Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle

As I look at my Nintendo Switch collection, Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle is one of the games that really does stand out from the crowd. I mean, who could have ever predicted that we would get a mash up game featuring Mario characters and Rabbids characters? Even more surprising than that is Nintendo was willing to work with another company like Ubisoft and let them take the reigns for the project. Putting the Mario characters in a turn based tactics game was never something I knew I needed in my life until this game was released.

Those Pesky Rabbids

The story that, Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle is telling is a lot of fun. It manages to have that classic Mario charm and the craziness of the Rabbids combined very well. The basics of what happened are that the Rabbids are messing around and they end up transported to the Mushroom Kingdom. Four of them are turned into half Rabbid and half Mario characters, but the Mushroom Kingdom is in peril thanks to this machine causing chaos. Look the story is whacky, but it has that Mario charm and it is fun.

You Better Be Ready

One of the most surprising things for me about Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle was just how difficult the game was. Look this is a turn based tactics game, I know those are usually hard, but as this was a “Mario” game I thought it would be on the basic and easier side. It is not! This game still requires you to really think before each turn and while on the easy mode it gives you more HP, it is still a very challenging game. I would wager many kids saw the trailer for this, wanted it, and then got frustrated with the game. On the flip side of that though, I would also wager that many kids discovered the awesome world of tactics games thanks to this!

Thinking Before You Act

This is a grid based tactics game and Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle really does make you think before you make your move. You can have a team of three characters in your party (with Mario always being one) each character has their own strengths and weaknesses and it is up to you to find what kind of balance you like best. Each turn sees you being able to move, attack, and use a special ability. One cool feature is that you can dash into an enemy on the board for a bit of extra damage. To keep things interesting, you have other things to do as well as battles. For example, you may have to escort a Toad from one end of the map to the other while protecting him.

The Fab Four… I Mean Eight!

The presentation of Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle is amazing. You have Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Yoshi who need to save the Mushroom Kingdom, but they are joined by four Rabbid counterparts and they are hilarious, the Peach one is my favorite! The whole game is bright and colorful and Ubisoft really did a wonderful job in capturing that Nintendo style with this game, but at the same time putting a Rabbids spin on things.

Pros:

• I love the whole style of this game
• It is certainly going to make you laugh
• The gameplay is way deeper than you would think
• I liked how there were things to do other than just fight

Cons:

• I am sure some people will be surprised at how difficult this is
• The best part of the game is the Donkey Kong section which is paid DLC