Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
| Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle | |
|---|---|
| Developer | Ubisoft Paris, Ubisoft Milan |
| Publisher | Ubisoft (US, EU, OC) Nintendo (JP, SK, HK, TW) |
| System | Nintendo Switch |
| Release Date | August 29, 2017 |
| Rating | ESRB: E |
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle is a tactical RPG that was released for the Nintendo Switch in August 2017. This game acts as a crossover between Super Mario characters and Ubisoft's Rabbids.
Story[edit]
The game begins in the room of a scientist who has created the SupaMerge, a special pair of goggles that can fuse objects together. While the scientist is out of the room, a group of Rabbids suddenly arrive via their Time Washing Machine and cause havoc in the room. One Rabbid tries on the SupaMerge and begins accidentally using it on the other Rabbids, causing them to transform. The young scientist is a Mario fan, so the room is full of Mario paraphernalia. This results in several Rabbids turning into Rabbid versions of Mario characters. It also makes the Time Washing Machine malfunction, bringing all of the Rabbids to the Mushroom Kingdom, along with the scientist's robot, Beep-0. Their arrival in the Mushroom Kingdom caused a mysterious vortex to open, which scatters Mario and his friends. Beep-0 rallies together Mario and two of the Rabbids (Rabbid Peach and Rabbid Luigi) to embark on a quest to defeat hostile Rabbids and find a way to contain the effects of the vortex, which is known as the Megabug. They find other allies along the way, but they are also opposed by Bowser Jr.. He captures the Rabbid who has fused with the SupaMerge, who is dubbed Spawny, and tries to use him to form new enemies to defeat Mario and company while his father is on vacation.
Gameplay[edit]
This game takes on the form of a tactical RPG. For each battle, the player can form a team of Mario and two other characters (one of which must be a Rabbid character). There are up to three functions that can be performed by each character in a turn. One of which is simply moving around (accompanied by a dash attack if contact is made with an enemy), another is using a special ability (which vary from healing to stat changes to chances at additional attacks) and the other function is to have the character attack with one of two weapons (one of which is some type of blaster). Coins and Power Orbs are earned in battles. At the Battle HQ, coins are spent to gain new weapons, while Power Orbs can be used to fill out a character's Skill Tree, which can add abilities and strengthen various aspects of a character. Outside of battles, there are also puzzles to solve in the overworld to reach other areas and find treasures. The game's collectibles include artwork, music tracks and Tarot card parodies. The game is divided into four worlds, with Princess Peach's Castle acting as a hub area. After each world is completed, Beep-0 learns a new ability that can be used to clear obstacles in worlds in order to obtain more treasure and to unlock the secret chapter within each world. Each world also has challenges that are unlocked upon completion.
There is also a multiplayer co-op mode that can be accessed through the game's Buddydome, in which two players can each control a team of two heroes in special challenges. A Versus Mode was also added in a later update, in which two players compete with three-character teams (with only three actions allowed per turn). The game also had amiibo functionality: scanning an amiibo of one of the playable characters would unlock a weapon for the character and their Rabbid counterpart.
Paid DLC was also made available for Mario + Rabbids. First was the Pixel Pack, which was made available for free for players who preordered the game and consisted of special pixel-themed primary weapons. Then, there were three DLC Packs that were made available through a Season Pass. The first pack was made available at launch and had steampunk-themed secondary weapons, while the second pack dropped two months later and included new challenge levels. The final pack came in June 2018 and consisted of an extra Donkey Kong-themed campaign called Donkey Kong Adventure. This campaign featured Donkey Kong, Rabbid Peach and Rabbid Cranky as playable characters. It included bananas in place of coins, along with music, sound effects and items referencing several games of the Donkey Kong Country series.
Legacy[edit]
Some of the Rabbid characters from the game were featured as Spirits in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Sequels[edit]
- A sequel was developed for release in 2022, known as Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope. This game adds Rosalina and the Lumas to the series, along with their Rabbid counterparts: Rabbid Rosalina and the Sparks.