Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2
MSRP $49.99
“Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 breathes more life into the Nicktoon fighting series, creating a great sequel that overcomes some familiar quality control issues.”
Pros
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bulk materials
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deep battle system
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more polished
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Full voice acting adds a lot
Shortcoming
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The campaign is repeated again and again
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Some frustrating gameplay quirks
The first entry in the Nickelodeon fighting series inspired by Super Smash Bros. Nickelodeon All-Star controversy, was good-natured fun that left me wanting more. It was rich in the gameplay department and had a lot of potential hidden under its hood, but I could feel the limitations of its small budget. A Nicktoon game lacking the iconic voices of its famous cartoon characters would do that. Its sequel, Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2Thankfully the original brought that “more” that I craved during my time there.
Like its predecessor, Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 is a 2D platform fighter that takes some of the greatest – and not so great – characters from TV channel history and pits them against each other. However, don’t label this another bad Smash Bros. clone; The sequel does its best to correct the mistakes of its predecessors and fulfill the potential it never quite took advantage of.
By taking a strong fighting game foundation and expanding upon it in every way, nickelodeon all-star brawl 2 Comes into his own. It introduces systems never seen in other platform fighters and maintains the pace that made the original a blast. The clean graphics, great art direction, and inclusion of full voice acting don’t hurt either. The only thing still lacking in the series is quality control, an area where it becomes clear why Nintendo still rules the platform fighter genre.
Elevation of Continental Ratio
nickelodeon all-star brawl 2 It is similar to its predecessor, giving players a roster of Nicktoons to play against in multiplayer brawls. while the original NASB It felt like a low-budget tech demo for what Nickelodeon Fighter could have been, but the sequel actually feels almost fully-finished. This time the biggest jump in quality has come in the content department. I jumped in hoping for a simple reskin of the original with a few upgrades. Instead, I found some important new ways that gave the series a more distinct, slime-filled identity.
Campaign mode is a great distraction…
Upon starting it up, I was pleasantly surprised to see that there was more to it than just the standard arcade mode and training. NASB 2 It also includes a surprisingly robust single-player campaign, a Boss Rush mode, a suite of minigames, and much more. It all comes with unlockable art and customization options that give players a lot to dig into beyond multiplayer battles with friends.
The standout addition here comes in the form of a new story mode. If you have played Super Smash Bros BrawlSubspace Emissary So you know what? NASB 2 Going for here. And it involves the same issues.
During the campaign mode, you will play through different missions in which you will have to do some platforming, complete stray minigames, fight hordes of weak enemies like jellyfish and foot ninjas, to unlock them and other playable characters. Have to kill, and eventually have to compete with one. Big Boss. As players move from one platform to another and there are fully voiced cutscenes, there are some branching paths that really bring the tones to life in the inter-dimensional adventure. It’s a clever idea that surprisingly takes inspiration from the roguelike genre (a “run” structure with players purchasing new perks each time).
The campaign mode is a great distraction, but its repetitive structure can become draining quickly. The same goes for boss rushes, minigames, and arcade mode. Each of these modes serves as a fun bonus from time to time if you want to immerse yourself in the cartoon art style a little more between competitive fights. Of course, this is standard for fighting games. The main fight is always what makes or breaks a title like this, and NASB 2 Delivers where it counts.
secret war formula
While the richness of the new modes was a pleasant surprise, the huge improvements in combat shocked me. There are a lot of variations here that open up doors for player expression. It has more entertaining mechanics to think about, more stylish flourishes, and a unique feel that sets it apart from similar games. Sometimes, a game like this may require multiple entries to truly find its identity; Nickelodeon All-Star controversy Its voice was found in two.
One of the most fun platforming fighting games.
NASB 2 Takes the speed and fun of the original and polishes it with some great new features. The sequel retains the same basic attack system, with players alternating between lighting, charging, and special moves. However, air throws are gone, the cleaned-up gameplay makes fights consistently more fair, and the new “slim” system completely steals the show.
Slime has multiple functions and is tied to a meter that builds up when you land and take damage. It’s a deceptively powerful tool that completely changes the flow of battle. Slime can be combined with light and charge attacks from the same meter, unleashing stronger versions of these moves on the fly. When that three-tick meter builds up completely, players can issue a cinematic superattack (similar to the Final Smash) that will usually finish off any injured enemies. These moves also allow the characters to show a bit of their personality; SpongeBob’s ultimate attack causes him to swing the car wildly around the screen before defeating off-screen enemies.
While each animation is enjoyable, the slime’s other actions make it so special. Powering up the moves is useful, but there’s a lot of depth that high-level fighting players will find use in. Take “Slime Canceling”, which allows players to cancel an attack made on any move at will. This adds additional options for combos, more mix-ups when the slime attacks with canceling shields, and brings more player expression. Additionally, players can better protect their shield against attacks by pressing the slime button or even stop their movement by taking hits by pressing the slime and shield buttons.
Little details like this add up to a lot in terms of on-the-fly decision making, meter management, and planning. Should I use my meter to get kills, attempting a big combo to overpower my opponent, or should I save it for later when I need to defend myself? Such deep questions build on an already solid and fast combat system and make it one of the most fun platforming fighting games out there.
saturday morning soul
Perhaps the sequel’s biggest upgrade comes from the improved presentation, which gives NASB2 The spirit that its predecessor lacked. Developer Fair Play Labs cleaned up the project significantly, making it feel like a more effective love letter to the colorful world of Nickelodeon. Watching Rocko, one of my all-time favorite cartoons Rocko’s Modern LifeIn all its 3D glory with clean graphics and full voice acting, it gave me the same feeling I felt watching Sonic smash bros brawl in childhood.
Little notes of passion add to the whole elaborate package. The additions to the roster like Jimmy Neutron, who was strangely absent from the first game, and bosses like Danny Phantom’s Vlad or SpongeBob’s King Jellyfish really make this game feel like it was supposed to: with the two of them. All these characters from a Nicktoon game that grew and are still growing.
Although the production value here seems much higher than its predecessor, I can still feel the limitations of its smaller budget. There are graphical bugs here and there and some of the textures are clunky, which is jarring amid the clean cartoon visuals. Big pain points come from dirty moments that add up over time. During my versus matches, I encountered points where it seemed like my characters didn’t want to gain the upper hand. Sometimes they make it safely, but sometimes they fall and die.
I found that I needed to jump through hoops to keep everything running smoothly during my matches.
The controls also come with some pesky issues for which patches can be used. There is currently a strange issue where you can’t enable a custom control profile in Story Mode despite being able to do so everywhere else. In my experience playing local multiplayer on PC, the second player’s controller often attaches itself to the third player’s. I found that I needed to jump through hoops to keep everything running smoothly during my matches, which is not what you want from such a casual party game.
Thankfully, these issues don’t overshadow that impressive achievement Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 achieves. The sequel is so many steps forward from its predecessor that it almost feels like a different animal entirely. And the real fight at its core? That’s what makes it an all-star.
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 Reviewed on PC.
