Review for Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle. Game for Nintendo Switch, the video game was released on 29/08/2017
Have you ever thought while living for a moment: "This thing will remain in the annals"? That sort of awareness of witnessing a historical event, something that posterity will remember? Don't worry, we don't want to start a philosophical treatise, but it is good that you put yourself in the right context. Nintendo, after some bad products at the turn of the 80s and 90s, has well thought of defending its creations, one of all Mario, the protagonist of some bad transpositions that risked damaging the character we all know today (someone thought to chance at Hotel Mario?).
Yet we find ourselves here reviewing a new title starring the mustachioed plumber over 20 years after a title not developed by Nintendo, but from Ubisoft Milan. And it is with the memory of Davide Soliani's tears at E3 this year, still etched in our memory, that we launch into this review. Will this umpteenth game be another star in the Kyoto house mascot's résumé, or will it turn out to be an indelible stain?
Born to be Rabbid
The preamble from which it arises the unprecedented crossover between the Mushroom Kingdom and the madness of the Rabbids takes place in a laboratory where the CombinaTutto, a device capable of mixing two objects by merging them into something totally new. The chaotic rabbits will arrive in the laboratory aboard their spacetime washing machine and will combine a disaster of epoch-making dimensions: by appropriating the CombineAll and using it on a Mario poster, they will arrive in the kingdom of Princess Peach, literally turning it upside down.
The scientist's robot assistant will be sucked into the teleporter, luckily he will find a mustachioed hero waiting for him ready to fix the damage created by the chaotic rabbits, who using the contraption randomly gave life to ranks of Rabbids enemies. Some of the rabbits, however, will mix with the characters in the poster, becoming heroes themselves in this insane adventure to save the kingdom.
The incipit is clearly simple and immediate, however the contrast between Mario's "seriousness" and the lack of sanity of Ubisoft's rabbits generates many comic moments: the whole Mushroom Kingdom is in chaos, elegant statues are replaced by WC and knickers stretched out in the sun, while everywhere the mad animals delight in baths in the lava or similar insane activities.
The player will have to manage a team of three heroes across four different worlds, with the aim of regaining the Combine All, who in the general chaos merged with a Rabbid.
Mario SWAT
The thing that struck us most of all about Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle is its very nature, Ubisoft gave birth to one turn-based tactical shooter that is going to be positioned in a niche headed by titles of the caliber of X-COM. This genre of titles is renowned for its complexity and difficulty (the main feature is the permadeath of the characters) but this is not the case with Kingdom Battle, which is an excellent entry level for those who have never tried this type of game.
Less difficult does not mean less complex, however: from an isometric view we will manage the three heroes available, chosen from a roster that will expand with the continuation of the adventure, all customizable with a main weapon, a secondary and two skills. The tactical depth, however, does not end here: in the battles it will be necessary to take into account the distance that each character can cover on the grid that divides the combat arena, calculating the possibility of hitting the opponents along the movement. Fans of Holly and Benji will appreciate the reinterpretation of the “infernal catapult” called jump team on this occasion: using another hero as a springboard you can cover greater distances on the pitch and reach the farthest enemies.
The key factor to keep in mind is coverage: During battles, placing a character behind a wall will be completely safe from enemy attacks, except for low walls, which only lower the chance of being hit by 50%. Even the enemies, however, will be able to take advantage of these covers, forcing us to make reasoned choices about where to place our troops, to defend ourselves as well as offend.
There are different types of games: from defeating all or a certain number of enemies, to reaching an area of the map or escorting a character to that precise point. There is also no lack of clashes against mid-bosses and bosses, the real flagship of the production: we have witnessed such well-designed clashes that it would be a shame to anticipate them, so we leave you to the pleasure of discovery.
Returning to the skills, all of them need a cooldown that lasts several turns. The interesting part is that in the continuation of the campaign even the enemies will be equipped with skills similar to those of the heroes, requiring the player to pay a greater level of attention to all the possible variables of the clashes. Ultimately Mario + Kingdom is a title that offers an excellent level of challenge, not like other exponents of the genre, but nevertheless sufficient for beginners (there is also an easy mode for the most frustrating sessions: by activating the option before a fight, all the heroes will have their vital energy increased by 50%) .
At the end of each battle, based on the number of turns and the survival or not of all the heroes, we will get a judgment: as mentioned previously there is no permanent death of the characters, but the vital energy of our roster will be restored only at the end of each chapter. Each world is divided into ten chapters, each of which features two to four fights, which invites the rotation of the heroes on the battlefield. Based on the judgment obtained we will be rewarded with a trophy: the pursuit of total perfection increases general longevity, as well as giving us different prizes in coins depending on the rank reached. Finally, there is a skill tree for each character, in which to unlock new moves by spending the orbs obtained during the adventure.
Captain Rabbid
Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle is not just firefights: in the game there is also a good deal of exploration through the worlds we visit, also mixed by CombinaTutto. Given the absence of the jump, the movement vaguely resembles titles like Captain Toad, in which the camera perspective plays a fundamental role: there is in fact a large array of hidden chests containing weapons, different types of collectibles and spheres to enhance skills.
Different areas will be inaccessible up to a certain point in the game: the robot that will follow us throughout the adventure, Beep-0, will in fact obtain different preparatory skills for the exploratory phases, such as being able to move concrete blocks or raise statues useful to activate switches. Exploring will always pay off for the player (there are also some secret chapters), with a backtracking that does not weigh down the title and that will delight the completists. The only flaw in the controls is the Beep-0 door: along the game world the characters will move in a single file headed by the robot, who often will not have a precise hitbox in interacting with objects, a defect that makes itself felt in special puzzles to be solved in a limited time. However, we appreciated the presence of some environmental puzzles, not only optional but also within the main campaign, able to break the rhythm of the various fights with more reflective phases.
Rabbids City
Graphically, the game is quite simple: even the models of the most famous characters from the Nintendo world are lightened by various details, yet the final recipe is rather pleasing to the eye. The only flaws to take into account come out when we connect Nintendo Switch to the TV: using some skills the frame rate will in fact have small drops, less visible and noticeable when using the console in the portable version.
Another small flaw is created by the camera when using some special moves: the slow motion effect used to emphasize the shot often shows less defined parts of the map. In general, these are small flaws that we must point out but that do not spoil the experience, which remains totally enjoyable.
Finally, the sound sector is excellent, with original and pleasant music, which goes well with the rhythm of the adventure.
Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle is a memorable product from all points of view: a Mario not created by Nintendo and yet so familiar that it can be loved right away. The title is cleverly positioned in a little explored niche of the market, and it will be able to excite the genre of players. This time, Ubisoft's detractors will have to put their soul in peace: this game was created with passion and skilled hands, and will become yet another star in the growing Switch galaxy.
► Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle is an RPG-Tactical game developed and published by Ubisoft for Nintendo Switch, the video game was released on 29/08/2017
