Mario plus rabbids sparks of hope: MARIO + RABBIDS SPARKS OF HOPE for Nintendo Switch

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope Reveals Gold Edition Contents, Shows New Gameplay at Nintendo Direct

By
Aneesh Shukla

Published Sep 13, 2022

Another reveal at the Nintendo Direct, Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope shows off new gameplay and reveals the Gold Edition content as well.

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope revealed new gameplay details and footage as well as information about what is included in the Gold Edition of the game, which releases on October 20 (pre-orders are available now). The Gold Edition will include the base game, the Megabug Collection of weapon skins, and a Season Pass to access future DLC.

The gameplay deep dive of Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope from Ubisoft Forward has now been followed up by more details given at the Nintendo Direct, including more gameplay footage. The trailer first shows off exploration gameplay in which players can freely explore the game’s different worlds, each one full of different secrets and discoveries to be made. There are some RPG-lite elements as well, as battle rewards earn experience and coins that can be used to make Mario and his friends stronger.

RELATED: Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope Trailer Details the Game’s Playable Characters

The next detail that is revealed is about the different Sparks in Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope, which are hybrid species of Luma and Rabbids that act as companion characters that can add different buffs and bonuses to Mario’s team during battle. The trailer shows off some of these Sparks and how their skills can help players be victorious in battle.

The end of the trailer is devoted to detailing the Gold Edition of Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope. The Gold Edition, along with the base game, includes the Megabug Collection, which looks to be a collection of skins for the main characters’ main weapons. Also, the Gold Edition will include access to the Season Pass for the game, which players are sure to be excited about amid news of a Rayman-themed DLC for Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope being confirmed.

With just a little over a month left before launch, fans are surely excited to play the sequel to Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, the hit Nintendo/Ubisoft crossover game that started it all. Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope promises better enemy variety, more gameplay features, new exploration mechanics, and much more overall content than the first game, though, so players will have plenty to sink their teeth into when the game releases.

Crossover games are often great fun for fans, especially because they tend to bring players from different communities together under one roof to talk about and play games that they all love. Hopefully, Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope continues that trend and players are able to unite and take on the challenges that are in store.

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope releases for Nintendo Switch on October 20.

MORE: Everything Revealed at Ubisoft Forward 2022

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About The Author

Aneesh is a full-time professional writer, which is something that he is thankful for every single day. He is working on his debut fantasy novel/series. When he isn’t writing, which isn’t very often, he spends time with his wife and his puppy, playing video games and travelling when he can.

Mario Plus Rabbids Sparks of Hope | Ubisoft

2017’s Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle proved naysayers wrong by offering a well-crafted tactics game that successfully blends two very disparate franchises. Its sequel, Sparks of Hope, now must live up to fan excitement rather than dispel their doubt. Ubisoft Milan accomplishes this feat by returning to the drawing board, reworking its template, and creating a more streamlined, dynamic experience that maintains strategic depth. The core combat remains strong, but Ubisoft fleshed out the rest of the offerings to create a more wholly engaging package.

Sparks of Hope plays identically to the last game; you’ll engage in tactical turn-based battles as a squad of Mario icons and their Rabbid doppelgängers. However, the grid-based movement is gone. Instead, you freely move your three-member team as you would in a standard third-person game. The game still restricts you to a character’s movement range, but positioning feels more natural and kinetic, expanding your offensive flexibility.

An optimal turn using a single hero often looks like this: I sprint toward a foe and slide into them for damage. I then retreat to a nearby ally to perform a team jump launching me airborne. I hover to a higher vantage point, activate a hero action such as Peach’s damage-negating shield, and move again. After finding new cover, I use my primary attack to blast another enemy before I’m finally forced to end my turn. I love how the looser framework allows me to squeeze more actions from a turn, and combat feels more exciting as a result. Chaining moves, such as launching targets into the range of, say, Mario’s automatic counterattack, adds to this satisfaction.

The plethora of colorful stages sometimes incorporates real-time elements that put this freedom to good use. One winter stage features timed wind gusts that blow players off the course. I avoid this by simply running past at the right times rather than adhering to a rigid turn order. One enemy explodes when killed, so I quickly flee its blast radius, again in real-time. Sparks of Hope also mixes up its objectives often enough to keep the action from getting too stagnant. I enjoy battling a giant rampaging Wiggler aboard a moving train or shattering dams with bombs to restore a region’s water flow.

