A number of reputable sources have reported that Mario is set to appear in a crossover RPG with Ubisoft’s popular Rabbids series, in an upcoming Switch game titled Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle. While this is a decidedly odd story, it gets even more weird when you learn that Mario will apparently handle a gun in the game.
The rumored game was reported by Kotaku‘s Jason Schreier (following a post from the French site GameBlog), who wrote: “The game’s selling points appear to be a) turn-based combat, b) two-player local co-op, and c) a goofy sense of humor.” This “goofy humor” allegedly entails Mario and crew “wielding guns that shoot laser beams,” which appears to be the first time that Mario has utilized a gun as a weapon outside of the Smash Bros. series.
Mario has made use of weapons in the past that have been referred to as guns — Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars featured a weapon called “Hand Gun” that fits around the character’s hand like a glove — but to my knowledge, this is the first time a Mario game will include a gun similar to a real-world firearm for the plumber to use against his enemies. Its laser ammunition at least ensures that we’re not stepping into Shadow The Hedgehog territory here, but seeing the Nintendo mascot brandishing a gun is still presumably going to look a little weird. If it’s a lethal weapon, then this effectively means that Mario will be turned into a mass shooter. Though I guess it’s more convenient than having to kill your enemies by jumping on their heads.
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Still, the surreal image of Mario being locked and loaded will be offset somewhat by the ludicrousness of the rest of the game, which is apparently set to star eight playable characters in the form of Mario, Luigi, Peach and Yoshi, along with four Rabbids dressed up as Mario, Luigi, Peach and Yoshi, too. The most intriguing rumor regarding the game was tweeted out by game industry insider Liam Robertson, who claimed that it’s going to be “a strategy RPG like FE (Fire Emblem) or FF Tactics (Final Fantasy Tactics), as opposed to a traditional RPG.”
I still maintain that the Rabbids/Mario crossover is a strategy RPG like FE or FF Tactics, as opposed to a traditional RPG.
— Liam (@liamrobertson.bsky) (@Doctor_Cupcakes) April 29, 2017
Neither Ubisoft nor Nintendo have confirmed the validity of this rumor, though considering it’s reportedly set to release in fall 2017 we should hear more about it sooner rather than later. Hopefully we’ll then get a glimpse at Mario’s new arsenal of weaponry.
