Nickelodeon is having a bit of a resurgence in the gaming industry. Titles like Nickelodeon Kart Racers and Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl have helped some of Nickelodeon's classic cartoons enter the spotlight once more, meanwhile games like SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated have reinvigorated interest in licensed 3D platformers. While not all of these titles have been met with critical acclaim, they helped Nickelodeon carve out a slice of the industry for itself that could be filled with other returning Nicktoons.
This resurgence should specifically see the return of the popular Nicktoons Unite! series. That crossover series has not had a new entry since 2008, and now may be the best time for it to make a comeback. There is a new hunger for Nickelodeon video games, and it is time for the company to capitalize on that nostalgia with new multiversal adventures.
Nicktoons Games Were a Perfect Treat for Nickelodeon Fans
Before Nickelodeon Kart Racers and Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl brought Nick's most popular cartoons together, there was Nicktoons Unite! The series began in 2005 with a title of the same name that brought together the four biggest Nick cartoons at the time to save the multiverse. Players could control Jimmy Neutron from The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, Timmy Turner from The Fairly OddParents, Danny Phantom from Danny Phantom, and SpongeBob SquarePants. It was great to see all of these popular characters interact, made even better by the fact that the game featured four-player co-op for those that wanted to adventure through Nickelodeon's IPs with friends.
The first game was successful enough to spawn three sequels, the first one launching in 2006. Nicktoons: Battle for Volcano Island increased the amount of playable characters to six. Danny Phantom, Timmy Turner, and SpongeBob SquarePants were joined by Patrick Star, Sandy Cheeks, and Sam Manson. The characters had to save the multiverse once again, and while it was far from a perfect game, it was a lot of fun for fans of these cartoons.
A third title would release a year later. Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots improved on almost every aspect of the previous entries, and increased the roster of Nickelodeon characters immensely. Players could control all the main characters from the previous games, and they were joined by characters from shows like Invader Zim, My Life as a Teenage Robot, Rocko's Modern Life, and The Ren and Stimpy Show.
The final game in the NicktoonsUnite! series hit store shelves in 2008, putting SpongeBob SquarePants at the center. SpongeBob SquarePants featuring Nicktoons: Globs of Doom continued the multiverse story, but brought the series to a mediocre conclusion. Many of the shows from the previous game did not return, with The Fairly OddParents being noticeably absent. It paled in comparison to what came before, and also seems to have also stopped any plans for future Nicktoons Unite! games.
If the initial popularity of Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is anything to go by, there are fans who would want more experiences like the Nicktoons Unite! series. These four 3D platformers provided a decent amount of fun for fans of the network, and the popularity of wild crossovers has only grown since. Today's hardware could lead to a whole new type of exciting crossover with Nickelodeon's most iconic series. Purple Lamp successfully brought SpongeBob SquarePants 3D platformers back, and now it should be handed the keys to the entire Nicktoons multiverse.