The Nickelodeon Video Game Resurgence Is Relying On Fans Nostalgia

All-Star Brawl is, for all intents and purposes, a Super Smash Bros. clone . It's a 2D party-fighting game starring an increasingly diverse roster of characters from Nickelodeon shows including Rugrats, Avatar: The Last Airbender , and even older or more obscure programs like Aaahh!!! Real Monsters . However, while a similar venture like 2011's Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion received a middling reception and is largely forgotten, Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is making wa


In terms of the most obscure fighting games, the Melty Blood series has always been the face of the meme for niche anime fighting games. Based on a Japanese visual novel series called Tsukihime , the Melty Blood games are 2D anime fighters to the very core: An eccentric anime artstyle, unique and in some cases absurd character designs and movesets, alongside a fast-paced gameplay style that emphasizes players' technical prow


One of the many new titles iterating on the formula pioneered by Super Smash Bros. , Nickelodeon's brand of platform fighter got many players excited leading up to release. Gathering together characters like SpongeBob Squarepants, CatDog, Danny Phantom, and Nigel Thornberry together into one fighter made Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl an exciting prosp


The upcoming game is being developed in-part by Ludosity, a studio known for its fighting game Slap City . On top of this pedigree, All-Star Brawl has intrigued casual and competitive fans alike thanks to its balance of meme references and deeper game mechanics like wavedashing - made famous by Super Smash Bros. Melee . Its willingness to dig into more bygone shows such as Invader Zim also puts it a cut above something like PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale , which seemingly focused its roster on advertising current properties over appeasing fans with old-school ic


This could translate to gameplay in a few ways. The various disguises Rango dons might grant different abilities to suit the scenario. Even if the developers don't go for that, there's still tons of fun to be mined from his western persona and goofy quirks. He can shoot both his gun and his tongue at lightning speed. The other fighters won't know what hit them, partly because they'll be too confu


Danny Phantom, from the show of the same name, is just so absurdly strong. He’s got AoE moves with "Ghostly Wail" and "Ghost Loop" , he’s got the Shiek/Zelda teleport recovery with "Spectral Leap" , he’s got plenty of maneuverability, and his combo potential (so far) is simply ins


However, viewers often find him in the midst of some random hobby or non sequitur tangent about his past exploits. He's as likely to polish his duck figurine collection as he is to play with one of his son's inventions. Because of that, the sky's the limit with his abilities. Being in his own little world usually worked out for him in the show; it can do the same in the g


But, even still, this elusive little Air Nomad is so good, especially in the air. The most accurate comparison would probably be Diddy Kong in Smash Bros Ultimate , as he’s fast and builds up damage in an instant, but struggles with actually finishing off opponents consisten


This high school superhero seems to be pretty polarizing so far within the player base as to whether he’s fantastic or forgettable, but the longer people play, the more they seem to realize that Danny Phantom has a lot to offer. Now, if only they would add in a character from The Fairly Odd Parents (another Butch Hartman show), this roster would be pretty much perf

Moving on to the other Loud House representative, and the main character of the show Lincoln Loud. Now, all of Lincoln’s attacks may feel very reminiscent of a certain earth-bound character from another fighting game , with the yoyo, bat, and other wacky toys, but he isn’t quite as complex as those charact


Seeing this icon of innocence maul the opposition like a rabid dog is a priceless visual even by the game's cartoonish standards. Not to mention, her ability to hide and reappear almost anywhere might form a decent trap fighter . The creators should get a clue and throw this dog into the r


Of all the fighting game nominees for this guy year, it's clear that Guilty Gear Strive is the frontrunner for this category in nearly every regard. Guilty Gear as a series had become very popular with Guilty Gear Xrd and Rev 2 , and saw renewed success with the rollback update for Accent Core +R , but Guilty Gear Strive saw an explosion of popularity across the whole fighting game scene. Casual and competitive players, whether they were fans of the series or anime fighter newcomers, flocked to Stri


It’s a very neat idea for a mode, and with some fine-tuning, it can be a great alternative once the casual free-for-alls start to get stale, but as it is right now, it’s mostly being ignored by the player b


Extend all the animations by a frame or two so that players have another quarter-second to deduce what move is coming at them. Likely the least viable solution, since it would require almost an overhaul of the combat sys