Davide Soliani, Creative Director atUbisoftMilan and the co-creator ofMario + Rabbids, was open withgamesindustry.bizwhen discussing the development of Kingdom Battle, the first title in the series. It’s the general consensus, even among the game’s fans, that the Mario + Rabbids concept is a strange one; a peculiar pairing of platformer IPs that were melded together into a grid-based strategy game. Soliani earnestly expressed the doubts he had while developing the 2017 title stating, “I was so nervous and so sure that people would end up hating the game.“RELATED:Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope Will Have Post-Launch DLC CharactersHe said that he would even send emails to coworkers half-joking about how this would be the last project he’d ever work on. Prior to the game’s reveal at E3 2017, a leak had made the gaming audience aware of the concept, and he recounted reading some not-so-nice messages from internet commenters. However, there was a happy ending to the hardship. Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle ended up being a critical darling, loved by both reviewers and users, and just recently, Soliani revealed via Twitter that the game had reached over 10 million players, an accomplishment that’s not something to scoff at.
In the interview, Soliani expressed his gratitude that theNintendoaudience changed their mind “because they saw the game was made by people with passion.” In his continued streak of humility, he said the team was “lucky,” describing audience reaction as “a tide you can’t control. You just hope for the best.” Now, for the next title,Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope, Soliani feels the pressure at “300%” in comparison to Kingdom Battle. Not surprising, given how there are now fan expectations that the sequel will be as good or better than the original.
Another noteworthy bit of information revealed in the interview is how closely Ubisoft works with Nintendo when developing these titles. Soliani explains how Nintendo is always commenting on their builds. He revealed that having the Beep-O robot lead the way in Kingdom Battle wasn’t an arbitrary decision. The idea was for players to instantly identify that it wasn’t a platforming game, like most are used to seeing withMario. Soliani directly requested asked Nintendo if, this time around for Sparks of Hope, the player could be able to control the characters directly, and, as seen in gameplay sequences, it’s clear the request was granted.
This was probably due to the game’s success; there’s less likelihood of any confusion happening with the Mario + Rabbids brand now that it’s more established. The change did bring even more challenges for the sequel’s development, as Soliani said that having direct controls meant “creating a completely new experience.” Sparks of Hope also has a new free-movement combat system, RPG elements, and various new move mechanics. “It’s quite crazy,” he admits when talking about how much they changed, but he stated he believes their constant desire to bring something new is why they are in line with Nintendo.
He ends the interview by giving a begrudging congratulations to friend and composer Grant Kirkhope, stating that “he evolved incredibly in terms of musical composition from Kingdom Battle to Sparks of Hope,” that he cried while listening to the orchestral recordings, and that “if these composers don’t get awards for this, I will change my job.”
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope releases on July 30, 2025, exclusively on theNintendo Switch.
