Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is finally out, on the same day as the final Super Smash Bros Ultimate DLC character announcement, no less, but it seems like that hasn’t taken away all too much from the initial excitement, as people seem to be enjoying the game quite a bit so far.
And, as more and more professional fighting game players announce their personal favorite characters or release their “day one-tier lists”, the rankings of this 20 character roster are already becoming clear. So, let’s take a look at the best of the best currently, and go over why that is. Fighting game character rankings constantly change with new patches, updates, and just overall discoveries from the community, so these rankings are purely based on the state of the roster right after All-Star Brawl’s release.
10 Reptar
Let’s be fair, Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl AKA NASB is a very fast-paced game. People accusing this of being a Smash Bros Ultimate clone will find that it has a lot more in common with Melee than any game after that. And, with fast games, heavy characters tend to quickly find their way to the bottom of the rankings.
And, Reptar, from Rugrats, is one of those heavy characters. Now, it's obvious why he was the choice as the Rugrats rep in NASB, as these babies can Kart Race, but it's not like they can join in on the violence of a Smash-type game. In any case, this iconic cartoon dinosaur does some serious damage. That Down+Special "Flame Breath" is so incredibly strong and versatile, he has two different spikes ("Tail Slam" and "Leg Kick"), and all of his moves seem to have decent KO potential at minimum. That said, he is slow, his recovery is predictable, and he can be locked into combos incredibly easily without being able to counter-attack, so he still only eeks out the number ten spot.
9 Lucy Loud
Lucy Loud is unequivocally the most “technical” character of NASB’s initial roster, considering she has three separate modes (Normal, Vampire, and Ghost Mode) that change the way her Specials work. Add in her reliably quick attacks, teleporting abilities (AKA "Jump Scare"), and overall decent strength along with that and it’s pretty clear this Loud House rep is just an overall great character.
That said, with how fast-paced this game is, the fact that players have to actually land Lucy’s Neutral Special, her “Dark Bite” attack, in order to change modes is a real drawback, Luckily, her default mode is pretty strong, so it’s not too bad.
8 Lincoln Loud
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 characters.
In reality, Lincoln is fast and dependable with decent enough specials. But, he really is carried by his small model size and speed overall. His yoyo, by far, is the best tool in his arsenal, but that "Spinning Top" and "Splasher" water gun will see some use as well. Overall, he's not as good as Lucy, but not far off either.
7 Powdered Toast Man
Powdered Toast Man is the other representative from the classic Ren & Stimpy show, other than the main two puppers themselves. This multi-grain madman is a real powerhouse with some admittedly weak recovery. While PTM’s Up+Special “Toast Is Done” recovery looks fantastic in terms of ground covered, it’s oddly slow to come out, and is hard to “aim”.
But, that’s really his only downside in the air, as his strong aerial attacks can KO opponents and hilariously low damage percentage.
6 Invader Zim
Moving on to probably one of the most highly anticipated characters on the roster, Invader Zim. And, thankfully, Zim is pretty good, he’s basically a projectile/minion spammer comparable to maybe Bowser Jr from Smash. Most of his gameplay revolves around using his insanely large Neutral Light Aerial “Spider Windmill” to keep opponents away or build up damage while he positions "GIR" on the ground and "Lawn Gnome" in the air.
But, because NASB is a quick game where players are constantly jumping around, having control of the stage isn’t quite as important as it would be in other platform brawlers.
5 Oblina
Oblina from AAAHH!!! Real Monsters, is, first of all, adorable no matter what anyone tries to say. And, second of all, she’s just one of the best characters in the game. She’s incredibly fast, incredibly small, has one of the best projectiles “Garbage Breath”, and has so much combo potential.
Her Down+Airs are amazing off stage (both “Aerial Tail Slap” and “Spinout”), her poison pool from “Garbage Breath” is hard to deal with, and while all of her Specials aren’t very exciting, they’re fast and reliable. But, honestly, it’s the fact that she’s so small, so fast, and so hard to hit that will really make a difference in competitive play.
4 Aang
Next up is the literal Avatar, Aang, from one of the most beloved cartoons to ever grace Nickelodeon’s network. Avatar: The Last Airbender is so incredibly popular, and Aang’s adorable personality and fantastic character growth is a huge part of that. Now, because Korra is in the game, it seems like the developers intentionally made Aang more focused on airbending and jumping around, while Korra uses all the other elements and is a harder hitter, and thematically that’s perfect. In fact, with the recent link, there may even be a fourth Avatar character to round out the fire element representation.
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 consistently.
3 April O’Neil
Out of all the characters on here, April O’Neil (who is suddenly playable in a lot of games recently) from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise is likely the most creatively implemented. That isn’t to say that the other characters are boring, just that April’s reporter/journalist gimmicks are implemented very well into her normals and specials, both thematically and mechanically.
For example, her Down+Special, ”On The Air”, is currently shockingly strong for building damage and her “Ratings Meter” quickly. Plus, her “Breaking News” Neutral Special ramping up in damage and knockback based on her “Ratings Meter” is such a neat way to incentivize players to use specific moves.
That said, outside of a fully-charged "Breaking News" Special, April also has a real hard time finishing off opponents, similar to Aang, so she isn’t quite the best of the best.
2 Danny Phantom
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 insane.
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 perfect.
1 Catdog
Last up it’s actually a tie for first place (sort of), in that the crowning ranking goes to both Cat and Dog, AKA Catdog. Catdog, at least this early in the game's life cycle, just sort of has it all. Huge hitboxes, reliably KO potential, fast combos, good recovery, and so on. That aerial Up+Strong Attack “Fierce Flex/Feline Fist” is easily their bread and butter, and if not that, then their Forward+Strong Attack “Heavy Punch/Little Punch” on the ground certainly is.
And, most importantly of all, they’re just fun to play. While Catdog, from a competitive sense, will surely be in the upper rankings until a patch nerfs them into the ground, as of right now they're at the peak.
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl was released on October 4, 2021, and is available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch.