Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope: A Bold Expansion That Balances Adventure with Ubisofts Familiar Tactics

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope — launching this Thursday on Nintendo Switch — delivers exactly what fans anticipate from a sequel to a successful title by inviting you into a more intricate and expansive universe. In contrast to the original game, Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, which followed a straightforward narrative, Sparks of Hope adopts a more explorative tone with its semi-open world layout. An in-game map has been introduced, clearly indicating quests. Fortunately, it’s not as cluttered with icons as seen in some of Ubisoft’s other open-world offerings. There’s a measure of level-gating that you might anticipate, but it generally doesn’t obstruct progress significantly—though your experience may differ based on the path you select. Each new planet in Sparks of Hope presents around a dozen quests that need to be completed before confronting the ultimate enemy. You can explore as you wish and choose your actions freely.

Ubisoft Milan and Ubisoft Paris — the veteran developers behind Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope — have also revised their turn-based combat system. Unlike in Kingdom Battle, where character movements were confined to a grid, Sparks of Hope offers a fully free-form movement style. During your turn, you’re free to roam while contemplating your strategies. After initiating a team jump, you soar upwards and can maneuver in the air before making your descent. Moreover, new adversaries, including the Bob-omb, can be lifted and hurled after charging into them. In both scenarios — team jump and dash-and-throw — you enjoy a brief window to make your decision. Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope remains a turn-based tactical experience, yet incorporates a real-time dynamic.

While many of these innovations are positively received, there are a few aspects that are less desirable. Sparks of Hope introduces three forms of in-game currency: the usual “Coins” for acquiring new gear and weapons, “Starbits” used for enhancing power-up characters known as Sparks, and planet-specific coins — related to the game’s five planets — for unlocking items that can only be used once. Kingdom Battle had Coins as the sole currency for both items and weapons. To navigate this complexity, Ubisoft has implemented an in-game shop. This merchant appears before each level, allowing players to spend Coins to restore health. Given the trend seen in other Ubisoft titles, there’s concern that microtransactions and time-limited cosmetics may not be far off.

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In the aftermath of Kingdom Battle, Mario and his companions are enjoying peace in the Mushroom Kingdom. The greatest chaos appears to be Rabbid Mario’s missing trousers. However, as every sequel enthusiast knows, tranquility is always temporary. The new antagonist in Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope is a floating, tentacled creature named Cursa, who strives to dominate the galaxy through mind control and spreading a sinister black goo called Darkmess that corrupts everything it touches. To achieve its goals, Cursa harnesses the power of the Sparks — a fusion of Rabbids and Lumas — which bestow bonuses and unique skills upon our heroes. Eventually, players can assign up to two Sparks per hero, choosing from a total of 30 Sparks unlocked throughout the game.

Regarding heroes, all members are available from the outset: Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Rabbid Mario, Rabbid Luigi, and Rabbid Peach. New friends Edge, Bowser, and Rabbid Rosalina accompany them on their adventure. Of significance, you’re no longer mandated to include Mario in your roster as was required in Kingdom Battle, allowing for other heroes to take his place. I appreciate that Ubisoft avoided convoluted means of locking character selections again. However, their abilities have been re-locked. To save time, the skill trees for each character can be automatically filled with suggestions from Jeanie, a new AI developed by Beep-O, who feels overshadowed by her superior ideas. Both Beep-O and Jeanie have full voiceovers, which was not the case in the previous installment.

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope also brings forth new enemies and fresh tactics to defeat them. The iconic Goombas make a return, and you can dash through multiple Goombas to eliminate them simultaneously. With Bob-ombs, you can dash into one to activate it, then toss it at others. At times, you can create a chain reaction — causing one Bob-omb to explode, affecting others, and damaging even more enemies. Naturally, a variety of weaponry is at your disposal. Utilising the Sparks, you can enhance your attacks, reflect and absorb damage, or apply flames, freezing effects, and other elemental attributes. Single-use items can aid in healing, inflicting area damage, or even resetting cooldowns in tight situations.

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Rabbid Peach throws a Bob-omb in Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope
Photo Credit: Ubisoft/Nintendo

What is cooldown? Similar to Kingdom Battle, Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope imposes a multi-turn cooldown on using Sparks and special abilities to prevent overpowering gameplay. Additionally, the game restricts the number of actions that can be taken in each turn. Players can select two from four choices: weapons, Sparks, items, and abilities. The increased complexity influences strategies formed in Kingdom Battle, compelling players to devise new methods for thriving in the updated Mario + Rabbids experience. Furthermore, you need to consider additional factors, such as enemies that move after you attack and randomly appearing portals that spawn new foes to confront. You can eliminate these portals to avoid new opponents, but it introduces another layer of strategy to your plan.

