Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope is a Nintendo Switch game released on October 20, 2022. It is the second game in the Mario + Rabbids series, and the sequel to Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle. Like its predecessor, the game is a crossover featuring characters from the Mario franchise and Ubisoft's  series, and sees the return of characters from the previous game in addition to introducing new ones such as Rabbid versions of Rosalina and Lumas named Sparks. The game contains nine playable characters with a team of three allies like its predecessor. The game's story revolves around the cast venturing through space and traveling to different planets to rescue the Sparks. Also similar to its predecessor, the game was leaked ahead of its official announcement, on Nintendo's official website hours prior to the Ubisoft Forward 2021 broadcast.

While Nintendo is publishing the game in Japan like it did its predecessor, Ubisoft is taking publishing duties for South Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan over from Nintendo.

Plot
Sometime after the events of the previous game, Mario and his friends are enjoying a relaxing day on Princess Peach's Castle grounds, before a Spark abruptly falls from the sky. It turns out that he was fleeing from a gigantic manta ray, who proceeds to spread Darkmess, a type of dark matter, across the land and kidnaps Rabbid Peach. Mario and Beep-0 leap in to save her, before the two manage to hold off waves of enemies. Soon enough, an entity named Cursa arrives to confront them, but the heroes are rescued by their friends in their new ship, the WM ARC, where they are introduced to the onboard AI, JEANIE. JEANIE explains Cursa's plot to corrupt the whole galaxy with its Darkmess, as well as the existence of the Sparks, and the heroes set out on their interstellar journey.

During their travels, the party traverses five different Darkmess-contaminated planets and cleanses them from within; they bring sunlight back to Beacon Beach, stop a blizzard in Pristine Peaks, return the forest's colors in Palette Prime, repair the trains and foliage in Terra Flora, and fix the windmill in Barrendale Mesa. Along the way, they also recruit new teammates: the mysterious Edge, the deadpan Rabbid Rosalina who idolizes the real Rosalina, and even Bowser, who is looking to reclaim his brainwashed Koopa Troop. Meanwhile, Cursa sends out the Spark Hunters—Midnite, Bedrock, and Daphne—to help round up the remaining Sparks, only for the heroes to defeat them too.

Eventually, the crew manages to corner Cursa, who is briefly incapacitated when Rosalina shows herself, revealing that she has been kidnapped and absorbed by the creature. She is captured again, but not before giving the heroes a projection crystal and opening a portal to help them escape. Through the crystal, the heroes are able to learn the full story: Created from the last remaining fragment of the Megabug, Cursa escaped into space and was able to gain both sentience and power, and now wants to consume the Sparks' energy and take over the galaxy, spreading Darkmess across its planets. During its conquest, it managed to conquer the Comet Observatory and even possess Rosalina after being drawn in by the joy of the Lumas and Rabbids. During its fight with Rosalina, one of her attacks managed to create the Sparks by fusing the latter two together. Cursa then proceeded to form an army of Rabbids to take over the galaxies, steal Bowser's army, and create the Spark Hunters to help it harness more power.

Upon arrival at Cursa's stronghold, the heroes fight Darkmess versions of both Bowser and Edge, before the real Edge confesses that she herself was once a Spark Hunter, although she turned on Cursa after gaining enough free will to see how evil it was, and has since vowed to save as many Sparks as she can. The group manages to thwart Cursa by destroying its arms, causing it to release every last Spark she consumed as well as Rosalina. After three rounds of helping the latter charge up her magic, the heroes finally defeat Cursa, saving the galaxy. Back in the Mushroom Kingdom, Rosalina congratulates everyone on their success, before offering her Rabbid counterpart a chance to live with her. Rabbid Rosalina declines, stating that she already has a family in her teammates. Edge decides to stay with the team too. Before her departure, Rosalina even praises Bowser for his contributions, only for him to insist that he is still enemies with them.

A post-credits scene shows Beep-0 having a friendly conversation with JEANIE, who has somehow developed emotions over the course of the journey.

