Mario + Rabbids Sparks Of Hope
Image: Ubisoft / Nintendo

After a slip-up on Nintendo's end, Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope was officially unveiled during Ubisoft's E3 presentation.

Being a sequel, a number of key figures have returned, and this includes the former Rare composer Grant Kirkhope. He was previously responsible for the first game's soundtrack, and this time around he's even been given the opportunity to score the trailers for the sequel.

Here's what he had to say about the reveal of Sparks of Hope during a special Games Industry E3 podcast:

"I'm so pleased to get it out there, you know, it's not a secret anymore. Yes, it's great to get it out there... I got to score both the trailers, the gameplay and the cinematic trailers that a lot of the time you don't get to do that...yeah, I feel I'm part of the launch which is nice."

In a follow-up tweet, Grant revealed one of the more special moments working on the game, which was being able to do an arrangement of the Comet Observatory theme from the Super Mario Galaxy series:

Oh, and there's apparently a neat reference to a Banjo-Tooie track in the Sparks of Hope trailer:

Creative director Davide Soliani also had a special message for Kirkhope during a developer discussion about the game:

"Honestly Grant is not only a composer to me, he's a close friend. And I couldn't imagine doing a game without him - even if he's always complaining and whining about something, I want him on my side."

Are you excited to hear more from Grant Kirkhope in Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope? Will you be adding this game to your Switch library when it arrives next year? Leave a comment down below.