Mario games can be pretty pricey. The fact of the matter is, games starring Nintendo’s mustachioed mascot don’t get a lot of price drops, and when they do, the sales tend to be on the smaller side, usually discounting a game by about $20. Right now, Target has a sale on a Mario game for Nintendo Switch, and you can grab it for just $16.19, around $44 less than the price it launched at. That’s a very steep drop, and for Mario fans looking to play something they might have missed in the past, this is a nice opportunity to do just that.
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The game in question is Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope. Released in 2022, Sparks of Hope is a sequel to the first Mario + Rabbids game, and it makes a number of welcome improvements to the original. Notably, the cast of playable characters has been expanded, bringing in the villainous Bowser, as well as a brand-new character named Edge. The game also offers a lot more freedom to explore than we saw in Kingdom Battle, both in the overworld and in the game’s fights. Readers interested in taking advantage of the discount can do so at Target’s website right here.
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope was a critical success; in my 2022 review for the game, I awarded it a score of 4.5 out of 5. While other critics equally praised the game, it struggled to find an audience compared to its predecessor. There are many possible reasons for that, as it seems Nintendo advised Ubisoft to wait to release the game until Nintendo Switch 2. That clearly didn’t happen, and now Ubisoft seems to have no plans on making a third entry in the series. At the very least, the discounted price means more players can see what all the fuss was about!
It’s worth noting that the version of Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope being sold by Target is the “code in box” version. Ubisoft made a running change to the game a little while back, with these versions replacing the actual cartridges. That won’t matter for gamers that don’t mind owning digital versions, but there are a lot of Switch collectors that prefer physical games.
This year happens to mark the 40th anniversary of the original Super Mario Bros., which was released on the NES back in 1985. Curiously enough, Nintendo has not announced any plans to celebrate that occasion just yet. It’s possible we could see some announcements before the end of the year, but there’s no way of knowing what Nintendo might have planned. The company did have some pretty notable announcements in 2020 for the 35th anniversary, including the release of Super Mario 3D All-Stars. Hopefully Nintendo has some surprises in store in the coming months.
Do you plan on taking advantage of this discount? How do you feel about the Mario + Rabbids games? Share your thoughts with me directly on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!
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Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics
