‘Mario + Rabbids Sparks Of Hope’ producer talks changed character roster

A Mario + Rabbids Sparks Of Hope producer has explained why despite Mario, Peach, Luigi and more all returning as playable characters for the sequel, Yoshi won't be present.

Speaking to Nintendo Everything, producer Xavier Manzanares has commented on the decision to leave out Yoshi and how the roster was decided. "When we started to think about the team and the heroes, we didn't want to go for, 'Okay, we did it before, so we have to do the same thing again' and trying to evolve what we had in Kingdom Battle. So it's true as well for the heroes."

Sparks Of Hope will release later this year, as the game adopts a turn-based combat system similar to the new XCOM titles. The game will feature the work of three composers, as Grant Kirkhope returns, and is joined by Gareth Coker and Yoko Shimomura.

Regarding the character roster, Manzanares went on to elaborate: "We decided early on to go for nine heroes. We didn't know exactly which ones, and we didn't want to go for ones that are in Kingdom Battle because that's the rule.

Mario + Rabbids Sparks Of Hope Gameplay Screenshot
Mario + Rabbids Sparks Of Hope Credit: Ubisoft / Nintendo

"As it's not a direct sequel, we talked and we still believe today that players would be more interested and think, 'Okay, the choice they made for the heroes and what they put in the game are logical because of the archetypes and what they do in battle, and it's cool, and the synergy is super cool.' So yeah, we opened up our minds."

That's where the new arrival to the Mario + Rabbids universe comes in, in the form of Edge, a "cool and independent" punk-themed hero. Manzanares explains: "I won't be able to talk more about her past and what she's doing in the storyline because it would be too spoilerish right now, but the same goes for Rabbid Rosalina. Then when we talked about Bowser, we thought that would be awesome."

The full roster for Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope sees Mario, Peach and Luigi with their Rabbid forms returning alongside the new additions of Bowser, Rabbid Rosaline and Edge, our mysterious newbie.

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope will release on October 20 for Nintendo Switch.

In other news, Kojima Productions condemns "fake news" after Hideo Kojima was misidentified as Shinzo Abe's assassin.

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