Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope is one of the greatest Mario spinoffs

polygon.com:

For all its qualities, 2017’s Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle was, first and foremost, a proof of concept. I mean that as a compliment. Nintendo’s plumber, Ubisoft’s stooges, and simplified versions of XCOM’s tactical battlefields? It’s a bizarre concept to prove, but Kingdom Battle proved it well. And it opened the door so Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope, an altogether bolder, deeper, and more adventurous sequel, could stride confidently through.

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Sparks of Hope is set in motion when a giant manta ray attacks Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, and the cadre of Rabbids who impersonate them. The manta ray, it later turns out, is controlled by an otherworldly entity named Cursa, who wants to spread the inky, plague-like Darkmess across the galaxy, in order to harness the energy of Sparks — mashups between Rabbids and the Super Mario Galaxy’s star-like Lumas.

Thus begins a planet-hopping trek to stop Cursa and save the Sparks. As in Kingdom Battle, missions play out in turn-based skirmishes against a roster of enemies from both titular franchises. Unlike its predecessor, however, Sparks of Hope incorporates real-time elements in its character movement. Rather than commanding your fighters to specific spots on a grid — a la chess — you actively control their movement on the Switch’s left analog stick.

Initial movement range is indicated by a highlighted patch of ground, which you