Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle is a turn-based tactical role-playing video game developed and published by Ubisoft exclusively for Nintendo Switch. It is a crossover of Nintendo's Mario and Ubisoft's Raving Rabbids franchises, and was released worldwide in August 29 2017.

Gameplay
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle is a role-playing video game featuring turn-based combat and elements of exploration. The game features eight playable characters: Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, and Yoshi from the Mario franchise, and four Rabbids dressed as the former. The characters wield guns that shoot laser beams. The game features two-player local cooperative play. The characters have the capability of attacking through dashing, firing through weapons and by using team jump (an ability in which one character boosts another to reach further ground than capable). They can defend by entering either full or half cover. Each character has a special skill.

Plot
While traveling to Princess Peach's castle, Mario discovers a giant vortex floating above him. Soon after this discovery, Rabbids begin flying out of it. To restore the Mushroom Kingdom, which has been "torn apart" by the mischievous Rabbids, Mario teams up with Luigi, Princess Peach, Yoshi, and four heroic Rabbids that are dressed up as Mario and his friends to defeat their enemies while armed with various weapons. They are aided by Beep-O, a rabbid roomba-like robot that serves as their instructor.

Story
The Rabbids end up with their Time Washing Machine in the laboratory of a Mario fan who is perfecting, along with her robot assistant Beep-0, a visor able to fuse two objects into one, called the SupaMerge. One Rabbid finds said visor and uses it to create Rabbid Peach, Rabbid Mario, and other Rabbids fused with objects. It also causes the Time Washing Machine to malfunction, sending Beep-0 and the Rabbids to the Mushroom Kingdom.

Meanwhile, Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Toadette, Toad, and Princess Peach are inaugurating a new Princess Peach statue with an audience of Toads. Suddenly, a vortex is formed and sucks Mario and the others in.

In midair over the Ancient Gardens, Beep-0 gains rabbit ears and the outline of two rabbit's teeth on the front. The Rabbid with the SupaMerge fuses with the headset, causing it to be stuck to him. Mario later saves Beep-0 from being crushed by the Time Washing Machine. Upon landing, they soon encounter Rabbid Peach and Rabbid Luigi, who join Mario's team and help them fight off various Ziggies, thanks to weapons attached to a message sent by a mysterious F.B..[4] As they travel, they get a glimpse of the vortex, later referred to as the Megabug.

Soon after, they meet Luigi and the Rabbid with the SupaMerge headset. They are both scared by a Piranha Plant with which a white Rabbid is playing. Due to the fear, the SupaMerge Rabbid ends up fusing the white Rabbid with the Piranha Plant, creating the Pirabbid Plant. Mario's team successfully defeats the Plant and restore both the Piranha Plant and the white Rabbid to their original selves. Seeing this, Luigi joins their team. Meanwhile, Beep-0 notices that the Megabug has grown in size.

Bowser Jr. has observed what happened with the Pirabbid Plant and, when Mario's team meet the Rabbid with the headset and scares him, takes the chance to befriend him, naming him Spawny. With the intent of using Spawny's powers to take over the Mushroom Kingdom while his father is on vacation, Junior flies away with him on his Junior Clown Car, while Mario's team must face Rabbid Kong.[5] They defeat Rabbid Kong, causing it to fall off of the platform they are standing on.[6]

Mario's team then venture to Sherbet Desert, where thanks to a message from F.B. they discover that the Megabug is growing with every enemy Rabbid defeated. They also find Rabbid Mario frozen in an ice cube. They take him with them, and place the cube in a door in the hopes of freeing him. Said door opens, and they soon encounter Bowser Jr. with Spawny again. Bowser Jr. has Spawny look at Mario's team, which agitates the Rabbid, activating the SupaMerge's powers. Just before it activates, Bowser Jr. turns Spawny away, causing him to create Blizzy and Sandy, who proceed to attack Mario's team. Mario's team defeat both of them and save Rabbid Mario, who joins them.[7] At the end of the desert, Mario's team face off against the Icicle Golem, who freezes them. However, Princess Peach appears and saves them, joining Mario's team in their fight against the monster. They eventually prevail.[8]

Mario's team then go to Spooky Trails. They are directed to find two Relics of Goodness, a gramophone and a Boo-shaped balloon, under the instruction of a mysterious third party who wants them to wake up a being named "Tom Phan" who they claim has the power to defeat Bowser Jr.. After finding the relics, they discover through a message from the mysterious helper that they need a full moon. While finding a way to bring the full moon back, they come across Calavera, who is holding Rabbid Yoshi hostage. Mario's team defeat Calavera and are subsequently joined by Rabbid Yoshi. They then find a clock tower, by manipulating the clock they manage to get the full moon back and they get an invite to cross the now opened Moon Gate from the helper. They later find out that it is actually Bowser Jr. himself, who confronts them in a theater. Bowser Jr. scares Spawny, causing him to fuse a Rabbid with the Relics of Goodness to create the Phantom.[9] The Phantom sings a pre-battle song and is eventually defeated.

