If you had told me that a crossover between Super Mario from Nintendo and the Raving Rabbids from Ubisoft would be an excellent turn-based tactical role-playing shoot’em up, I wouldn’t have believed you. Many people love Super Mario, but combining it with Ubisoft's Raving Rabbids seemed odd. After all, The Raving Rabbids' style of humor is louder and obnoxious compared to Mario’s cute and timeless appeal. I never had anything against the Raving Rabbids. I understand that their immaturity can be a bit much at times. Still, there were times in the Rabbids history when I enjoyed some of the games they starred in, even if they were more for young kids. Nobody thought this new crossover game called “Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle” would be anything more than a complete disaster. Against all odds, not only did I find this game to be more fun and challenging than it looks, but I’d argue this is one of the best Nintendo Switch games ever made.
A young inventor who is a fan of the Super Mario franchise invents a new headset called the Supermerge with the help of her robot companion, Beep-0. This headset can merge two objects into something new. When the inventor leaves the room, the Raving Rabbids suddenly appear out of nowhere in a time-washing machine and start playing with the inventions around the room. Beep-0 tries to stop them, but one of the Rabbids accidentally puts on the Supermerge. After a few more shenanigans, all the Rabbids and Beep-0 find themselves being sucked into a vortex and end up bringing their chaos to the Mushroom Kingdom, where Mario, Luigi, and all his friends reside. With chaos caused all over Mario’s Universe, it's up to Mario, his friends and some friendly Rabbids to find the Rabbid with the Supermerge to stop the Mushroom kingdom from becoming any more chaotic.
The Story is something you’d think would not work. Super Mario and Raving Rabbids are different in presenting their narratives, with one being timeless and the other loud and immature. However, What transpires is a very irresistible and adorable narrative that finds the right balance between being childish and not to the point of exhaustion. It also captures the wonder of Super Mario’s appeal in being cute but epic when needed. Another thing I appreciate about this story is its humor. As mentioned before, it can be wacky and immature. Still, I give credit that Ubisoft didn't go overboard and let moments in the narrative have a breather between jokes. The immatureness is balanced out with the classical, simple storytelling that is to be expected out of a Mario product. This narrative is fun and surprisingly action-packed; It combines two polar opposite storytelling styles to make what could have been a disaster into a fun and exciting adventure.
The Characters are super fun and have much to offer, even if most don’t speak very much. The Mario characters, such as Mario, Luigi, and Peach, are mainly there to react to events in the story. Still, they do so very well through their postures and facial expressions. On the other hand, the Rabbid versions of the Mario characters have a lot of personality, with the main standouts including Rabbid Peach, who is smartphone obsessed, and Rabbid Yoshi, who acts all wacky and crazy but has a good heart. The character I admired the most was the robot companion named Beep-0 who had some of the funniest dialogue and reactions to any crazy shenanigans the Rabbids get into. Other characters appear along the way, including many unique bosses to battle and enemies, both Rabbid and Mario-based. They make this journey all the more fun, and even the Rabbids prove that they can hold back some of their obnoxiousness to be just as fun and delightful as the Mario character can be.
The Gameplay is the core of the entire game. The player controls Mario with many familiar and Rabbid versions of familiar characters. The characters are guided through the many iconic Mario worlds by Beep-0, who can also give players hints on how to beat down enemies in combat or solve puzzles to get from one place to another. Before entering combat arenas, the player can explore their surroundings to find hidden collectibles and coins to spend for weapon upgrades. Sometimes, the player will have to return to previously traversed locations when new abilities are unlocked to get to places made inaccessible the first time and take part in unlocked bonus challenges after completing a world. The combat is where the game shines, as the player will have to switch between three characters in a team to take down enemy Rabbids using guns and other lethal weapons. When it is the player’s turn, they can switch between three characters in a team. Each comes with unique weapons to take down Enemy Rabbids from a safe distance. They can move around the battlefield to find cover and shoot at any Enemy Rabbids within shooting range. Each character has bonus abilities such as healing, shields, or many others to help them further in combat. Sometimes, the player can use a team jump to help a character reach farther places. Suppose the player chooses a Mario character and performs a team jump. In that case, they can stomp on enemies to decrease an enemy’s health points. Be warned, every Enemy Rabbid is different and has different modes of attack. Once the heroes are done with their turn of destruction, the enemies will then attack. If you are not careful, they may drain all the hero's health points, leading to the player starting the challenge again. If the player wins the battle, they will be rewarded coins and orbs, which can help upgrade weapons and player stats for more deadly attacks. Not all challenges are combat-based. Some challenges, in fact, may include the players escorting themselves or a specific character to a spot in the battle arena while avoiding being attacked by enemies. This game is very strategic and requires a lot of skill to beat. On the way, you’ll unlock new characters with their own weapons and power-ups. This game is much more challenging than it looks, but I’m happy that Ubisoft went so hard to make the gameplay exciting and fun.
The Graphics have that same Super Mario charm mixed in with the chaotic nature of the Raving Rabbids, and they surprisingly mesh together quite nicely. Ubisoft wanted to follow Nintendo’s ideals of looking innovative and standing out amongst the games that try to go the realistic route. Thankfully, Ubisoft created a colorful world that begs for exploration and added plenty of details in the background to keep the player intrigued. There are four different worlds to explore. Each of them are familiar Mario locations that feel like they’ve been taken over by the chaos unleashed by the Raving Rabbids. The best example is when the player often sees Rabbids goofing off while journeying along the path. The world layouts are well done, and many secrets await those who dare to travel outside the game’s main path. Each battlefield is signaled by the Rabbid's black and white flag, and when a battle is won, it is replaced by a blue flag with a peach castle decal. The characters look more colorful and alive than ever. The Hero and Enemy Rabbids also have a lot of personality in their designs, and similar enemies change their costumes when entering a new Super Mario world. This colorful and detail-oriented world is fun to explore and sometimes can be beautiful when you least expect it to be.
The Music was composed by Grant Kirkhope, who is most well known for doing the score for Nintendo classics such as Banjo Kazooie and Donkey Kong 64. His score is wacky but endearing, which is not too dissimilar to the other games he has scored in the past. The music can be fun and cheerful at first. Still, it can also slowly go epic and intense, especially when a giant mini or large boss battle is upon the player. Kirkhope uses the score to perfectly encapsulate the Mario universe while combining it almost seemingly with the whacked-out nature of the Raving Rabbids. It takes work to combine two different styles of music from two distinct franchises. Still, against all odds, Grant Kirkhope and Ubisoft have found a way.
This is a crossover that, at first glance, would be doomed to fail from just its initial concept. Thankfully, Ubisoft, with a bit of help from Nintendo, did both Mario and the Rabbids justice and created a unique turn-based tactical role-playing shoot’em up that is perfect for Mario and Rabbids fans. Even if you are not a fan of the Raving Rabbids, take some relief knowing that their loud and immature humor is not as much of a massive deal as in some of the solo games they have starred in. This game is surprisingly challenging but also remarkably charming and fun. Completing the game with some of its complex bonus challenges will be great for more experienced players. However, anyone of any age can still enjoy the main story and be enchanted by its humor and colorful graphics. You’ll be surprised by just how much care and thought went into making a game nobody demanded, but most everyone was undoubtedly surprised by.
(Final Grade: A-)