Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope marks the return of our favorite Mario characters and their babbling Rabbid counterparts, as well as introducing us to some new faces. Whether it's the Rabbid warrior Edge or Princess Rosalina herself, the cast is getting rather large. Each of these plucky heroes must work together to stop Cursa from absorbing the energy from the Sparks, a newly-spawned Luma-Rabbid hybrid species.
Four Mario characters and five Rabbids make up the base game roster for Sparks of Hope, and each hero has a unique fighting style, distinct personality, and special weapon they use. This allows for some great strategic combinations, as you pick which three heroes to use in each turn-based, tactical battle situation; and, unlike the first game, Nintendo hasn't mandated that Mario himself always be one of them. Some heroes, though, are more helpful than others.
Updated on September 5, 2023 by Bobby Mills: Since this list's first publishing, Ubisoft and Nintendo have unleashed a very generous amount of DLC for Sparks of Hope. These three extra campaigns put the heroes in a variety of new locales, and, in the case of the final one, bring to the table a familiar friend, Rayman. The fresh and unique challenges posed by these extra adventures are cause to rejig our ranking slightly, as well as insert everyone's favourite limbless legend.
10 Rabbid Rosalina
Rabbid Rosalina was actually a heavily fan-requested add. Sadly, this hype doesn’t do her any favours. While it’s great to see a Rabbid spin on Rosalina, for some unfathomable reason, the character trait they chose for her is 'sleepy', which is about as far from the original Rosalina as one could imagine. Perhaps that's the point? All the same, her laziness and apathy begin to grate quickly.
Personality aside, Rabbid Rosalina’s combat abilities are pretty decent. Her special, Ennui, freezes enemies in place for a turn, a unique passive defense maneuver. Her weapon, Kaboomer (a stuffed Luma armed with a cannon) is remarkably powerful in a pinch, but its range and the damage it inflicts are rather limited.
9 Rabbid Luigi
While Rabbid Luigi’s style can’t be denied — and he seems to have taken a lesson in street lingo since the first game — on the battlefield, he’s not the best asset. His weapon is Discruptor, a frisbee that strikes three different enemies sequentially; while it is a unique attack style, the damage it does is minimal compared to other heroes. It’s a weapon best used for enemies with low health and standing near each other, a rare scenario which you'll have to actively set up in most cases.
What Rabbid Luigi lacks in combat, he makes up for with spirit. He’s brimming with confidence and a swagger that sets him apart from Luigi himself. Plus, his special, Exhaust, is very useful, as it reduces the damage enemies can inflict during their turn. This move finds particular utility in the Tower of Doom DLC, where on higher difficulties, you'll just barely be surviving each floor by the skin of your buck-teeth.
8 Princess Peach
It’s always fun to see Peach leaping into some fighting action. The Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom, possibly the most beleaguered monarch in all of fiction, never lets her spirits be dampened, and she shines bright in the Sparks of Hope hero lineup. Pretty in pink, Peach isn’t afraid to get her gloves dirty.
Peach wields a Rabbid version of her signature parasol, the Boom-Brella, which blasts everything in its medium-range scope. (Often-forgotten fun fact: her parasol has a conscience, and it's named Perry.) Beyond that, she’s a good defensive hero to have on your team, as she can guard herself and allies via her special move, Team Barrier. However, while her shields are among the strongest, certain Sparks can partially replicate her defensive powers, making Peach a little less necessary to have in your party.
7 Rabbid Peach
While Princess Peach is prim and proper, Rabbid Peach is full of spunk and attitude. Though her phone obsession, 'hip' modern vernacular and tendency not to take danger seriously can be a little annoying, her sassy personality nonetheless grows on you over the course of the game. Ubisoft evidently knew this; she's the one in all the marketing and with all the action figures.
On the battlefield, Rabbid Peach is a great asset to have on the team. Her special is Heal, which makes her one of the few ways to restore health outside using Items. And using said Items burns through an action point that would probably be better spent tearing chunks out of your enemies, so — you know. Basic math.
Her weapon is another one of her strengths. She wields the Triple-Troll, which strikes one enemy three times and ignores barriers that other weapons can’t penetrate.
6 Edge
Edge is the only playable Rabbid who isn’t a spin on one of the classic Mario characters. In essence, she's a walking parody of DeviantArt OCs, right down to her fluorescent hair, tryhard aloof dialogue and the fact her name is literally 'Edge.' She’s the first non-starter character you unlock, and she’s a tough powerhouse from the start. Swinging her Flying Blade, she doles out high damage with fair range. Plus, she can counterattack with her special Stormblade, so woe betide any foe that gets up in her face.
