Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope tips: 9 things to know before starting

Mario and Rabbids Sparks Of HopeAlthough it may seem like a sweet peach, your life can quickly turn bad. The turn-based tactical game, developed by Ubisofts Milan and Paris and out now for Nintendo Switch, is frequently just as tough as the titans of the genre — not exactly what you may expect from an XCOMYou’ll love the crooked smiles of talking bunnies. We have nine top tips to help you get started.Wah! hoo! yippee!) jumping in.

You don’t need to defeat every enemy

You may not be able to defeat every enemy on every mission, but that is sometimes your goal. You may only be given one mission. Bonus tip: To reach your destination, you only need to be one of the characters. For another, you may need to survive for five turns, à la BreachEliminate or reduce the amount of Darkmess Nodes that are scattered about the battlefield. Focus on the objective, not on clearing the field, and you’ll be set.

Don’t worry about running out of health

It’s a natural assumption for those steeped in turn-based games: A character needs to finish a battle to earn XP. It’s not the case with Mario + Rabbids Sparks Hope. In this sequel, all of your characters level up at the same rate regardless of whether they participated in battle — or if they survived it. Yes, having a character go down for the count will make any battle you’re in significantly more difficult. (You don’t unlock a revive ability until well into the game.) But you needn’t worry about that character lagging behind the rest of your party as a result.

Also, condolences to genre purists, but there’s no permadeath.

Take care when you restart

Fucking up is a part of tactical gaming. Although Mario + Rabbids Sparks Hope doesn’t give you the option to reset a single turn, you can start battles from scratch. If you’re in one of the game’s multi-battle missions, though, be careful. Make sure to select the “restart objective” option instead of the “restart battle” one. Otherwise, you’ll end up redoing the mission from the very beginning of the first battle.

Keep in touch

You might be tempted to “divide and conquer”, to make your opponents look bad. Refrain from falling prey to this temptation. If you do, it could be a disaster for the party.

Mario + Rabbids Sparks Hope, every character can team jump — literally bounce off the head of an ally — once per turn (later abilities can increase this number for certain characters). To allow a team member to glide, it allows them to expand their mobility by allowing them to do a group jump. This ability is key for getting the angle on the opposing team, but it’s far more helpful for moving a wounded ally out of an enemy’s sightline. And to keep that option open, you’ll need to have your trio at least relatively close together.

Your sparks, talents and skills are the most important.

Each character has the ability to expend 2 action points each turn. This allows them to perform a standard attack or special ability as well as an item and spark. (Movement abilities, like dashes, stomps, and team jumps, don’t count toward this total, though most characters can only do those once per turn.) Many sparks grant stat buffs to every character in your party, so long as they’re within range of the character who activates it. In most cases, it’s beneficial to apply these effects BeforeMoving your entire team across the field.

Image: Ubisoft/Nintendo

Your loadout should be customized at each start of battle

At the start of every battle, you can click the left thumbstick to get a bird’s-eye view of the battlefield. You’ll assume control of Beep-O, your stalwart if moderately irritating drone companion, and can zoom around the map, viewing detailed information about enemy resistances and weaknesses with the tap of the A button. (You can also do this in the middle of a battle, though by then you’ll no longer have the chance to switch up your loadout.) Make sure to take time to plan before beginning the fight, and to equip any elemental sparks that’ll give you the advantage.

Also, there are a handful of moments where new characters — like Bowser and Rabbid Rosalina — will join your squad. You must open your character menu (Y) before you can jump into the fights. You’ll be able to assign sparks to new allies (although their skill trees will be locked until after the battle), giving you an edge you otherwise might miss out on.

Don’t use your star potions

You have two options to increase your sparks. Star bits can be used to purchase currency, which is earned by defeating enemies or completing missions. Or you could use a star potion, which automatically advances a spark’s level by one. Sparks grow at an exponential rate. To jump to level two, you need 100 star bits. Level three is 200 star bits. Level four, 350 star bits. It’s better to hold onto your star potions until the higher levels — sparks max out at level five — when leveling up costs more.

Image by Polygon/Ubisoft

Learn what to search for when exploring

Mario + Rabbids Sparks Hope game doesn’t fully explain how to use the various traversal methods at your disposal, nor what you can get for doing so. Hidden treasure can be found by spinning like a top or standing on swirl-shaped symbols. You can shatter cracked walls with Beep-O’s Wave ability (ZR button) to open up secret pathways. Halfway through the game, you can use Beep-O’s Scan ability (ZL button) to unmask all manner of invisible secrets, shortcuts, and bonus items. Here’s a full list of what to look out for.

Do the majority of side-questions

Many side quests reward completion with a planet currency. You can spend planet coins on cosmetics like weapon skins, but you can also save up a bulk for something far more essential: a key for that planet’s “secret zone.” Secret zones are indicated by a semi-circular, rainbow-hued door (and also marked on your map). For every zone you complete, which typically is little more than a rudimentary environmental puzzle with the occasional dash of combat, you’ll get a new spark. If you want to get all 30 sparks, you’ll need to do the majority of the game’s side quests.