Crossovers in video games are almost always an exciting prospect.
Sometime you get ones that make sense like SNK vs Capcom or Professor Layton and Phoenix
Wright.
But then there are others that seem simply strange like Tokyo Mirage Sessions, a pop
star take on the combination of Fire Emblem and Shin Megami Tensei.
As weird as that was though, it was a lot of fun when taken as is.
So it was with that in mind that I was actually looking forward to Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom
Battle.
The official reveal at E3 seemed like it had a lot of possibility.
But will it fulfill that potential?
Well, I can't say for sure yet, but I can say that it works on the most basic level.
Let me explain.
The Rabbids are back to cause tons of trouble and this time they've used their washing
time machine to end up in the home of an inventor who has created a visor that can combine any
two things that the user looks at.
When the Rabbids get ahold of it, they begin to combine everything in their sight and eventually
end up in the Mushroom Kingdom along with all of their creations.
It's then up to BEEP-O, the inventor's personal Roomba-like assistant, and Mario
to put a stop to all the trouble-making Rabbids in the kingdom while hunting down the original
Rabbid who caused all the trouble.
It's an effective set-up that explains how the Rabbids ended up in the Mushroom Kingdom,
why there are weird combinations all around, and even how there are good Rabbids helping
Mario on his quest.
Because this isn't a platformer at all, it's a turn-based strategy game.
And the thing is, it can be a lot of fun.
Battles are handled in a similar manner to X-Com where your party of three has to utilize
cover in order to take down the enemies in their path.
But rather than having to deal with endless stats, Kingdom Battle keeps the proceedings
simple yet still engaging.
Cover is key to keeping your team alive and it comes in both full cover and half cover.
If you're in full cover, then there's no chance of the of the enemy hitting you
with a conventional weapon, as long as they don't flank you.
Half cover does the same except there's a 50% chance of the attack missing.
And that's it.
It's immediately apparent what you have to do to keep Mario and friends safe.
Where the more minute strategy comes in is with your movement and weaponry.
The way you move is key in Kingdom Battle because it's possible to launch off allies
or use pipes to get farther and even slide into enemies for an extra bit of damage before
using one of the fanciful arm cannons on display.
Enemies can do the same which makes positioning all the more important.
The weapons act like guns in some ways, but they have their own special abilities.
These can range from a push that launches enemies away from cover or even off the map,
bounce which does the same in a more random fashion, and honey which prevents the enemy
from moving among many others.
These effects aren't guaranteed but they're potent on the battlefield, especially when
the Rabbids start using them against you.
Naturally, there are more tactics than just this, but I came away from my time with the
game happy with what I had experienced so far.
And it can catch you off guard as I've lost battles a few times already.
A loss isn't punishing though so I never felt like I lost much progress.
And the goals of the individual battles do have some variety which keeps things interesting.
Outside of battle, you can explore, find hidden chests, and collect coins to buy better weapons,
but don't think of it in terms of other 3D Marios.
The puzzle-solving and exploration so far has been pretty simple, mainly serving as
a way to change up the scenery and break up the combat.
And it's really weird not being able to jump in a Mario game.
New abilities are obtained when completing Worlds though, encouraging exploration in
previous areas as well as new Challenge missions that can earn you more goodies.
So far, it's a pretty fun game.
But it's definitely not flawless.
I've already experienced hiccups during the gameplay where the screen will freeze,
sometimes for quite a while, before jumping ahead.
Transitions between looped animations during cutscenes to a new scenario can also be a
bit sudden making things feel less than smooth.
I also wish I had more control of the camera during exploration.
I can't tilt it up and down making it tough to see more of what's around.
After all, the graphics are extremely colorful and filled with the Mario aesthetic you know
as well as the randomness of the Rabbids.
It surprisingly works though the plasticine look may not be for everyone.
The music, at least so far, has also left little of an impression.
Nothing's standing out as memorable which is a shame considering it was done by Grant
Kirkhope.
Hopefully, some of the tracks will stand out in the future.
As for the humor, while nothing's made me burst out laughing, it is surprisingly charming
and has made me smirk more than once.
Though it is really weird seeing toilet humor in a Mario game.
I'm honestly not sure how I completely feel about Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle yet.
The gameplay is solid, especially once it becomes more complex after the basics are
introduced.
And the game has a charm to it that I actually enjoy along with an identity that melds these
two properties strangely well.
But it's everything surrounding these elements that I'm unsure of.
They haven't fully clicked for me yet.
We'll have to see how we feel once our review goes live on August 28th and 5AM Pacific.
Thanks for watching and be sure to subscribe to GameXplain for more on Mario, the Rabbids,
and other things gaming.
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