When you reach Pristine Peaks, the second world of Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope, you might notice some evasive penguins running about. These aren't just here for the cuteness factor; they're for a quest entitled "Hide N' Squeak." Mario and his Rabbid friends are tasked with tracking down three penguins near the sunken ship in the lake. 

The reward for finishing this quest is the incredibly useful Spark, Regenesis. This unique Spark will greatly boost any teammate's survivability. Regenesis, as the name implies, gives the hero equipping it Regen. When used in combat, it refills 20% of a Hero's health for two turns, as well as the character's Max HP by 15%, and that's before you start upgrading the Spark. 

Regenesis will come in mighty handy in the long tactical road ahead, so it is well worth knowing where and how to rustle up the second world's pesky penguins. By following the steps in this guide, you'll quickly and easily be on the path to adding a serious upgrade to your arsenal.

How to Start Hide N' Squeak

To start the side quest, you must speak to the Regenesis Spark near the sunken ship in Pristine Peaks. Once you've begun the side quest, you can begin collecting the Penguins. 

Penguin 1 Location

The first and closet penguin can be found just North of where the Regenesis Spark is hanging out. To the left of the bridge, you'll see a block of ice that you can destroy using your Wave Power ability on the ZR button. 

Pick up the penguin with the A button and then take it back to the lake. Face the boat, and press A to throw the penguin in. 

Penguin 2 Location

Cross the bridge near where you found Penguin 1. Keep going past the merchant until you are at the open ice cave. Do not go into the cave. Instead, look to your left, and you'll see a sparkling tree where the second Penguin is perched. Now you know where to go to knock him down from his hiding place. 

Once you have the second penguin in hand, turn back to the lake (it should be a pretty short run from your location), and throw the second penguin onto the boat. 

Penguin 3 Location

This one is the furthest and trickiest to get to, by far. First, go to the merchant and then hug the path around the lake to the right. Go down the hill, either fighting or running past the enemies, and enter the pipe at the bottom on your left.

From here, smash a stone wall obstacle using your Wave Power. This will allow you to cross a gap and use the pipe on the other side to reach the area where the final penguin resides.

This area is full of pipes that only the penguin can access. It will juke you out, so stay on your toes to outmaneuver the little bugger. After capturing the penguin, jump down with the Penguin in your hands. Turn to the left, and toss it in the boat with ease. 

To unlock Regenesis, complete a battle after retrieving all three penguins. Head down to the bottom of the lake to complete "Top of the Lake," where you'll be required to defeat three Darkmess Eyes in one encounter. After, you'll have completed "Hide N' Squeak."

And that's it for the penguin locations. For any more Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope tips and tricks, head on over to our dedicated guides page for the title.

One of the additions to Ubisoft's latest Mario + Rabbids offering is the titular Sparks of Hope. These creatures are the Rabbid form of Lumas from Super Mario Galaxy. Each of your party members in the Mario crossover tactics game can equip up to two Sparks. 

Many of these Sparks will allow you to perform more powerful and specialized attacks by using Super Effects, which, in turn, provide different damage types and adjustments for each encounter. Enemies will also target you with Super Effects, and depending on which Sparks you have activated, they can either deal increased or diminished damage to your heroes. 

These damage types are important to Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope, and knowing the effects of each is crucial to becoming a strategic master of the battlefield. 

Spark Super Effects Explained

A majority of the Sparks you'll find in the early game will give your weapons Super Effects that change their damage type and inflict additional effects. If properly matched to an enemy's weakness, these Super Effects can cause massive damage and debilitate tactical positioning. 

There are seven Super Effects in Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope, and each of them can used to your advantage against a number of enemy types. Just remember to keep in mind your opponent's strengths and weaknesses. If you attack an opponent using a Super Effect they are strong against, they will take less damage than they would from a regular attack. 

Burn 

The Burn Super Effect causes Burn damage, lighting enemies on fire and causing them to leap out from cover and run around. Any enemies (or allies) they touch will also get a Burn effect, displacing them from cover and also doing some damage. This is a great Super Effect for making multiple enemies vulnerable in the middle of your turn. 

Splash 

The Splash Super Effect deals Splash damage and causes the target to fly into the air and land in a random area. This is a great way to knock enemies out of bounds. Any Splash attack also gives enemies the Splashed effect, which will throw them in the air after any other attack for a limited number of turns.

Ooze

The brand new Ooze Super Effect is essentially Sparks of Hope's version of poison. Inflicting Ooze will cause a target to take damage at the start of their next turn (and additional turns if you upgrade your Sparks enough.) It can be a great way to deal with those tricky, tank-y enemies and bosses. 

Frostbite 

If you are in a sticky situation and need to make an escape, the Frostbite Super Effect might just be your best friend. Inflicting Frostbite on a target prevents them from moving on their next turn, effectively trapping them in one position. When a Frostbitten target's turn comes around, they can still attack, use items, and take all other actions with the exception of moving. 

