An Ultimate Edition of this video game was released across all platforms on November 11, 2022 in North America and contains all of the DLC content added in from the start instead of having to be downloaded/purchased separately.[20][21][22][23][24][25][26]
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.[3] Additional DLC characters have been revealed since. Characters marked with an asterisk (*) are DLC characters.
The Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl Original Soundtrack was officially released on November 22, 2021. The soundtrack features all 28 tracks from the game. The soundtrack was composed by Mattias Hakulinen and Carlos Aguilar. The full album was also uploaded to the official YouTube channel of the game's publisher, GameMill Entertainment. The soundtrack can be listened to here.
The game was originally titled "Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl Universe" according to an early title screen graphic.
When the game was first released, files for three unused fighters were found. Those fighters are : Garfield (codenamed "orb" in the files), Shredder (codenamed "cheese") and Rocksteady (codenamed "hunter"), both from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Garfield released as a free DLC on December 9 2021 [36] while Shredder released on February 3, 2022.[37] Rocksteady was confirmed to have been scrapped and replaced by Shredder.[38]
Unlike Rocksteady, Shredder and Garfield had localization files for their respective Arcade intro and Moveset descriptions. They also could be playable through modding. Although, in an unfinished form.
According to a developer, Rocksteady "didn't have any model work done."[39]
Rocksteady's files were removed in "Update 02-03-2022."
Two unused stages were found in the files ; One for Garfield called "Sweet Dreams" and a level based on the television game show Double Dare, called "Silme Time." Both stages can be playable through modding with "Sweet Dreams" being added at the same time as Garfield. "Slime Time" was later added in "Update 02-03-2022."
Interestingly, the early icon for "Sweet Dreams" showcase a prototype version of the level.
In "Update 10-18-2021," the themes for both stages were added.
Items, while initially not present in the game, could be found the code at launch, although they originally use placeholder graphics, they can be spawned in the game through modding. Some of these items included, the Turtle Blimp, a Krabby Patty, an Exploding pie, Sandy's rocket, Squidward's clarinet, a toolbox that would have created a temporary platform and an item called "sleeper" which would start screaming when kicked. According to a developer, this was supposed to be Buhdeuce from Breadwinners.[40]
In "Update 10-18-2021," the items were updated with new renders. The Krusty Krab blimp from "The Good Krabby Name" was also added in this update, replacing the Turtle Blimp.
In "Update 06-06-2022," items along with voice acting was added to the game. However, four items seems to have been completely cut such as the Krusty Krab blimp, the fishing hook, the toolbox and sleeper/Buhdeuce.
Ittle Dew, a character from the game of the same name, is present in the game files. This is a leftover from Ludosity's previous game, Slap City which runs on the same engine.
It is possible to restore and play as her through modding.[41]
Models for a grenade and a gun exists in the files. According to a developer, These are simply "sample assets" present in the project since the beginning.[42]
In the character data for SpongeBob, there's 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.[43]
Announcer calls for items and unused characters are present in the game. Some of them mention Squidward, Mr. Krabs, Barnacle Boy, Mermaid Man and Plankton. It's unknown if those characters are planned to be DLC or were scrapped.[44]
Prerelease
Before the game started development, a concept poster was realized by Christopher Near, featuring most notably characters that are absent from the game roster such as Jimmy Neutron, Wanda from The Fairly OddParents, Krumm from Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, Angelica from Rugrats, Reggie from Rocket Power, and Casey Jones and Raphael from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.[45][46]
Alternative colors were planned for the game but were scrapped and replaced by alternate costumes instead. The reason being that alternative skins needed to be official.[47][48]
Garfield's existence was first leaked through two lineup sheets on a Latin America website on August 27, 2021.[49]
Garfield's alternate costume was different in prerelease screenshots, showcasing a stained bib instead of a checkered bib.
A stage based on Shredder's lair from the 2012 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series. Though the stage's layout and theming is similar to that of Rooftop Rumble, it has been referred to as a separate, scrapped stage.
