Announced a few weeks ago on July 13, 2021, Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is an upcoming game that stars various Nicktoons fighting against one another, such as SpongeBob SquarePants from the series that has the same name, Lincoln Loud from The Loud House, Reptar from Rugrats, and Zim from Invader Zim!From what was shown in the trailer, game play is pretty similar to the Super Smash Bros. series. You pick a character and try to KO your opponent by trying to fling them offstage. The higher their damage is, the farther they'll fly away.
The developers behind the game are Ludocity, who are well-known for making the Smash Bros.-like game, Slap City, so this game should be in some good hands.
Confirmed playable characters so far are as follows
From SpongeBob SquarePants: SpongeBob SquarePants, Patrick Star, and Sandy Cheeks.
From Rugrats: Reptar
From The Ren & Stimpy Show: Powdered Toast Man
From Aaahh!!! Real Monsters: Oblina
From Hey Arnold!: Helga Pataki
From The Wild Thornberrys: Nigel Thornberry
From Invader ZiM: Zim (with GIR and Minimoose assisting him)
From Danny Phantom: Danny Fenton
From Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Leonardo and Michelangelo
From The Loud House: Lincoln Loud and Lucy Loud
More characters will be revealed later. From a leaked boxart, it seems that Ren & Stimpy from The Ren & Stimpy Show, Catdog from Catdog, Aang from Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Korra from The Legend of Korra will also join the battle.
One notable character that people are hoping for is Hugh Neutron from The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, due to him gaining internet fame throughout the years. His voice actor, Mark DeCarlo, is also in support of Hugh getting into the game. as revealed in a tweet. (In fact, Hugh Neutron was even trending on Twitter following the game's announcement.)
I AM READY WILLING AND UBER-ABLE TO SMASH ANYONE THAT DARES CHALLENGE ME TO THIS... uh... video game-thingy duel!!! BRING IT ON... as long as pie is included. https://t.co/vvrCuAK9Af
Though speaking of voice actors, Richard Horvitz, voice of Invader Zim, has revealed that no one from Ludocity has approached him - or any of the other voice actors for that matter - for recording. This suggests that the game won't have voice acting, similar to previous entries Nicktoons Kart Racing and Nicktoons Kart Racing 2: Grand Prix. There's a possibility this could be added in later, but one shouldn't hold their breath.
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl will be released sometime in Fall 2021, and will be available for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and 5, XBox Series X/S, and XBox One. You can pre-order the game here.
Any character you're hoping will make it in? Write your thoughts down in the comments below! Personally, this writer is hoping that Dib Membrane from Invader Zim, Otis from Back at the Barnyard, and Snap from Chalkzone will make it in; as well Raphael, Donatello, and Shredder from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Perhaps even Garfield, Optimus Prime, and Megatron, since their series - Garfield for the former and Transformers for the latter two - are getting new shows on Nickelodeon.
SEGA held a Sonic Central live stream yesterday to reveal various upcoming events regarding Sonic's 30th Anniversary. The first thing they discussed and showed off were the collaborations with other games.
At Summer Game Fest, Sega is planning on hosting a concert that will play various songs from the Sonic the Hedgehog series. Some known members who will be playing are Crush 40 (who wrote theme songs for the series starting in Sonic Adventure) and Tomoya Ohtani (who has written songs for the series starting in Sonic Adventure 2.) The concert will be streamed for free on June 23rd.
Meanwhile, in "Tokyo 2020: The Official Video Game", players can dress their character up in a - somewhat silly-looking - Sonic suit and have them compete in the various Olympic events while wearing it! (Guess Mario wasn't invited to this Olympic event.) This Sonic Outfit is coming July 22nd, but is available for pre-order.
Two Point Hospital is also bring some Sonic outfits to its game. In addition to have your doctors run around dressed as Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy, you can also liven up your hospital with some Sonic Decor, such as an arcade machine that's playing Sonic Mania Plus, or a Sonic Statue! The Sonic content is coming July 30th and will be free.
In Lost Judgement - a legal suspense thriller - Sonic the Fighters will be available to play in the game! It will be a faithful recreation of the original arcade game. (Whether or not Honey the Cat will be playable is currently unknown.) This will arrive to the game on September 24th.
After that, they revealed the long-rumored Sonic Colors remaster, "Sonic Colors: Ultimate". In addition to improved graphics, this remaster will also have improved gameplay enhancements and a couple of other new features. One of them is a brand-new Wisp power called Jade Ghost, which allows Sonic to go through certain solid objects and discover new paths. There'a also a new game mode called "Rival Rush", which involves players racing against Dr. Eggman's nefarious creation, Metal Sonic.
Additionally, it appears that Tails may show up as a playable character, as shown in some screenshots from Famitsu. However, one of these screenshots clearly shows Sonic, so it may be that your life icon is customizable instead. Or it could even that the screenshots were taken from an early build before they added Tails. We'll probably know more as the game gets closer to release
Sonic Colors: Ultimate will come out on September 7th. Pre-orders are available. If you pre-order the Standard version, you will get an adorable Baby Sonic Keychain, some unique player icons, and can have Sonic's boost move resemble how it does in the Sonic the Hedgehog Movie. If you pre-order the Deluxe version, you will get everything that was previously mentioned in addition to early access to the game, 3 new remixes based on the game's soundtrack, Gold & Silver gloves and shoes for Sonic to wear, and some unique player icons based on Sonic's look in the Sonic the Hedgehog Movie.
Finally, to celebrate the release of Sonic Colors: Ultimate, a two-part animation will be released called "Sonic Colors: Rise of the Wisps." The short will involve Sonic and Tails heading to Sweet Mountain to help Jade the Wisp rescue its friends from Dr. Eggman and Metal Sonic. The first part of the cartoon will be released sometime this summer.
