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- Oct 20, 202290% CONFIDENCEfrom the source
Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope Review - IGN
When a game hits on a good idea, some developers are content to play it safe for the sequel, making a few refinements but largely stick to what worked the first time. That totally makes sense. But Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope is not that kind of sequel; even though Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle surprised us all with its smart XCOM-style tactics in Nintendo clothing, this followup maintains its best ideas but reinvents itself to the point where it immediately feels very different. It’s bigger and better in nearly every way, with a more freeform and customizable take on combat and an almost completely rethought overworld that’s much less linear and absolutely packed with puzzles. The story’s all over the place and the Switch can’t always handle everything smoothly, but it’s a fantastic game that can be played as either an enjoyable cakewalk or a deep, demanding tactical challenge, all while maintaining its zany sense of humor.
Picking back up in the post-Rabbid invasion Mushroom Kingdom, things immediately get even weirder when a giant manta ray from space arrives to cause trouble. The story is actually one of Sparks of Hope’s few missteps: the original’s trans-dimensional blending of Mario characters and goofball Rabbids is completely absurd, but it kind of makes sense in its own way. This time, though, the completely unrelated enemy spreads what’s effectively Ganon’s corrupt ooze with eyeballs from Breath of the Wild everywhere, and most but not all of her minions are also Rabbids for some reason? Also we have a spaceship for traveling between literal worlds? It makes Kingdom Battle look grounded in reality by comparison, which is something I never thought I’d say about that game. I wasn’t expecting deep lore or anything, but it’s kind of a mess. It does consistently have some pretty good jokes, though, so at least I was chuckling as I was scratching my head.
- Ubisoft Milan and Paris's Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope launched 20 October 2022 on Nintendo Switch, a date revealed at the 28 June 2022 Nintendo Mini Direct[1][2][3]
- IGN's review (Dan Stapleton) scores it 9 (amazing, Editors' Choice), saying it "takes the excellent tactical combat ideas of Kingdom Battle and runs absolutely wild with them"[1]
- Criticisms: the story is "kind of a mess" and the Switch cannot always keep up[1]
- Metacritic scores 85/100 and IGN, GameSpot and Game Informer each give 9/10[2]
- Ubisoft said it underperformed commercially, with nearly 3 million copies sold by January 2024; three DLC expansions followed in 2023[2]
- It was the last Mario title with Charles Martinet as Mario and Luigi before he stepped down in 2023[2]
Notable features
- Sparks of Hope is a single-player action-adventure tactical RPG built on the Snowdrop engine and a sequel to 2017's Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle[2]
- Mario, Luigi and Peach and their Rabbid counterparts return, joined by Edge, a Rosalina-like Rabbid and Bowser; the Rabbids are fully voiced for the first time and Mario can be swapped out of the team[2]
- Combat drops the visible grid, adds real-time team jumps and dozens of "Sparks" power-ups, with a less linear, puzzle-packed overworld[1][2]
- The Sparks, Rabbid-Luma hybrids rescued across the galaxy, grant distinct powers in battle; the villain Cursa spreads a corruptive substance called Darkmess[2]
- Enemy encounters also happen outside turn-based combat, and movement adds a real-time element, such as dashing a Bob-omb and carrying it for a few seconds before it explodes[2]
References 480% CONFIDENCE
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- [1]90%ign.com/articles/mario-rabbids-sparks-of-hope-reviewign.com· Posted Apr 30, 2023· Starts Oct 20, 2022 ✓· 1% of score
Happened as dated, per ign.com: "…irder when a giant manta ray from space arrives to cause trouble. The story is actually one of Spark…"
- [2]80%Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org· Added Sep 14, 2026· 99% of score
Wikipedia confirms the game 'was released on October 20, 2022' - an exact match for the pin's stored date, noting it was announced at E3 2021.
- [3]83%Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope get October 2022 release dateshacknews.com· Published Jun 28, 2022· 0% of score
Shacknews' own headline reports Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope getting an October 2022 release date, published 28 June 2022 following its reveal at a Nintendo Direct - consistent with the pin's stored 20 October 2022 date, though the page itself returned a 403 error and could not be fetched directly.
- [4]80%Mario + Rabbids Sparks Of Hope Releasing October 20gamespot.com· Published Jun 12, 2022· 0% of score
GameSpot's own headline, 'Mario + Rabbids Sparks Of Hope Releasing October 20,' published 12 June 2022, independently corroborates the pin's stored 20 October 2022 release date, though the page itself returned a 403 error and could not be fetched directly.
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