Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl

Video game

Gallery

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl
General information
Developer:	Ludosity Fair Play Labs
Publisher:	GameMill Entertainment
Series:	Nickelodeon
Engine:	Unity
Released:	October 5, 2021 (digitally) October 8, 2021 (physically) November 9, 2021 November 23, 2021
Genre:	Fighting
Modes:	Single-player Multiplayer
Ratings:
Platforms:	Nintendo Switch Xbox One Xbox Series X and S PlayStation 4 PlayStation 5 Microsoft Windows

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is a Nickelodeon fighting game. It is a follow-up to the Nickelodeon Super Brawl series, and it is the first-ever console game in the franchise (the earlier titles were either online games or mobile games). It was released on October 5, 2021 digitally and on October 8, 2021 physically for the Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and S, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.

Gameplay

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is a platform fighter, with players battling on different stages and attempting to knock their opponents outside the boundaries of the arena. Each stage offers a different layout, with some also having additional hazards that can cause damage to the characters. Movement takes place on a two-dimensional plane, with characters able to move around by running, jumping, double-jumping, or performing a mid-air dash in any of eight directions. Characters have three different types of attacks: light attacks, which are weak but quick and can be used to perform combos; strong attacks, which are slower but do more damage and knock opponents back further; and special attacks, the properties of which vary by character. Different attacks can be performed by pushing up or down or running in combination with one of the three attack buttons. Players can also grab and throw opponents or enemy projectiles, even in the air, and guard against attacks without penalty, though they will be pushed back in doing so. Unique to the game is the "strafe" function, where players can hold a button to prevent their character from turning around while moving in different directions; this can be used to continue attacking an opponent while actively retreating from them. As characters take damage, the amount of knockback caused by opponents' attacks will increase, making them easier to knock off the stage.

The game supports local and online multiplayer for up to four players, with the game's online functionality utilizing rollback netcode on supported platforms. The game also features a single-player arcade mode and a "Sports" mode, based on the "Slap Ball" game type from the developer's previous fighting game Slap City. In Sports mode, players must knock a ball into an opponent's goal, with different types of balls having different properties, such as soccer balls being unable to be grabbed. Players are able to unlock images displayed in an in-game gallery, music for the game's sound test, and online profile icons.

Playable characters

At launch, the game featured 20 characters. Additional DLC characters have been revealed since.

• SpongeBob SquarePants (SpongeBob SquarePants)
• Patrick Star (SpongeBob SquarePants)
• Sandy Cheeks (SpongeBob SquarePants)
• Aang (Avatar: The Last Airbender)
• Toph Beifong (Avatar: The Last Airbender)
• Korra (The Legend of Korra)
• Lincoln Loud (The Loud House)
• Lucy Loud (The Loud House)
• Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)
• Michaelangelo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)
• April O'Neil (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)
• Shredder (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)
• Ren & Stimpy (The Ren & Stimpy Show)
• Powdered Toast Man (The Ren & Stimpy Show)
• Zim (Invader Zim)
• CatDog (CatDog)
• Reptar (Rugrats)
• Nigel Thornberry (The Wild Thornberrys)
• Helga Pataki (Hey Arnold!)
• Danny Phantom (Danny Phantom)
• Oblina (Aaahh!!! Real Monsters)
• Garfield (Garfield)
• Jenny Wakeman (XJ-9) (My Life as a Teenage Robot)
• Hugh Neutron (The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius)
• Rocko Rama (Rocko's Modern Life)

Stages

• Jellyfish Fields (SpongeBob SquarePants)
• The Flying Dutchman's ship (SpongeBob SquarePants)
• Glove World (SpongeBob SquarePants)
• Western Air Temple (Avatar: The Last Airbender)
• Omashu (Avatar: The Last Airbender)
• Harmonic Convergence (The Legend of Korra)
• The Loud House (The Loud House)
• Royal Woods Cemetery (The Loud House)
• Rooftop Rumble (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)
• Sewer Slam (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)
• Technodrome Takedown (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)
• Space Madness (The Ren & Stimpy Show)
• Powdered Toast Trouble (The Ren & Stimpy Show)
• Irken Armada Invasion (Invader Zim)
• CatDog's House (CatDog)
• Showdown at Teeter Totter Gulch (Rugrats)
• Wild Waterfall (The Wild Thornberrys)
• Traffic Jam (Hey Arnold!)
• Ghost Zone (Danny Phantom)
• The Dump (Aaahh!!! Real Monsters)
• Sweet Dreams (Garfield)
• Slime Time (Double Dare)
• Tremorton Joyride (My Life as a Teenage Robot)
• TBA (The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius)
• TBA (Rocko's Modern Life)

Items

• Krabby Patty
• Sandy's rocket
• Squidward's clarinet
• Explosive Pie
• Jellyfish jelly
• Anchor
• Guidance chip
• Lawn Gnome
• Tommy's ball
• Reptar Toy Car
• Log from Blammo
• Arnold's boombox
• Sooka's boomerang
• Suck-O-Matic
• Fenton Thermos
• Trash can

Voice cast

• Jim Cummings - Shredder, CatDog (Cat)
• Tom Kenny - SpongeBob SquarePants, CatDog (Dog)
• Bill Fagerbakke - Patrick Star
• Carolyn Lawrence - Sandy Cheeks
• Alex Cazares - Oblina
• Jim Meskimen - Nigel Thornberry
• Richard Steven Horvitz - Zim
• Vivian Vencer - Toph Beifong
• Dustin Sardella - Aang
• Janet Varney - Korra
• Fred Tatasciore - Reptar
• Bentley Griffin - Lincoln Loud
• Jessica DiCicco - Lucy Loud
• Francesca Marie Smith - Helga Pataki
• Townsend Coleman - Michelangelo
• Cam Clarke - Leonardo
• Abby Trott - April O'Neil
• Frank Welker - Garfield
• Billy West - Ren & Stimpy
• David Kaye - Powdered Toast Man
• David Kaufman - Danny Phantom
• Janice Kawaye - Jenny Wakeman
• Mark DeCarlo - Hugh Neutron
• Carlos Alazraqui - Rocko Rama

Unused content

Early logo.

When the game was first released, files for three unused fighters were found. Those fighters are: Garfield (announced as a free DLC on December 7, 2021), Shredder (released as a free DLC on February 3, 2022), and Rocksteady. Two unused levels were also found: Garfield's stage called Sweet Dreams and a stage based on the television game show Double Dare which turned out to be Shredder' stage. Items were also found in the game code at launch before being added in an update. Many announcer calls for unreleased characters also exist.

Reception

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl was met with high anticipation following its reveal, but upon release, the game has received "mixed or average" reviews on all platforms, according to review aggregator Metacritic. Reviewers praised the gameplay but criticized the game's presentation and lack of content.

Push Square called the game "the best Super Smash Bros. clone we have ever played," but criticized the lack of modes offered and lamented that the lack of voice acting made the game feel "a bit cheap overall." IGN felt that the mechanical differences and good online play made the game a great alternative to similar fighting games like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, though noted it was far less polished or fully-featured than such other games. Destructoid believed that the game provided a solid framework for a future franchise, and hoped GameMill would invest more time and money into a sequel.

Despite receiving mixed reviews, Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl was nominated for Best Fighting Game at The Game Awards 2021 and Fighting Game of the Year at the 2022 D.I.C.E. Awards, but lost to Guilty Gear Strive for the former.

Walkthrough

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl Gameplay Walkthrough Part 1 - Spongebob, Patrick & Sandy Arcade Mode

Trivia

General

• This game's existence was first confirmed by Gamefly.com, with a release date listed for October 5, 2021.
• A free DLC update featuring alternate character costumes was announced on November 20, 2021 and was released on December 2, 2021 for the Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5. The free alternate character costumes DLC will be available for the Nintendo Switch sometime later on.
• Garfield was announced to be a playable character in a free DLC on December 7, 2021 and was released on December 9, 2021 for the Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5. The Garfield character free DLC will be available for the Nintendo Switch sometime later on.
  • Garfield's existence was first leaked through two lineup sheets on a Latin America website on August 27, 2021.
• On December 15, 2021, the game's art director Diego Hernandez had announced that official character voice acting, more characters, more stages, and crossplay would be added in a DLC update sometime in 2022.
• On January 27, 2022, it was revealed that a "huge" update was planned for February 3, 2022. This update added Shredder and a Double Dare stage called "Slime Time" to the game.
• On May 6, 2022, it was revealed that another "huge" update was planned for May 13, 2022. This update added Jenny Wakeman and her stage "Tremorton Joyride" as a paid DLC.
  • Hugh Neutron and Rocko Rama were also announced on the same day as the Jenny Wakeman update released. Hugh Neutron is planned to release in summer 2022, while Rocko is planned for fall 2022.
• On June 6, 2022, another major free update was released which added voice acting and items to the game.
• This is the first SpongeBob/Nickelodeon video game to be released for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and Series S.
• The game was developed by Ludosity, which had experience with working on the platform fighter genre with Slap City.
• A developer from Ludosity, sinxtanx, confirmed via the official Ludosity Discord server that the game will support features and techniques popular or highly demanded by fighting game fans (especially fans of Super Smash Bros).
  • Features include rollback netcode, private and competitive lobbies, and ranking.
  • Techniques include wavedash (a popular technique in Super Smash Bros. Melee) and shield platform drop.
• Sports Ball is taken from Ludocity's Slap City.
• The game uses the 1987 versions of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (a series that was not produced by Nickelodeon), rather than the 2012 Nickelodeon designs.
• There are currently 3 fighters from SpongeBob SquarePants.
• The game was published by GameMill Entertainment, who previously published both Nickelodeon Kart Racers and Nickelodeon Kart Racers 2: Grand Prix in North America.
• The game has been featured in a few competitive tournaments such as the Nicktoons Throwdown Invitational hosted by Nickelodeon. And the All-Star Nickvitational hosted by Panda, featuring popular YouTubers and Twitch streamers such as Ludwig, MoistCr1TiKaL, JaidenAnimations, ConnorEatsPants and many more.
• Target leaked the box-art for Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl the day it was announced, but was eventually changed to only have its logo. The leaked box-art featured unrevealed fighters such as Aang, Korra, Ren, Stimpy, CatDog, and April.
• In the character data for SpongeBob, there is mention in the code of an ability called "yummerSummon" which is a reference to the infamous placeholder character, "Yummer" found in SpongeBob Saves the Day!. There are no associated assets to this code and it was simply put there by one of the developers as a joke.
• The poses for SpongeBob, Patrick and Sandy's portraits are very similar to promotional art of the characters.

