Sure, Princess Peach has traditionally been the heroine (or the damsel in distress) in most Super Mario titles. But 30 years ago a second royal made her first appearance – Princess Daisy. Debuting in April 1989 as the kidnapping victim of the evil Tatanga in Super Mario Land, Daisy has since gone on to appear in more than 70 Nintendo titles and has turned into far more than just a palette-swap of Peach.

Daisy was created by Gunpei Yokoi, Super Mario Land’s producer, who had intended for the game to give the overall feel of a traditional Mario title, but set in a different world. This led to the creation of the kingdom of Sarasaland, with Princess Daisy as its ruler. In the game, Tatanga arrives and kidnaps Daisy with the intent of marrying her in order to take over Sarasaland, and it’s up to Mario to traverse this strange world and rescue her.

After what was essentially a cameo appearance in 1991’s NES Open Tournament Golf as Luigi’s caddy, Daisy wouldn’t appear again until 2000’s Mario Tennis on the Nintendo 64. Since then, she’s regularly been seen as a playable character in Mario Party, Mario Kart and various Mario sports titles.

It wouldn’t be until 2002’s Mario Party 2 that she received her permanent character design, with shorter flipped hair (compared to Peach’s); previous designs had her with longer hair, similar to Pauline. Daisy has often been described in the games as somewhat of a tomboy, which is expressed in her mannerisms and tendency to wear more athletic outfits when compared to other female Mario series characters.

Though initially somewhat of a stand-in for Peach, Daisy has since gone on to become a popular Nintendo character in her own right, and was finally added to the Smash Bros. series as a playable character with 2018’s Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Though she still has yet to star in her own title after 30 years, the plucky and outgoing ruler of Sarasaland has clearly left her mark on this legendary gaming franchise.