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. There was a 65/100 on the PlayStation 5 version,[50] a 71/100 on the Xbox Series X and Series S version,[51] a 67/100 on the Nintendo Switch version,[52] and a 63/100 on the PC version.[53] Reviewers praised the gameplay but criticized the game's presentation and lack of content.[54]
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."[55]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.[56]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.[57]
The game has backwards compatibility on the following systems:
PlayStation 5 - All PlayStation 4 games can be played on all PlayStation 5 models.
Xbox Series - All Xbox One games can be played on all Xbox Series models.
Nintendo Switch 2 - All Nintendo Switch games can be played on all Nintendo Switch 2 models.
Trivia
General
This video game's existence was first confirmed after being leaked on Gamefly.com.[60]
Target.com leaked the box art for Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl on the same day it was announced, but was eventually changed to only have its logo on a purplish-blue background. The leaked box art featured many fighters that had not yet been officially revealed elsewhere at the time, including Aang, Korra, Ren, Stimpy, CatDog, and April O'Neil.
A free DLC update featuring alternate character costumes was announced on November 20, 2021[61][62][63] and was released on December 2, 2021 for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, and PC.[64][65] The free alternate character costumes DLC was released for the Nintendo Switch sometime later on.[66][67][68]
Garfield was announced to be a playable character in a free DLC on December 7, 2021[69][70] and was released on December 9, 2021 for the PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, and PC.[71][72] The Garfield character free DLC was released for the Nintendo Switch sometime later on.[73]
Garfield's existence was first leaked through two lineup sheets on a Latin America website on August 27, 2021.[74]
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.[75][76][77]
On January 27, 2022, it was revealed that a "huge" update was planned for February 3, 2022.[78][79][80] This update added Shredder and a Double Dare stage called "Slime Time" as a free DLC.[81]
On May 6, 2022, it was revealed that another "huge" update was planned for May 13, 2022.[82][83][84] This update added Jenny Wakeman and her stage "Tremorton Joyride" as a paid DLC.[85][86][87][88]
Hugh Neutron and Rocko Rama were also announced on the same day as the Jenny Wakeman update released.[89][90][91][92] Hugh Neutron and his stage "Duck, Duck, Pie!" was released on August 5, 2022 as a paid DLC.[93][94][95][96][97] Rocko Rama and his stage "Hardcore Chores" was released on October 7, 2022 as a paid DLC.[98][99][100][101][102][103]
The game was developed by Ludosity, which had experience with working on the platform fighter genre with Slap City.
Sports Ball is taken from Ludocity's 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).[citation needed]
Features include rollback netcode, private and competitive lobbies, and ranking.
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.
The game has been featured in a few competitive tournaments such as the Nicktoons Throwdown Invitational hosted by Nickelodeon.[111] And the All-Star Nickvitational hosted by Panda, featuring popular YouTubers and Twitch streamers such as Ludwig, MoistCr1TiKaL, JaidenAnimations, ConnorEatsPants and many more.[112]
In the character data for SpongeBob, there is mention in the code of an ability called "yummerSummon" which is a reference to a placeholder character known as "Yum" or "Yummer" found in the files of 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.[113][114]
The poses for SpongeBob, Patrick, and Sandy's portraits are based on promotional art of the characters.File:AppleNASB.png
Coincidently, this 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
From everything that was revealed to all of the DLC fighters, 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)
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.
The voice actor of Zim from Invader Zim, Richard Horvitz, has confirmed that he did not voice Zim for this game during its initial release and he is not sure if the game even contains character voice acting.[115][116] 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."[3] 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.[citation needed]
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.
Patrick's StrongDown 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 Up Smash, Strong Up Aerial Attack, and his Victory animation, referencing "Big Pink Loser."
Patrick's slams a phone on the ground for his Forward Smash, also from the same episode.
This game is inspired by Super Smash Bros., a crossover fighter series 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.
One of Michelangelo's intro lines, "Shredder no Shredding!," is a parody of "Swiper no Swiping!" from Dora the Explorer.