- —Tagline
Zelda VS Peach is the 20th episode of Death Battle, featuring Princess Zelda from the The Legend of Zelda series and Princess Peach from the Super Mario series in a battle between Nintendo's iconic princesses.
Interlude
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Wiz: Today, we're pitting two of the most worthless damsels in distress against each other.
Boomstick: If they're not getting kidnapped, they're always nagging at you to do stuff.
Wiz: Princess Zelda, from the realm of Hyrule.
Boomstick: And Princess Peach, of the Mushroom Kingdom.
Wiz: I'm Wizard and he's Boomstick, and it's our job to analyze their weapons, armor, and skills to find out who would win... a Death Battle.
Princess Zelda
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Zelda's Lullaby by Koji Kondo
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Wiz: Being a descendant of the house of Hyrule, Princess Zelda has spent her entire life governing her kingdom. Despite having a king, the majority of royal decisions are actually made by her.
Boomstick: Talk about a control freak. And why do they let her get away with it? I mean, she's lost her kingdom to the forces of evil more times than I can count!
Wiz: Between being waited on hand and foot, Zelda has spent some time training with her modest arsenal.
Boomstick: Bows, magic, musical instruments. She even has a sword and dagger but has little experience with them. Her weapon of choice is the bow, which she wields with deadly accuracy. Plus, she can use her magic to turn an ordinary arrow to the powerful Light Arrow, perfect for killing evil.
Wiz: Speaking of which, Zelda is an incredibly potent spellcaster. While most of her magic is for use out of combat, she is more than capable of holding her own. She can teleport with Farore's Wind, shield herself with Nayru's Love, and cast pyrokinetic projectiles with Din's Fire.
Boomstick: Also, she can talk... with dead people.
Wiz: Spirits.
Boomstick: Like Boos?
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Ballad of the Goddess by Hajime Wakai
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Wiz: Zelda is also the bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom, a testament to her astute mind. This greatly enhances her magical prowess and gives her the power to dispel evil. She is even skilled enough to create long-lasting disguises. She used the guise of Sheik to evade Ganon's tyranny for over seven years.
Boomstick: Wait, that's a chick? But where's her, um...
Wiz: It SHOULD be noted however that the forms of Sheik and Tetra are nothing more than disguises, and abilities attributed to them would naturally be available to Zelda.
Boomstick: Yeah, but why would you want to toss tiny needles at people when you can shoot fireballs with your mind?
Wiz: While Zelda is clever, mystically powerful, and helps battle Ganon when necessary, she repeatedly relies on the aid of others. Her success at avoiding capture can be largely attributed to her guardians and sanctuaries.
Boomstick: She's really good at getting other people to do stuff for her.
Wiz: Right, she is a master manipulator. She can always convince a naive young hero to do her dirty work for her with little or no reward.
Boomstick: How many times does this guy have to save you? Put out already!
Link: You called for a hero, princess?
Zelda: Yes! But I guess you'll have to do.
Princess Peach
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Princess Peach's Castle by Shogo Sakai
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Wiz: At first glance, Princess Peach appears to be your standard meek and helpless damsel in distress.
Boomstick: And that's pretty damn accurate. Being a member of the Royal Toadstool family, Peach spends most of her time getting herself kidnapped or baking cakes in the kitchen like any good woman should.
Wiz: Despite being a wealthy princess with a royal guard more than capable of defending the castle, she has been kidnapped over a dozen times.
Boomstick: Yet somehow, while still behind bars, she can send mail to Mario through outer space containing items and extra lives. Hey lady, next time, just send yourself!
Wiz: Peach is an incredibly athletic and capable fighter. She has participated in a variety of different sports, including soccer, basketball, and kart racing, and has survived every Mario Party. And as we've said before, Mario Party is no walk through the park.
Boomstick: Peach's unique array of weaponry includes a tennis racket, golf club, frying pan, and turnips! Which she can apparently pull out of her...
Wiz: She ALSO wields Perry the Parasol, an umbrella capable of powerful strikes and magical properties.
Boomstick: Oh, and one of her most valuable weapons is her ass! She can hit someone with that thing so hard that something down there explodes.
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Peach's Theme by Davor Vulama
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Wiz: Peach also wields a form of magic called Heart Power. With it, she can float in mid-air for an indefinite period of time, cast healing spells, and summon lambs from the sky to put her foes to sleep.
Boomstick: Don't pet that sheep, or you might wake up in a stranger's van.
Wiz: And ever since being touched by the Vibe Scepter, she can channel her emotions into raw mystic power. When she rages, she becomes invulnerable but slows tremendously.
Boomstick: Hold up! Touched by the WHAT NOW??!!
Wiz: The Vibe Scepter.
Boomstick starts laughing.
