If you saw the most recent footage of Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope you might be wondering about the changes with the game's hero lineup.
Nintendo Everything had the chance to speak with the game's lead producer Xavier Manzanares and asked about the decision to exclude Yoshi from the main cast. It was explained how Ubisoft didn't want to just do the "same thing again" and this meant also evolving the hero roster - with characters such as Bowser.
Here's part of the response:
When we started to think about the team and the heroes, we didn’t want to go for, ‘Okay, we did it before, so we have to do the same thing again’ and trying to evolve what we had in Kingdom Battle. So it’s true as well for the heroes.
We decided early on to go for nine heroes. We didn’t know exactly which ones, and we didn’t want to go for ones that are in Kingdom Battle because that’s the rule. As it’s not a direct sequel, we talked and we still believe today that players would be more interested and think, ‘Okay, the choice they made for the heroes and what they put in the game are logical because of the archetypes and what they do in battle, and it’s cool, and the synergy is super cool.’
In the end, the team opted to go with new characters such as Rabbid Rosalina and even the Mario antagonist Bowser. There's also the mysterious 'Edge' who will appear alongside Mario, Luigi, Peach and their Rabbid forms.
Nintendo Life also recently spoke with Xavier Manzanares, you can read about it in our own lengthy feature:
Are you looking forward to getting your hands on this game when it arrives on the Nintendo Switch this October? Leave a comment down below.
[source nintendoeverything.com]
Comments 37
No real Rosalina though? That's sad since she's my favorite Mario character.
Please, producers.... HARD MODE AND HARDEST MODE!!!
I really like the way they thought of making this game. It's good to question how to improve on the first game but also add stuff that makes it not just a simple update to what was before, like adding characters you didn't expect (Bowser).
@SteamEngenius huh? Yoshi didn’t cost extra and you couldn’t use all human characters - the game required you to have one Rabbid on the team in every battle.
Glad that they're trying to differentiate it from Kingdom Battle. As great as it was, it didn't capture a huge audience, which they are clearly trying to rectify. Everything appears to be much more fluid in Sparks of Hope, whether it be the overworld exploration, battles, or just the general presentation. Kingdom Battle just felt like an endless series of strategic battles, with a few collectibles in between, so I appreciate the new approach.
@ShadJV Hmm guess I'm misremembering since I only put like 5 hours in ages ago. Guess I did use Rabbids peach since I never got her human form yet then.
Still, no Rosalina is a huge bummer.
I'm genuinely surprised there are a lot of disappointed comments in regards to the absence of real Rosalina... doesn't it seem pretty strange that EVERYONE is saying this without ever considering the possibility of her being a secret playable character?
@SteamEngenius yeah it’d be nice to have Rosalina but not a dealbreaker for me, even as a Rosalina fan. I’m still excited, the first was really fun, and I don’t care for Rabbids either.
The first game required every party to have Mario and one Rabbid, leaving one slot open, and it was clearly balanced for that. Having Luigi and Peach (or either of them with Yoshi) would’ve resulted in some pretty broken combos.
@ModdedInkling I think because Ubisoft has been pretty transparent. They’ve said on multiple occasions that this is the entire roster and they didn’t want to go over 9 characters. Sure, they could be lying, but why assume they are if the team hasn’t previously lied?
@ShadJV
Because we simply don't know. Judging them based on patterns isn't always 100% correct, and I'm sure they'll be well aware of the demand for Rosalina to not ignore it.
@ModdedInkling once again though, why assume they’ll outright lie? That kind of assumption not only is having zero trust for the developers, it increases the likelihood that people will be upset later on when it turns out they were being honest. If they say there’s nine characters, there’s nine characters.
"we didn’t want to go for, ‘Okay, we did it before, so we have to do the same thing again’"
Are we sure this is an Ubisoft game?
@Lizuka Bravo! You win this comment section.
If Ubisoft really wanted to shake it up, they could have reached beyond Mario and added Link, Zelda, etc. A large part of this roster still looks quite familiar - although I guess that doesn’t mean they have to play the same. Sparks of Hope is looking good, I must admit.
@ShadJV
Zero trust is...a little ridiculous for something that's very common in this industry. There a difference between keeping a secret versus straight-up lying. In a context like this, we aren't being told to purchase the game under the impression that it is 100% relevant to an upcoming plot and that this would give us a deeper backstory... we're simply told basic details of the game, just as literally any game would in marketing, and they simply did not mention anything else. They didn't deny any possibilities. They just didn't mention it.
I don't care what their reasoning is, they cut my favourite, so I'm not buying for a long while yet.
The game looks fun at least. I'll enjoy it once I do eventually get it. I guess. lol
"We decided early on to go for nine heroes. We didn’t know exactly which ones, and we didn’t want to go for ones that are in Kingdom Battle because that’s the rule."
6 of the characters were in the last game 🤦🏻♂️
I think they’re keeping one character secret. A special surprise.
I kinda like the idea of Bowser joining the crew this time around, since he was possessed by the final boss of the first game (sorry about the spoiler guys and gals).
I don't understand why so many people like Rosalina. I don't even remember this character exists! What's so special about her?
Have they said who the "Anime Rabbid" is yet?
Maybe real Rosalina will be in the DLC campaign. Either that, or they send Donkey Kong, Cranky Kong and Rabbid Kong to space for no reason.
Anyway, as it is right now, they only removed Yoshi and Rabbid Yoshi in favor of Bowser and Rabbid Rosalina.
I have a small running theory that Rosalina is the main villain somehow someway.... Idk just feels like it.
Would be sweet to add new dlc with the kongs, Yoshi, Wario & Waluigi, even daisy showing of some kind. But not holding my breath
Excited for the game though 👍
I am looking forward to this game. The last one was ok, but it got old a bit too fast. I have a feeling this one will be a good portion better.
It would be cool if Rayman could join the team. And please don't forget to make a new Rayman game Ubisoft.
Eh, I like Yoshi but he was definitely the most middling character in the first game (especially with how late you get him) so I don't mind them cutting him for entirely new characters so long as they come earlier on. Rabbid Yoshi will be sorely missed though, I loved that wacky little dude.
(though I do suppose we could get Yoshi's Island themed DLC, similar to Donkey Kong Adventure....)
@ModdedInkling but it’s not omission? It’s them straight up explaining why they picked the cast and they chose specifically to have nine playable characters. There’s no reason for them to lie about that, they could’ve omitted it if they wanted to hide that.
@ModdedInkling this mindset part of why the recent Strikers upset so many. Everyone went in expecting more than they had shown. Expecting secrets defeats the very purpose. Though once again, it wasn’t omission, yes omission to hide secrets is common in the industry but lying isn’t.
I don't think there has ever been a Mario adventure I didn't love where you can take direct control of Bowser.
@Rykdrew maybe it's because of her backstory
I can't help but be excited about this game. It looks like a GOTY contender.
@ShadJV
But we don't know for sure, and I'm not sure why it would be such a big deal to worry about the level of expectations set for this game (frankly, Strikers honestly sounds a bit ridiculous for expectations, period). People may be disappointed about one aspect of the game, but it doesn't ruin the overall experience of the game if the game wasn't so centred around one particular aspect that could be missing something.
My point is, until the game releases, everything we know so far would be treated as basic game information. Everything else remains unknown or ambiguous. Nothing is ever confirmed until said game is released, so until then, people can set whatever expectations they want to. If they are disappointed, that's entirely on them.
Just played the original last month and couldn't believe how good it was, so very happy this is getting released so soon
@Hask the original sold very well .....
@NotArmani agree 100% First when this was announced I was't that excited.. i like the original, but I thought it was more like DLC. But they really dared to question their own game...
The biggest problem I have with Ubisoft sequels is they tend to be very similar to the game before, but it does look like they've tried to alter several things with this Mario+Rabbids.
Just picked the original back up. I thought I was stuck on a boss fight but to my shock I opened the file and was just at some random battle. Completely forgot that I'd beaten the boss I was stuck on. Played most of the final chapter and now only have a few battles left. Was a nice feeling to take on a game that had been nagging at me for a long time. I wanna finish it tonight.
@Fizza Yeah, it isn't super fun that Yoshi shows up with only about a quarter of the game left. He took Luigi's spot on my roster though, I love his ability to give everyone crits.
@Lady_rosalina It sold 2 million units, which isn't very much for a franchise as big as Mario, especially considering the Switch's huge install base.
@Hask yeah it's a Mario game but that doesn't mean it'll have soring sales..... It's a crossover game with the rabbits made by a third party studio.... Some of The Mario sports games don't even have soring sales like that and they are Mario games.....
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