A decently varied enemy roster and elaborate arenas mean battles remain thoughtful affairs where your positioning and offensive order of operations matter. Sparks of Hope offers enough challenge that poor planning can lead to a punishing team wipe. This time, however, you have the help of Sparks: hybrids of Rabbids and Super Mario Galaxy’s Lumas. Equipping these critters to heroes bestows a wide range of powers and perks, such as adding elemental traits to their attacks (like fire and ice). Other Sparks disrupt enemy formations by repelling or attracting foes. One of my favorites temporarily renders a character invisible. The most powerful Sparks unleash wide-reaching assaults, such as a fiery meteor shower. Feeding star bits to Sparks levels them up, letting you improve the capabilities of your favorites.

Since each hero can carry two Sparks, they feel more versatile as individuals resulting in more well-rounded teams. I love that I can have Rabbid Luigi handle foes weakened by shock and frost attacks on his own. I appreciate how enemy vulnerabilities forced me to constantly switch Sparks and prevent me from sticking with the same loadout or team out of complacency. It’s also great that party building allows for any combination of heroes, ditching Kingdom Battle’s restriction of only using Mario and at least one Rabbid. Since heroes have inherent specialties – Luigi is a long-ranged sniper, Rabbid Peach serves as a healer, and Rabbid Mario doles up-close physical damage, for example – assembling squads feels more interesting since I can mix things up better. Heroes also have skill trees, which largely improve or enhance existing moves, that you can respec anytime, granting additional flexibility in what talents they bring to each fight.

Three newcomers join the fray: Bowser, Rabbid Rosalina, and Edge, a mysterious tough-as-nails Rabbid. They feel like good additions for the most part. Edge is my favorite, thanks to the high damage she deals by hurling her whirling blade to eviscerate lines of targets. Bowser and his Bow-zooka rocket launcher make him a punishing tank that can obliterate groups and cover terrain. Rabbid Rosalina’s lackadaisical personality is amusing, but I often struggle to find a spot for her. She conjures debilitating effects that hinder or outright stop foes in their tracks, but her machine-gun-like doll doesn’t feel like it satisfies a particular need.

Expanded overworld exploration adds more engagement outside the battlefield. Multiple themed planets, such as a tropical beach or a mechanic’s junkyard, are packed with sidequests, puzzles, and secrets. I like that I’m not required to complete quests to progress. You’re free to mainline the sizable critical path, and you’ll largely remain appropriately leveled. But if you do, you’ll miss out on earning planet coins (native currency unlocking special keys, weapon skins, and more), useful combat items like POW blocks, and more Sparks. Tasks include helping a DJ find his missing records, solving a series of entertaining riddles for an enthusiastic explorer, or chasing and catching fish in a timed minigame. These missions aren’t the deepest, and I wish some had more variety; expect to fulfill the same “kill X-amount of X-enemy type” task on each world. But they’re enjoyable enough and can be welcome breaks from constant battling.

I have the most fun upgrading my robotic companion, Beep-0, with new abilities used to unlock inaccessible areas. Along the way, I acquired a sonic pulse to shatter weak walls and move blocks and a special light that exposes invisible paths and treasures. These abilities give Sparks of Hope’s worlds a light Metroid feel in that I regularly revisited destinations to unlock new zones. Solving environmental puzzles is also fun, offering adequate challenges without feeling tedious.

A charming though uneventful narrative about stopping a cosmic darkness from consuming the galaxy rounds out this delightful package. Like the best sequels, Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope builds upon Kingdom Battle’s foundation with smart tweaks and fun additions to emerge as a better game in every way.

Sparks of Hope – First Impressions – DTF Games

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The first part of Mario + Rabbids was released back in 2017, the year the Nintendo Switch itself was released, and turned out to be an unexpected hit. Given that the very idea of ​​​​a crossover of rabbits from Reyman with the Mario universe in the form of a turn-based strategy in the spirit of XCOM, and even from Ubisoft, looked just as wild as possible.

But the game, once again, was excellent, although not everyone knew about it.

If the masterpiece of Mario Odyssey or Zelda Toptwa was obvious to many, then MarioRabbits as an incomprehensible project, and even from Ubisoft, were treated with caution.

Nevertheless, the game was a success, and therefore the continuation was long in coming for only some 5 years. And now – Mario Rabbids: Sparks of Hope. I played the game for several hours, and therefore this is not some kind of final opinion, however, some changes in the gameplay and not only are already obvious.

