Following their first adventures together, Mario and his new lagomorph friends yearn for a peaceful life. Rabbit Mario had his overalls stolen and has since been hiding in a bush, but this adventure is only a pretext for a quick tutorial on basic movements and interactions. The events that justify the existence of this second episode are actually of a completely different nature since they involve Cursa, a mysterious extraterrestrial entity who has decided to invade the galaxy using a corrupting energy called Confusi- Shadow. It was enough for Mario and the others to go on an adventure, the discovery of the Mushroom Kingdom then giving way to teleports from planet to planet. This interstellar journey aboard a spaceship is the perfect excuse to present us with varied and delirious scenery. The first of the five worlds that we visit is home, for example, to an irresponsible and gluttonous demi-god of the seas, as well as giant hens who brood in the most natural way in the world no less gigantic eggs on the treetops. At each stage of the journey it is necessary to defeat the tentacles and puddles of Confusi-Ombre, in order to free the planet in question from Cursa's yoke and obtain teleportation crystals.
Much freer than in the previous episode, the exploration phases give us the opportunity to discover main and secondary quests. If it is possible to go through the game as quickly as possible by completing only the first ones, players will have every interest in trying 100% since it will allow them to enjoy a longer lifespan, more fun, and more rewards. The adventure also allows round trips between the different planets, and certain places can only be unlocked using powers obtained in a world located further away. The whole exploration part of the game gives rise to funny dialogues, wacky situations and a lot of little puzzles to solve. Neither too simple nor too complicated, the latter are always well balanced, clever and very pleasant.
OLDER MARRIAGE, HAPPY MARRIAGE
But like the first part, Sparks of Hope remains above all a game of turn-based tactics. During the combat phases, we therefore find full but destructible shelters, partial shelters leaving a 50% chance of hitting or being hit, charges allowing you to hit an enemy without spending an action point, pipes allowing you to move over long distances, and a whole range of varied weapons. This sequel could have simply taken the same recipe from 2017, which had proven itself and brilliantly sealed the union between Mario and the Rabbids. But the developers took the risk of shaking up our habits… and they did well! Thus, real-time elements make the fights more dynamic and fluidify their rhythm.
This sequel could have simply taken the same recipe from 2017, which had proven itself and brilliantly sealed the union between Mario and the Rabbids. But the developers took the risk of shaking up our habits…
Movements are no longer limited by a square grid, which has completely disappeared, but by a circular area in which the player is free to move as he sees fit. Perfect for simply and quickly evaluating different approaches, but also for optimizing certain interactions! It thus becomes possible to get closer to a comrade, to pass to the latter so that he performs a team jump, then to return to the initial character who can then move elsewhere without having spent an action point or lost his turn. Moreover, the team jump also becomes more fluid and natural since we directly take control of the hero when he moves in the air. There are several small improvements of this type, such as the possibility of going over partial walls when moving, and the whole thing seems much more accessible in the end. Rest assured, the tactic is still relevant! It is thus impossible to move after having shot, which obliges to think well before acting, and the all new system of Sparks comes to enrich the possibilities.
A NEW HOPE
The Sparks are creatures resulting from the cross between luma and rabbids. They therefore take the form of chubby stars with happy teeth and a pair of elongated ears. There are thirty to unlock, and they replace the secondary weapons of the first episode. Each Spark thus offers us an active power and a passive bonus, and it is possible to equip two of them for each hero. The latter are a maximum of three on the battlefield but, from a scriptwriting point of view, it's the whole troop that goes on the mop. This allows cutscenes to display all nine main characters, which has the dual benefit of letting us enjoy their different personalities, and quietly enticing players to try them all. The cast is made up not only of Mario, Rabbit Mario, Peach, Rabbit Peach, Luigi and Rabbit Luigi from the first episode, but also a bunny with an oversized sword named Edge, Bowser and Rabbit Harmony.
With nine heroes with special attacks, thirty Sparks with different effects, items to equip, interactions with the scenery, new combat objectives (destroy the weak points of the tentacles for example), and many enemies with weaknesses and particular resistances, the possibilities are endless and there are ways to create devastating combos. In addition, the game multiplies the small rewards that provide dopamine and manages to ensure that the feeling of progress is constant. Heroes gain experience and have several small skill trees, Sparks are upgradable, and even our robotic companion Beep-O gains abilities as the adventure progresses. So there's not much to fault Sparks of Hope, except for a few details. Thus certain dialogues are doubled, others partially, and others not at all, which lacks a little coherence. We also had to deal with several passages where the music was clearly under-mixed (which looks very much like a bug). Finally, the interface is sometimes a bit too present on the screen, while certain passages in the menus require a little too much manipulation. Wow, nothing too bad!
