Whether you’re a fan of turn-based strategy games or not, the release of Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle was a big deal in video game history. Think about it. Nintendo gave another big game publisher, Ubisoft, the opportunity to create something new with their top guy — Mario, and his friends.

In recent years, I’ve thought of Ubisoft as mostly the “safe” game publisher. They have stuck mostly to producing their core money-making annualized franchises, like *Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, Just Dance and anything Tom Clancy. With Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle it was nice to see something totally new and different from them. I’m currently waiting to see what they do with Star Wars: Outlaws.

I was a big fan of the Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry games early on, but with so many iterations each game starts to rely on a common formula. The characters, look, and world might change but the gameplay loop pretty much stays the same. This is understandable when these games have a huge following. It works with Madden, NBA 2k, and other annualized sports games.

I will admit that Ubisoft has had a good track record when it comes to releasing games in a finished state. We’ve seen many “unfinished” games release ever since the introduction of digital storefronts, since games can always be quickly updated and patched. There have been some great comeback stories (No Man’s Sky) after rotten launches, but also some games and studios that just didn’t make it.

*I have yet to play the newest Assassin’s Creed game, Assassin’s Creed: Mirage, but I have heard great things.

Doing it Right with Mario & Friends

After the release of the sequel Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope last year this is now a game franchise, which I hope to see more of. So far, Ubisoft has started on the right foot with these games.

The original game Kingdom Battle was probably done in a sort of Ubisoft “safe” fashion, where the team was attempting to bring something that felt familiar to the turn-based gamers. The inclusion of both Nintendo characters and the Rabbids would also draw in established fans of both worlds.

I was definitely drawn in by this being a new type of game featuring Mario and friends, and I was curious to see what Ubisoft and Nintendo would create together — although I’m not too sure how involved Nintendo was during development.

Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle, was only my second completed turn-based combat game (after Steamworld Heist a few years back). Since I am still a rookie in this genre, I ended up using guides for most battles past the first half of the story in Kingdom Battle.

I started off looking for which characters to use in battle. Next, I began diving in a bit further for strategy tips until I was basically using a step-by-step gameplay guide to make my way through each battle. By the end of the game I was just trying to make it to the end of the story.

Sparks of Hope

When it came to the sequel Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope, I was more of a turn-based pro by now — or perhaps an amateur, rather than a rookie. I’m over halfway through with Sparks of Hope, and I will say I have only used the guides for a couple of battles — mainly the ones that take part in waves.

I said earlier that the first game may have been created with a “safe” mentality. Like the team was just trying not to mess this up. Sparks of Hope still falls under the same category of turn-based strategy game, but with many big adjustments and improvements.

The free movement vs square-by-square movement in the first game is a very fresh addition. It’s nice to have the freedom to choose to dash an enemy, and then choose your next move — instead of having to do it all at once. Switching back-and-forth between characters to freely move about works better than having to select your full range of movement before switching over to the next character.

The sparks allow you to choose any combination of heroes in a battle. In the first game each character had their set abilities, strengths, and weaknesses meaning there were specific combinations that would perform better in each combat situation. Choosing the lineup of my preferred characters and assigning their strengths and weaknesses with different sparks is a much better situation.

Map exploration has also been enhanced. You may still be in control of Beep-0 with the characters following along, but it feels smooth. I remember running into objects and getting stuck on so many objects in Kingdom Battle. Now, it even looks like I may be controlling my party leader, although I know I’m still controlling Beep-0.

I hope Ubisoft and Nintendo keep this franchise going. I would love to see what a third Mario + Rabbids game looks like. The original Mario + Rabbid: Kingdom Battle felt more like a tribute or a game inspired by those that came before. In Sparks of Hope the team was able to throw in some new ideas, and make big changes. If they continue with this mindset, I can see the third game being even better.

I’m getting close to the end of Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope and when I do beat the game I hope to report back with some more.

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*myVGBC.com was given a review code for Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope by Ubisoft.