Exploration

 * — Move
 * — Interact/Confirm
 * — Back/Cancel/Exit
 * — Boost
 * — Open Team Management
 * — Move Camera
 * / — Reset Camera
 * — Open Orientation Menu
 * — Open Options/Settings
 * — Team Heal
 * — Activate Beep-0's Scan Power
 * — Activate Beep-0's Wave Power

Battle controls

 * — Move Character
 * Press — Beep-0 Tacticam
 * — Interact/Confirm
 * — Back/Cancel/Exit
 * — Enemy Turn/Fast Forward
 * — Open/Close Item Bag
 * — Move Camera
 * — 1st Spark Preview
 * — 2nd Spark Preview
 * — Open Options/Settings
 * — Switch Heroes
 * — Attack Preview
 * — Technique Preview

Tacticam controls

 * — Move Beep-0
 * — Analyze Target
 * — Back/Cancel/Exit
 * — Lock/Unlock Area
 * — Show/Hide Info
 * — Move Camera
 * — Open Options/Settings
 * / — Switch Target
 * / — Browse Target Abilities
 * — Camera Distance

Main game
There are nine playable characters in the main game. Of the eight playable characters from the previous game's main campaign, six of them return in this game, as Yoshi and Rabbid Yoshi are stated to be on a vacation and do not return. Likewise, Donkey Kong and Rabbid Cranky from the Donkey Kong Adventure campaign are also absent. Three new playable characters are introduced in the main game, including Bowser, who was a boss in the previous game. Like the previous game, the player creates a party to travel the worlds and fight in battles, though this time, Mario is not required to be in the party at all times and the party does not require at least one Rabbid. Until Edge joins the team, only two party members will be active, at which point three party members will be active for the rest of the game, although there are certain boss battles that use four with one of the nine characters being required to use.

The following descriptions are taken from the game's official website.

DLC 3
In DLC 3, only Rabbid Peach, Rabbid Mario, and the newly introduced Rayman have been confirmed to be playable.

Allies

 * JEANIE
 * Sparks
 * Twinkle
 * Starburst
 * Aquanox
 * Reflector
 * Exosphere
 * Glitter
 * Toxiquake
 * Pyrogeddon
 * Ethering
 * Vampdash
 * Cryogeddon
 * Electroid
 * Pyrostar
 * Zephyrquake
 * Zephystar
 * Regenesis
 * Electrogeddon
 * Cryobolide
 * Aquaquake
 * Pulser
 * Decibel
 * Aquadash
 * Electrodash
 * Screech
 * Toxicomet
 * Vampastra
 * Zephyrdash
 * Wildclaw Master
 * Squashette Master
 * Oozer Master
 * Gargantu-fan
 * Scoper Master
 * Drizzle
 * Beep-0

Bosses

 * Giant Wildclaw, a boss of the Sunrise Temple
 * Darkmess Eyes, which possess an enemy or element and must be all destroyed to progress
 * Stone Mask, a boss in Pristine Peaks
 * Midnite, a purple-blue-haired ghost Rabbid, part of the Spark Hunters and a boss in the Winter Palace of Pristine Peaks
 * Bedrock, a giant, blocky Rabbid dressed as a Greco-Roman wrestler, part of the Spark Hunters and a boss in Palette Prime
 * Darkmess Taproots
 * Wiggler, a boss possessed by Darkmess that chases after the Wiggler Train in Terra Flora
 * Darkmess Dams
 * Daphne, a plant-like Rabbid with vine tentacles, part of the Spark Hunters and a boss in Barrendale Mesa
 * Darkmess Bowser
 * Darkmess Edge
 * Cursa

Golden pipe bosses

 * Giant Goomba, a large Goomba covered in Darkmess, found in Beacon Beach
 * Giant Squashette, a large Squashette covered in Darkmess, found in Pristine Peaks
 * Giant Depleter, a larger version of a Depleter covered in Darkmess, found in Palette Prime
 * Giant Magikoopa, a larger version of a Magikoopa covered in Darkmess, found in Terra Flora
 * Giant Magnafowl, a larger version of a Magnafowl covered in Darkmess, found in Barrendale Mesa

Enemies

 * Goombas
 * Armored Goombas, Goombas with pots on their heads. They are invulnerable unless thrown out of bounds.
 * Bob-ombs
 * Magikoopas
 * Stooges, cloaked Rabbids with skull masks
 * Flamin' Stooges, which wear dragon heads and cause the Burn Super Effect
 * Sea Stooges, which wear fish heads and cause the Splash Super Effect
 * Wildclaws, large tiger-Rabbid hybrids that chase a hero when attacked
 * Deep Freezes, arctic versions that cause the Frostbite Super Effect
 * Magnafowls, black versions that use rubber chickens as weapons
 * Riptides, blue versions that hold fish-shaped objects
 * Squashers, large, pig-like Rabbids that carry Thwomps on their backs
 * Squashettes, female Squashers wearing blue dresses and cone hats. When they land after jumping, they cause the Gust Super Effect around them.
 * Medicians, floating, cloaked Rabbids with long hair and invisible eyes. They can heal and protect its allies.
 * Depleters, which steal health from heroes by inflicting the Lifesteal Super Effect with their attacks.
 * Ghostly Walkers, ghostly Rabbids in teal robes and wrapped in chains. They are invisible when they move.
 * Oozers, which inflict the Ooze Super Effect
 * Spellraisers, variants that can spawn Stooges.
 * Scopers, wolf-Rabbid hybrids that can climb up walls and shoot two long-ranged shots at the same target
 * Lone Wolves, arctic versions that can only shoot one long-ranged shot but have access to the Evil Sight technique
 * Stone Masks, immobile Rabbid-shaped rocks that blow gusts of wind
 * Darkmess Rabbid Mechakoopas, Rabbid Mechakoopas used by Darkmess Bowser.

Other

 * Rabbids
 * Toads
 * Rosalina
 * Lumas
 * Augie, a giant, bearded Rabbid that resides in water and wields a staff, and the warden of Beacon Beach's planet
 * Madame Bwahstrella
 * Captain Orion, a large, mustachioed Rabbid and sea captain, and the warden of Pristine Peaks' planet
 * Dr. Vent, a Rabbid scientist who has gone insane after being alone for three days at Pristine Peaks
 * Professor Backpack, a small explorer Rabbid wearing a large backpack
 * Sullivan, the engineer of the Wiggler Train in Terra Flora
 * Cheep Cheeps
 * Bloopers
 * Woodrow, a melancholy poet Rabbid and the warden of Palette Prime's planet
 * Sweetlopek, a large, bearded lumberjack Rabbid with a beaver/raccoon-like creature on its head
 * DJ Cheep Tuna, a DJ Rabbid wearing a Cheep Cheep hat
 * SALESBOT 9.99+TX, a floating robot with long arms and Rabbid-like ears that sells items
 * Darkmess Manta, a giant, flying, dark manta ray that releases Darkmess
 * Bea, a bee Rabbid with pigtails and the warden of Terra Flora's planet
 * Dryad, a Rabbid with a pinecone-like head capable of controlling the fall leaves
 * Alkementor, a druid Rabbid in Terra Flora
 * Momma, a mechanic Rabbid and the warden of Barrendale Mesa's planet
 * Toadette, found in a Darkmess puddle in Barrendale Mesa
 * Gerspard, an artist Rabbid from Barrendale Mesa
 * Da Da, a robot critic for Gerspard
 * Victor, a diver Rabbid that hosts Sillyfish Chuck Challenges in the five planets
 * Chain Chomp
 * Rabbid Mechakoopas, Mechakoopa-Rabbid hybrids that Bowser can summon
 * Penguins
 * Dragoneel
 * Conkdors
 * Rabbid Kong
 * Coin Coffer
 * Phantom (cameo)

Items

 * Coins
 * Coin Stacks
 * Star Bits
 * Red Coins
 * Blue Coins
 * POW Blocks
 * Green Coins

Objects

 * WM ARC, the team's spaceship
 * Warp Pipe
 * P Switch
 * Jump Panel
 * Treasure Chest
 * Wiggler Train
 * Teleport Flags
 * Red Ring
 * Green Ring
 * Darkmess Portal, which summons an enemy the next turn and can be destroyed
 * Purified Darkmess Energy Crystal, rewarded after clearing a major boss battle on a planet, and required to advance to the next planet. There are two per each of the five planets.

Powers
Beep-0 will be bestowed several powers from Sparks that allow the player to discover hidden areas and items on the field.


 * Wave Power: Allows Beep-0 to send out waves to destroy obstructions in the player's path, or manipulate obstacles. Given by Decibel in Pristine Peaks. Is upgraded in Terra Flora, granted by Drizzle, to interact with the foliage throughout the planet.
 * Scan Power: Allows Beep-0 to reveal invisible objects. Given by Twinkle in Pallette Prime.

Locations

 * Mushroom Kingdom
 * Darkmess Manta, serves as a one-time location for tutorial battles
 * Beacon Beach, a sunny beach area with a temple known as the Sunrise Temple
 * Pristine Peaks, a snowy area with a mountain, caves, and a palace known as the Winter Palace
 * Palette Prime, a forest planet with autumn foliage
 * Paletteville
 * Spellbound Woods
 * Abandoned Well
 * Terra Flora, a green and flowery planet with a volcano known as Mt. Spout, which the team uses the Wiggler Train to reach. A tree known as the Everbloom Tree is also found here.
 * Barrendale Mesa, a desert wasteland planet
 * Cursa's stronghold

Memories
Memories are collectible pieces of information recorded by JEANIE of various characters, enemies, and locations. They can be obtained by examining Probes, purchasing them from SALESBOT 9.99+TX with Planet Coins, and clearing certain enemy battles.

Difficulty settings
Unlike the previous game, Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope has a difficulty option in the settings. It allows the player to change their difficulty even after deciding it after the tutorial. This changes the enemies' strength and health, making it easier or harder for the player to defeat them. There is also an option for invulnerability. When this is activated, all heroes do not take damage from anything, but are still vulnerable to Super Effects and negative effects such as the Oozer's Disable.

Add-on content
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope was released in three editions: the Standard Edition, which only includes the base game; the Cosmic Edition, which includes the base game and the Galactic Prestige Pack; and the Gold Edition, which includes the base game and the Season Pass (referred to as the Adventure Pack in Japanese) featuring downloadable content packs (which contain additional story, characters, quests, and battles).

Megabug Collection
The Megabug Collection (referred to as the Megabug Skinpack in Japanese) is a series of skins for each character's weapon based on Megabug, the main antagonist of Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle. This was a pre-order bonus for any edition of the game.

Galactic Prestige Pack
The Galactic Prestige Pack (also referred to as the Galactic Prestige Collection, and in Japanese as the Galactic Skinpack) is a series of space-themed skins for Mario, Rabbid Peach, and Edge's weapons. It is a part of the Cosmic Edition and the Season Pass.

DLC 1: The Tower of Doooom
The Tower of Doooom is the first of three upcoming DLC expansions. In it, Madame Bwahstrella needs Mario, Rabbid Peach, and their friends to clean her multi-dimensional tower and save Spawny. This first DLC adds a new combat game mode where the heroes face highly strategic battles as they make their way to the top of the tower. The Tower of Doooom is exclusive to the Season Pass.

DLC 2
DLC 2 is the second of three upcoming DLC expansions and it is a currently unnamed expansion with the heroes confronting a mysterious foe on a new, enchanting planet where they meet new characters and new enemies.

DLC 3
DLC 3 is the final of three upcoming DLC expansions and it is a currently unnamed expansion with Rayman, Rabbid Peach, and Rabbid Mario embarking on their own adventure.

Promotion
On My Nintendo, a sweepstakes was held for the game which began on October 4, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. PT. The prize package included figures of Rabbid Mario and Rabbid Peach, three lithographs, an artbook, a sticker sheet, a plush of a Starburst, and a Spark phone ring holder. The sweepstakes closed on November 8, 2022, with the packages given to ten winners.

References to other games

 * Super Mario World: An arrangement of the athletic theme from this game plays during the various Chuck Challenges.
 * Super Mario Galaxy: An arrangement of the Comet Observatory theme, "Rosalina in the Observatory", plays when Rabbid Rosalina is introduced in the game's cinematic trailer. The first three notes of the main melody also play when Rabbid Rosalina uses her Ennui attack. During the ending, Rosalina mentions she once went looking for her family, referencing her storybook.
 * Super Mario 3D World: Some of Mario, Luigi, Peach and Rosalina's voice clips are used from this game.
 * Mario Kart 8: Some of Luigi and Peach's voice clips are taken from this game. Some of Koopa Troopa's voice clips from this game are used for the Rabbid Mechakoopas.
 * Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle: Weapon skins based on Megabug are available as part of the Megabug Collection pre-order bonus. This game's arrangement of "Inside the Castle Walls" returns and plays during the prologue, albeit synthesized instead of live recorded. The likeliness of the Block Tower from Ancient Gardens is used for the bonus rooms, along with reusing the same music. MegaDragonBowser makes a cameo in the "The Story So Far" Memory profile, and is referenced at the start of the battle against Darkmess Bowser, when Beep-0 states how they beat him in front of Bowser Jr.
 * Luigi's Mansion 3: Some of Luigi's voice clips are taken from this game.

Staff
As with its predecessor, Xavier Manzanares and Davide Soliani respectively acted as the lead producer and creative director for Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope. Grant Kirkhope also reprised his role as the composer for the soundtrack from the previous game, this time being joined by Gareth Coker and Yoko Shimomura.

Ver. 1.1.2028814 (released October 20, 2022)
EXPLORATION BUG FIXES BATTLE BUG FIXES GENERAL BUG FIXES USER EXPERIENCE
 * Implemented various framerate fixes.
 * Fixed an issue where Heroes could get stuck in a wall while in the tunnel under Woodrow’s house.
 * Fixed an issue where at the end of the puzzle in the side quest “The Riddle of Barrendale Mesa”, the game could soft-lock.
 * Fixed an issue where you might not receive a reward and the quest would not clear from the quest log after completing the side quest “The Riddle of Barrendale Mesa”,
 * Fixed an issue where the L shaped connector would sometimes disappear from the third cirquit [sic] puzzle on Barrendale Mesa.
 * Fixed an issue where NPCs wouldn’t always stop moving when the Heroes were nearby.
 * Fixed an issue where Heroes could go out of bounds inside the Everbloom Tree in Terra Flora near the first Rabbid Pipe.
 * Fixed an issue where Heroes could get stuck behind a tree and some rocks next to the Teleportation Flag near the Volcano entrance on Terra Flora.
 * Fixed an issue where Heroes could get stuck and go out of bounds next to a Darkmess puddle on Terra Flora.
 * Fixed an issue where Heroes could get stuck next to an Echo Memory inside the Sunrise Temple on Beacon Beach.
 * Fixed an issue where the Armored Goomba on Beacon Beach would go missing in exploration if you lost the battle and abandoned it for later.
 * Fixed an issue where the starbits would spawn very late after touching the Teleportation flag found after completing the “Icy Breath of Winter” battle on Pristine Peaks.
 * Fixed an issue where you would hear continuous SFX of Rabbids laughing after exiting the second cave on Pristine Peaks.
 * Fixed an issue with the silly fish respawn rate for the Victor challenge on Beacon Beach.
 * Fixed an issue where Rabbid Luigi’s upgraded Technique only applied weakness to physical damage instead of all damage.
 * Fixed an issue where when Rabbid Peach’s Healing Jump healed an NPC ally, the game could sometimes freeze.
 * Fixed an issue when the game could sometimes get stuck if Rabbid Peach’s Healing Jump happened on a Trampoline.
 * Fixed an issue where sometimes the Bob-omb on the building in the “Explosive Situation” battle on Beacon Beach would spawn inside the roof of the building.
 * Fixed an issue where goombas could get soft-locked if they pushed each other while exiting or entering a Rabbid pipe.
 * Fixed an issue where the red and yellow spike marker wasn’t always correctly displayed when dashing multiple enemies, although the dash would damage the enemy.
 * Fixed an issue where the big Goomba from “A Truly Ginormous Goomba” on Beacon Beach wasn’t dealing enough damage.
 * Fixed an issue where players would receive an error message and a crash after inspecting Midnite with Beep-0 in the “Midnite Library” battle on Pristine Peaks.
