‘Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope’ will feature music from gaming’s biggest composers

Yesterday (June 29) Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope received its own personal showcase from Ubisoft, during which the story and mechanics, new characters and the talent lending itself to the score was revealed.

Releasing in October, Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope is the sequel to 2017’s Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle. On this occasion, Mario and the Rabbids will travel to a new galaxy to save the Sparks – Rabbid versions of Super Mario Galaxy’s Lumas. A force named Cursa wants to destroy them and it’s down to Mario and the Rabbids to save them, and the universe. Bowser, Rabbid Rosaline and Edge are all new playable characters that join the fold, with the game seemingly leaving out Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Rabbid Yoshi and Rabbid Cranky from the original, having not been announced yet.

Perhaps the most notable announcement during the showcase was that of the composers for the game’s score. Creative Director Davide Soliani was the one to reveal the trio saying, “I am very happy to confirm the return of my dear friend, the super talented Grant Kirkhope as a composer for Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope.” Soliani continued, “But he will not be alone this time, as we have assembled an exceptional crew of talent from around the world. He will be joined by Gareth Coker and Yoko Shimomura, two phenomenal composers that I am beyond proud to now have on our journey.”

Kirkhope is well known for providing the soundtrack to classic titles from Rare including Donkey Kong, Banjo Kazooie and GoldenEye 007 as well as more recent titles such as World of Warcraft’s Shadowlands expansion and Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning.

Joining him, Coker created the soundtracks to both Ori games, for which he won an Ivor Novello award for Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Ark: Survival Evolved, Immortals Fenyx Rising and Halo Infinite amongst many, many more. Shimomura on the other hand, has composed for games as far back as the late 1980s such as Street Fighter 2, Super Mario RPG, Legend of Mana, Final Fantasy 15, Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Ultimate as well as most of the Kingdom Hearts titles that have released so far. She is also lending her talents to the upcoming Legend of Mana: The Teardrop Crystal animated series, which is set for release in October 2022.

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope will be released on October 20 for Nintendo Switch.

In other news, ‘Pokémon Go’ creator Niantic has cancelled four upcoming projects, cutting 8% of staff.