Those Pesky Rabbids

It has been a while since Mario and his friends got warped into the wild words of Rabbids, four years to be exact. At the time the Switch was a young whipper-snapper, barely out of nappies, now it is starting to show its age. How does this return fair on Nintendo’s console? Actually, quite well.

After the events of the first game, the Rabbids have found themselves a peaceful life, co-existing in the Mushroom Kingdom with their Mario counterparts. However, this peace is threatened by a new foe, Cursa, and her plan to spread her Darkmess across the galaxy in a bid to capture the Sparks, celestial beings that can harness elemental energy. And if these Sparks seem familiar, it’s because they bare a very strong Rabbid like resemblance to the Lumas. Sparks of Hope is definitely in the Galaxy phase of Super Mario.

MSRP: $59.99
Platforms: Switch
Price I’d Pay: $59.99

Along with some returning friends, Sparks of Hope also add some new faces to the line-up (while removing Yoshi & Rabbid Yoshi); with both Bowser and Roselina taking up arms to aid Mario. There is also a debut for a brand new Rabbid character called Edge. Full of the kind of attitude you would expect from a moody teenager, Edge has a score to settle with Cursa and decides to join forces with the team. Also oining our team of heroes is Jeanie, an AI version of Beep-o and a constant thorn in his side. Much of the voice-acted banter is between these two and although sometimes funny, can get grating from time to time. Another change to the previous game is that the Rabbids can now speak, well they now have written dialogue anyway, often accompanied by an audible Rabbid style grunt. Although these lines are not voiced, it still feels pretty weird to see them verbally interact with Mario, Luigi, and all. I’d always seen Rabbids as Minion-style creatures, with little ability to communicate outside of strange noises. Really threw me off. But it seldom gets in the way and certainly didn’t hamper my enjoyment of the game.

The main crux of the gameplay has been changed slightly for this second outing, still while keeping the X-Com style of combat. First of all, movement is now free and no longer takes up an action point, with the characters free to move about within a given area as much as they like. However, once the first action has been activated, movement is then restricted. It gave me more time to consider my strategy, while at the same time making me think carefully before taking aim. The weapon system has also been given an overhaul. No longer are there different types of weapons for each character, now they only have one weapon to use. Instead, the Sparks are there to enhance and change the type of damage done. Each Spark has an ability (mostly elemental) that can be taken into battle and used against enemies. Fire, Water, Wind, Stagger, and many others. These Sparks can then in turn be leveled up to increase their potency through the use of starbits and as the game progresses each character can take more than one Spark into battle.

Many of the battles allow the player to pick any three characters to take up arms, although there are some side missions that require a certain team-up. However, unlike the first game where one of the team members had to be Mario, this time any variety of characters can be selected. In one way this is great; each character is different and this means that each player can pick their team to best compliment their play style. On the other hand, it makes it feel like Mario is no longer the main man like it is no longer his story. Thinking back on it other than brand recognition and the links to past Mario games, this game could have been completely Rabbid focused.

As with Kingdom Battle each character has their own hero moves; Edge, Mario, and Luigi rock the Overwatch ability, and both Peach and Rabbid are great at healing and support, while Rabbid Mario and Luigi are best suited for up-close combat. With such a diverse set of skills available there are plenty of options for all types of players, even with the difficulty ramping up as the player makes their way through the five different areas. Now that may not sound like a lot, but each area has tons of side missions to take part in, many of which will reward the player with items that will help level up the characters and Sparks, so they are well worth dipping into.

Performance-wise, Sparks of Hope does an admiral job on aging hardware. Ubisoft’s Snowdrop engine runs smoothly in both docked and handheld modes; helped mostly by the colorful and stylized visuals. Throughout my whole playful I never noticed a drop below 30fps and given the artstyle, the game looked amazing in handheld mode (which is what I mostly played in). It still surprises me how great a Switch game can look when the developers take advantage of the consoles strengths.

If there is one thing I could say about Sparks of Hope, it is that is more of the same, andthat isn’t a bad thing, far from it. But along with the improvements to gameplay, there are also some odd additions to be found, such as the Rabbids now spouting dialogue. Overall the package is a generous one, with plenty of content to enjoy and challenges to overcome. But it is hard to ignore the fact that Maio seems like a secondary character in his own game, as do all of the Mushroom Kingdom’s cast. Does the inclusion of Mario make Sparks of Hope a more appealing package, yes absolutely, but it stops at making it a better game. But it is hard to deny the appeal that the first game had and Sparks of Hope certainly makes good on the promises of the original. A game that places fun at its forefront.

Review copy of game provided by publisher.

Good
  • Improved combat
  • Great performance
  • Plenty to challenge all players
Bad
  • Mario is second fiddle in his own game
7.5
Good
Written by
News Editor/Reviewer, he also lends his distinct British tones to the N4G Radio Podcast. When not at his PC, he can be found either playing something with the word LEGO in it, or TROPICO!!!