Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope is a 2022 action-adventure tactical role-playing game developed by Ubisoft Milan and Ubisoft Paris and published by Ubisoft for the Nintendo Switch. The game is a crossover between Nintendo’s Mario and Ubisoft’s Rabbids franchises and a sequel to Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle (2017). A trio of expansion packs were released the following year, with the third and final one featuring Rayman. Sometime after the events of Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle, the inhabitants of the Mushroom Kingdom, including Mario, Luigi and Princess Peach, now peacefully coexist with the Rabbids and the group’s counterparts, who have all learned to speak.

The calm is suddenly broken when hybrids of Rabbids and Lumas known as Sparks appear, pursued by a gigantic manta ray imbued with Darkmess, a shadowy corruptive substance. Rabbid Peach is accidentally abducted by the manta while attempting to take a selfie; Mario and Beep-0 free her from a pocket dimension inside the creature with the help of the Sparks. A malevolent entity known as Cursa then appears and attempts to assault the trio, but the other heroes save them with a spaceship constructed from the Rabbids’ Time Washing Machine called the WM-ARC (short for Washing Machine Advanced Rabbid Carrier).

The ship’s artificial intelligence, JEANIE, explains that the unique fusion of Rabbid and Luma DNA grants the Sparks unlimited power, and Cursa, whose corruptive influence has spread across the galaxy, wants to absorb that power for itself. The team resolves to find Cursa’s stronghold and defeat them, saving as many Sparks and corrupted planets as possible, while also searching for Rosalina, the missing guardian of the Lumas. Gameplay in Sparks of Hope is largely similar to that of Kingdom Battle.

Players are able to build out their roster of characters from returning characters Mario, Luigi and Peach, along with their Rabbid counterparts. New characters Edge, a Rosalina-like Rabbid and Bowser have also joined the team (with the Rabbids being fully voiced for the first time). Players are also tasked with rescuing the Sparks throughout the galaxy, who provide distinct powers that will help the player in battle. Unlike the first game, level designs are less linear, and the turn-based tactical combat features a new system that disregards the first game’s grid-based layout. 

Also featured are enemy encounters outside of turn-based combat. Mario can now be replaced by a different character. Lead designer Xavier Manzanares, speaking about the new combat, stated: “You can move in this area of movement the way you want; you can dash a Bob-omb, then you have it in your hand. You can move around as you want, but then it’s going to explode. So, you have a few seconds to react, which is completely different from what we had in the past. And so, it brings this real-time element to the mix”.