Like the first game, Mario Rabbids: Sparks of Hope is a turn-based strategy game with elements of adventure outside of combat. Moreover, if in the first part, moving around the world was slightly … schematic, or rather, the world itself was schematic there, then in the second part we already walk freely, and until you enter the battle, you get the feeling that this is some kind of another Zelda.

This is generally good.

The bad thing is that all the riddles that I managed to see were, well . .. And too simple – literally press one button, and sometimes too illogical.

For example, here is the place where you need to move the boxes, as it was in the first part. Only here on the floor there are direct traces, like a box needs to be moved. Moreover, you cannot move the box in any other way. Obviously, in such riddles something should interfere with you – some curbs or something like it was in the first part, but this is not here.

Another point – turn-based battles here take place in separate arenas, like in some kind of jRPG. That is, you walk around the world, stumbled upon an enemy, and you are transferred to a separate arena.

Somehow it doesn’t fit with the style of the game, but this is a consequence of the extended exploration of the world. So you can understand and accept.

As for the characters, in the first part we opened them gradually. Here, many familiar heroes are available immediately, and if in the first part Mario was an obligatory member of the party, then here he can be changed to anyone.

A new character, Edge the rabbit, has also been introduced. The character, to be honest, seemed completely uninteresting to me. Yes, in battle, Edge (this is a girl, by the way) has a couple of cool tricks, but in terms of charisma, she is inferior to absolutely all other rabbits.

There are also bunny lums, a cross between bunnies and star lums from Super Mario Galaxy. And in general, hints of Super Mario Galaxy are almost everywhere. We even fly in a spaceship between different planets and save the locals from some local evil, while moving along the plot.

But let’s talk about the combat system, because in the first Mario Rabbits it was the most important and most interesting.

One of the good things is that weapon upgrades have been removed. If you, like me, were infuriated in the first part by constantly buying new weapons, then rejoice – here the money will have to be spent on other things. For example, to restore health, because it no longer happens automatically.

Replacing the purchase of weapons with the purchase of health is generally good – so you can start changing characters in the party more often if there is not enough money for healing.

And now there is one weapon for each fighter, and not two, as it was before. However, I did not advance that far, I just reached the second planet, maybe they will give additional weapons there.

But now we have been given these Lum rabbits, which are called sparks. Hence the name of the game – “Sparks of Hope”. Sparks have different properties, and they can be tied to different heroes, and pump their strength. Heroes, by the way, can also be pumped, just like before.

And here is the key point.

Everything I have said up to this point is either good or it will do. But then there will be cons. Who does not want to spoil their impression of the game – may not read further, in the end, perhaps you will have different feelings from everything that I will tell.

So, Mario Rabbits, once again, this is a turn-based strategy game. She was like that in the first part and she generally remained like that, but … One gets the feeling that the developers themselves do not really like it, and they are trying to add as many real-time actions as possible, including those that, well, are not at all in topic.

For example, bomb-bomb enemies – if you roll under them, they will explode after a while. And it’s real time, regardless of the turn-based system. This is strange and it is not clear what is the point – after all, only your main player, whom you made a tackle, can move anyway. If the explosion was on the next turn or two, this would give additional scope for tactics.

The movements themselves on the map also became annoying. Of course, in the first part they were not quite typical for tactical games. Within the access zone, you could walk absolutely freely, or rather, you could choose where to go. And this, in my opinion, is much more convenient than those turn-based games where you either draw your path through the cells (Fire Emblem), or, even worse, control each character’s move, especially if there is no way to cancel the move (Rainbow Moon).

There seems to be even more dynamics here – now you control the character directly and walk around the map, and when you want to shoot or use a skill, you press the appropriate button. although it’s still a turn-based mode. What is worse? Well, for example, I missed the cover several times. Like, it seems to me that the character is standing at the wall, but in fact there are a few more pixels.

But what they completely spoiled was the team jumps. As it was before, you controlled the cursor, choosing where to move, clicking on your party member, and then choosing where you would jump.

Now you approach a party member, press the button to perform a team jump, fly up, and hover. But not for as long as you like, but for a limited time, something like in Majora’s Mask, when Link is in the form of Deku Scrub.

And you just have no idea how annoying it is. Like, we have a turn-based game, there are tactics, strategy, time to think and all that. Previously, we chose where to go, evaluated different points, but now – where we managed, we flew there. And you can’t undo this move. That’s where he landed, and that’s where he came in handy.

