Written By: Bernard Julius Paje
Title: Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
Developer: Ubisoft Paris
Publisher: Ubisoft
Genre: Adventure, Strategy
Price: $59.99
Way back during the PlayStation days I was introduced to the strategy role playing game (SRPG) genre. During that time I was mostly interested in turn-based RPG's (mostly Final Fantasy games), and when I got to play a little SRPG gem called Vandal Hearts it really left a lasting impression on me. My penchant for the genre increased exponentially and I dug deeper into the elegant catalog it already had to offer. Sadly during that time, the best SRPG games were mostly left untranslated in Japan and were not released in English. I was so shocked to discover that Nintendo was actually the pioneer of the SRPG genre via a game called Fire Emblem (which is actually my current favorite SRPG franchise). While Fire Emblem was technically not the first game of its kind—there were a lot of similar games available on personal computers as well at the time—Nintendo's approach to the genre was regarded by many as the one that defined the genre's core mechanics.
One of the oddest crossovers was announced a few months back during E3 2017: A game that mashed-up the Nintendo's Mario and Ubisoft's Rabbids universes called Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle. Prior to its formal announcement though, images of the supposed crossover game got leaked. Gamers all over the world immediately disliked the game (mostly because of the involvement of Rabbids), saying that it was a weird combination of franchises that would not work. Not me though! I believed that the game would be good, even if all I saw of it was an image of Mario and crew with Rabbids that seemingly cosplayed as them. And true enough, when actual footage of the game was shown in Ubisoft's E3 2017 keynote I was sold. "Hell yeah, it’s an SRPG game", I said to myself. While various articles I read about the game mentioned that its main inspiration was a PC game called X-COM—a franchise that I literally still have no idea about today—its mechanics also reminded me of the various SRPG games I have played on consoles.
When I booted up the game, I was immediately wowed by its overall presentation. It opened with a gorgeous intro cinematic that shows how the Rabbids managed to end up in the Mushroom Kingdom and mess it up. The actual in-game graphics are also breathtaking, with beautifully rendered environments that are vibrant and colorful. Ubisoft really did a good job in mixing the silliness of the Rabbids into various elements of the Mushroom Kingdom. Each of the Mushroom Kingdoms four worlds look great, with highly polished assets and jaw-dropping detail—this may not be a first-party Nintendo game, but it definitely looks like one. The soundtrack of Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle is also very good, integrating the Mario universe's most familiar tunes into all new, fully orchestrated arrangements. Creative director Davide Soliani and main music composer Grant Kirkhope really did stellar jobs in making the game look and sound so great. The game also sports the trademark silly and over-the-top humor of the obnoxious Rabbids; a presentation aspect of the game that could possibly be a turnoff for some. However, if you give the story a chance you will discover that the amalgamation of the two game universes work and the game’s humor is pretty funny.
Battles play pretty much like most SRPG's, where you and the enemy group take turns moving units. You can only choose three characters at a time per battle (with the occasional fourth member during escort missions) and each one of them can move, attack and use a special skill per turn (in any order). Positioning of your characters is extremely important, because once you decide to end your turn the enemy group's turn commences and they will aggressively attack you. The game can be difficult because of the ruthless (but not unfair) AI, making beating every battle feels like an exhilarating accomplishment every time. Thankfully if things get too hard you can enable Easy Mode before a battle starts—doing this will heal all your characters and grant them extra health. Mario's gang and their Rabbid impersonators have a very diverse set of skills, upgradeable via a detailed skill tree. Each of the Mushroom Kingdom's main inhabitants has abilities and skills unique to him or her: Mario can stomp on enemies, Luigi has a large attack and movement radius, Peach can lob bombs and has healing skills and Yoshi has an explosive ground pound that does damage over a wide area. Their Rabbid counterparts are no slouches when it comes to firepower as well, and each of them also feels different to play as. There are also some maps where you and a friend can play together cooperatively, which at this point is just extra icing in an already solid cake.
Exploration is done rather simply in this game, which are mostly simple treks until you get to the next battle. You do not actually control Mario directly in this game during exploration as you are in control of Beep-O, a talkative robot that looks like a roomba. There are occasional secret areas of course, and some of them can lead to treasures or secret battles. The game also adapts some gameplay elements from Nintendo's mainline Mario games during exploration areas. If you see a red ring and go through it, eight red coins will appear that you need to collect within a time limit to get a treasure—a lot of the 2D and 3D Mario games have done this before. There are also mini puzzle rooms that task you to collect blue coins within a time limit—these look and feel eerily similar to the bonus stages in Nintendo's Super Mario 3D Land/World games. There are also a bunch of puzzles, increasing in complexity as you progress through the game. The final world has some very tough puzzles, so be prepared to use your noggin for some head-scratching puzzle solving. Also, at the end of each world you get a new power up for Beep-O, which encourages you to revisit a world and access new areas you could not get to in your first run through. The game also has a LOT of post-game content, so once you beat the final boss and see the end credits it ain't over yet!
Overall, Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle is a great game as well as a good entry point for gamers new to the SRPG genre. The game does get tough at certain points, but Ubisoft made sure the game is accessible to all players by allowing access to an Easy Mode for almost every battle. It will also take you a lot of extra gameplay time to get through all the post-game content that is unlocked after you beat the main game. However if you are still hungry for more, new paid DLC via a $19.99 Season Pass is also available, which promises exclusive weapons (out now), new challenge maps (playable solo or co-op, slated for an Autumn 2017 release) and new story content (slated for a 2018 release). I truly believe that this is one of the Switch’s best exclusives and could definitely be considered a solid system-seller.
YAY!
- Beautiful graphics accompanied by an excellent orchestrated score and funny story.
- Tight battle mechanics that are very fun to play.
- Lots of post-game content.
NAY!
- Exploration in the game is a rather basic, mostly linear, affair.
- Battles can get really tough at time because of the intelligent AI.
- The over-the-top humor of the Rabbids may be a turnoff for some people.
REVIEW SCORE: 9.3/10
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