical distance on Peach Parasol). Should the opponent try to recover, she has the option to use her d-smash or the odd hitbox of her d-tilt to spike (the d-smash will simply stage-spike instead of being an actual Meteor Smash).

Peach has a few main flaws. Firstly, she has a very poor air defense; her air dodge actually has more lag (30 frames) than invincibility frames (frames 4 to 19). Being light, floaty, and having by far the worst air dodge in the game, she can easily get juggled. Her dair can help a bit, but only against attacks that have lower priority than her dair. Secondly, she can have problems killing. With only her forward air to turn to for reliable killing, and it being a good move in normal combat, Peach has a hard time finding a solution for finishing off her enemies. The knockback of her forward smash varies unpredictably, her down-smash has been downgraded to near uselessness outside of interrupting attacks, and her up-smash must be sweet-spotted at the top of her hand to actually send the opponent far. What it comes down to is that enemies will be expecting the fair at high percents, and thus it is relatively predictable despite being such a good move.

Changes from Melee to Brawl
Peach suffered from a nerf from Melee to Brawl'. For example, her down smash has been severely nerfed in both power and range. Her dash attack is weaker, but it now does two hits. Her aerials have less lag, but she has slower air speed. Her parasol covers more vertical and horizontal distance (as well as being able to KO now), but her second jump is now much shorter (the shortest in the game) with less animations. There is a larger chance of pulling a beam sword, bob-omb, or Mr. Saturn when Vegetable is used (though the chances are still very low), but the turnips disappear when they hit a shield or attack (thus eliminating the chance of using it again). Toad now comes out quicker, lasts longer, and can KO now. Peach's Down aerial does more knockback and damage, but the knockback in her forward throw has hugely decreased (now rarely able to KO). Her up tilt is now a disjointed hitbox and has a much larger hitbox. Peach can no longer float cancel, but Peach Bomber covers more distance.

Peach also had some purely cosmetic changes. Her look is updated to match her modern appearance. She also has a new, carefree walk animation. Peach is now voiced by Samantha Kelly instead of Jen Taylor. Her parasol design is from Yoshi's Island DS. Peach Bomber and her up tilt now release a cloud of hearts (possibly a homage to Super Princess Peach). Lastly, her white costume does not have tights under it and her Daisy costume is now just a recoloration.

Ground Attacks
Normal Smash
 * Dash Attack - Strikes with both arms extended forward, then quickly spreads her arms out. Deals a two-hit combo. Each hit deals 4% damage, racking up to 8% damage if both hits land. Very little knockback.
 * Neutral Attack - Double slap. Deals a two-hit combo. Each slap deals 3% damage, racking up to 6% damage if both hits land. Excellent panic move and grab setup due to its speed (comes out in just two frames). The first slap has set knockback, so it will never KO, even at 999%. Interestingly, her second slap is also her most ranged normal move.
 * Forward Tilt - A 180 degree high kick. In other games, she is not shown to have flexibility. Can deal up to 14% damage up close, and as low as 7% damage from further away. Capable of seriously juggling heavies at low percents if they lose their second jump. Also has decent knockback up close.
 * Up Tilt - Raises hand up, creating a heart cloud. Very good, disjointed range and high priority. Deals 13% damage.
 * Down Tilt - A downward hand sweep to the ground. Deals 10% damage. Has good vertical knockback, deceptively large range, and can Meteor Smash opponents hanging on ledge. Peach's second highest range move.
 * Forward Smash - Strikes with either a frying pan, a golf club, or a tennis racket. Damage and knockback vary with each weapon. The tennis racket and golf club are derived from the several tennis and golf games from the Mario series, and in "Super Mario RPG: Legend of Seven Stars", the frying pan was one of Peach's main weapons.
 * Frying Pan - Deals 18-25% damage (19-27% if sweetspotted). Vertical Knockback. Lowest range and knockback of the 3 objects.
 * Golf Club - Deals 15-21% damage. Diagonal Knockback. Largest range and the most average knockback of the 3 objects.
 * Tennis Racket - Deals 12-16% damage (13-18% if sweetspotted). Horizontal Knockback. Average range, deals very powerful knockback when sweetspotted, but weak knockback when not sweetspotted.
 * Up Smash - Twirls around with arm raised. Deals 8-11% damage when not sweetspotted, 15-21% when sweetspotted at her palm, and 17-23% damage when sweetspotted at her shoulder. Powerful vertical knockback, if sweetspotted. The attack is sweetspotted when an opponent is hit into the air with her palm or shoulder. Peach's strongest smash, in terms of knockback. Sweetspotting with the shoulder is very difficult to do, but has the highest KO potential of all of Peach's attacks.
 * Down Smash - Spins dress around like a blade, slashing whoever gets caught in it. Can deal a four-hit combo (although, landing all four hits is hard to manage, even against heavy characters.) Each hit deals 5-7% damage, racking up to 20-28% if all four hits land. Usually two or three hits will land. Very low knockback, but can stage-spike an opponent at the edge, and long duration allows it to punish spot dodges.

