Mario has had his fair share of adventures over the years, but none of them have come close to the insanity of Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle. Mario and the Rabbids fighting side-by-side in a tactical shooter is not the elevator pitch one would expect to work, but the game was a smash hit. At launch, it was a critical and commercial juggernaut, and Nintendo and Ubisoft quickly cemented their partnership and began work on a sequel.

Now, five years later, that sequel is about to land in players in hands. Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope takes everything that the original game set out to do and improves upon it. Everything from the combat to exploration to progression has been elevated in both traditional and unexpected ways, delivering one of the most fun (but still ridiculous) strategy RPGs to date.

Story

Sparks of Hope wastes no time throwing you right into the middle of the action. After a very brief tutorial section to get familiar with the new exploration mechanics, a giant monster appears in the sky and drags the crew out into space. From here, Mario and the Rabbids next big adventure begins in earnest.

This time around, Rabbids and the Luma from Super Mario Galaxy have combined to form new creatures known as Sparks. These Sparks contain incredible power, which makes them a target of the enigmatic entity known as Cursa. Cursa has contaminated several worlds with an inky substance known as Darkmess (it’s a very silly game) in her quest to claim the Sparks for herself.

Most of the original team returns in Sparks of Hope, but three new party members really steal the spotlight this time around: Edge is a mysterious Rabbid with a sketchy past and a demeanor to match; Rabbid Rosalina is a bookish recluse who only fights when she absolutely has to; and Bowser, King of the Koopas, who’s just here to get his army back from Cursa.

The story isn’t all that deep, but that doesn’t detract from its charm in any way. There are a plethora of wacky characters to meet in each world, and they all have a funny (and sometimes touching) story to tell. There are lazy Greek gods, paranoid scientists, and even some familiar-looking penguins who just love to be thrown.

The Rabbids have evolved a bit as well, as they now all speak, albeit in slightly different ways. The classic roster of Rabbid Mario, Luigi, and Peach all just shout out short combat barks that give them a surprising amount of character. New characters like Edge and Rabbid Rosalina, however, get full dialogue lines, though they’re not fully voiced.

Taking the fight to Cursa across the galaxy feels like a more directed and identifiable goal compared to Kingdom Battle. There’s a clear enemy and her influence can be felt all throughout the game. While the first game offered hilarious hijinks by merging elements of the Mushroom Kingdom with the world of the Rabbids, Sparks of Hope feels like a bold attempt to make something more original.

Gameplay

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle introduced the tactical RPG genre to the Mario universe, and its initial showing was incredibly strong. It brought many of the best elements of games like XCOM into the mix while differentiating itself enough to have a unique identity. With the sequel, though, Ubisoft has grown even bolder.

Combat has changed in some significant ways in Sparks of Hope. The grid system that strategy RPGs have become known for is gone, replaced instead by a circle of movement within which characters can move freely at any time. This drastically expands movement opportunities, allowing characters to leap from one end of the battlefield to the other with relative ease.

Each character’s move set has also evolved, bringing new weapons, abilities, and strategies into the mix. Rabbid Mario now sports a set of mechanical gloves that can hit enemies in a wide arc at close range. Rabbid Peach has upgraded her missile launcher to hit enemies behind cover. And Mario has added a second blaster to his arsenal, allowing him to target two enemies with a single attack.

Leveling up earns your team skill points, which can be used to unlock a wide variety of further enhancements for your characters. Rabbid Luigi can weaken enemies he dashes into or lower a group’s defense and offense with a single use of his special ability. Mario can leap off an alli’s head and fire off an attack while flying through the air, negating enemy cover. The depth of customization is staggering.

And speaking of customization, Sparks of Hope introduces yet another new wrinkle to combat: Sparks. These cheery little stars act like equippable abilities, offering new ways to shake up a battle while also bestowing passive perks as well. One Spark might give a character’s attack fire properties while another charges their dash with electricity. Elemental Sparks also provide resistance to that element’s damage and immunity to its status effect.

Many of these Sparks are unlocked just by playing through the story, but there are a few that require you to stray from the path a little. Exploration has probably been given the biggest lift in Sparks of Hope, and each planet feels like a lived-in, dense space. There are hidden secrets and side quests scattered around each world, and each one comes with a fun and interesting reward.

Audio and Visual

Ubisoft spared no expense with their music composition team for Sparks of Hope, and their investment paid off beautifully. Grant Kirkhope, Gareth Coker, and Yoko Shimomura collaborated to create the music for this game, and it’s some of the most incredible scoring I’ve heard in a video game since… well, since Shimomura’s work on the Kingdom Hearts series.

There are very clear thematic relationships to the composers’ previous works, but that only serves to make the entire game feel just a bit more nostalgic. Kirkhope’s incredible ability to fill an environment with resonant sound is breathtaking, and Coker provides a pathos that lends a surprising amount of emotional weight to what is usually a very lighthearted game.

Sparks of Hope is also pretty impressive graphically, which isn’t a surprise as Kingdom Battle was as well. While I did run into a few framerate hitches on some of the more intensive cutscenes, by and large this is a gorgeous video game. Environments are lush, colorful, and varied, and it’s especially eye-catching on the OLED model’s screen. And for anyone excited by Bowser’s look in the new Super Mario Bros. Movie trailer, you’re in for a treat with this game.

What Could Be Better

While the combat does have an incredible level of depth, it still shies away from the deeper levels of customization found in other RPGs. Every character levels up together and leveling up Sparks is gated by character level, which means every player is going to have roughly the same experience moving through the game.

I’d love to see them diversify how players can build their characters just a bit more. I wanted to feel like the team I was building was developing based on the choices I made for them at each level. I do understand their goal, though, as this is meant to be a more kid-friendly take on a tactical RPG.

Verdict

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope is everything a sequel should be: an elevation of what came before without losing sight of that original vision. Breaking open exploration into small hub worlds brings a new sense of wonder to the franchise, and expanding on combat possibilities makes each battle feel fun and unique. Add in a rollicking story and a motley band of allies and former enemies and you’ve got one truly exceptional Mario game.

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope releases for the Nintendo Switch on October 20th, 2022.