  

• Coincidently, the game was announced on the day of Tom Kenny's birthday, and a day before SpongeBob SquarePants' birthday.
• Every fighter has a stage associated with them.
  • SpongeBob's stage is Jellyfish Fields.
  • Sandy's stage is Glove World.
  • Patrick's stage is The Flying Dutchman's ship.
• Every fighter has a codename associated with them, possibly to prevent any potential spoilers.
  • SpongeBob's codename is apple
  • Patrick's codename is star
  • Sandy's codename is diver
• This is the second time a cartoon channel has been the focus of a Super Smash Bros.' game, with the first instance being Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion, which was released on the Nintendo 3DS, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Nintendo Wii in 2011.
  • Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion received mixed reviews, often reasoned because of its flawed roster and not having the amount of care like Super Smash Bros. had.
• From what has been revealed, there are 5 fighters from the 1980s, 11 fighters from the 1990s, 6 fighters from the 2000s, and 3 fighters from the 2010s.
  • Garfield (First animated appearance in May 15, 1980)
  • Michelangelo, Leonardo, April O'Neil, and Shredder (First animated series starting on December 14, 1987)
  • Ren & Stimpy (Debut episode on August 11, 1991)
  • Powdered Toast Man (Debut episode on August 25, 1991)
  • Reptar (Debut episode on August 25, 1991)
  • Rocko Rama (Debut episode on September 18, 1993)
  • Oblina (Debut episode on October 29, 1994)
  • Helga (Debut episode on October 7, 1996)
  • CatDog (Debut episode on April 4, 1998)
  • Nigel Thornberry (Debut episode on September 1, 1998)
  • SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star (Debut episode on May 1, 1999)
  • Sandy Cheeks (Debut episode on May 1, 1999)
  • Zim (Debut episode on March 30, 2001)
  • Hugh Neutron (Debut movie on December 21, 2001)
  • Jenny Wakeman (Debut episode on August 1, 2003)
  • Danny Phantom (Debut episode on April 3, 2004)
  • Aang (Debut episode on February 21, 2005)
  • Toph (Debut episode as a vision on April 14, 2006 and physically on May 5, 2006)
  • Korra (Debut episode on March 24, 2012)
  • Lincoln and Lucy Loud (Debut episode debatably either original June 5, 2014 pilot or series' May 2, 2016 premiere)
• This is the first Nickelodeon fighting game on a home console.
• The voice actor of Zim from Invader Zim, Richard Horvitz, has confirmed that he did not voice Zim for this game and he is not sure if the game even contains character voice acting. Joel Nyström, CEO of developer Ludosity, has since stated that "as we continue to build the Nick All-Star Brawl franchise, we will be reviewing all options, which may include adding character voice acting down the road." Voice acting was eventually added in "Update 06-06-2022."
• GameMill Entertainment released a 2nd teaser trailer for Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl on August 23, 2021, announcing 8 more mystery fighters are coming. The video was then made private shortly after.
  • Two more fighters were revealed at Gamescom 2021 on August 26, 2021.
• SpongeBob, Patrick, Sandy, Helga, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Reptar, Lincoln, Zim, GIR, Danny, CatDog, Jenny and Rocko are the only playable characters from Super Brawl Universe to return in this game.
• Music from the shows are referenced in the game's sound track.
  • Jellyfish Jam from the episode of the same name is remixed for the Jellyfish Fields stage.