Aerial Attacks

 * Neutral Air - Spins around with arms extended. Deals 13% damage when sweetspotted, 10% if hit shortly afterwards and 7% if hit at the end of the attack. Decent knockback. Good for edgeguarding.
 * Forward Air - Strikes with her crown (aka: Crown Slap.) Deals 15% damage. Good knockback, and is often considered her most reliable kill move. Good for edgeguarding.
 * Back Air - Attacks with her hips. Quicker than Foward Aerial, but slightly less knockback. It's sourspot has the potential to lock, like certain character's jabs. Deals 14% damage when sweetspotted and 7% when sourspotted.
 * Up Air - An upward kick. Deals 13% damage. Good for aerial combos.
 * Down Air - A series of four downward kicks. Can deal a four-hit combo. First three kicks deal 3% damage each, with the fourth kick dealing 5% damage, racking up to 14% damage if all four kicks land. Fourth kick has weak vertical knockback. An excellent edgeguarding move against opponents who try to return to the stage at a low angle. Also, due to its long duration, is nearly impossible to air dodge out of. Very good for aerial combos, and for attacking shields.

Grabs & Throws

 * Pummel - Kicks the opponents shin. Deals 2% damage per hit.
 * Back Throw - Places opponent behind her and bumps him/her away with rear. Deals 11% damage. Decent horizontal knockback, but not enough to KO.
 * Forward Throw - Slaps opponent away. Deals 10% damage. Decent knockback, the strongest of Peach's throws, though rarely KOs. Can chaingrab heavies at low percentages provided that one buffers a dash grab.
 * Up Throw - Puts opponent above her, and volleys him/her upward. Despite quick animation, this throw deals two hits. First hit deals 2% damage, while second hit deals 6% damage, racking up to 8% damage in total.
 * Down Throw - Sits on opponent. Deals 7% damage. Great for chain-grabbing heavy characters and fast-fallers at low percentages. Good for follow-ups.

Taunts
Peach is the only character in her series to have a speaking part in her taunts.

Up: Takes her parasol out and spins it, saying "Sweet".

Side: Sings and dances in a taunting manner ("Ring Around the Rosie") while holding her dress, while musical notes float around her.

Down: Spins around, winks, points, bends a little and says "Uh-huh!". (Same animation as Melee, but with changed sounds)

Role in The Subspace Emissary
In the Subspace Emissary single-player mode, Peach and Zelda have two different storylines, depending on which one you save from Petey Piranha. At the start, she and Zelda are watching a friendly match between Mario and Kirby. After the Halberd appears, she and Peach rush from offstage after the stadium is attacked by the Primid. The player can choose out of the four to fight off the Primids. When the Ancient Minister appears and drops a Subspace bomb, Mario is blasted away by a cannonball when he tries to stop it. Zelda and Peach are captured by Petey Piranha. The player, as Kirby, must save either Peach or Zelda by destroying one of their cages.

Storyline 1
If Peach is saved, she joins Kirby as they both escape from the stadium on a Warp Star. They are pursued by the Halberd, and land on top of it. Soon they fall off and reach the ground, fighting along through hordes of Subspace foes. Later on, Kirby leaves Peach behind, and Bowser appears from the sky and turns her into a trophy.

The Shadowbugs (that came along with Bowser) make a clone of Peach that proceeds to ambush Mario and Pit with a Dark Cannon. However, Link destroys the Dark Cannon and he and Yoshi fight and defeat her. When the clone is defeated, Mario witnesses her trophy disintegrating into Shadowbugs and, believing it was the real Peach, proceeds to attack both Link and Yoshi with Pit’s help. When they are defeated, Kirby makes a return after Dedede races by and snatches Mario and Pit's trophy. He slices the handle off of the crane and revives Mario and Pit. The heroes Mario, Pit, Yoshi, Link and Kirby chase after Dedede. In his castle lair, Dedede plants a button on Zelda, Luigi and Ness before Bowser attacks and takes Zelda.