Shock

The Shock Super Effect is a pretty straight forward effect, causing damage over time. Any target hit by the Shock Super Effect will suffer continuous damage until the effect wears out. 

Gust 

The Gust Super Effect works a bit like a combination of the Burn and Splash effects. When you inflict Gust on an enemy (or have it inflicted upon you), the target will roll in the direction you are attacking. This is great for rolling enemies out of bounds or out of cover. 

Lifesteal 

The Lifesteal Super Effect is unlocked in the second half of Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope. Essentially, it's just the Vamp Super Effect from Kingdom Battle and allows you to heal yourself for as much damage as you do to the enemy. This is, frankly, the Super Effect that you are going to have to worry more about enemies using against you for the majority of the game. 

And that's what you need to know about Super Effects. For anything and everything else you need to know about Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope, including how to unlock the hidden skill tree or how to unlock characters, head on over to our dedicated guides page. 

All characters in Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope have four skill trees into which you can distribute your skill points. But what the game only hints at is that all of the nine characters also have a hidden, fifth skill tree that allows you to unlock extra special abilities. 

The secret skill tree in Sparks of Hope has, naturally, to do with the Sparks you collect throughout the game, each of which can be leveled up and assigned to any character. The fifth talent tree lets you put points into abilities that make your Sparks stronger and more useful. 

Hidden Spark Skill Trees Explained

To access the Spark Skill Tree for each character, including those you've unlocked, you'll need to unlock them one by one using a special type of rare upgrade material. In order to earn Gold Prisms, you'll need to revisit old worlds that you have completed and be on the lookout for Gold Pipes that wouldn't let you through the first time around. 

How to Get Gold Prisms

Every world in Mario + Rabbids: Spark of Hope contains a golden pipe that you will not be able to traverse until you have unlocked a certain number of Sparks. These require you to return at later points in the game. We advise you return much later, however, since there are plenty of other worthy traits to spend your skill points on, and these encounters can be quite challenging. Once you have a decent number of sparks more than the required amount is a good place to take on the challenge. 

By completing the encounters in these golden pipe challenges, you'll unlock Gold Prisms. Each pipe challenge will reward you with one Gold Prism you can spend on any hero to unlock their Spark skill tree. 

There seem to be more characters in your party than prisms available in the game, so be sure to spend them wisely. Unlike skill points, you can't get Gold Prisms back once you spend them on a hero. You'll need to be careful when unlocking the hidden skill tree abilities. For more tips, guides, and news on Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope, such as our Super Effects guide, be sure to check out our guide page for Ubisoft's latest crossover title. 

One of the main ways Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope differs from the first game in Ubisoft's tactics series is the characters you play as and how to unlock them.

In Mario+Rabbids Kingdom Battle, you only begin with three playable characters in your party (Mario, Rabbid Peach and Rabbid Luigi) and Mario was required to be in your party at all times. Throughout the campaign of Kingdom Battle you would progressively unlock the rest of the roster. 

Sparks of Hope works the same way in that you unlock more characters by making progress through the single-player campaign. However, there are some key differences to the way characters work that make it a whole lot quicker to work up to a full roster in Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope. 

How to Unlock Characters in Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope 

Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope gives you more characters than its predecessor, starting you off with six before working your way to the full squad of nine.

From the jump you will be able to choose from Mario, Luigi, Peach, Rabbid Peach, Rabbid Mario, and Rabbid Luigi. From here, It is relatively breezy task to unlock the remaining three characters on the roster.

By playing through the first three of the five worlds in Sparks of Hope you will unlock the three remaining heroes — Edge, Rabbid Rosalina, and Bowser. 

How to Unlock Edge the "Blade Master"

Edge is an original character created for Sparks of Hope and she has a pretty killer moveset. This witty blademaster throws her sword for power at both close and medium range. You unlock Edge once you complete the first of the two story missions on Beacon Beach, the game's first world. 

How to Unlock Rabbid Rosalina the “Demotivator”

Since Sparks of Hope is expanding on many ideas from Super Mario Galaxy, it only makes sense that Rosalina would show up. Only this time, she is in Rabbid form.

Rabbid Rosalina is — like Rabbid Luigi — another character whose focus is debuffing enemy units. You will unlock Rabbid Rosalina by defeating the Spark Hunter Boss Midnite. The encounter with Midnite is at the end of Winter Palace, the game's second world. 

How to Unlock Bowser the "Overseer" 

The final character to unlock is Bowser, and you can do so by defeating the first boss of Palette Prime, the game's third world. When you beat the boss Bedrock, you will free Bowser from Palette Prime’s first Darkmess Tentacle and the king of Koopas will be added to your party. 

And that is where every locked character in Mario+Rabbids: Sparks of Hope is found. For now, that's the entire roster but Ubisoft has already begun teasing DLC that will bring more characters to the game. Head on over to our dedicated game page for more news and guides on Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope.