It's pretty apparent that the newly announced Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is aiming to simply be Super Smash Bros. but with characters from Nickelodeon shows rather than Nintendo games. While that premise alone is enough to appeal to die-hard fans of Nickelodeon's various shows and characters, one new detail has been uncovered that may entice even non-Nickelodeon fans and regular fighting game aficionados. Namely, the game will feature rollback netcode.
This information was shared via a Discord channel belonging to Ludosity, the studio developing the Nickelodeon fighter, which confirmed it in response to a fan question. This has since been shared via Twitter, complete with a link to the Discord and a screenshot to prove its validity, and Ludosity is already being praised for the decision. It only said that it will be available for supported platforms so it's possible that some versions of the game may end up lacking it.
For anyone unfamiliar with the term, rollback netcode basically predicts a player's input when playing matches online, effectively circumventing delay issues. Rollback netcode is especially popular with fighting games since their fast-paced action requires quick inputs. A bad internet connection can lead to moves not registering, which is why rollback netcode is such a popular demand for these sorts of games.
While there are several fighting games that have this netcode implemented, such as the upcoming King of Fighters 15 and Guilty Gear Strive, many wish for this to be the norm for fighting games. So much so that its omission is usually met with criticism and complaints from players who see a delay-based netcode as the inferior option.
Ironically enough, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the very game Nickelodeon All-Stars Brawl is trying to emulate, was once considered to implement rollback netcode. In the end, this never happened and despite Ultimate being a widely beloved title for its gameplay and the amount of content it offers, its online play is considered to be its weakest element. The fact that the Nickelodeon game will feature rollback netcode is already resulting in comments about how it will offer better online play than one of Nintendo's biggest first-party offerings.
Ludosity also confirmed the presence of wavedashing, which has been met with similar applause from eager fans. Wavedashing was a popular technique from the GameCube game Super Smash Bros. Melee, where it was possible to exploit the physics to make a character slide for a short distance. It was never intentionally incorporated into the game but it became very common among high-level play.
Nickelodeon All-Stars Brawl releases this fall for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.