Standard and special attacks are on offer, in addition to a button dedicated to heavy attacks. The controls will be immediately familiar to anyone who’s played a game of this kind before. So, I’m very happy to say that Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl thankfully has a deep and satisfying combat system holding up the rest of the slim package. After 3 years and several hundred hours of Smash Ultimate, all that extra stuff fell to the wayside and it’s just standard matches with no items that keep me and my friends coming back. In the end, though, it’s how fun those standard fights are that truly matters. I had a surprising amount of fun with this mode, even if it was just to add a bit of variety in between standard fights. For example, a soccer ball can only be kicked, a football can only be grabbed and thrown, and the yarn ball can also be used as a weapon. You can choose which ball to play with, which all operate differently. Rounding out the list of modes is a Sports mode where you need to score points against the opposing team. With that said, I do live in Australia where we have famously bad internet, so your mileage may vary.
The developers have boasted about the inclusion of rollback net code to improve online performance, but in my experience, the connection quality still varies significantly from match to match, with no noticeable consistent improvements. Multiplayer is limited to standard smash battles with up to 4 players locally, or 1v1 quick matches online or 12 player lobbies online where you can organise 2-4 player matches.
The main mode is a simple arcade gauntlet where you fight a series of random combatants, but that’s about where the dedicated single-player options end. In terms of modes, the options are similarly barren. It means you’ll likely gravitate to the few stages featuring large platforms and stable ground, though the crazy ones can be fun to visit on occasion to mix up the fights, as there are no items of any kind to speak of to add some random spice to fights. Many of the stages sadly suffer from frustrating gimmicks such as moving cars and floating platforms, with no Omega or Battlefield level options like you’ll find in Smash Ultimate.
They all look great and are brimming with colour and life, and the musical composition for almost every stage is straight-up excellent. Thankfully each character gets their own stage to represent their franchise. There’s no voice acting, with a tiny line of written dialogue before a fight being left to inject some additional personality into each fighter. The only unlockables are some gallery pictures and jukebox tracks to peruse, with no additional bios or fanservice. Character models are decent but not particularly detailed, and there’s so sadly no alternate costumes or even colours to be found. This is a no-frills experience that doesn’t make the most of having access to such a popular stable of franchises. Unfortunately, the game’s reverence for its source material falls well short of its potential. Regardless of your preference, you’ll undoubtedly find someone to your liking. There’s your rush down attackers, the heavy hitters, characters that control zoning and spacing, and some that are just plain bizarre.
It’s a solid selection with a mix of fighting styles to suit all players. The roster features twenty fighters from the last three decades of Nickelodeon history, including favourites from shows such as SpongeBob SquarePants, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Avatar: The Last Airbender. Hit them far enough away and they’ll fly off the screen and get knocked out. The higher the percentage, the farther they’ll get knocked back from attacks.
Pick a character and hit your opponents with attacks to increase their damage percentage. On the slim chance you’re not familiar with Smash Bros, the premise is simple. It’s a barebones package, but if you’re willing to overlook that then there’s a solid fighting game at its core. Whilst there have been plenty of clones of the platform-fighter genre that Smash Bros pioneered, there have been perhaps none that so directly markets itself to Smash Bros purists as Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl. What began as a risky proposition over twenty years ago has gone on to become one of the juggernauts of the entire industry, inspiring franchise crossovers and mashups for years to come. There’s a strong chance that if you’re reading this, you own Super Smash Bros Ultimate for the Nintendo Switch.