Characters

Peach - The gentle-tempered (yet clever) princess of the Mushroom Kingdom. Her general battle skills depend on her ability to control her emotions and her skill at wielding Perry, which is quite formidable.

As you go along in the game, you notice that Peach is not only a better battler than anyone might have thought, but that she is very intuitive as well. Her "sixth sense" is present when you enter a new area in a stage and her image on the Touch Screen looks surprised, with an exclamation point--that means she knows either a Toad, Minigame, Music Score, or Puzzle Piece is afoot in the area.

Perry - A talking umbrella that aids Peach in many ways, allowing her to fly, strike opponents, pound the ground, float in water, and swing on ropes to get through levels.

His skills at aiding Peach are balanced by his own depth as a character. As the game progresses, he remembers more and more about his previous experiences (and indeed, previous life) through a recurring dream that grows more and more detailed after each boss Peach defeats. His own life story turns out to be quite tragic in nature, and he seems to be on a quest of his own.

Mario, Luigi, Toad - Usually the stars of the show, these three heroes take a backseat to the Princess this time around, as they are all captured by Bowser in the first scenes. They are also affected by the Vibe Scepter, and it renders them helpless to defend themselves.

Bowser - The nefarious, over-ambitious Koopa. His newfound control of the Vibe Scepter allows him powers he has not previously had over the Mushroom Kingdom, and this time, he has the kingdom's valiant fighter as one of his prisoners.