Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope Reviews
One of the best strategy games to ever appear on a console, with some genuine gameplay innovation and authentic Nintendo magic.
A huge, colorful and charming adventure, which will attract any player with patience and love for exploration.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Between removing the movement grid, adding more strategic options, new characters, new abilities, and expanding and revising the roster in an enjoyable story, Sparks of Hope feels like another exceptional collaboration between Ubisoft and Nintendo.
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope makes excellent tweaks to Kingdom Battle's winning formula, especially when it comes to its more creative tactics.
...after spending over a dozen hours in Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope, the joy of strategic battle management has returned. It’s a fantastic and whimsical RPG, but a smattering of poor puzzle design keeps it from being a true masterpiece.
Nintendo's deft touch is missing from this crossover game from Ubisoft that fails as a Mario outing but succeeds as a turn-based battler
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope is a fun-filled exploration that shows what can happen when Nintendo decides to share its toys. While it's not the biggest leap a sequel has ever made, an incredible soundtrack, great visuals and witty writing make it one of Switch's best games of the year.
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.
Rather than just coast off the ingenuity of the first game, Sparks of Hope reaches beyond its predecessor. The Sparks give an extra layer of agency and choice to the player, while handing those same deadly tools to your enemies. The battles are fast-paced, clever, and compelling. So much so that the sections outside of battle feel like an exhausting slog by comparison. The dialogue is at turns both witty and insufferable, while the actual plot exists only to justify the action. Don’t let my bizarre set of blinders deter you, though. Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope is an excellent follow-up to the remarkable original game.
While it doesn't revolutionise the gameplay, the Sparks system and free movement really do add so much to the combat that makes it much more engaging and allow you to create seemingly limitless combinations. The bigger focus of exploration is a great move from Ubisoft with lots to see and do making Spark of Hope feel more like a Mario game instead of just a game with Mario in it. Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope seems to just nail the balance between complex tactical combat and a fun lighthearted romp that since playing the preview and reviewing, I've been dying to get back into. Combined with the more in-depth story and greater emphasis on exploring and Sparks of hope acts as a perfect sequel keeping enough that works and is recognisable and that works from Kingdom battle, and expanding on it and adding some brilliant elements.
Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope is not just one of the best exclusives for Nintendo Switch, it is a game capable of evolving significantly compared to the previous chapter, reaching an absolute playful level. A hilarious, light-hearted, creative but also well-kept work, with an artisanal level design and constantly growing for the duration of the adventure, exactly like a combat system that is pure joy, tactically deep and at the same time hyper-dynamic, comic and at the complete disposal of the player's creativity.
Review in Italian | Read full review
The merging of the Raving Rabbids and Super Mario Bros. franchise was also a strange one and turning the finished product into a tactical RPG was stranger still. Sparks of Hope manages to bypass the oddness of its concept. Its bizarre worlds and weird characters help lay the foundation for a fantastic tactical RPG that is on par with the likes of XCOM 2's excellent gameplay depth. Sparks of Hope has completely surpassed Kingdom Battle and has taken an idea that was once seen as an oddball crossover and turned it into a Nintendo franchise with a genuinely exciting future.
Tactical RPG fans and those that love the chaotic nature of Rabbids owe it to themselves to check out both Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope and its prequel Kingdom Battle for a gaming experience you won't find on any other platform.
ario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope builds upon its predecessor in surprising and delightful ways to create a tactical RPG that stands among the best in the genre. While it may lack the challenge of some of its contemporaries, it's a fun adventure that, despite still feeling like a fever dream cooked up by a child's imagination, is one of the finest titles of 2022.
A worthy successor to the previous game.
Sparks of Hope’s flaws are more accurately described as missed opportunities. The wardens of each realm are vibrant, funny characters who deserve better than having their backgrounds conveyed through static and lifeless murals. And given his thunderous personality, you’d think Bowser would speak up at least as often as newcomer rabbids Edge and Rosalina; it’s too easy to forget that he’s even in your party. But these things don’t matter in the heat of combat—does Bowser’s Bowzooka cannon really need a backstory?—nor do they apply to exploration (which is better off not explaining the physics of the Wiggler Express and its floral tracks, actually), but in a game overflowing with sparks of joy, it doesn’t seem unfair to hope for even more.
Gaming's most inexplicable mascot crossover, Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope delivers a clever, cosmic adventure alongside tightly tuned tactical gameplay.
With now two excellent games under its belt, it beckons the question of where the franchise goes next. Do we go for a simple Mario & Rabbids 3? Do we add Zelda or Pokemon characters into the mix? Do we change genres, turn it into a soulslike or roguelike? Whatever happens, I just need more.
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope is a worthy sequel to its predecessor. Everything is finally more fluid, less austere, while keeping the strengths of the first part. In short, a very good title and a real must-have on Nintendo Switch.
Review in French | Read full review