Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl has been released as a cartoon-focused alternative to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and has been very well received by fans of the genre. It is great to see players enjoying the game, especially since the platform fighter genre rarely gets new titles, and when they do, they are usually overshadowed quite easily by the few established titles. However, Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl seems as though it won't be going anywhere anytime soon.
This is thanks to not only solid mechanics that put a spin on the genre unique to Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl, but also because of its strong roster of 20 classic cartoon characters. Players can step into the shoes of SpongeBob, Reptar, Powdered Toast Man, and Leonardo all within the same match. There are newer characters like Lincoln Loud mixed with older characters like Oblina, offering players someone they recognize no matter which era of Nickelodeon they are most familiar with. One of the shows most represented, however, is Avatar: The Last Airbender - with three very unique and capable fighters present in the cast.
Aang
Aang is the titular Avatar, and he is a fighter that is very quick and mobile. This allows him to get around enemies quickly to exploit weaknesses and mistakes while also outmaneuvering enemy attacks. Aang is focused on traveling in the air in a way that most characters can't match in order to quickly build damage through stringing together combos. His mobility also gives Aang a lot of survivability with strong recovery potential. This has made Aang an early standout for one of the most capable fighters in Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl despite his kit sometimes making it difficult to land killing blows on enemies.
Korra
Korra is another Avatar that stars in The Legend of Korra, but she is distinguished from Aang by having a move set that focuses primarily on water bending techniques rather than air. Korra is also much slower and harder hitting than Aang. This sees her moves being much more focused on up-close combat that deals heavy damage with each hit. Her special attacks can also all be charged to deal even more damage when timed well to punish an enemy's poor placement or over-reaching attacks. However, she can be outplayed by more nimble characters while also being left open to punishments a lot due to her slower attack speed. Her moves are a great match for her personality in the show, and some are even reminiscent of moves that have been featured in other Legend of Korra video games, which is a great treat for fans.
Toph
Toph brings earth-bending to Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl on top of a playstyle that emphasizes a grounded playstyle. As a character, she prefers to keep her feet planted, making her rather weak in the air. However, this is compensated by her moveset featuring both close-ranged and long-ranged attacks that help her dominate ground play and close gaps with enemies. Many of her moves also have a high reach to punish airborne enemies that are not careful. It is nice to see three of the elements from Avatar represented so well in the game, and hopefully the leaked Prince Zuko DLC character for Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is real so that his inclusion can round out the roster with some fire bending.
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is available now on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.