Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle introduced by Shigeru Miyamoto at Ubisoft E3 2017 show
Right out of the gate, Ubisoft officially announced Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle at its E3 2017 presentation with Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto taking the stage - and it actually looks pretty good.
The Switch title Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle (which was an extremely poorly kept secret) is a turn-based, adventure-RPG that supports two-players in local co-op. It's got a bit of an XCom vibe to it, surprisingly enough, with characters moving between cover strategically on the battlefield. There will also be some puzzle-solving elements in the game.
Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, and Peach star in the game alongside four Rabbids that are cosplaying as the Mushroom Kingdom gang. The Rabbids and the Mario characters will be working together to "save the Mushroom Kingdom" against Rabbids which have "turned bad." The trailer ends with a giant 'Donkey Kong' rabbid, wearing the ape's iconic tie, looking set to attack our heroes.
According to the press release: "The Mushroom Kingdom has been torn apart by a mysterious vortex, transporting the Rabbids into the once-peaceful area, splintering this beloved land. To bring order back to the Kingdom, Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, and Yoshi team up with Rabbids heroes in a journey through four different worlds."
The behind-the-scenes video, posted above, has far more gameplay footage. It's very colourful, as you'd expect. Miyamoto expresses his excitement at seeing Mario in a genre he wouldn't typically put him into, and praises the passion of Davide Soliani, the project lead.
The team at Ubisoft acknowledges that the game may seem like a weird idea, but honestly, it looks like great fun. You'll be collecting coins and seeking out treasure like in most Mario games, but the strategy combat, which lets you fight with ranged and melee weapons and encourages you to focus on the individual strengths of each team mate, is new.
Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle is out August 9, and is exclusive to Switch.