TheSuper Marioseries has seen some pretty wild crossovers over the years, but no fans were prepared for Ubisoft’s 2017 E3 showcase whereMario + Rabbids Kingdom Battlewas announced. WithNintendo legend Shigeru Miyamototaking to the stage alongside Ubisoft’s Yves Guillemot, the internet was set on fire, and much to everyone’s surprise,Kingdom Battleactually turned out pretty good. Flash forward five years and the sequelMario + Rabbids Sparks of Hopeis right around the corner, with Nintendo having just teased a DLC that revolves around a beloved character.
At Nintendo’s latest Direct, anew gameplay trailer forMario + Rabbids Sparks of Hopewas revealed. Coming hot off last weekend’s Ubisoft Forward Showcase, which also showed off the game, this gameplay trailer focused on its new side quest system and the new overworld. At the end of the newMario + Rabbids Sparks of Hopetrailer, it was revealed that Rayman would be coming to the game via a post-launch DLC, and he’s the perfect pick for the game.
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Rayman Is The Perfect DLC Character For Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope
The firstMario + Rabbidsgame had a big post-launch DLC expansion that brought a plethora ofDonkey Kongcontent to the game. As well as adding Donkey Kong himself as a playable character, the expansion added a whole set of new missions, a newDonkey Kong-themed overworld, andDonkey Kong-themed enemies. Though only a brief tease was given aboutSparks of Hope’sRaymanDLC, which just showed showed off the top of the character’s head with a titlecard reading “Starring Rayman in a new DLC adventure with the Rabbids,” it seems likely that this post-launch expansion will follow a similar route.
Rayman is the ideal character forMario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope’s post-launch DLC for a multitude of reasons. The most obvious of these is that he’s already intrinsically linked with the Rabbid brand, being the character associated with the Rabbid’s debut series,Rayman Raving Rabbids. With Rayman already being tied with the Rabbid name, it only makes logical sense that he’d show up in theMario + Rabbidsseries sooner or later.
Aside from the immediate and obvious link to both series, Rayman’s general aesthetic also fits in well withMario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope’s distinctive art style. Much like the majority ofMariotitles over the years,Sparks of Hopehas a bright, colorful, and cartoon-y aesthetic. This blends perfectly with Rayman’s cartoon-y and colorful character design. Rayman also tends to be quite a light-hearted and springy character, which also suitsMario + Rabbids' general atmosphere and tone. Even on a gameplay level, Rayman is already perfectly suited to the gameplay style ofMario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope, with most versions of the character being able to shoot orbs of magical energy out of his hands, which could tie in nicely withSparks of Hope’s elemental damage system.
Despite having a few beloved 2D platformers get repeatedly ported, theRaymanfranchise has been pretty dormant in the last few years. ThisMario + Rabbids Sparks of HopeDLC is the perfect opportunity for theRaymanbrand to be brought back into the spotlight, and this post-launch content could even potentially bring abouta newRaymangame, which fans are desperately longing for.
Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hopewill release on October 20, exclusively for Nintendo Switch.
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