Introduction
Today we are going to look at Mario + Rabbids 2 Sparks of Hope. Once again, Mario and the Rabbids have to go on a grand adventure, this time to save the universe. This time, there will be new characters, new mechanics and more goodies, I wonder what we can expect in this sequel, will it be great, or will it fall flat?
What did I think before playing Mario + Rabbids 2 Sparks of Hope?
My wife and I had a lot of fun with Mario Rabbids 1, and this game seems to have expanded upon that game. I wonder how much the formula has changed. Of course, I also wondered how the skill trees would be handled along with the new weapons. There is no time to waste, let’s visit the Nintendo Page.
The Nintendo Page
https://www.nintendo.com/store/products/mario-plus-rabbids-sparks-of-hope-switch/
It appears that battles will feature three characters, allowing you a lot of freedom in what kind of team you want to build. I had no idea what to expect exactly, but it seems we are in for some strategic gameplay. It is time to start playing!
Rating
I rated Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope with an 8.1 before playing.
If this game is as good as the first game, we will be in for a treat.
Story
The story of Mario Rabbids 2 seems to take place right after the first game, a new enemy called Cursa appears who wants to steal the power of the sparks. Of course, it’s your task to save these sparks while eliminating the darkmess from the universe, yes, it is really called darkmess.
Rating
I rate the story of Mario + Rabbids 2 Sparks of Hope with a 5.0.
The story was, very lame compared to how good Mario Rabbids 1 story was.
Gameplay
The gameplay is actually very fun, in the over world you will explore a map with lots of secrets to discover. Finding these secrets earns you tokens to buy new weapon skins. You will be using the same weapon throughout the game, but you can increase weapon damage by defeating monsters and leveling up. Other ways will be by choosing the skill tree that increases your damage. Every character has four skill tree’s and one secret skill tree. This allows for a lot of freedom in what way you will play.
The battles will take place once you touch a monster, these battles are much better compared to the previous game. It includes the mechanic to walk freely, sort of, some characters can walk further compared to other characters. Their classes are shown in the menu, and characters in reserve will level up too. Each level up grants a skill point, each battle is another tactical mind blaster.
The best way to get rid of your enemies is to take a good look at the layout of the map, most of the battles are much more expansive. You can dash through enemies, stomp on them, shoot them, use reactive shots. Heck, some characters have bazooka’s or even shotguns. It all comes down to how you prefer to play. But, make sure to check everyone’s special skill and try to synergize them, Rabbid Peach can heal, for example, Luigi is a remarkable sniper who can be trained for insane damage and even shoot through walls. Sadly, the battles do get a bit repetitive once you get your strategy down.
Rating
I rated the gameplay of Mario + Rabbids 2 Sparks of Hope with an 8.2
There is a lot of strategy and planning involved in this game.
Sound and Graphics
Graphics
The graphics of Mario + Rabbids 2 Sparks of Hope are pretty good. Although I have to admit, it might be better to not expose smaller children to this game. Next to the violence that they should not experience, the shooting people dead and stuff, there are very creepy monsters with dark arms that suck dry and murder lovely cute critters. There are a few graphical glitches but all in all, good graphics.
Sound
The soundtracks are fine in this game, even if the battle soundtracks get a bit repetitive. What annoyed me the most, is that the voice acting was all over the place. One minute they are voice acting, then they stop, then they continue. With no clear indication of why! Furthermore, the word Darkmess annoys the shit out of me, pardon my French. Just call it what it is! Darkness! See, was that so hard? Do either full voice acting, or no voice acting at all.
Rating
I rate the sound and graphics of Mario + Rabbids 2 Sparks of Hope with a 6.0
For obvious reasons, mostly the frigged up voice acting
What did I think after playing Mario Rabbids 2 Sparks of Hope?
While this game had a strong start, and an epic beginning, it only went downhill after that. However, the new playable characters are fun. I think there are too many characters to choose from, but it also means you can synergize in many ways. You can build some astonishing teams!
The biggest gripe I had with this game, aside from the voice acting, is that you could upgrade sparks for extra powers. However, these sparks are extremely overpowered, one can even increase the attack of your whole team by 60%! Or another one rains down Armageddon, just play these sparks right and victory is yours.
Rating
I rated Mario + Rabbids 2 Sparks of Hope with a 5.8 after playing.
Sadly, this game has many weak points. Even though, the over world map is a fun place to explore.
What are my personal thoughts about Mario + Rabbids 2 Sparks of Hope?
My wife and I decided that this game was a bit too repetitive while it does start strong. We rushed through it and were glad we were done.
Rating
My personal Rating of Mario + Rabbids 2 Sparks of Hope is a 5.0
Last Words
Pros
- There are many characters to choose from and ways to synergize your team
- All characters have different weapons and skill tree's
- There are plenty of different worlds to explore and weapon skins to collect
- Defeat a wide variety of monsters and level up to become stronger
- Epic boss battles that will test your brain
Cons
- Very annoying voice acting
- The game gets boring quite fast with the same battle over and over
- There are too many characters too choose from
- Sparks are extremely overpowered
- the DLC is very overpriced
While this game is fun, it does not stay fun for very long. The mechanics are set up to just do the same over and over.
Final Rating
6.6
Please let me know what you think of Mario + Rabbids 2 Sparks of Hope in the comments!
I hope you enjoyed reading this review, I hope to see you in the next review!
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The first was good, with its tactical combat system and omnipresent humour, and this one seemed to pick up the mechanics very well. It’s a shame it’s not as good.
Yeah, they should have fixed more on what was good in the first game.
yeah, its a shame that it is not good, too repetitive and has many weak points 🙁
In the first game I liked the grid pattern because I could plan attacks and know exactly how far an enemy could move.
This, exactly this!
the last Mario game I played was 64 ^^… but even this just in a very small part…
What has Mario ever done to you?
I really like the idea of a more tactical Mario game.
About “Very annoying voice acting” i guess they had not so much money for hiring pro voiceover lol
I had the same idea, lol.
Good review! I guess this game is akin to a dark mess.
Haven’t tried the first Mario and Rabbids, but both look good
What is a Dark Mess?
Cool
nice nice
nice
Something missing
all mario games are still good
I wasn’t even aware there was the first one. :O
Turn based combat in a Mario universe sounds… odd. I see Mario games as adventure, exploration platformers lol.
The first game in the series is better compared to this entry.