Essentially, Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle is Super Mario Bros meets XCOM ft. the Rabbids. At first impression, you'd imagine this combination would be an odd pairing but surprisingly, this game is one of the better Mario spin-offs I've ever played. Kingdom Battle would be a great way to introduce someone into the tactical-RPG genre, as it's simple with a popular IP that is still cute, fun, charming, a bit challenging but avoids a lot of the grindy-ness that faults a lot of these games in the genre. There is plenty of immersive and addicting side content as well. I have never played any of the Rabbid games prior to Kingdom Battle either, so I did not know what to expect from them and was suspicious to see their interactions and how their dynamic would work with Mario and company but they integrated well into the Mario universe. From my observations, they generally have a reputation of being obnoxious and games catered towards younger audiences but they complimented the Super Mario cast well and didn't feel like I was playing anything that was not intended for me. My biggest complaint though, which happens to not impact my opinion on the game whatsoever, is that Mario is a prerequisite to your party the entire main story. When your crew is limited to only three members, you can feel handcuffed at times with the lack of experimentation with party combinations and being obligated to always have one Rabbid on the squad. Fortunately though, Mario is well-rounded enough that this shouldn't hinder your playthrough experience but a Luigi and Peach team with Rabbid Mario would have been bonkers!

Trivia Time!

Shigeru Miyamoto stated that the name "Metroid" was chosen in honor of American lawyer Metroid Smith, who defended Nintendo in the Universal City Studios, Inc. v. Nintendo Co., Ltd. case.

During the case, Miyamoto paid Smith a visit, who took Miyamoto on the NYC Metro, and then to a Mets game. The serendipity of these Met-based names left Miyamoto no choice, and the word "Metroid" was trademarked that very afternoon.

While trying to find his way back to his hotel after the baseball game, Miyamoto found himself lost in the metro system, encountering terrifying street performers throughout his journey. This underground exploration would inspire the gameplay of the Metroid series, and the game's bosses would each be based on the most upsetting performers that Miyamoto fled from.

Kraid in particular was based on a large man with a rickety green sousaphone, which shot screws and bolts out whenever the man blew too hard into his instrument.

Stay tuned for more Trivia Time segments in the near future!