Should the challenge become overwhelming, Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope provides an easier mode, akin to Kingdom Battle. This mode is referred to as “Relaxed.” You even have the option to render Mario and his allies invulnerable, should you be primarily interested in the narrative experience. (This invulnerability setting is not enabled by default when selecting Relaxed mode; you must navigate to Options > Gameplay to activate it.) Unlike the first title, which offered only two difficulty settings, Sparks of Hope presents three. For those seeking a challenge, Ubisoft includes “Demanding,” where enemies are tougher, deal increased damage, and hero health isn’t replenished post-battle. The standard setting is labeled “Average,” which is the mode I utilized to progress through Sparks of Hope.

Beyond the tactical combat levels, Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope presents light environmental puzzles throughout the open world — some elements carry over from Kingdom Battle. You can shift objects to clear a stream, reorient statues to solve riddles, and participate in time-based challenges to collect coins. The open-world exploration in Sparks of Hope reveals various hidden areas. (These may lead to additional coin rewards or trigger encounters with enemies that start battles.) Although an area may initially seem sparse, once you begin to explore — attempting to complete each quest — you’ll realize how much time has passed since you wandered through that initial entrance.

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Rabbid Rosalina, Luigi, and Rabbid Peach navigate one of five planets in Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope
Photo Credit: Ubisoft/Nintendo

If you choose to purchase the game’s Gold Edition / Season Pass — which carries a premium of $30 (approximately Rs. 2,500) over the base game — you’ll gain access to even more content later. Ubisoft plans to release three story-based downloadable content (DLC) expansions for Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope, with one featuring Rayman, a character from its own franchise that originally inspired the Rabbids. The Nintendo Store anticipates the release of two of these expansions in 2023 and the final one in 2024.

However, I’m disheartened that I can’t enjoy any of this — be it Sparks of Hope or its expansions — with friends or family. While Kingdom Battle featured cooperative and PvP multiplayer modes, which are complementary despite their flaws, this feature has been completely eliminated from Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope. The game’s producer, Xavier Manzanares, has stated that the multiplayer component was removed due to balance issues stemming from the new combat mechanics, which could lead to “a game that never ships.” In my opinion, this is a regrettable decision.

For those planning a big-screen experience while sharing Joy-Cons, it’s worth noting that the graphical fidelity in Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope may not be very impressive. My experience on a 55-inch TV was underwhelming, and the game appears to be designed for optimal play on the Switch’s own screen at an arm’s length. (The Nintendo handheld’s hardware has been limiting graphics since its introduction.) That said, I did enjoy the surround sound when my TV was connected to a 5.1 speaker setup.

In conclusion, the new Mario + Rabbids title is a competent sequel to the over five-year-old Kingdom Battle; however, Ubisoft’s ambition to create an open-world experience yields mixed outcomes. Do I appreciate the elevated aspirations? Absolutely. Am I put off by the contentious new features, and cautious of the Ubisoft template I’ve encountered elsewhere? A resounding yes. This reflects the contemporary landscape. When it was first envisioned, despite the obvious character synergy, Kingdom Battle felt like a charming little venture. Now, buoyed by success, there is a demand for more, with both Ubisoft and Nintendo eager to profit. Mario + Rabbids has become a franchise in its own right — and it shows.

Pros:

• More vibrant, expansive universe
• Accessible yet challenging
• Unconstrained arena design
• Three difficulty settings
• Six heroes available from launch
• Ability to replace Mario in the team

Cons:

• Presence of an in-game store
• Single-use items
• Blend of real-time and turn-based mechanics
• Multiple in-game currencies
• Lack of co-op or PvP multiplayer

Rating (out of 10): 8

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope releases on Thursday, October 20 for the Nintendo Switch and requires 5.8GB of storage space after download.

Officially priced at Rs. 3,999 in India on Games The Shop, Game Loot, and Mcube Games, you can acquire Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope for Rs. 3,599 at e2z Store.

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope is priced at $59.99 (approximately Rs. 4,930) on the online Nintendo Store.