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Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope Coming October 20th, More Details Revealed

Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope Key Artwork

During the latest Nintendo Direct Mini: Partner Showcase, Ubisoft revealed that Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope will release exclusively on the Nintendo Switch on October 20th. At the same time, Ubisoft also shared that they would be holding a dedicated showcase for the title the following day. This event included information regarding gameplay, characters, and more.

Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope Nintendo Direct Mini Trailer:

The motley team of Mario, his friends, the Rabbids, and even Bowser blast off for a galactic adventure in the latest Mario + Rabbids game! Space is in a universe of trouble when otherworldly enemies suddenly appear. Their goal? Take the energy possessed by Sparks, creatures born from the merge of Lumas & Rabbids. Now, the team must travel the cosmos to save the Sparks from Darkness.

All the Details Revealed During the Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope Showcase

Ubisoft’s own event lasted around 15 minutes and provided us with plenty of details regarding the title! You can watch the full showcase at the link above, but the main highlights revealed during the event are as follows:

Story

Mario and his friends will once again team up with the Rabbids. This time, they will embark upon a galactic journey to defeat Cursa, ” a malevolent entity”, to save the Sparks (essentially Lumas in the Rabbid kingdom).

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope Screenshot of a Spark

New Playable Characters

Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope will feature a variety of new playable characters. We already knew that Rabbid Rosalina would feature in the title, but the showcase revealed that her special ability is putting enemies to sleep. Two new playable characters were also revealed during the showcase: Edge and Bowser. Edge’s weapon of choice is a sword, while Bowser will wield a rocket launcher.

Gameplay Changes

Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope is a turn-based strategy RPG, but, unlike its predecessor, the game leaves behind the traditional grid-based battle system we so often see in this genre. It instead allows players to freely move their characters within a certain range.

A Banging Soundtrack

Ubisoft has put together a fantastic team to work on the soundtrack for Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope. The lineup of talent includes Grant Kirkhope (Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, GoldenEye 007, Banjo-Kazooie), Gareth Coker (Ori and the Blind Forest, Ori and the Will of the Wisps), and Yoko Shimomura (Kingdom Hearts series, Mario & Luigi series, Xenoblade Chronicles).

Following the event, Ubisoft released a new batch of screenshots for the title, and you can take a look at all of these in the gallery below:

Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope is set to release on the Nintendo Switch later this year on October 20th! If you’ve yet to play Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, make sure to give our review by Nathan Lee a read. If you’re a fan of strategy RPGs, make sure to keep an eye on RPGFan’s news feed, as we make sure to cover all the latest and greatest when it comes to the genre.

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Tom Cox

Tom Cox

Tom is a News and Social Media Editor at RPGFan, with a love for Pokémon and One Piece. When he's not playing RPGs, he can also be found running, reading manga and watching anime.

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