Cultural references

• This game is inspired by Super Smash Bros., a crossover fighter featuring Nintendo characters and other video game characters.
  • Like Super Smash Bros., Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl takes references from certain episodes of the fighters' shows and make them a part of their movesets.

Episode references

• SpongeBob's Up Special uses the hydro-dynamic spatula from "Help Wanted."
• SpongeBob's Strong Attack and Strong Aerial Attack swings a net horizontally, referencing one of SpongeBob's talents being jellyfishing.
• SpongeBob's Strong Down Attack and Down Aerial Strong Attack forms a rainbow, identical to the imagination gag in "Idiot Box."
• SpongeBob's Down Special has him chomping, referencing when he bit Patrick's finger in "I'm with Stupid."
• SpongeBob's Light Down Attack has him sweeping the floor, referencing when he sweeps a tomato in "Culture Shock."
• SpongeBob's Strong Dash Attack is referencing him tripping on the icy floor of the Krusty Krab from the episode, "Krabs à la Mode."
• SpongeBob's Taunt references the Mocking SpongeBob meme from "Little Yellow Book."
• SpongeBob's knock out animation is based on him crying on the floor from "Pizza Delivery."
• SpongeBob's floor getup animation references the bubble-blowing technique from "Bubblestand."
• SpongeBob's idle animation is based on his idle animation from the console version of SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom.
• SpongeBob's Victory animation is based on his eager face dance from "Band Geeks."
• SpongeBob's Victory animation as a teammate is based on his dance from "I ♥ Dancing."
• SpongeBob's alternate costume is Smitty Werbenjägermanjensen's soda drinking hat from "One Krabs Trash."
• Patrick's Light Attack is his Belly attack from the console version of SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom.
  • His Strong Down Attack is the Body slam move, also from the same game.
• Patrick's Light Dash Attack is his Cartwheel move from the console version of The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie: The Video Game.
• Patrick's Strong Down Aerial Attack has him dive down head first with an ice cream cone covering his legs. This is a reference to Patrick competing in the chocolate high dive in "The Fry Cook Games."
  • Patrick becomes buff and does a spinning lariat for his Strong Dash Attack, this form is also from the same episode.
• Patrick's puts a trophy on his head for his Strong Up Attack and Strong Up Aerial Attack, referencing "Big Pink Loser."
  • Patrick's slams a phone on the ground for his Strong Attack, also from the same episode.
• Patrick's Light Down Attack uses his laser pants from "Spy Buddies."
• Patrick's Up Special resembles when he dived into SpongeBob's armchair in "Sandy's Nutty Nieces."
• Patrick's Neutral Special has him slam his opponent back and forth.
  • This can either be a reference to when he beat himself up for SpongeBob to impress Reg in "No Weenies Allowed," or when Man Ray attacked Patrick in "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy III."
• Patrick's Taunt plays a mean belly from "Krabby Road."
• Patrick’s idle animation of him sleeping is from "Naughty Nautical Neighbors."
• Patrick's lose animation is a reference to the episode "My Pretty Seahorse."
• Patrick's alternate costume is his cowboy hat from "Just One Bite."
• Sandy's Neutral Special uses her lasso from "Texas."
  • Her lose animation has her wear a ten-gallon hat and play guitar, also from the same episode.
• Sandy is seen using her jetpack from "Sandy's Rocket" for her introduction in the announcement trailer, also using it for her Up Special.
• Sandy's Down Special uses her Extend-O-Boots from "Stuck on the Roof," but with less reach.
• Sandy's alternate costume is her headband and basketball jersey from "Sportz?."
• King Jellyfish from "I'm Your Biggest Fanatic" and the queen jellyfish from "Jellyfishing" appear in the background of the Jellyfish Fields stage.

Prototype covers

Nintendo Switch prototype cover 1

Nintendo Switch prototype cover 2

Nintendo Switch prototype cover 3

PlayStation 4 prototype cover 1

PlayStation 4 prototype cover 2

PlayStation 4 prototype cover 3

PlayStation 5 prototype cover 1

PlayStation 5 prototype cover 2

PlayStation 5 prototype cover 3

Xbox Series X and Series S prototype cover 1

Xbox Series X and Series S prototype cover 2

Xbox Series X and Series S prototype cover 3

Steam prototype cover

Videos

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl Announcement Trailer

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl Character Reveal Teaser

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl Launch Trailer

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl Original Soundtrack

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl Alternate Costumes Trailer

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl Garfield Reveal

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl - Official Shredder Reveal Trailer

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl - Official Jenny, Hugh Neutron & Rocko Reveal Trailer

External links

• Official website
• Official Twitter account

References