So the power of Sparkle is used through a ribbon Stella seemingly conjured for Peach. Optional/Standard Equipment?
"This is just one of the powers of Sparkle. It can help people and things shine and feel bright!"
I wonder if "shine" is literal or figurative here? For the latter, "shine" can mean to "perform ideally", IIRC, like saying someone will "shine" in their new role or job....
Either way, I'm confident there's evidence enough for Light Manipulation.
Immediately after healing the hurt Theet, the stage lights come back on, & the darkness & curtains part to show the distant castle in the fields backdrop, as well as the town. Stella says "Looks like this area has gone back to normal!" with an apparent sigh of relief.
Is this just the stage performance resuming as normal now that there's no longer someone injured on stage? Or did some actual sort of magic happen?
I do wonder what happens with the Sour Bunch enemies when exposed to Sparkle; They appear to get illuminated, release some kind of coin & start running around flapping their arms then fade away....
But why?
When Peach strikes a balloon with her power of Sparkle infused ribbon, the balloon illuminates & expands like the heads of the Sour Bunch enemies, but unlike them, the balloon then bursts.
Air Manipulation? Size Manipulation? Explosion Manipulation? Not sure....
"This is... Ah! It's a Sparkle Gem-Proof of your fantastic efforts! These gems are packed with shining power, so I'm sure they'll be of use as we continue."
There's a tally of 10 on the screen. I wonder if that means defeated Sour Bunch release... Sparkle Coins? Do those also carry "shining power" but are less... "packed"?
Obvious info is obvious, but a Theet exclaims "You're so powerful!" after a pair of them clear some vines obstructing the castle door with the help of Sparkle. The obvious info, of course being that Peach -Or the power of Sparkle- are fantastically, blatantly superior to regular Theets.
Perhaps them exclaiming this is indication that they can't use it, that doing Sparkle stuff is difficult &/or impressive even for those who can, that it's unknown to Theets, or that what they've done -Be that amplifying just 2 Theets, or helping so much of the area?- is a great feat?
Or it could just be the Theets & the game being very kind & encouraging to Peach & the player by design. It's nice to feel good, & on a meta level, in a game where helping the NPCs mood is a thing, I'd assume players might like efforts to help their own mood from the NPCs, too.
"That's the Swordfighter's Sparkle... Peach, I think we can use it together!"
The Sparkle of a specific Swordfighter, or of a Swordfighter in general? & Stella's dialogue implies she can't use it alone, despite making the ribbon that gives Peach access to the power of the Sparkle. Is there some innate capacity to harness it that Peach has in far greater amounts than Stella? It'd be weird for something of a singular individual -A/The Swordfighter- to require multiple individuals, so is it the Sparkle itself requiring a uniting to harness this?
When Peach's transformation begins, all the scenery, good & bad alike is illuminated by a radiating teal wave, then a messier wave moves in, & the scenery disappears from the surrounding area. It's called the Sparkle Theater so is this it gathering surrounding energy? Do Grape & the Sour Bunch use some kind of evil Sparkle power?
The scenery returns after the transformation, which is curious in of itself. The Theets also think of Peach as the Swordfighter. Either Peach has a strong resemblance, the Theets are easily fooled, or there's some kind of Perception Manipulation or Subjective Reality stuff going on, maybe?
"Are you... No, there's no way." says 1 of the Sour Bunch as Swordfighter Peach approaches. So that discounts the Theets being easily fooled as explanation unless the Sour Bunch are, too.
Unlike previous Sour Bunch, which, AFAIK, were defeated by 1 Ribbon Strike, some of the Sour Bunch can survive multiple sword strikes before being defeated.
Either they're stronger, or the sword is less damaging than the ribbon as some kind of trade off. Weird for a transformation to be weaker, unless it's literally some kind of skill issue, so maybe these Sour Bunch are just stronger?
Swordfighter Peach demonstrates some kind of counterattack involving Afterimage Creation, saying "No way" as she does.
Striking a pose in some spots causes some things to happen. Is it the stage workers at work? Magic? Sparkle? We see a spotlight shine & expand there when Peach poses.
When a heart is collected, seemingly while at full HP, 10 coins are acquired. This heart was on the overworld, but I think I've seen some that drop from enemies? What about them? (Might be fun for speedruns if coins end up being useful, lol.)
Another of those Afterimage Counters, this time against this boss(?) that sent a shockwave with its hammer.
Patissiere Peach can accidentally make the cookie dough or such explode with smoke by... baking or doing whatever it is she does to the dough for too long.
"Ever heard of a Heart Charm? They're all the rage among new actors. If you carry one on you, it'll grant you three bonus hearts!" So are hearts a canon mechanic, or is this just game mechanics text? Also, apparently acting is a pretty dangerous job for Theets.
1 of the Theets near the Swordfighter play's theater seems to know Stella. Stella was supposed to be managing it or something, right?
It's interesting that the colour of the Sparkle Gems seems to resemble the colour of the waves that happen when Peach transforms....
I'm not sure the info I got is much more substantial, & it is a bit speculative, but those are my very verbose thoughts.
