Early concept art of Super Mario Bros.' Princess Peach has been posted online, and the designs may surprise some fans of the franchise. The pink-dressed princess of the Mushroom Kingdom has been a staple of the Nintendo series for decades, and her central role in the games is reflected by the various pieces of Super Mario Bros. merchandise featuring her likeness. Even those who aren't very familiar with Super Mario can likely recognize Princess Peach in various games and other Super Mario content.
Although Princess Peach's origins placed her as a damsel in distress for Mario to rescue from Bowser's nefarious clutches, Peach's character has evolved over the years. The princess has been featured in a number of mash-up games, including popular franchises like Mario Kart, Mario Party, and Super Smash Bros. The recent Super Mario Odyssey added to Peach's growth when she turned down Mario's desire for a relationship at the end of the game in order to travel the world on her own.
The Mushroom Kingdom ruler, like other Super Mario Bros. characters, has a simple, instantly recognizable design. However, as Super Mario Bros. artist Gaku Miyao noted on Twitter (via Nintendo Everything), her look was not always set in stone. Miyao's tweet shows a photo of a pair of girl's shoes he designed, printed with an image of Peach and Mario, although the princess looks a bit different. Instead of her classic white gloves, she is seen wearing a dress with long pink sleeves. Her hair is also a bit darker than in modern Mario games, and her overall appearance seems to be more anime-influenced. Miyao also shared a follow-up tweet containing the only two pictures he was given for reference, alongside a sketch he sent to Nintendo for approval.
Many of Super Mario Bros.' design elements, including Mario's original cape, have been changed, expanded upon, or completely removed over the years. Because of this, the changes to Princess Peach are likely not surprising to fans of the games. These changes can also be seen in other Nintendo games as more detailed models have become possible, or popular art styles have changed. Another example of this can be seen in Pokémon's designs of Pikachu, where its original fat body has stretched out throughout new iterations of the series.
Despite this, it is interesting to see Peach depicted using an anime aesthetic in earlier concept designs. If the original art had been used, it is possible the overall look of the Super Mario Bros. franchise would have been very different, leading to anime-influenced designs of Mario, Luigi, and many others in the series. Despite the popularity of modern Super Mario Bros. characters designs, the chance to see where they came from is an interesting and exciting piece of trivia for fans of the series.
Source: Gaku Miyao/Twitter (via Nintendo Everything)