Wiz: Oh... (clears throat) But Peach's magic reaches its climax with—
Boomstick continues to laugh, now uncontrollably.
Wiz: ...with her Mega Strike technique, Empress Peach, a kick so powerful, it splits a soccer ball into three separate ones, delivering enough force to score three times.
Boomstick: (continues laughing) STOP! I CAN'T TALK!
Wiz: Peach's Heart Power also naturally dispels evil magics, which is the actual reason why Bowser always kidnaps her.
Boomstick: Really? I thought it was because of... well...
Wiz: Peach has assisted Mario in battles several times, once even saving him from Bowser on her own. Even so, she still needs rescuing on a daily basis, and her gratitude usually only goes as far as a kiss and a cake.
Boomstick: What's with all these princesses not puttin' out? Give it up already!
Peach: Listen, everybody! Let's bake a delicious cake... for Mario.
Prelude
Wiz: Alright, the combatants are set. Let's end this debate once and for all!
Boomstick: It's time for a DEATH BATTL—
Wiz: No, wait, wait, wait, we gotta do an ad.
Boomstick: WHAT?!
Wiz and Boomstick read out an advertisement for JackThreads.
Boomstick: I'm gonna check that out right after a DEATH BATTLE!!!
Death Battle
Peach gently lands with her umbrella onto a wooden bridge in the Mushroom Kingdom as Zelda teleports in front of her.
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Through the Tree Stumps and Mushrooms by DJ the S
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Peach pulls two turnips out from the bridge and throws them towards Zelda, who deflects them back at her with Nayru's Love, causing them to hit Peach. She then begins crying and runs towards Zelda, who begins slipping due to Peach's tears leaving a trail of tears on the ground. Peach then jumps back and uses Peach Bomber, knocking Zelda back. Zelda then teleports behind Peach and kicks her into the air, then casts Din's Fire multiple times, knocking her further into the air. Zelda then teleports by Peach, kicking her multiple times, before kicking her downwards toward the ground. Zelda then teleports back onto the bridge and uses a charged strike, knocking Peach further back, who shouts.
Peach then gets up and uses Heart Power to summon a Sleepy Time Sheep, which appears in front of her, flies upward into the air, then downward towards Zelda. Zelda uses Nayru's Love once again to deflect the sheep back at Peach, who then knocks it back into the air with a swing of her umbrella. Zelda then teleports in front of Peach and slaps her, to which Peach slaps Zelda back. The two then trade slaps until Zelda is dazed, allowing Peach to bring out a frying pan and hit Zelda with it, bouncing her back twice.
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Final Demise by Skyward Sword
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Zelda gets up and prepares her bow and Light Arrow and Peach goes into a rage, walking slowly towards Zelda while surrounded by fire. Zelda then fires the Light Arrow at Peach, which cancels out Peach's vibe power before causing the wooden bridge to shatter into pieces.
Both Peach and Zelda begin falling, with Peach's fall controlled with the umbrella. Zelda teleports above her and begins firing Din's Fire multiple times while repeatedly teleporting, most of which miss, but one strikes Peach when she attempts deflecting it with her frying pan. Zelda then teleports in front of Peach, which Peach anticipates, and she begins striking Zelda with her umbrella and slaps, ending with her swinging her umbrella, knocking Zelda upward as Peach lands gracefully to the ground.
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Staff Roll by Skyward Sword
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Peach then uses Heart Power, regenerating her four hearts. Zelda heals herself as well, regenerating her 12 hearts, then begins casting Din's Fire once again, which Peach counters by throwing turnips. Meanwhile, the Sleepy Time Sheep, which had been knocked into the air by Peach earlier, has now begun falling back down at increasing speeds as Peach and Zelda continue throwing their projectiles. Eventually, the sheep finally lands on Zelda, putting her to sleep while standing before disappearing.
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Peach's Theme by Davor Vulama
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Peach: Alright!
Peach then makes a huge leap backward, gains her Empress Peach wings, then flies toward Zelda and delivers the Mega Strike to her head, causing it to explode in a bloody mess as she lets out a death cry. Peach then lands on the ground soon after.
Peach: Did I win?
Results
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Forest Maze (Remix) by MarioundLuigiGamer
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Boomstick: GOOOOOAAAL!!!
Wiz: Zelda's offensive arsenal is relatively limited and predictable compared to Peach's quirky repertoire.
Boomstick: And while most of Peach's attacks aren't fatal, the Mega Strike Empress Peach gave her a leg up.
Wiz: See, a soccer ball is typically a kept add up to 12 psi, but since Peach's Mega Strike creates two more, it has enough force to add up to 24 pounds per square inch, or about 165,000 newtons per square meter. As 1,000 newtons can cause decapitation and 15 psi can shatter the human skull, the Mega Strike is so over-excessive it didn't just kill Zelda, it obliterated her.