 * Fixed an issue where if a Lone Wolf was attacked with a Fire super effect and survived, it would continue to make noise for longer than intended.
 * Fixed an issue in the “Hide n’Squeak” questline battle, where the game would crash if you activate the Spark Screech next to the Darkmess eggs.
 * Fixed an issue where the game would sometimes crash when Bedrock jumps after the Heroes attack her in the “A Blast Through The Bedrock” battle on Palette Prime.
 * Fixed an issue where Bedrock would sometimes go into T-Pose after jumping in the “A Blast Through The Bedrock” battle on Palette Prime.
 * Fixed an issue where Darkmess Eyes could sometimes spawn out of reach for many heroes during the “One Angry Wiggler” battle on Terra Flora.
 * Fixed an issue where if a Hero landed on a cauldron during the “Spout Forth” battle, they could get stuck there.
 * Fixed an issue where breaking barrels in the “Foul Attraction” battle on Terra Flora could cause the game to crash.
 * Fixed an issue where the battle during the “Quest For Courage” questline on Terra Flora could soft-lock if you threw a sphere from the cauldron out of bonds without having it explode.
 * Fixed an issue where Electric Traps in the “A Foul Windmill Blows” battle on Barrendale Mesa would not display the damage they did appropriately.
 * Fixed an issue where a Riptide could get stuck in a wall in the “The Desert Riptides” battle on Barrendale Mesa if it was pushed there with a Gust effect.
 * Fixed an issue where an enemy that would chase heroes to retaliate after being attacked could cause the game to freeze.
 * Fixed an issue with a platform in the “Magikoopa Mayhem” battle on Barrendale Mesa where Heroes could get stuck.
 * Fixed an issue where if a Magnafowl uses its technique on one of Bowser’s summoned Mecha Koopas and they explode, the technique would keep going.
 * Fixed several issues during the final battle.
 * Fixed an issue where the game could crash when a barrel was broken in the “King of Darkmess” battle.
 * Fixed an issue where the game could soft-lock during the enemy turn in the “Deep, Dark Secret” battle.
 * Fixed an issue where the game would sometimes force a quit after opening the map following a battle.
 * Fixed various issues that could cause the game to crash.
 * Fixed an issue where the game would sometimes force a quit after pressing the Home button on any loading screen.
 * Fixed an issue where the voices would sometimes continue and overlap the following cinematic if you skipped a cinematic by pressing A.
 * Fixed issues where buttons pressed in quick succession would cause various problems.
 * Fixed an issue where Rabbid Mario’s “I’m back!” was cut to “I’m” in the Prologue questline.
 * Fixed a text display issue for Spanish-speaking players.
 * Fixed an issue where VFX was not played correctly during the “A Foul Windmill Blows” battle.
 * Fixed an issue where Spark voices were missing during the last phase of the prologue.
 * Fixed an issue where SFX for the Red Coin Challenge on Beacon Beach was poorly equalized.
 * Fixed an issue where SFX was missing when the Heroes used ladders.
 * Fixed an issue where SFX was missing when a Squashette was summoned.
 * Fixed an issue with some sequences of the Beacon Beach cinematic that were missing.
 * Fixed an issue where ambient music would be too loud during exploration and combat on Barrendale Mesa.
 * Fixed an issue where some NPC Rabbid voices were missing on Terra Flora, Barrendale Mesa, and Palette Prime.
 * Fixed an issue where you could not hear audio in the Echo Memory menu.

Ver. 1.2.2076427 (released December 2, 2022)
MISCELLANEOUS UPDATES QUALITY OF LIFE UPDATES
 * Fixed several progression issues that would prevent 100% completion of the game.
 * Fixed an issue where the game would crash if the Final Boss tried to throw a summoned creature or Rabbid Mechakoopa.
 * Fixed a few text issues in localized versions of the game.
 * Fixed a few issues where heroes would get stuck or move out of bounds.
 * General optimization to increase framerates and ensure smooth gameplay.
 * The game will now warn players if they have an empty Spark Slot before a battle.
 * The Spark Skill Tree branch will now tease players to go find the Giant Enemies.
 * Spark Quests have been made easier to discover in the quest log, and with an icon in the travel map.
 * The battle level is now displayed both in the Beep-0 tacticam and battle menu.
 * Battle objectives will now be more evident when the battle map is introduced.
 * Difficulty level differences have been made more apparent.
 * Improved visibility of roaming enemies off-screen that threaten the heroes.
 * The specific duo Darkmess puddles, that reward weapon skins to individual heroes, will now display icons of the heroes required for the battle.