A new collection of Sonic games was then announced. Called "Sonic Origins", this collection features ports of Sonic the Hedgehogs 1, 2, 3, & Knuckles, and CD. Both games can be played in the original and the new widescreen format. Whether or not 1, 2, and CD are be based on the Mobile Port remakes or not is currently unconfirmed.
SEGA then announced that Team Sonic Racing and Sonic Mania are heading to Amazon Luna. On PlayStation Now, in addition to those two games, Sonic Forces will also be heading there.
For players of the Sonic Mobile games, Sonic Dash will be running an event where you can unlock Pirate Sonic and Captain Shadow. On Sonic Forces Mobile, players will be able to play as Super Sonic. Super Sonic is invincible and can tear through your opponents attacks, but using him quickly drains your rings. It was then revealed that Sonic the Werehog will be arriving for Sonic Dash and Sonic Forces Mobile as a playable character in October. Finally, the segment ended by revealing that in the Apple Arcade version of Team Sonic Racing, you can play as Classic Sonic! (Looks like Classic Tails and Classic Knuckles decided to stay behind.) Classic Sonic rides in his car, the Cyclone, from the Game Gear game Sonic Drift, and comes with a 3 new tracks stage with some brand new music.
Joe Kelly then talked about the new upcoming Sonic show called Sonic Prime. While not much new info was said, he did reveal that the show takes place in the "Shatterverse", as well as showing off what appears to be a new logo that Eggman will use in the show.
They then revealed some upcoming merchandise. The first one was a toy based on the final boss from Sonic the Hedgehog 2, the Death Egg Robot from Jakk's Pacific. For people into the Hip-hop culture, new jewelry based on Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Shadow from King Ice were shown off. Additionally, a Sonic Encyclo-speed-ia from Dark Horse was shown, which will feature various details about the franchise. For some memorabilia, some silver and gold Sonic coins from Apmex were also shown. Finally, they ended the show with a clip for an upcoming Sonic game. Not much is known, as it only consists of Sonic running through a forest, looping around a tree, and then a weird symbol showing up. More info will be revealed later, though.
What was your favorite part of the live stream? Planning on getting Sonic Colors Ultimate? Wish that they remade a different Sonic game instead? Tell us your thoughts in the comments!
Roger Craig Smith to return to voice Sonic the Hedgehog
As reported four months ago, Roger Craig Smith tweeted out that he was stepping down as the voice of Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog. However, just yesterday on the 26th, Roger posted a tweet that reveals he is returning to voice the blue blur.
I can't fully express my gratitude for the @sonic_hedgehog crew and community.🙏
I hope to honor your support and passion as I'm officially back voicing #SonicTheHedgehog in games.
— Roger Craig Smith (@RogerCraigSmith) May 26, 2021
While the exact details of why Roger initially left is unknown, fans who've come to know him as the voice of Sonic are no doubt happy.
For those not in the know, Roger Craig Smith is Sonic's third American
voice actor for the games, following Jason Griffith and Ryan Drummond
respectively. Roger first took on voicing Sonic in the poorly received
"Sonic Free Riders," which was released for the XBox 360 back on
November 4th, 2010.
Whether or not Colleen O'Shaughnessey and Cindy Robinson, who voiced Tails and Amy Rose respectively, are set to return to voice their respective characters is currently unknown. At the very least, Sonic's archnemesis Dr. Eggman will still be voice by Mike Pollock, who first voiced the bad doctor in the 2003 animated anime "Sonic X" before taking over as the voice for the games as well, starting in 2005's "Shadow the Hedgehog".
UPDATE: It appears that Colleen has returned to voice Tails, judging by the Sonic Colors: Rise of the Wisps short revealed in today's Sonic Central Live Stream.
Notably, this announcement comes right off the heels of SEGA announcing that they are going to hold a special livestream on the 27th of this month at 9 a.m. PT to celebrate Sonic's 30th Anniversary, where they plan to unveil various things.
The Official Sonic Twitter also confirmed this a few hours later, all while wishing Roger the best.
For over 10 years, Roger Craig Smith has been an integral part of the SEGA family. He brought the voice of Sonic to life, and we are forever grateful for his never-ending enthusiasm in helping the community and spreading joy.
For those not in the know, Roger Craig Smith is Sonic's 3rd American voice actor for the games, following Jason Griffith and Ryan Drummond respectively. Roger first took on voicing Sonic in the poorly received "Sonic Free Riders," which was released for the XBox 360 back on November 4th, 2010. Roger would continue to voice the character afterwards, even in the Sonic Boom cartoon, with his final role being "Team Sonic Racing" released on May 21st, 2019. (though to be technical, "Sonic at the Olympic Games (2020)" for Android and iOS is Roger's last role, though it simply reuses previously recorded voice clips)
SEGA has not yet revealed who will be the new voice actor for their mascot. Some speculate that Ben Schwartz, who voiced Sonic in the Paramount's "Sonic the Hedgehog" movie, may take over the role, or that SEGA may contact Sonic's previously aforementioned voice actors, Jason or Ryan, though nothing is confirmed at the moment. Regardless, the writers here wish Roger the best, as well as whoever is taking on voicing the blue blur.
Speaking of which, Sonic's 30th Anniversary is this year. Last year, SEGA initially planned to reveal small tidbits about the upcoming anniversary on the 20th of each month, but due to the Covid Virus, these plans were scrapped. That being said, SEGA did eventually reveal the the 30th Anniversary Logo on the 29th of September 2020, as well as some upcoming merch, such as a Classic Sonic Comic series that will be published by IDW Comics, some toys from Jakks Pacific, and even a jewelry collection from King Ice. (Let's hope Rouge the Bat doesn't nab the entire jewelry collection stock first before they hit the shelves!)