Boomstick: She got kicked in the face really hard and it went boom.
Wiz: Yeah, in layman's terms, I guess...
Boomstick: Peach sure fleeced Zelda in this fight.
We cut to the "Princess Peach" winner card.
Wiz: The winner is Princess Peach.
Comparison
Princess Zelda
- Less combat experience
- Limited combat magic
- More destructive potential
- Wisdom does not grant better instincts or combat skill
- Light Arrow's magic is only deadly to forces of evil
- Triforce of Wisdom & magic are better suited out of combat
Princess Peach
- More combat experience
- Abundant & diverse arsenal
- Stronger endurance
- More athletic
- Just as clever & resourceful
- Few fatal attacks
- Mega Strike is overpowered
- Rage is convenient invulnerability
Trivia
Production
- The core connections between Zelda and Peach are that they are both Nintendo's classic video game princesses and beautiful, elegant rulers of a magical kingdom (Hyrule and the Mushroom Kingdom, respectively). Both have a history of being captured by the monstrous antagonist (Ganondorf and Bowser, respectively) and needing to be saved by their series' main protagonist (Link and Mario, respectively), but despite being best known for fulfilling the "Damsel in Distress" trope, they are more than capable of protecting themselves, with both being adept in using magic. In addition:
- Both have their own games as playable characters which were released prior to the episode's release (Zelda's Adventure and Super Princess Peach, respectively) and received another solo adventure years later on the Nintendo Switch in 2024 (The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom and Princess Peach: Showtime!, respectively).
- Both are featured as playable characters in the Super Smash Bros. series, making their debut as fighters in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
- Both of their respective kidnappers would later fight each other in Season 3.
- This is the first episode to be animated by Jordan Lange.
- This is the first episode to feature "Feats" panels in the combatants' analyses.
- According to Ben Singer, this is the episode that led to Death Battle verdicts being taken more seriously due to him questioning the logic of the calculation done for Peach's Mega Strike, which he stated was meant to be a joke.[1]
- As part of the Save Death Battle Kickstarter, any backers who pledged for any of the reward tiers could vote in a survey to decide a rematch to be made for Death Battle '25, with this episode having been one of the available options, though it ultimately lost to Master Chief VS Doomguy.
Easter Eggs
- Boomstick's shocked reaction of "WHAT?!" in the prelude after Wiz says they need to do an ad is likely a call-back to how Wiz told him they wouldn't need to do them anymore in the previous episode's prelude.
Other
- This is the second Nintendo-themed episode, after Goomba VS Koopa, and with the next three being Pokémon Battle Royale, Bowser VS Ganon, and Wario VS King Dedede.
- This is the fourth Females-themed episode, after Rogue VS Wonder Woman, Felicia VS Taokaka, and Chun-Li VS Mai Shiranui, and with the next 17 being Ivy VS Orchid, Yang VS Tifa, Cammy VS Sonya, Amy Rose VS Ramona Flowers, Android 18 VS Captain Marvel, Raven VS Twilight Sparkle, Black Widow VS Widowmaker, Weiss VS Mitsuru, Black Canary VS Sindel, She-Ra VS Wonder Woman, Batgirl VS Spider-Gwen, Blake VS Mikasa, Korra VS Storm, Harley Quinn VS Jinx, Scarlet Witch VS Zatanna, Phoenix VS Raven, and Ruby Rose VS Maka Albarn.
- This is the first The Legend of Zelda VS Super Mario-themed episode, with the next one being Bowser VS Ganon.
- This is the first time Super Mario wins.
- This is the second Super Smash Bros.-themed episode, after Mario VS Sonic (2011), and with the next seven being Link VS Cloud (2012), Bowser VS Ganon, Mario VS Sonic (2018), Wario VS King Dedede, Ken VS Terry, Link VS Cloud (2021), and Sora VS Pit.
- This is the sixth episode in which only one character speaks and the other does not, after Boba Fett VS Samus Aran (2010), Rogue VS Wonder Woman, Yoshi VS Riptor, Luke Skywalker VS Harry Potter, and Chun-Li VS Mai Shiranui, and with the next 11 being Batman VS Spider-Man, Ryu Hayabusa VS Strider Hiryu, Luigi VS Tails, Batman VS Captain America, Beast VS Goliath, Donkey Kong VS Knuckles, Meta VS Carolina, Sub-Zero VS Glacius, Lucario VS Renamon, Shredder VS Silver Samurai, and Crash VS Spyro.
- On March 30th, 2024, the DEATH BATTLE! YouTube channel uploaded the full fight animation of this episode on its own, likely to commemorate the release of Princess Peach: Showtime!, which came out eight days earlier.
- This is the second episode to be made into a DEATH BATTLE Cast episode after its release instead of the other way around, after Mewtwo VS Shadow.