Nickelodeon All-Star Brawlwas a surprisingly anticipated title that did not quite meet expectations of platform fighter fans. This is not really the fault of the developers, who are passionate about the project and know whatNickelodeon fans wantfrom these seemingly endless crossover games. It is clearly the not-so-high budget that has been holding the game back. Despite this burden, the development team managed to make fans happy in a pipe dream-like scenario thanks to the DLC.
With Garfield andTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ Shredder having been previously datamined and later added to the roster as part of free updates, the people behindNickelodeon All-Star Brawlcould’ve simply given up after that to focus on balancing the game. Instead, the game managed to surprise players with the announcement of new paid DLC characters. This includes the titular character ofRocko’s Modern Life, Hugh Neutron fromJimmy Neutron, whose own protagonist was excluded at first due to copyright issues, and finally, XJ-9 aka Jenny Wakeman fromMy Life as a Teenage Robot, who was released the same day she was announced.
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Jenny’s Origin and Gameplay
Although it has a cult following now,My Life as a Teenage Robotwas a moderate success compared to other Nicktoons of its era, such asAvatar: The Last Airbender, Butch Hartman’s first two cartoons (The Fairly OddParentsandDanny Phantom), andSpongeBob SquarePants, which had its golden age in the first half of the 2000s despite debuting in the 90s. As a result,Teenage Robotis rarely represented in Nickelodeon crossovers. Jenny was heavily requested forNickelodeon All-Star Brawl, but her inclusion is still rather shocking.
True to her roots as asuper heroic anthropomorphic robot, Jenny is a versatile character with a plethora of gadgets to punish her opponents across all distances. Her primary light attacks, 1, 2, Laser!, Blazing Blades, and Angry Stomp, are based on repetition and chip damage. Her aerial light attacks have more versatility. Drill Kick is for quick aerial attacks than stun opponents.
Open Shield does the same in practice, but specializes in hitting opponents upwards. Holding the attack button also allows Jenny to slowly fall and control how she lands, just likePeach inSuper Smash Bros.Jackhammer Strike attacks downwards and deals more damage the longer the player presses the attack button. Finally, there is Jet Blades, where Jenny dashes and spins into an opponent, dealing damage in the process.
Likethe otherNickelodeon All-Star Brawlfighters, Jenny has strong attacks. They are less about her movement and much more about representing as much weaponry from her home series as possible. Fists of Fury is a quick combo involving giant, spiky fists. Buzzsaw Pom Poms has Jenny attack an opponent upwards with buzzsaw hands in a half circular motion. Mighty Mallets sees Jenny throw a tantrum and replacing her hands with mallets that attack downwards. The player can also mash the attack button for repeated mallet moves.
Chest Laser is self-explanatory, and involves a powerful attack that pushes Jenny away from her target once she hits them. Lobster Claws is a stronger version of the Buzzsaw Pom Poms. Explosive Feet is a move that provides opportunities for spiking. Gliding Buzzsaw is a standard dash attack involving one of Jenny’s more recurring weapons in her move set.
Lastly, Jenny’s special attacks include the appropriately named Rocket Power, a controllable rocket not too different fromSamus’ own side B attackinSuper Smash Bros.Jenny also has Robot Wings, a tool for easy recovery that can be freely controlled, and Explosive Lasers, a diagonal attack that knocks targets back if the lasers hit the ground below and momentarily makes Jenny float in the air. To round everything off, her grab is unique due to the extended range that can be performed by holding the grab button.
Full glossary of Jenny’s moves:
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawlis available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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