Beyond her formidable battlefield prowess, Edge is an intriguing character with her own storyline. As you progress through the game, the mystery of her backstory is revealed, which builds on her seemingly one-note portrayal and makes the overall experience richer. You'll find great use for Edge in The Last Spark Hunter DLC campaign, to boot; her wide AOE attacks make dealing with King Bob-omb and his mooks a snap.
5 Mario
Though it’s always enjoyable to play as characters other than the main man himself, Mario is a fantastic hero in Sparks of Hope, and a strong member of your battle lineup. In the story, he’s quick to jump into action to help the intergalactic Rabbids, proving yet again that he’s a worthy defender of the Mushroom Kingdom.
In Sparks of Hope, he wields Dual Slinger, two guns that allow you to fire on two different enemies (or the same enemy twice). It makes him a great long-distance fighter, which is best in the majority of combat situations in the game. Plus, he can get in an extra hit, or two, or three, with Hero Sight, firing on anything that moves within his range of vision. He's an all-rounder, and if you can use him right, he'll handily break the game.
4 Rabbid Mario
Rabbid Mario is hilariously aggressive, just as heroic as Mario but with more passion for the art of fighting. And with the notable addition of a sleazebag accent. As such, his weapon are The Dukes, a set of gloves that pack a major punch. This weapon is one of the few that allows you to strike multiple enemies at once, though its range is limited and requires you to be up close and personal, so mind how you go about it.
Rabbid Mario’s special is Counter Blow, which lets him immediately strike back at an enemy bold enough to attack him. His punches dish a lot of damage, making him one of the strongest heroes to use if you favour raw brute strength. He’s also one of the funnier playable Rabbids in the game; though comedy, of course, is subjective.
3 Luigi
Sparks of Hope shines a much-deserved spotlight on Luigi, making Mario’s brother look cool, calm, and collected in the face of battle. This more epic take on Luigi is nice, as it gives him the respect he's earned. What is it with Mario RPG titles and vastly improving Luigi's image? In Super Paper Mario, he was the prognosticated key to the fate of all reality!
Luigi uses a bow and arrow for his weapon, called the Sharpshooter. While it only lets you fire once per turn, its range is huge and its single shot does a considerable amount of damage. The further away you stand, the greater the hurt it piles on, so feel free to have ol' Green Stache camp at the opposite end of the map. Like Mario, Luigi can also get an extra blow in with Steely Stare (fresh off the hot Mario Kart meme from 2014!) which lets him fire on any enemy that moves.
2 Bowser
Though he’s technically a villain, Bowser more than proves his mettle as one of the good guys in Sparks of Hope. He’s unlocked last out of the three new faces, not cropping up til several worlds deep, but getting to him is worth the wait. Plus, it’s always fun to play as Mario’s most infamous enemy. Again, another boon of the Mario RPGs.
Bowser is great primarily because of his powerful range weapon, the Bowzooka (ha, good one), which not only directly strikes a single enemy, but also impacts the other enemies around the target. In the Tower of Doom and Last Spark Hunter, this versatility is paramount.
His special move summons three kamikaze Mechakoopas, which automatically find the nearest enemy and blow it up. These Mechakoopas can also be picked up and thrown at enemies, effectively making them portable Bob-ombs. With this wide range of options and robust arsenal, Bowser's a force to be reckoned with. Thank goodness he’s on our side, eh?
1 Rayman
Frankly a shoe-in for the top spot purely due to cool factor, this veteran platforming hero is absolutely worth his salt in the actual gameplay too. Fans everywhere erupted with glee when it was confirmed that the third DLC campaign, The Phantom Show, would be reviving Rayman himself; and though Rabbids Mario and Peach tag along for the story, it's unquestionably Rayman's time in the spotlight.
Stumbling into an intergalactic TV network, Rayman finds himself having to band together with the species he once reviled (understandably so, as they're guilty of franchise-jacking). It's oddly sweet to see him bury the hatchet and work with the little guys to blow the lid off the network's conspiracy.
Rayman comes armed with a regular blaster, as well as the ability to hover and swing across battlefields, giving him great mobility. His costumes, however, are where it's at. Not only will donning one give you an extra blaster shot, but each of the two has its own special. Especially broken is the Rocket Ride move, which lets you surf on a missile wherever you please, leaving carnage in your wake. The wait was worth it; Rayman's the best of the lot.