After landing, you have a small area within which you can still move around, but that’s it.

i.e. once again, if the movement in the first Mario Rabbits just solved the annoying problem of many tactical games, where you had to accurately take literally every step, then in the second part they spoiled everything, making it even worse, because now you need to move in real time, and you have there is no time to think about your move, although, damn, this is a turn-based game!

In general, according to the hours that I played, I like the first part more so far. Yes, she also did not immediately accelerate, and therefore it is still too early to draw conclusions here, but at least the boss of the first world is simply about nothing. Then he will also be an ordinary enemy, by the way, he will, however, have less health.

And I also like the music and graphics less here than in the first part. The music has become a little too epic, and it lacks that cartoon charm from Mario Rabbids Kingdom Battle. The graphics are generally pretty, but the locations have lost their cute absurdity and become a little too ordinary. As if the developers really wanted to make an adventure game, and then suddenly remembered that they should have a turn-based strategy here.

Mario + Rabbids Review: Sparks of Hope Switch

What is madness? The hero of one notorious series of games claimed
that madness is the exact repetition of the same action, once
over and over, in the hope of some kind of change. If you think about it, then this
the statement sounds rather ironic in the context of whose mouth
it comes out. Large and empty open worlds, monotonous quests,
reskins, as well as an incredible number of outposts and chests –
these are the phrases that can be heard in relation to modern games from
Ubisoft. However, we will return to these components later. Now us
interested in a series of crazy games associated with harmful and utterly
screaming rabbits. We’re talking, of course, about the franchise.0073 Raving
Rabbids , its offshoot of Mario + Rabbids: Battle for
Kingdom ” and their sequel “ Mario + Rabbids: Sparks
Hopes “, which we will now consider.

The story of “Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope” starts after some
time after the events that occurred in the previous game. rabbits,
found themselves in a world unknown to them, eventually became
an integral part of the Mushroom Kingdom. They brought into it
a drop of his madness, supplementing it with a peaceful and relatively
the calm nature of the locals. Peace and harmony reigned in
kingdom, but, as often happens, this time lasted
not for long. One day a gap appeared in the sky, from
which sparks rained down – a hybrid of rabbits and stars of Luma, –
pursued by a giant stingray monster. Who are they and how are they
entered the Kingdom? Our heroes didn’t have time to find out
especially since the stingray managed to draw into itself not only part of the Sparks,
but also Rabbit-Peach, who decided to take a selfie against the background of a flying
curiosities. As it turned out a little later, all these were machinations
evil creature Courses, trying to take over the world and the galaxy under
the help of the magical power of the mysterious Sparks. They can save her like this
As usual, only our wards, who are sent to
your new journey.

To be honest – the time of passing the game without taking into account additional
tasks takes about twenty hours, among which the plot
takes only about half an hour. As with the original,
the story in the sequel is served in small pieces created rather
for the seed and the peculiar direction of movement of the characters than
for a complete presentation. When the player passes
exclusively in the plot component, this looks uncritical: humor
saves the situation, and the crazy antics of the rabbits dilute the crumpled
narration. Problems start to arise with full investigation
locations and clearing all additional tasks that increase the time
passing up to five tens of hours. They don’t have much of a plot, just
small and unrelated stories that, coupled with an updated,
relatively open world look not the best way.

However, as is usually the case with Nintendo games, the main
The beauty of Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope lies far beyond
plot. It is secondary and serves only as a kind of marker for
movement. The basis here is the gameplay. I have already noted above that
the sequel somewhat revised its core game design. How it was
in original? Linear locations, secrets hidden on them with
trials and enemies, battles with which were always in advance
“determined by the plot.” The key moment during the passage was
the fact that no one distracted the player during the exploration of locations.
Battles and the global map were independent of each other. Now
Mario and the company of screaming rabbits are available for research five
huge open biomes. Secrets, additional tasks and
hidden items. Mini-games, shops and various NPCs.
Locations have grown in volume and become multi-layered. The main change
became enemies who now roam the map on their own
back and forth and rush towards the heroes, barely seeing them.

