One of the most popular debut titles for the Nintendo Wii is Rayman Raving Rabbids, a spin-off party game from Ubisoft’s Rayman platform series that has more in common with Mario Party than any Rayman game. As it turns out, the titular bunny is popular enough to star in their own franchise, ever since Ubisoft released various Rabid Rabbit sequels and combined the manic bunny creature with other series like Mario+ Rabbit strategy game. The latest entry from Rabbids is another party game, Rabbids: Party of Legends.
Rabbids: Party of Legends is a collection of mini games that see the Rabbids going about their usual antics. The main game mode is Adventure Mode, where players take part in one minigame after another to earn books, which replace Mario Party stars. Books are mostly earned by doing well in mini-games, though last man standing has a chance to steal books from their opponents, and at certain points players can also spin the wheel for bonus books.
A minigame collection lives and dies by the quality of its minigames, and luckily, Rabbids: Party of Legends minigames are pretty darn fun. The minigames themselves should be familiar to anyone who’s played a game of this type, and while they’re not terribly original, they work well and are more competitive than what Mario Party has to offer. This is mainly because the mini-games in Rabbids: Party of Legends last longer than those of the competition. For example, Rabbids: Party of Legends and Mario Party both have a minigame where the goal is to knock the player off the platform. In Mario Party, being knocked out means that player’s mini-game is effectively over, but Rabbids: Party of Legends gives everyone multiple health points.
This means that Rabbids: Party of Legends keeps players engaged in mini-games longer and spends far less time moving around the game board, sitting on loading screens, or watching cutscenes. This makes Rabbids: Party of Legends more entertaining than some recent Mario Party games, making it an easy recommendation for Mario Party fans looking for a similar experience.
Rabbids: Another big advantage Party of Legends has over Mario Party is that it doesn’t get bogged down with cheap mechanics that give players an unfair advantage. Whenever someone has a chance to get a free book or steal a book from someone else, it’s always the one at the end of the line. Even so, they can’t get back to No. 1 if they don’t have the skill of the minigame. Whoever is best at the mini-games wins in Rabbids: Party of Legends, which is a nice change from Mario Party and its unpredictability.
In addition to the adventure mode, players can also create playlists of their favorite mini-games and battle them out that way. However, this exposed one of the three major flaws of “Crazy Rabbit : League of Legends”-the advanced system. Every time Rabbids: Party of Legends players complete a minigame, they are rewarded with XP. Players can level up with enough XP that each level grants them unlockables. Sometimes these unlocks are new Rabbids to play with, which is fine, but unfortunately the minigames themselves are also locked behind this progression system.
For Rabbids: Party of Legends players, it would make more sense to unlock the minigames after playing them in Adventure Mode. Placing minigames after the progression system is an unnecessary restriction that makes it harder for players to simply play the minigames they want. In fact, it essentially forces players to repeatedly play minigames they may not be interested in in order to earn enough XP to unlock games they want to keep playing. The game would be much better if it focused on letting players unlock the bunnies through a progression system and allowing them to earn mini-games in other ways.
The second major problem with Rabbids: Party of Legends is the lack of online multiplayer, which is an odd limitation in this day and age. Rabbids: Party of Legends remains a solid option for those looking to play local multiplayer party games, but those looking to connect online will have to look elsewhere.
The third and final big problem with Rabbids: Party of Legends is the lack of content. While the available mini-games are fun to play with friends, there simply aren’t enough of them to justify the $40 price tag. As an occasional party game, it functions very well, but beyond that, it doesn’t offer much. Achievements and trophies don’t even provide a good reason to keep playing, since achievement hunters will most likely unlock everything within a few hours.
Rabbids: Party of Legends, with its fun mini-games, is a truly great party gaming experience that surpasses recent Mario Party games in some ways. However, there are some glaring shortcomings that keep the game from living up to its full potential, such as an unnecessary progression system, lack of online multiplayer, and a general lack of content compared to other party games on the market. It’s still fun while it lasts, but don’t expect it to last that long.
Rabbids: Party of Legends is available now for PS4, Stadia, Switch, and Xbox One. Game Rant reviewed the Xbox One version of the game.