Highlights
- The Fairly OddParents, despite being a popular and long-running Nickelodeon series, has been overlooked and is absent from both the original Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl and its sequel.
- The absence of The Fairly OddParents characters in the game is especially disappointing considering its creative potential and nostalgic value.
- The confirmed roster of playable characters in Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 repeats the mistake of the first game by including multiple characters from the same series while leaving out The Fairly OddParents altogether, though maybe DLC will fix this.
Though many fan-favorite and classic cartoon characters will be joining the new Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 roster of fighters, one specific series that was a cornerstone of the network's history appears to have been overlooked once more. Despite being Nickelodeon's second longest-running series - coming in right behind SpongeBob SquarePants and even receiving a soft reboot with a live-action TV series in early 2022 - The Fairly OddParents remained unusually absent from the original Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl. Now, with Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2's release fast approaching, it seems that The Fairly OddParents has been forgotten yet again.
While there is still time until the game's official launch to reveal playable characters from across The Fairly OddParents canon, things don't seem promising for a last-minute announcement of this nature. Between earlier leaks following Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2's announcement revealing new characters coming to the game and all the previous opportunities Ludosity had to include The Fairly OddParents' characters as DLC, it does appear that the classic series has either been forgotten or dismissed by the developer. Even though The Fairly OddParents brings with it a wealth of creative potential and nostaglia, players can only hold out hope that Ludosity remembers this sooner or later.
The Fairly OddParents' Snub Has Gone Too Far
The first Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl featured a broad range of characters both young and old from the likes of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, both Avatar series, and The Ren & Stimpy Show. Yet The Fairly OddParents was never among these, despite the fact it remains one of Nickelodeon's most well-known and popular series having been revived twice within its history. The Fairly OddParents even shares its creator Butch Hartman with other shows across the Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl roster, such as Danny Phantom, which will also be adding Ember as its second character to the sequel as if to rub salt in the wound for The Fairly OddParents' continued absence.
Within the context of Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl's previous snub of The Fairly OddParents, the sequel's confirmed roster of playable characters seems to repeat its predecessor's mistakes yet again. For example, Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 will be bringing back SpongeBob himself alongside multiple characters from the same series such as newcomers Plankton and Squidward, something which is reminiscent of the previous game featuring two out of the four Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as well as April and Shredder. Additionally, shows that even predate The Fairly OddParents and lasted half as long will also be joining the game such as The Angry Beavers.
Even putting aside all the reasons why The Fairly OddParents deserve a place on Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2's line-up, from its long-standing history to its nostalgic popularity, the series still has an extensive range of interesting characters Ludosity to choose from if nothing else. While there might be some reluctance around adding characters like Timmy Turner, Cosmo, or Wanda since all three might technically need to appear together, The Fairly OddParents has several other recognizable characters that could be added in their place. Just like Jimmy Neutron was represented by Himmy's dad before the titular character was added, The Fairly OddParents could bring Crimson Chin, Mr. Crocker, and Vicky.
For the time being, the number of Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2's playable characters is confirmed to be twenty-five, which is the same count as its predecessor after it included three extra DLC fighters. Though there could be a chance that Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 is saving potential playable characters from The Fairly OddParents for its own DLC, as these would be a surefire way of reinvigorating fans' interest post-launch. However, this is only speculative, and it still leaves players with the impression that Ludosity has once again ignored The Fairly OddParents a second time around without any justification. While fans have theorized that some kind of rights issue may be stopping the series from being included, it is disappointing no matter what.
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl2 is set to release on November 3 for Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