Once in possession of Zelda, Bowser retreats back to the Halberd where Peach is already a prisoner in trophy form.

Storyline 2
If Peach was not saved, Wario appears whilst she is trapped under her wrecked cage. He blasts her with a Dark Cannon and turns her into a trophy, before fleeing the stadium with her. She is later captured by King Dedede when he ambushes Wario and steals his Cargo along with Ness. As he passes Mario and company, Mario spots her on the back of the Cargo, and Link shoots the Cargo, slowing it down so that they can pursue Dedede.

King Dedede puts his own Dedede brooch on her, but when Bowser attacks his castle, he finds her trophy and takes it. However, he is pursued by Mario and Pit, and when Pit fires an arrow at Bowser, the Dedede brooch falls off and is found by Kirby. Bowser escapes in the Koopa Clown Car and takes her trophy up to the waiting Halberd.

Re-merge

 * After this point, the storylines are the same, regardless of who was rescued.

At a later part of the story, Zelda and Peach are discovered by Lucario, Snake and Meta Knight in cages aboard the Battleship Halberd, stuck in their trophy form. Shadowbug clones of the princesses then fight the trio. After being freed, Snake tells both Zelda and Peach to stay in the room that they were being held captive in.

However, Peach and Zelda (as Sheik) strike out on their own to investigate the matter themselves. They make their way to the Halberd's top deck, just as Fox attacks the ship, again in his Arwing. Peach calmly walks in during the fire-fight with her parasol, but when some of the Arwing's blasters nearly hit her, Sheik forces Fox to eject by breaking through the cockpit. As the two begin to fight, Peach stops them by offering them tea, which they both accept.

Meta Knight, Snake, and Lucario discover that the Halberd is being piloted by Mr. Game & Watch clones, which Snake knocks out the window and onto the deck below. The clones revert into Shadowbugs, which transform into a boss named Duon. Fortunately, Peach, Sheik, and Fox are joined by Snake and Lucario, along with Falco. When Duon is defeated, the real Mr. Game & Watch's trophy is left behind as the Shadowbugs float away. Fox prepares to blast the trophy, but Peach casually walks over and revives him, scolding him when he awakes. Peach then gives him her parasol as a token of friendship, which fascinates Mr. Game & Watch.

Peach is later turned into a trophy by Tabuu. If her trophy is gathered in the Subspace, she is able to assist in the fight against Tabuu.

Peach can use upward wind in the Subspace Emissary to great effect, and her double jump gives more vertical distance in the Subspace Emissary than in other modes. Peach is one of few characters who speaks in the Subspace Emissary.

Single Event Matches

 * Event 28: Flower Blooms in the Echoes- Note: All of the leaves on the right flower must turn red in order for the flower to bloom on top. You are free to KO Olimar and complete the event solo.


 * Event 34: All-Star Battle Melee- Select your player and take on the 8 newcomers to Melee at Pokemon Stadium.


 * Event 35: The Visitor to Flat Zone- As Mr. Game & Watch, KO Peach, Toon Link and Jigglypuff on Flat Zone 2. All three opponents have the "Game & Watch" effect on their models.

Co-op Events
Co-Op Event 11: The Great Remodeling Battle: As Peach and Luigi, earn 300 coins without breaking Luigi's Mansion.

Co-Op Event 21: The True All-Star Battle: Select your characters and take on the entire roster on Battlefield.

Trivia

 * Peach can jump cancel by pressing the jump button and holding down on the analog stick directly after, which computers take advantage of frequently.
 * Peach has an updated voice in Brawl, despite this, if a player selects Peach using a Wii remote or classic controller, Peach's "Sweet" taunt from Melee will sound over the Wii Remote's speaker instead of the one from Brawl.
 * In Brawl, Peach wears a ring on her left hand, possibly meaning marriage or engagement (possibly from the events of Super Paper Mario). However, the ring is on her middle finger as opposed to her ring finger, so this is probably not the case. Due to her updated look in Brawl, the ring was most likely added for fashion.