They’re fluffy. They’re cute. They’re high energy to boot. They’re the Rabbids, and they’ve just tackled their next frontier: space.
These freaky little fuzz balls normally make their home in the video game realm, but this time they’ve touched down with their most interstellar adventure yet: Rabbids Invasion Special: Mission to Mars.
This galactic thrill ride follows a genius Rabbid named Beardie who dreams of traveling to the stars. When he lands himself a seat on a mission to Mars, the Red Planet, he's over the moon — err, literally.
He doesn’t even have to go it alone. Aerospace company Nebulous Industries’ CEO Frank Nebula wants a handful of Rabbids for the mission. They may show few signs of intelligent life, but they're practically indestructible. That means they don’t need space suits to handle the extreme temperatures or radiation of space. There are also a ton of them, making them the perfect specimens for the mission.
One trip to Nebulous later, Beardie finds himself hurtling through space toward the fourth planet from the sun. Along for the ride are Disco, the Rabbid dancing queen, Cosmo, the self-conscious pilot and Mini, a cute lil’ munchkin who hates to be treated like a kid. Together, the team will have to work together to make their trip as out of this world as possible… while fighting off an alien threat. No big deal. They’ve got it allllllll under control.
In this Rabbids streaming special, you’ll laugh, learn about the power of friendship and wonder how and why humans are cool with sending a bunch of troublemaking bunnies to space. (Don’t think about it too hard. That’s how the mission was able to get off the ground.) But at the end of this adventure, if you find yourself totally in love with the Rabbids and want to see more of them, you’re in luck. There’s more where that came from.
OK, first, what are the Rabbids, exactly?
They're sort of like bunnies. It's in their name, after all. (Get it?) Originally known as "Raving Rabbids," these creatures have been around for 15 years. They first appeared in 2006's Rayman Raving Rabbids for the Nintendo Wii, where their weird and wacky shenanigans kept gamers on their toes through a series of minigames. Though they began life as spin-off characters in a popular gaming series, they’ve since taken on a life of their own. They don’t speak, but they know how to communicate in their own little ways — even if that basically means getting up in your face and screaming nonsense. They’re also curious and extremely energetic. Seriously, who gave them all that sugar?
Where can I get my next dose of Rabbids?
Your first stop is Rabbids Invasion, the bunnies’ first full-length television series. An entire gaggle of the costumed bunnies invade Earth, and then decide to do whatever they want, pretty much. Whether that's investigating how chickens lay eggs or photobombing a wedding, they travel around in their yellow submarine and act as general nuisances to everyone around them. That might sound annoying if humans were to do it, but it's the Rabbids. They're hilarious. They can even make frozen food fun. Feast your eyes on full episodes of Rabbid weirdness, as you watch these giddy little guys get up to no good. Seriously. It's all pretty ridiculous.
Been there, done that. What Rabbids games are worth playing?
Haven't played Rayman Raving Rabbids? Start with the OG Rabbids breakout game, which first debuted on the Nintendo Wii. Follow platformer mascot favorite Rayman as he meets with the Rabbids for the first time. They kidnap him instead of getting along and force him to complete challenges in a coliseum in front of a crowd of Rabbids. The result? A set of cow-throwing, sheep-shearing, dream rabbit-chasing minigames that you can play alone or with friends. But there's no need to dig out your Wii from your closet or settle for an older version. It's easily playable on Xbox One as part of its backward compatibility catalog, and you can also pick it up via Steam on PC.
Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 keeps the party going, but you're going to have to get the Wii out after all if you want to get your game on — that, or your Nintendo DS. This sequel follows the Rabbids as they try to invade Earth. Not a great idea, but at least that means more minigames for us to enjoy: 54, to be exact. This time around, you can play along to rhythm game segments, get into challenging shoot-outs and sneak into shopping malls. Rayman's along for the ride as well, but this time, it's totally the Rabbids' show — as it should be.
It's not all about playing around, though. If you stick around with the Rabbids long enough, you may just learn something — with Rabbids Coding, that is. It's a free game meant to help you learn how to code your own games. Learn a special programming language and how to create conditions and algorithms in games, and let your Rabbid creativity loose. You can play it on PC, and then let others try your creations after that, too. Who knows? You might help design the next Rabbids game one day.
The Rabbids really shine in Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle. This time, they join forces with Mario and the rest of the citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom to defeat an entity known as the “Megabug.” After a horde of Rabbids create chaos in a young inventor's home, they find themselves merged with Mario characters and thrown into a different dimension. Together with the actual characters they're based on, including Mario, Princess Peach, Luigi and Yoshi, the bad bunnies take up wacky weapons in turn-based battles. No minigames here — just a well-written adventure with some of the most addictive combat you'll ever see in a Rabbids adventure.
That’s all super cool, but I want something new. What are the Rabbids doing next?
The Rabbids are making another stop this year in the Mushroom Kingdom with Mario, Luigi, Peach and the rest of the gang with Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope on the Nintendo Switch. In this sequel to 2017's Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, the Rabbids take up arms against an evil being known as Cursa while traveling with Mario and friends. Their goal? Restoring peace to the galaxy. Their methods? Questionable. It's set to debut this year, though there's no release date just yet.
Rabbids Invasion Special: Mission to Mars touches down on Feb. 18.
