Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl was announced just a few days ago, but it's already getting a lot of gamers excited with its Super Smash Bros. comparisons and homages to Nickelodeon history. There have been numerous Super Smash Bros. copycats in the past, but this one seems to be the most colorful and thoughtfully crafted. Although it only got a short trailer, Nickelodeon games have shown some polish in recent years, so there is some reason to be optimistic.
The best part of Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl's trailer was undoubtedly the cast of characters that was revealed. It seems that the game is really taking care to make sure that each era of Nickelodeon is being represented, no matter how obscure some characters may be at this point. There have been some concerns, however, about some surprising omissions that certainly seem to deserve representation in this party-fighting game. Luckily for die-hard Nickelodeon fans, the box art for Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl allows some solid predictions for other characters that will make an appearance.
Aang and Korra
Looking at the silhouette that covers Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl's current box art, there are a number of characters that are more recognizable than others. Powdered Toast Man and Patrick Star are some of the easier ones to point out, but there are two others that can be figured out without too much difficulty.
Positioned on the far left side of the box art, it's possible to make out the silhouette of some of the most powerful characters in Nickelodeon history, Avatar Aang and Avatar Korra. Korra's fighting pose and signature hair is the most easily recognizable from the box art, so it's pretty safe to say that she'll be featured in some capacity. Aang is a little more difficult to pin down, but directly below Korra is an outstretched hand with a distinctive sleeve that looks just like Aang's. Putting the pose side by side to other Aang artwork, the silhouette and some of Aang's fight poses look identical.
CatDog
Looking towards the bottom of Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl's box art, there are two heads that would appear to be separate characters. In actuality, they are both one whole character, as the art seems to be showing off one of Nickelodeon's stranger creations: CatDog. Cat and Dog are conjoined siblings that face a number of challenges due to their radically different personalities, but they often find some way to work together eventually. It will be very interesting to see how this dynamic translates to Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl's gameplay. Perhaps their elongated body will allow for mechanics similar to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's Min Min, though this is purely speculation.
Ren and Stimpy
The centerpiece of the Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl box art appears to be one of Nickelodeon's most classic and controversial creations, Ren and Stimpy. The psychotic Chihuahua and dopey Manx cat are fondly remembered by many of the people that grew up with one of the earliest eras of Nickelodeon, so it's great to see them be represented in this collection of Nickelodeon history. Considering that they haven't been officially announced, there's no telling how they will play in the game, but it's completely possible that Ren and Stimpy will function similarly to how the Ice Climbers do in Super Smash Bros.
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl's confirmed characters have already given a lot of fans something to be excited about, and the game's silhouetted box art is only feeding that excitement even more. There are still some characters that aren't very easy to make out, however, so there's really no telling how expansive the game's roster will be. It's clear that developers Ludosity and Fair Play Labs aren't afraid to include faces old and new, so Nickelodeon fans will just have to remain patient until more characters are ready to be announced.
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl releases this fall for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.