Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope
A tactical crossover sequel with free-form combat and galactic exploration.
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope is a tactical role-playing game with action-adventure elements, released in 2022 for the Nintendo Switch. Developed and published by Ubisoft, it crosses over the Mario and Rabbids franchises and follows 2017's Kingdom Battle. Critics praised its graphics, soundtrack, gameplay, and improved battle system, though loading times drew some criticism. Ubisoft reported the game sold below expectations. Three expansion packs came out the next year, the last featuring Rayman. This title is also the final Mario game to include Charles Martinet's voice for Mario and Luigi, using archived recordings before he stepped down from those roles in 2023.
Quick Facts
- Publisher
- Ubisoft
- Director
- Davide Soliani; Damiano Moro
- Producer
- Xavier Manzanares
- Gian Marco Zanna
- Zou Yang
- Toyokazu Nonaka
- Designer
- Ugo Laviano
- Programmer
- Syvain Glaize; Tiziano Sardone
- Artist
- Mauro Perini; Fabrizio Stibiel
- Writer
- Andrea Babich; Edward Kuehnel
- Composer
- Yoko Shimomura
- Grant Kirkhope
- Gareth Coker
- Christophe Héral
Facts from the source article.
Plot
After the Megabug anomaly's vanquishment, the Mushroom Kingdom's inhabitants, including Mario, Luigi, and Princess Peach, coexist peacefully with the Rabbids and their counterparts, who have learned to speak. The calm is broken when hybrids of Rabbids and Lumas called Sparks appear, pursued by a gigantic manta ray-like creature imbued with Darkmess. Rabbid Peach is accidentally abducted while taking a selfie; Mario and Beep-0 free her with the Sparks' help.
The entity Cursa appears and attacks, but the heroes escape using the WM-ARC spaceship, built from the Rabbids' Time Washing Machine. Its AI, JEANIE, explains that Sparks have unlimited power from the fusion of Rabbid and Luma DNA, and Cursa seeks to absorb that power. The team travels to five planets—Beacon Beach, Pristine Peaks, Palette Prime, Terra Flora, and Barrendale Mesa—gathering purified Darkmess sources to reach Cursa's stronghold. They are joined by Edge, Rabbid Rosalina, and Bowser. Near the journey's end, Cursa transforms into Rosalina, who has been possessed by the entity.
Development
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope was announced at E3 2021 and released on October 20, 2022. It was co-developed by Ubisoft Paris and Ubisoft Milan, with additional work by Ubisoft Pune, Ubisoft Chengdu, and Ubisoft Montpellier. Creative director Davide Soliani stated the team viewed the game as a spiritual successor to the first and a different take on the tactical genre, expanding beyond the Mushroom Kingdom to galactic locations. The soundtrack was composed by Grant Kirkhope, Gareth Coker, and Yoko Shimomura.
Producer Xavier Manzanares explained that Yoshi was not made playable because the team wanted to evolve the roster rather than repeat it. Soliani cited Rosalina's tall height causing technical issues and her being too powerful as reasons she was not playable. Three downloadable content expansions were released via a season pass in 2023: The Tower of Doooom on March 2, The Last Spark Hunter on June 21, and Rayman in the Phantom Show on August 30.
Reception
Critics widely praised Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope as a step up from its predecessor, earning it a "generally favorable" rating on Metacritic. On OpenCritic, 96% of reviewers recommended the title. In Japan, first-week physical sales of 17,647 units placed it third among retail games that week. Ubisoft later noted the game fell short of commercial expectations during late 2022 and early January. By January 2024, global sales had reached nearly 3 million copies.
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