Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope review: one of the best Mario spinoffs

For all its qualities, 2017’s Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle First and foremost it was a proof-of-concept. That is a compliment. Nintendo’s plumber, Ubisoft’s stooges, and simplified versions of XCOM’s tactical battlefields? It’s a bizarre concept to prove, but Battle of the Kingdom It worked. It opened up the doors. Mario and Rabbids Sparks Of HopeThe sequel to the original could offer a bolder, deeper, more adventurous version that can be confidently walked through.

Sparks of Hope When a manta Ray strikes Mario, Luigi and Princess Peach along with the other Rabbids that impersonate them, everything is put into motion. The manta ray, it later turns out, is controlled by an otherworldly entity named Cursa, who wants to spread the inky, plague-like Darkmess across the galaxy, in order to harness the energy of Sparks — mashups between Rabbids and the Super Mario Galaxy’s star-like Lumas.

So begins the planet-hopping journey to save Sparks and stop Cursa. This is how it works: Battle of the KingdomThe missions are turn-based and against enemies from both franchises. However, this version is different than its predecessor. Sparks of Hope Real-time elements are integrated into character movement. Rather than commanding your fighters to specific spots on a grid — a la chess — you actively control their movement on the Switch’s left analog stick.

Image: Ubisoft Milan/Ubisoft Paris

The highlighted area of ground indicates your initial movement range. You can expand this area by using teammate-propelled jumps or character abilities. Once you fire a character’s weapon, you’re allowed to spend their remaining action point, but you can’t move anymore, and you’ll take cover if you’re close enough to a wall, fence, or concrete slab.

While this kinetic freedom isn’t the game-changer it might appear to be at first blush — Battle of the Kingdom’s grid-based movement was already a metaphor for this real-time action, after all — it does make flanking maneuvers and last-minute comebacks all the more exciting. Did I technically end my turn in a sliver of space that a grid wouldn’t have allowed for? I don’t care. Luigi just slide-tackled a bob-omb, tossed it into a group of enemies, leapt from Mario’s outstretched hands, hovered to a watchtower, and eliminated an enemy sniper to finish the mission. If it’s an illusion, it’s a damn good one.

Also, the active movement works at a deeper level. It connects. Sparks of Hope to Mario’s 3D platformers. So too does the game’s overarching structure. The linear, node-based world of Battle of the Kingdom The sequel, which mimics the 2D Mario platformers’ world maps, is similar to the mini-open-worlds in Super Mario Odyssey. Five planets are explored, four of which follow the seasons, in order to find side quests and collectibles. Weapon skins can also be found on five of these planets. Inky dark blobs of Darkmess are used to indicate story missions. However, you may also have minor encounters with goombas or the like.

Image: Ubisoft Milan/Ubisoft Paris

While a couple of these worlds are overly complex in their level design — the wintry cliffsides of Pristine Peaks are particularly frustrating to backtrack through — the rest exude craft and charm in equal measure. Palette Prime, an animated Sleepy Hollow in an everlasting autumn that is overseen by Edgar Allen Poe’s understudy, ranks as one of my most favorite 3D Mario Worlds. It’s not only vivid and cozy, but also introduces some of the game’s most compelling enemies and mind-bending environmental wrinkles. It is home to evil mages who can heal others and hooded Vampires that sap your health.

Each squadmate is equipped with Sparks in order to combat the constantly changing enemy list. The interchangeable weapons arsenal is being replaced Battle of the KingdomSparks can grant passive buffs and abilities. While they begin simply enough — one imbues attacks with fire damage, another increases the defenses of nearby allies, for instance — they soon throw balance out the window, allowing you to build unstoppable forces of nature. I was able to equip two Sparks per character after unlocking it. Bowser received Ethering, which gives him invisibility for several rounds, and Pyrogeddon that allows him to call down a meteor Shower in his immediate surroundings. I’ll let your imagination run wild.

The fuel for innovation is to experiment with new combinations of characters, Sparks, and other elements. Sparks of Hope through its weaker moments — fighting yet another weak squad of goombas just to see a planet’s progression tracker increase by three percentage points can get old — and into its most elaborate missions, which are on par with some of the best I’ve played in XCOM 2Or Final Fantasy Tactics. The activation of wind tunnels to propel bob-ombs through a network of ice patches and finally into the final wall with Darkmess was one standout. Rabbid Luigi’s Frisbee-like weapon was crucial in its function as a ricocheting death disc, and Peach’s shield ability helped the squad weather the worst of the enemy onslaughts. This battle required a careful balance of guiding the Bob-ombs, planning where I would cover next, and eliminating my opponents when there was still time.

Image: Ubisoft Milan/Ubisoft Paris

Elsewhere, it’s the “moments between” that lead me to my biggest gripe with Sparks of Hope. I’ll admit that the Series X and PlayStation 5 have spoiled me with their short load times, and I won’t begrudge the almost 6-year-old Switch for not keeping up. Sparks of Hope, though, isn’t cloying because of its load time length, but rather, the sheer QuantityLoad screens. In a game where the pre-mission planning phase is largely a matter of hopping between menu screens, it becomes a test of patience to sit through a load screen every time I hop between the battle-overview camera and the squad-selection screen; doubly so when I’m backtracking through previous planets and fighting low-level fights in search of one collectible.

This technical frustration is nothing compared to what the ultimate goal of this project is. Sparks of Hope’s design boons. As someone who loves the tactics genre, I’ll be the first to admit that it can often take itself too seriously. It’s that simple. Sparks of Hope finds such harmony between strategic depth, cartoonish magnetism, and a fair amount of comedy (yes, as long as we’re being honest here, I think the Rabbids are funny) is no small accomplishment. You can find it here. Battle of the Kingdom Stand on the shoulders and giants Sparks of Hope You can leap off them, and enter an entire arena unto itself. It’s an excellent tactics game, by all means. But it’s also a confident Mario adventure in its own right.

It is hard to believe that such an unusual combination could bring such happiness. This is what it looks like. Sparks of Hope, Ubisofts Milan and Paris have turned one of gaming’s strangest elevator pitches into one of Mario’s greatest spinoffs.

Mario and Rabbids Sparks Of Hope On October 20, the Nintendo Switch will release this game. Ubisoft sent a code to review the game. Vox Media is an affiliate partner. They do not affect editorial content. However, Vox Media might earn commissions for products bought via affiliate links. Find out more. additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here.