Much more global adjustments have befallen the combat system. On
at first glance, its basis remains the same: a small battlefield,
simple pumping, turn-based battles, three player-controlled
character and many opponents on the other side of the barricades. Like
nothing new, only every aspect I named has undergone
change. Arenas are no longer divided into square segments, and our
heroes within their turn and available distance can
move around them as they please, switching between themselves
without any restrictions. The only rule worth
take into account – the character who made the shot is deprived of the opportunity
move and use dashes until the end of the turn. Respectively,
the path of its movement must be clearly defined in advance, taking into account
the location of allies, their abilities and range, and
also possible mutual assistance – no one canceled team jumps.
Walk with Bowser to the enemy, hit him in melee, then
switch to Bunny Peach so she can run closer and
“reach out” to our ward with its healing ability, and
after that, return to the original position and make a well-aimed
shot at the evil Gumba from there? No problem! Or apply
the magic power of the Spark, which gives the hero the power of the elements of water, and
use it to lift the enemy into the air, where he will be intercepted by a well-aimed
fired by Mario while in spectator mode? Easily! The game is not
hints about such combos, but at the same time does not limit
in the player’s experiments, and in this context the new freedom of movement
looks like a no-brainer.

You can not ignore the variety of heroes. There are only nine, but
each of them has their own unique skills, abilities and weapons.
Rabbit Peach wields a rocket launcher that attacks the enemy with a hinged
trajectory and is able to heal her injured Krolleg. Luigi
masterfully owns a sniper rifle, and Mario Rabbit is able to
counterattack the enemy, blocking his attack before that.
The abilities of these heroes are well known to those who played in the first part, and
therefore, the few newcomers are of greatest interest.
The first is the eternal villain Bowser, carrying
huge “Bowzook” and summoning exploding
fur rabbits. The second newcomer was an apathetic
Rabbit-Rosalina, striking enemies with boredom and a charge of shots from
his Kabumer machine gun. The last one is presented to us by the mysterious
rabbit Edge, deftly wielding a huge boomerang blade,
capable of attacking ten monsters at a time, which is far from the case
helped me out during the passage.

A simple system also adds variety to the gameplay.
character upgrades. Heroes can no longer change weapons to more
powerful, as it was in the first part – all characteristics
rise automatically when they reach a new level. Together with
with this, heroes also receive skill points with which they can open cells
on a skill tree unique to each character. Expand
ability range, raise maximum health,
increase the number of dashes or reduce the reload time. Choice
remains with the player. It should be noted, however, that it is not possible
“break” the character by pumping it incorrectly – any ability
can be rolled back, getting skill points back. complement this system
and brand new Sparks, which can be changed on the go, leveling them
skills and abilities, gaps in the characteristics of the
heroes.

However, I will not dissemble – far from all aspects of local gameplay
are equally good. To begin with, it should be noted that the player with
from the very beginning open access to a huge number of characters.
They are not introduced into the game gradually, but dumped on just the launcher
the game at once, which greatly slows down the pace of those who did not pass
original. Whom to choose if at first you can keep only
two characters? Where can I find time to just play with
abilities and skills of all heroes? The second point is
the absence of many characters from the first part, such as
iconic for the universe “Mario” Donkey Kong. Why? Did it hurt
under already announced DLC? It is not yet clear.

However, these are all trifles, because a much more serious “crime”
is insanely low difficulty of the game even when passing on
maximum level. The fact is that local monsters (which are here
not so many species) corny can not oppose anything
our heavily armed detachment – the battle is simple
ends before it starts. What’s the point of enemies walking
through the open world, if defeating them does not give any
pleasure. Rather, on the contrary, every such battle
artificially delays the game, taking away five extra minutes each
once. Why was it necessary to add fights here in which you just need to
destroy one enemy? Needless to say, the heroes for
often you don’t even have to move. Joy and some
“challenge” bring only pre-arranged fights, whether
boss fight or survival missions in which the developers
specifically emphasize the difference between enemies and their features.
However, even considering this fact, it should be noted that the battles with
bosses in the first part were more interesting in terms of their
staging.

The last components that I want to pay attention to are
are the visual design and technical condition of the game. Mario
+ Rabbids: Sparks of Hope” looks great, has the brightest
art design and simple but superbly chosen music, excellent
illustrating the madness that is happening on the screen. I want the game
enjoy, it captures and does not let go until the end credits.
Good optimization also helps. I completed the game in a portable
mode, and for all the time not a single departure or
any bug that breaks or somehow interferes with the passage.
The only objective minus is a glitch with the wall of the crown, which
opens with a key. The bottom line is that such a wall should
disappear immediately after its discovery, but for some reason
animation stretches for 5-10 seconds, simultaneously reducing the frequency
frames to incredibly low values.