REVIEW GAME: MARIO + RABBIDS KINGDOM BATTLE
a collaboration between two giant franchises, the concept
offered by Ubisoft and Nintendo via Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle released
for the Nintendo Switch is likely to be one of the most unthinkable concepts
ever. That when rumors about his existence first surfaced in cyberspace, not a
few who see it no more than just a joke. Moreover, Nintendo itself, famous
rarely collaborate their super-franchise franchise into other games, except for
products that they racik own. But who would have thought that this could
happen. The good news again? It ended up being a fantastic product.
PLOTS
Certainly not an easy matter to combine two big franchises
in the same space without a reasonable explanation. Ubisoft certainly can not
just do it without a solid background. Collaboration like this needs a
foundation that although fictitious, but still rational. Something they execute
pretty well in Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle.
Through a CGI movie at the beginning, you will meet a
super-smart research girl who, when viewed from the interior design of her
room, is definitely a fan of the Mario franchise. He is trying to complete a
new gadget called SupaMerge Helmet - which will be able to combine two objects
into a new object that contains both identities. He was accompanied by an
assistant robot named Beep-O. In the middle of his break, his room was suddenly
visited by the Rabbids who appeared with their time machine. Iseng and craze,
these Rabbids accidentally use SupaMerge Helmet. The rest? You seem to have
guessed what happened.
Assisted by the AI-Beep-O robot, their journeys to cross
different areas of Mushroom Kingdom began to search and find Spawny. Strangely
again? Beep-O himself continues to get a mysterious e-mail from unknown sources
that continue to help him during the trip. These e-mails not only cast clues,
but also provided the first weapons used by Mario et al to fight the Rabbids
who threatened their mission.
So, what kind of challenges must be passed by Mario and the
Rabbids? Can they find Spawny and put things back to normal? Who is also the
figure behind the e-mail misteirus that continues to help them? All the answers
to that question can certainly be answered by playing Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom
Battle.
SPECIAL EXPLORATION OF MARIO
The commitment to ensuring that you can find and feel the
sensation of a Mario game in this collaborative project is another thing that
deserves to be thumbs up. One of the most loyal sensations is the exploration
side. Indeed, you can not now jump or eat mushrooms to enlarge Mario and the
like, but Ubisoft manages to make familiar elements re-translated into concepts
that are more suitable for the current strategy genre. The result?
Extraordinary.
Divided into several worlds with different themes, Mario is
not just fighting in Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle. The exploration process
becomes one of the key experiences of play, providing an opportunity for you to
explore the existing world for extra rewards that deserve to be pursued. The
red coin system is still present, but now presents Mario with extra weapons
that can be used when fighting. There is also a separate space using a blue
cannon that will contain special puzzles with super tempting rewards. That's
right, puzzles. Because believe it or not, he plays an important role in this
one game.
You do have a chance to ignore it, but you who decide to
dedicate their own time to solve the existing side puzzle, will get rewards
that sometimes, it is worth pursuing. These puzzles will require you to play a
little brain, but will not leave you confused and frustrated, as long as you
can find logical patterns of association. What's the prize? Although some end
up with Collectibles, not a few will give you extra skill points to make your
mainstay characters stronger.
True, skill points. But unlike most RPG games that make this
system strongly associated with levels, Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle does
not have a level system for characters. As a replacement? You will be rewarded
with a resource that can be spent to open or strengthen the skill of the skill
tree divided into different categories for each character. This resource can be
obtained from the battles according to the progress of the story, or from your
endeavor to solve the puzzles that exist when exploring. Ubisoft also makes
backtracking to a world that you've solved before become more essential,
considering you will also be rewarded with a special ability once you complete
a World. For example? The ability to lift the statue to complete a new puzzle
will be yours after completing World 2, where in World 2 itself, there are
actually many puzzles that require this ability. Inevitably, for the sake of
strengthening the character, you'll go back to explore it.
In addition to the opportunity to solve the puzzle with the
new power you get, Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle also injects an extra 1
extra thing that makes re-exploration of the world you've completed will be
interesting tipping. Something called "Challenge". So as the name
suggests, with every World having 10 for each of them, Challenge is an extra
challenge you can play to earn extra rewards, from money to extra skill points
that you can distribute.
Divided into various difficulty levels: Easy, Normal, Hard,
and Supa Hard which will be represented by the Toad colors you encounter in it,
Challenge is designed to test your ability to think and master mechanics Mario
+ Rabbids: Kingdom Battle to a new level. Of course, an increasing level of
difficulty will determine what challenges you will face. It's not always about
killing and killing enemies, not least from these Challenge levels that are
designed like a puzzle.
CONCLUSION
A tremendous surprise, there is no longer a more appropriate
word to describe the experience that Mario + Rabbids has succeeded in: Kingdom
Battle. That regardless of how absurd the collaboration between these two icons
sounded early, Ubisoft's decision to incorporate them into an XCOM-style
strategy game with the gameplay complexity above the adorable visuals came to
an end. The special thing about it is the success to retain what is interesting
about this franchise, even though the two worlds are now united. Rabbids is
still crazy, Mario with his colorful visual world, and the battle of both are
also filled with creative ideas that show a clear thing - the courage to
experiment.
But if you have to talk about one weakness that we find and
deserve to complain only from reward collectibles that we think, not interesting
and inappropriate to pursue. It's a bit annoying to find that your action to
solve a pretty challenging puzzle at the time of exploration turns out to be
"paid" with artwork or a chance to play certain OSTs, instead of
something that actually affects gameplay. It would be much more interesting if
there is a certainty that the reward you find always ends in a variety of
weapons, skill points, or even a number of gold coins rather than just
collectibles that unfortunately, we never even touch at all. One other
complaint is the enemy that all come from the world of Rabbids, and without
Mario at all.
Beyond that weakness, Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle seems
to be a clear proof that nothing is impossible in the gaming industry. And the
impossibility embodied in the madness and the weirdness can end up being a
quality game well above average, with presentations ready to make you fall in
love at the same time. Games that we think are mandatory for all Nintendo
Switch owners, especially for those of you who love the strategy genre.
ADVANTAGES
An adorable visual presentation
Characters remain faithful to the characteristic of each
franchise
Gameplay is a complex and challenging strategy
Does not feel grindy
Full of humor
Each character offers a different set of skills and
abilities
Mission Challenge ready to frustrate you
DEFIENCY
Reward collectibles are not interesting
There are no enemies from Mario's world
