The hotly anticipatedMario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hopehas finally hit store shelves, and all eyes are on what Ubisoft plans to do next with its wacky strategy series. Many people believed that a series bringing together Nintendo’s mascot andUbisoft’s wildRaving Rabbidswould never have worked, but Ubisoft has proven the doubters wrong twice. There is now a high possibility of a third entry, and Ubisoft should bring the series to the Wild West.
BothMario + Rabbidsgames have brought players to very different settings.Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battlekicked off the series with a more fantastical and classicSuper Mariosetting, whileMario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hopetook the formula to the sci-fi genre for an adventure of galactic proportions. If Ubisoft follows the example it laid out in the first two entries, then the third title will most likely take place in a brand-new locale, and that is where the Old West comes into play. Throwing Mario and the Rabbids into frontier towns and putting Cowboy hats on them seems like it would be a recipe for success, and almost feels like the next logical step for this absurd franchise.
RELATED:Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope Makes a Strong Case for a Mario Strategy Game WIthout Rabbids
Mario + Rabbids Needs a Third Setting
Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battleplayed it relatively safe when it came to the setting. The gameplay was nothing likeSuper MarioorRaving Rabbids, as Ubisoft chose to craft a turn-based strategy game instead. However, the setting was stillthe classic Mushroom Kingdom. Everything about the world felt very heavily ingrained inSuper Mario’sDNA, except that the Rabbids were everywhere this time around.
Instead of continuing the adventures within Mushroom Kingdom,Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hopetook the series in a brand-new direction, as Mario and friends board a spaceship alongside the Rabbids for a galactic adventure. The story sees the player visit multiple different planets and interact with space-faring characters likeRosalina fromSuper Mario Galaxy.The gameplay is pretty similar to the first one with a few tweaks, but the story and the setting are vastly different.
TheMario + Rabbidsseries has featured two very distinct settings, and the third entry has a high possibility of following suit. Ubisoft may look at pastMariotitles for a setting, but it should really consider crafting a whole new type of setting. The series has gone for the fantastical and the space-faring, and now it should head off to the Old West fora classic cowboy adventure. TheSuper Mariocast and the Rabbids feel like a great fit for this locale, and it could lead to a pretty wild western adventure.
Mario Would Blend Right Into the Old West
The Old West is a pretty popular locale, andtheMario + Rabbidsformulawould fit very well into it. Ubisoft could find success by giving the characters some cowboy hats and letting them duke it out in old frontier towns as they attempt to save the world from whatever wants to destroy it this time. There could be a slew of hilarious moments involving Rabbid Sheriffs, bandits, duels at dawn, ranching adventures, and even a train heist or two. The setting has a lot of possibilities for some wild stories, and the characters feel like they would mesh really well in it.
TheSuperMariocast and the Rabbids have visited the Old West before, just not in a cowboy game. There have beenOld West themed boards inMario Party, desert zones in all sorts ofMariogames, a western Kingdom inSuper Mario Odyssey, and it even cropped up in theSuper Mario Bros. Super Show!. The Rabbids have also had some experience in the Old West through multiple mini-games and theRabbids InvasionTV series. Clearly, there have been a lot of Old West adventures for these characters, and now it is time for an entire game focused on it.
A thirdMario + Rabbidsgamehas not been confirmed, and it will probably not be for a little while. When (and if) a third game eventually releases, it would be a missed opportunity if it did not explore the Old West. The series has featured fantasy and sci-fi adventures, and it feels like the next step should be cowboys. Not only would the gameplay mechanics fit very well with the setting, but the Rabbids would also make for some perfect cowboys.
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hopeis available now on Nintendo Switch.
MORE:Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope Season Pass Seems to Be Missing the Point of the Rayman DLC
