Celebrating 9 Years of Mario + Rabbids: A Unique Crossover That Thrived
Celebrating 9 Years of Mario + Rabbids: A Unique Crossover That Thrived
Shawn LaibSun, August 30, 2026 at 2:23 AM UTC
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Nintendo is usually careful to not let other companies handle its most prestigious characters. There aren’t a lot of crossver experiences between Nintendo and a non-Nintendo character. The Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games series in the late 2000s and early 2010s is probably the best example of it happening, but there’s one other offbeat crossover we’re celebrating today. Ubisoft took the reigns in 2017 for a unique, strange, and very memorable crossover that is still a bit puzzling nine years later.
Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle is a strategy game that combines the Mushroom Kingdom setting and characters with the craziness of Ubisoft’s Rabbids franchise. It’s one of the most random pairings on any console you could think of, but it did seem to work somehow.
The game got an 85/100 on Metacritic, and journalists gave the game high praise for its ability to satisfy kids and adults with just the right difficulty levels.
Wired UK said, “Mario + Rabbids is tremendously fun, and a triumph for Ubisoft. Its easy accessibility and familiar characters make it perfect for younger players ready to move onto more challenging gaming experiences, but its consistent difficulty curve means it keeps the attention of more seasoned players.”
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The game features genres that usually aren’t thought of when it comes to either franchise. There isn’t any platforming to speak of, giving Mario yet another spinoff category to dabble in.
Composerv Grant Kirkhope’s incredible soundtrack gives the game a ’90s-era wimsy that Nintendo fans familiar with Donkey Kong 64 and Banjo-Kazooie surely yearned for. It’s another way that the game combines a variety of elements from different worlds of gaming for a crossover that satisfies fans of every type of title.
The sequel came out five years later in 2022, Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope. Both games are often feautured on the eShop discounted at high rates for gamers who want to try them for an afforadable price.
This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Aug 30, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