Later, they go to the Lava Pits, a volcano which has been transformed into a factory by Bowser Jr.. Here, they battle Junior in his Mecha Jr.. After this battle, Spawny seemingly falls to his doom as Bowser Jr. escapes. However, he is saved by Yoshi, who subsequently joins Mario's team. It is only after this battle that Spawny seems regretful for all the trouble he has caused.[10] After returning Spawny to safety, Mario's team attempt to leave via a crystal mine. However, Spawny is attracted to the Megabug which has grown strong enough to obtain a physical, phoenix-like form. The Megabug absorbs Spawny before heading in the direction of Bowser's Castle. Bowser Jr. returns to tell off Mario's team for allowing Spawny to get kidnapped and the Megabug to escape, noting that at least his father is still away. However, he gets a text message from his father who has decided to return home early. Realizing that his father is in danger, Bowser Jr. flies off to Bowser's Castle while Mario's team chases after. On the way, they encounter two villainous Rabbids resembling Wario and Waluigi, named Bwario and Bwaluigi respectively. They are defeated by Mario's group. Upon their arrival to Bowser's Castle, Bowser Jr. requests them to help Bowser return to his normal self, as he is barely conscious and near the Megabug. The latter fuses with Bowser, creating MegaDragonBowser. In this form, Bowser is defeated, freeing the Megabug that tries to attack Mario's team. Said team attacks the Megabug, destroying it and seemingly closing the rift while also freeing Spawny. Bowser Jr. takes Spawny back to the team and thanks them for what they have done, while also promising to be somewhat better. Fearing being chastised by his father, he tries to convince them to speak to Bowser on his behalf, but Mario's team return to Princess Peach's Castle to tell that the threat is no more, while also inaugurating a new statue of Rabbid Peach. Rabbid Peach then takes a selfie with the group. After this, Beep-0 sends a letter to his past self with weapons through the Time Washing Machine, revealing that F.B. is actually Future Beep-0.

Playable characters

 * Mario

Mario's offensive talents make him a natural choice to lead the charge in battle. He is a mid-to-close range fighter with excellent mobility. He is a team leader with 5/5 Offense,2/5 Defense and 3/5 Mobility skills. He has 220 health points. His mobility includes 6 cells of movement and 3 cells of pipe exit range. His attacks include a Dash of 20 damage, a Cleansing Stop (Through Team Jump) that extends through 6 cells. His primary weapon is a blaster and secondary is his melee. His techniques include Hero Sight (When triggered: 20-28 weapon damage on 3 turns) and M-Power.


 * Luigi

A master of long-range attacks (due to his fear of the front lines) Luigi has bravely led many 'fighting retreats' thanks to his advanced mobility. He is a scout with 4/5 Offense, 1/5 Defense and 5/5 Mobility. He has 130 health points. His movement is the same as Mario as well as his attacks. His primary weapon is precision and secondary is Sentry. His techniques include Steely Stare and Itchy Feet. His team jump attack is the Double Cleansing Stomp with the extended 6 cells (but twice).


 * Yoshi

Yoshi is a long-range specialist who belongs behind the front lines where he can deliver a power-packed punch from afar. Loves fruit. He is an eggsploder with 5/5 Offense, 2/5 Defense and 3/5 Mobility. His team jump includes his ground pound attack. His primary weapon is Rumblebang and secondary is Rocket. His primary technique is Egg Beater and secondary is Super Chance.


 * Princess Peach

In her new role as a 'defender in a dress' vs. 'damsel in distress', Princess Peach strikes a nice balance between offense, defense and mobility. She is a paladin with 3/5 Offense,3/5 Defense and 4/5 mobility. Her Team Jump attack is the Healing Jump. Her primary technique is the Royal Gaze and her secondary is Protection.


 * Rabbid Mario

A big league brawler with exceptional luck, a dependable defense, solid moves and massive case of imposter syndrome. He has 4/5 Offense, 2/5 Defense and 4/5 Mobility. His Dash attack is the Boom Dash. His primary weapon is the Boomshot while his secondary is Melee. His primary technique is Bodyguard while his secondary is the Magnet Dance.


