So I Tried... Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope

Each edition of So I Tried… I will try a game that I have never tried before. Will I find something new to love? Will I find something new to despise? I’ll take a full half hour, no matter how bad it gets or how badly I’ll do, to see if this game is for me. This time I went for a title that is the sequel to one of the wildest crossovers in recent memory, Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope.

What I Thought It Was

I had heard that Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope was an excellent real-time strategy game that was released in 2022 and continued on the success of its predecessor while innovating in some ways of its own. Personally, I haven’t played too many strategy titles, so I was curious to see if only huge fans of the genre would enjoy this title or if it would make me become a lover of real-time strategy games like this. You begin at Peach’s castle with a short introduction to the controls and some of the gameplay mechanics before being whisked away to space aboard a starship in pursuit of a mysterious threat. To be honest, that actually sounds incredibly exciting, but we will see.

What It Actually Is

So unlike the original game Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle from 2017, Sparks of Hope changes things up and introduces real-time elements, which means you can now freely move around your part of the map instead of being locked to a grid. The removal of the turn-based style allows players to move freely within their range, which means performing a team jump no longer uses up a move. However, performing a team jump still requires players to move within range of each other, but at least this change in gameplay style means characters are no longer limited in the amount of moves they can make. There are also several different overworlds to explore, with RPG-style worlds filled with quests and NPCs and a third-person camera system that seems to be influenced by another Mario title by the name of Super Mario Odyssey. In combat, you can make use of the revamped movement system to peek around walls to gain the upper hand and land a crucial blaster shot with either one of the Rabbids or an ordinary character like Luigi or Mario.

Plus, new in this game is the addition of the sparks, and they can be fully upgraded to increase their strengths and abilities through the use of star bits, which are collected after defeating enemies, just like in Super Mario Galaxy. These little guys can also completely change the course of battle if players use the levelling-up system wisely, guaranteeing a win for the player’s team. While using their abilities will cost players a turn, they can still be extremely powerful and deal a ton of damage or protect the equipped character from receiving heavy damage. You can also unlock skills with a resource called skill prisms, and these items are rewarded for levelling up your heroes by accumulating XP through battle. The more battles you take, the more XP you earn, and thus more skill prisms you can get. So on top of being a fun Mario game, Sparks of Hope also has an RPG system, real-time strategy combat, and explorable overworlds. That’s a lot.

Will I Keep Playing

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope is so charming and fun — and it has a surprising amount of depth to its systems that never feels too overwhelming — I will definitely keep playing. Not only is it a Mario game, but it’s a Mario game that is fresh and new while still keeping all of that familiar charm I’ve come to expect from the series. I may not be the biggest strategy fan in the world, but when a game has Mario on the cover, it inherently makes that title feel more approachable for newcomers, and Sparks of Hope is no different. I also love how its different systems intertwine and complement each other without getting in the way of the overall experience. The developers have packed a lot here, and I can’t wait to play more. Who knows? Maybe this will lead to me becoming a new fan of this unfamiliar genre…