Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope was one of the biggest releases in October and already has charmed fans and critics alike. Both sides are raving about the worlds you travel to, the brand-new feel of the combat, the expanded personalities of the Rabbids, and more. As you can guess, a lot of work went into making the game. The original team that made the 2017 title expanded their squad three times over to make the sequel. Creative Director David Soliani was the lead man behind both games, which have been his passion projects. In a new interview, he discussed many elements of the sequel and how it improved from the original.

For example, when asked about the inspiration behind many of the changes in Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope, he gave a simple answer: freedom:

“Freedom, that’s the inspiration. So, honestly, from Kingdom Battle we are tactical lovers, but we always wanted to enter in this stage amongst many other tactical games with our own signature, and that’s why we invented this kind of free heroes battle where the synergy between them are key.”

He noted that unlike in many other tactics games, keeping your characters together can lead to new dynamics and attacks. That includes the “Team Jump” ability, where you can use your partners to ascend to higher spots or reach places farther than you can with natural movement. That also applies to the Sparks you get in the game. Some of them can power up your whole team if they’re in range, which can be very handy in challenging situations.

Soliani noted multiple times that he wanted to focus on expanding what they had done in the 2017 title to open up the possibilities for players. The team succeeded in that goal.

He also mentioned that in terms of developing the game, he took an approach that George R.R. Martin is known for: gardening the idea. More specifically, they didn’t plan everything out at the start. Instead, they planted their seeds and let things grow naturally from there. They began their garden with the combat. Then when they started to do the exploration elements of the game, they took new paths they wouldn’t have thought of initially.

That also applied to specific mandates from Nintendo, which included the restriction that Mario and the others couldn’t jump. Mario is known for jumping, but as Shigeru Miyamoto told the creative director, if Mario jumps, “then it’s a platforming game.” So instead, they made it so you can only jump with a teammate’s help, completely changing the classic formula.

Finally, Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope has a setting and feel akin to Super Mario Galaxy because the title was one of Soliani’s favorite games. He also wanted to take Mario and the crew out of the Mushroom Kingdom for a new adventure.

The game is available now on Nintendo Switch.

Source: ComicBook.com