 * Rabbid Luigi

Rabbid Luigi is a defensive specialist who can leverage the unpredictable elemental forces that surround us all to great strategic effect. He is of Wizard rank with 200 health points. His mobility includes 6 cells of movement and 3 cells of Pipe Exit Range. His Dash attack is the Vamp Dash of 30 damage. He is capable of Team Jump (with no attack) that also extends in 6 cells. His primary attack is the Bworb while his secondary is the Rocket. His primary technique is the Super Barrier (Immunity to Super Effects for 2 turns) while his secondary is the Weaken effect.


 * Rabbid Yoshi

Rabbid Yoshi is best utilized lashing out with heavy weapons at long range. His arsenal includes melee skills, solid defense and a cool victory dance. He is a team fighter with 3/5 Offense, 4/5 defense and 3/5 Mobility. His Dash is the Triple Dash attack. His primary weapon is the Rumblebang while his secondary is the Grenaduck. His primary technique is the Outer Shell move, while his secondary is the Scaredy Rabbid move.


 * Rabbid Peach

A proficient healer and damage-denier, when this defense-oriented prima donna takes the battlefield as she keeps one eye on the enemy, and one on Mario. She is a Healer of 2/5 Offense, 5/5 Defense and 3/5 Mobility. She has 220 health points. Her mobility includes 6 cells of movement and 3 cells of Pipe Exit Range. Her Dash attack is the Stylish Dash of 20 damage (two times): Her Team Jump is the normal one without attack of 6 cells. Her primary weapon is the Blaster, while her secondary is the Sentry. Her primary technique is the Shield ( Weapon damage reduction: 40% on 2 turns), while her secondary technique is the Heal ability.

Enemies

 * Hoppers
 * [[Shield Grinder|Smashers
 * Ziggies
 * Bucklers (Unavailable)
 * Supporters
 * Peek-a-Boos
 * Valkyries

Bosses

 * Pirabbid Plant (Ancient Gardens midboss, 1-5)
 * Rabbid Kong (Ancient Gardens boss, 1-9)
 * Blizzy and Sandy (Sherbert Desert midbosses, 2-5)
 * Icicle Golem (Sherbert Desert boss, 2-9)
 * El Calavera (Spooky Trails midboss, 3-5)
 * Phantom (Spooky Trails boss, 3-9)
 * Mecha Jr. (Bowser Jr. in a robot suit, Lava Pits midboss #1, 4-5)
 * Bwario & Bwaluigi (Lava Pits midbosses #2, 4-7)
 * Bwario, Bwaluigi & Lava Queen (Lava Pits midbosses #3, 4-8)
 * MegaDragonBowser (Bowser and MegaBug, Lava Pits boss, 4-9))

Other characters


 * Chain Chomp
 * Tornado
 * Boos
 * Meteors
 * Goop Rain
 * Pyroclasts

Development
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle is being developed by Ubisoft Paris and Ubisoft Milan using Ubisoft's proprietary Snowdrop game engine. Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto was impressed by the prototype of a Mario and Rabbids crossover game that was presented to him by Ubisoft Milan's creative director Davide Soliani in 2014. That prototype was created in less than a month. Miyamoto felt the concept was easy to understand and that it was refreshing to see Mario placed in a genre of game that he had not anticipated. Development of the game was led under Soliani once their pitch was approved by Nintendo.

The Ubisoft development team traveled to Nintendo's headquarters in Kyoto on several occasions to ensure their understanding of the Mario universe was solid and that their new take on genre had not been covered that much before. Art director Mauro Perini noted that it was important to capture the atmosphere of Nintendo games, however they also wanted to combine the crazier elements of the Rabbids universe with existing components of Mario. Producer Xavier Manzanares wanted the game to offer a deep and content-filled experience that was structured so that the game could be played in short sessions. They felt this format was ideal for the Nintendo Switch system which is capable of being a handheld and a home console. Ubisoft enlisted British video game composer Grant Kirkhope, known for his work on classic titles such as Banjo-Kazooie, to compose the score for the game.

Release
Information on a cross-over between the Mario and Raving Rabbids franchises was leaked as early as November 2016, although the title Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle was first leaked in May 2017, prior to its official announcement during Ubisoft's press conference at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2017. The game is was released for the Nintendo Switch on 29 August 2017. A collector's edition was also released, with a soundtrack CD, cards, and a Rabbid Mario figurine included. Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle: Donkey Kong Adventure is a new DLC that features Donkey Kong as a playable character. It is scheduled to release on June 26, 2018.

Reception
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle received "generally favorable" reviews on Metacritic holding a metascore of 85/100 based on 104 critic reviews.