Princess Peach's Castle

Mushroom Kingdom: Princess Peach's Castle
Princess Peach's Castle in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Universe	Mario
Appears in	Melee Ultimate
Availability	Starter
Maximum players	4 (Melee) 8 (Ultimate)
Tracks available	Princess Peach's Castle Rainbow Cruise (when facing Peach and Mario/Luigi in Adventure Mode) Dr. Mario (when unlocking Dr. Mario)
Tournament legality Melee Singles: Banned Doubles: Banned
Article on Super Mario Wiki	Princess Peach's Castle

“	A returning stage from Super Smash Bros. Melee. Watch out for Banzai Bill to come flying out of nowhere and explode. There are also red, yellow, and green switches you can press to make "!" Blocks appear. Try hitting them to get items!	”
—Super Smash Blog, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Official Site

Announced at E3 2001, Princess Peach's Castle (ピーチ城, Peach Castle) is a stage in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. It is the roof of the castle as seen in Super Mario 64.

In Melee's All-Star Mode, this stage is played on when the player faces Peach and any of her teammates.

Stage overview

Gameplay in Melee.

The stage itself consists of two halves separated by a tower in the center. Near the edge of both halves is a small floating stand that rises when a character stands on it. The middle tower contains two layers; the bottom layer is a narrow, rising sloped area that can be used as a foothold to reach the top layer. The only way between the two halves of the stage is to pass over the entirety of the central tower; the edges of the stage are walls that travel all the way down to the bottom blast line at water level. Although swimming was introduced since Melee, fighters fall through the water in the stage's Ultimate appearance rather than swimming in it.

Occasionally, switches will appear somewhere on the castle. These switches are pressure activated, and come in three different colors: red, blue, and green. When a switch is activated, some "!" Blocks and some platforms of the same color will appear somewhere on the castle, and it will also apply about a full second of freeze frames to whoever (or whatever) touched it. Two Red "!" Blocks can appear on either side of the castle roof, a sole Blue "!" Block can appear at the top of the castle, and two Green "!" Blocks can appear bunched together on the far left side of the castle, suspended in the air. If items are turned on, the blocks release items when one touches them in any manner.

The Banzai Bill that appears in the stage.

Every one to five minutes, a large Banzai Bill will shoot from the side of the stage in the sky. This is first signaled by the sound of a cannon firing, and then the Banzai Bill will appear from a random side of the screen (including the top) and move in a slow straight path until it crashes into the castle. Approximately four seconds after contact with the castle, the Banzai Bill will explode, dealing around 30-45% damage with multiple hits with the last hit dealing very large knockback, resulting in a one-hit KO if a player is caught by all the hits. Aesthetically, fabrics (like Mario's Cape or the flags on the stage) will shake when the explosion occurs. It is possible to throw or hit an opponent into the explosion. Before it explodes, the Banzai Bill itself also does light damage and soft knockback if touched.

Platform layouts

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  With green platforms

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  With red platforms

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  With blue platforms

Origin

Peach's Castle as it originally appeared in Super Mario 64.

Princess Peach's Castle debuted in Super Mario 64, where it acts as the game's hub area and has appeared in numerous Mario titles since. The overall design of the castle in this stage is based on its appearance in Super Mario 64; however, the very top spire has been removed and the castle itself has been scaled down. Some other elements which surround both the original castle and this version are a waterfall, some trees, a moat, and fences; however, the castle has much more water surrounding it than in Super Mario 64.

The switches and ! Blocks in this stage are based on a combination of Super Mario World's ! Switches and ! Blocks; the former are hidden in some levels and have to be pressed to make the latter appear in other levels, while the latter release items when hit and allow the player access to secret parts of levels. The switches in this stage, however, do not have an exclamation point on them, and are much smaller than in Super Mario World.

Banzai Bills are giant versions of Bullet Bills that first appeared in Super Mario World; however, they did not explode prior to Melee's release. The Banzai Bill's design in Melee is completely original, but Ultimate changes the front half of the bullet to resemble its appearance since New Super Mario Bros.; notably, however, it retains its end part from Melee.

Tournament legality

While initially available in older Melee tournaments as a counterpick stage, the stage is currently banned. The stage's large permanent walls can allow for infinites, especially Shine infinites from Fox, and the Banzai Bills are deemed too disruptive for a fair competitive match. The walls can also promote camping, as they reduce how many angles players can attack each other.

Trophy

Princess Peach's Castle trophy in Melee.

Princess Peach's Castle Princess Peach's magnificent royal castle appears to be inhabited solely by the princess and a multitude of Toads. Bowser tried to steal the castle's Power Stars in Super Mario 64, and in Paper Mario, the surly archfiend actually lifted the castle into the stratosphere with his own filthy fortress.

Gallery

Super Smash Bros. Melee

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  The stage from afar in Melee

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

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  Panorama of Princess Peach's Castle from Ultimate.

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  The buttons that appear on the stage, in Ultimate.

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  Donkey Kong preparing to punch a Banzai Bill on the stage.

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  Mario's Wedding and Builder outfits taunting on the stage.

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  Peach in her black-and-gold dress on the stage.

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  Ryu and Knuckle Joe on the stage.

Trivia

• In Melee, whenever a Banzai Bill appears, the AI on this stage is programmed to flee to the opposite side of the stage and remain there until it explodes. Aside from making it relatively easy for a human player to corner the AI whenever this occurs, it is also possible for the fleeing action itself to cause the AI to jump into the explosion, resulting in an SD. This can occur if the Banzai Bill has randomly chosen to strike the center tower of the stage from above, and the AI is far away from the center at the time; despite the hazard attacking the center of the stage, the AI will still attempt to head for the other side of the stage, which naturally requires moving toward the center and passing right over the center tower.