Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 Review: A Fully Upgraded Cartoon Melee

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl was definitely a surprise as it brought multiple characters from across Nickelodeon's vast cartoon library together for a big fight. It's no secret that the platform fighter had a rough start, however, as it originally released with fewer characters and features than many fans had been hoping for. But by the end of its life cycle, All-Star Brawl started to really show off the true potential of what a cartoon fighter of its kind could really accomplish with the developing studios Fair Play Labs and Ludosity, the latter being the studio behind viral hits like Slap City and more, in full effect. 

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 takes that potential and goes even further to deliver a new experience that fans playing the first title wouldn't have ever expected to see. All-Star Brawl 2 is a massive upgrade to everything found in the first game and more. There are tons of new faces fans wanted to see (with unique and interesting play styles not seen in the first game), returning characters have been basically rebuilt from the ground up, there's a full story available, and it's a complete feeling package right from the jump. It's a much better start this time around. 

The main objective is the same in Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 as players are meant to enter an arena, deal enough damage to opponents, and eventually knock them off the stage platforms to get a KO. It's the same set up seen in a lot of platform fighters, and thankfully works just as well here. Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl's final roster was 25 after DLC, and All-Star Brawl 2 is jumping out of the gate with 25 characters in the base roster. There are some notable absences that didn't return from the first game, however, such as Hey Arnold's Helga Pataki or CatDog, but in their place are some newcomers that are also from classic franchises. What's immediately clear just glancing at the roster is that each character here is unique from one another as no two really play or feel the same. 

Each newcomer offers something that fans didn't get to play around with in the first title. El Tigre's Manny Rivera (the announcer uses his full name, Manuel Pablo Gutierrez O'Brian Equihua Rivera, for that extra bit of fan service) has a slower walking speed than you would expect, but fights with long claws and stretchy limbs that give him the kind of reach seen in the original cartoon. Jimmy Neutron can call out Goddard with one of his specials, and you can temporarily switch control and attack with Goddard while keeping Jimmy at a safe distance. Or characters like Daggett and Norbert from The Angry Beavers are actually a tag team that you can swap between at will. 

Like the first game, the character selection is widespread and unexpected as there are both traditional fighting type characters who fought in their respective cartoons such as Aang, Korra, and Azula, and characters you would never expect to see fighting like Squidward or Gerald. Each one offers their own kind of fun gimmick that players will want to explore over long play sessions. There's a reward to figuring out how each character's unique traits work (like properly using Korra's projectiles or managing Ember's ghostly meter), and even more so when digging into the fan service of it all. 

Both returning and new characters are packed to the brim with new animations and move sets that are highly referential and full of Easter Eggs from their respective series, and it comes out in surprising ways. Like one of SpongeBob SquarePants' charge attacks is his famous "Imagination" line (complete with rainbow to boot). Thankfully, it's not all just looks either as there was a lot of care and attention put into how it all plays as well. There's admittedly still a bit of stiffness here as animations for attacks last a brief moment longer than you'd hope, and they don't always have clear hitboxes, but it's a dramatic improvement from the first title. 

This starts with the variety of attacks here. In the first title, there were light, heavy, and special attacks that could be altered with a directional input. But here it's been improved significantly as there are plenty more options to do damage. Light attacks have quick combos, and special attacks return, but heavy attacks can now be held down and charged to deal more damage. Movement options have also been increased as now players can dodge roll and dodge attacks in mid-air. But the biggest alteration to the gameplay is the addition of the Slime Meter. 

The Slime Meter is a special meter that builds up with attacks and can be used at different times for different effects. It's sort of how an EX Meter would work in a traditional fighting game as you can use it to make an attack hit harder, use it for a quick attack cancel, use it to knock back opponents after a successful guard, or use it for a super move that activates a quick cinematic and deals a lot more damage. Item selection doesn't always feel as fan-service heavy as the rest of the package, but they do what they need to do in terms of offering fun new ways to deal damage. 

Thankfully playing the game feels as good as it does and as full of variety as it does as that makes the rest of the offerings all the more compelling. Along with offerings of an arcade mode, local and online multiplayer (which will really get put through the wringer over the next few weeks as the real test), and tutorial and training modes, the biggest new addition for All-Star Brawl 2 is the Campaign. It's a brand new story incorporating Danny Phantom villain Vlad Plasmius as the core baddie. 

The Campaign is a good way to introduce new players to how everything works as starting with SpongeBob (who works well as the default character), campaign mode tasks you with going through a randomized slate of matches. Playing certain matches can earn you Blimps, which are used to buy perks in the various shops you can reach during the Campaign (which have various non-playable characters like Mrs. Puff or Hugh Neutron saying hello, with completely voiced dialogue), Slimes, which you use to buy overall Campaign perks (such as adding more stocks or a random projectile that fires every few seconds), and Splats that unlock more perks. 

Campaign is basically 12 rounds of fights and potential perk spots, and you have to do it three times in order to fight Vlad. Then from there, you have to complete the Campaign two more times all the way through to get the full story. It's not an extensive story with full cutscenes, but there's a lot of extra fan service in the addition of non-playable characters and several bosses you can face off against like the aforementioned Vlad Plasmius, King Jellyfish or The Flying Dutchman. 

There's just so much more attention, care, and time that seeps through the pores of Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2's entire package. It's just a stark difference from where the first game began, and a tease of the kind of bright future this series is heading in. It's just a lot more fun to play than the first title, and it's only going to get better as the weeks roll on. It already feels like a complete package, and while there is still some stiffness is how it plays moment to moment, Nickelodeon fans will definitely want to seek this out for some party fun. 

Rating: 4 out of 5

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 is now available digitally on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC with a physical version hitting retail on December 1st. A code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review, and it was reviewed on PlayStation 5.