Contract weave into a spire of obligations
The spikey haired Premier of the Sora, Donald, Goofy cult has finally ascended to his rightful place in the pantheon of Smash Bros. thus ending the long saga of the single greatest crossover fighting game in history with a guessable, but still laudable, conclusion. But for those who looked upon this as an end, as did I, for this era of fighting games, I suppose it's high time for all of us to eat some massive crow because the wider world has taken this as a green light to shove their feet through the slamming door. It really is quite strange, because if we ignore Brawlhalla, (which has been trucking along for a hot minute now and does a lot of things that Smash did along with cool crossover events) there hasn't really been many other fighting games that does what Smash does. It's very existence was a USP. But now we've got 2. One released and one recently accidently revealed, and both come cloaked in this sinister, towering corporatism which shows perfectly why this type of game should be exclusive to those who want to make it.
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is the already released game that's done the rounds, and it has managed to hit the ground running despite having the single most generic name it's possible to have in this genre. Sorry 'Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale', you've been out generic-ed. (Wait, that game was called 'Battle Royale' a full 4 years before PUBG? Well that's interesting...) There was always going to be some attraction to this game which promised to flaunt old-school era (My old-school, I mean) Nick characters for people to smash about with, simply because of the nostalgia factor. But I'm seeing some actual enjoyment from a few people as well, mixed in with genuine concerns regarding seriously skewered balancing which seems to transcend usual high-level tiering play and bleeds into casual fun too. (Did you really expect a finely tuned fighter right out of the gate? I didn't.)
But when you cast just a slightly more invasive critical eye on everything here than you have to start asking a few serious questions, afterall wasn't the late Steve Hillenburg, the creator of Spongebob, against his adorably yellow sponge starring in crossover projects? As well as the idea of a Patrick Show and Sponge Bob kids, which are both now a reality. Though maybe I'm being presumptive and his issues wouldn't have extended to games, that wouldn't be too much of a surprise as the world's are pretty separate from one another. However then you stop and think about how in a Nickelodeon game starring Spongbob charatcers, Avatar characters, Catdog, Nigel Thronberry, Reptar, Lucy Loud and so much more; not a single one is being voiced by the original VA talent. Bare in mind, most of these actors are very active in the voice acting community right now, Nick hasn't dug up any relic TV shows, so it would only take an ask and a paycheck. They just don't want to, and isn't that a little telling?
And on the otherside of the news wall to the shadowy incorporeal world of 'speculation', we have the famed Warner Bros studio bringing their own fighting game and- wait hold on. The movie studio? They're doing a fighting game? What? Speculation is a bit of a bold statement, this is leaked to the point of near confirmation with so much out there that we're hearing of ongoing negotiations to bring in characters from across the- Warner-verse? This is so weird. I understand the crossover of video game franchises, that makes total sense and I have no gripes with how it has all been done, I've come to grips with the animated show crossover potential, they occupy the same medium, same as gaming, so it feels natural for them to shoulder up. But Warner Bros properties? Really? Different franchises from all over the place united only because they take a paycheck from the same place? (Tell me that's not just a little bit cynical)
This isn't even the first time they've tried this sort of weird thing. Do you remember Space Jam 2 where, under the guise of making this a 'bigger sequel', Warner decided that this Looney Toons movie needed cameos from every major franchise they could get their grubby mitts on from Justice League, Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones and... A Clockwork Orange? (In a kid's movie? Is anyone going to- nah, it's clear that Warner highups have never seen that movie. No need to spoil it for them.) For some reason WB think that if the 'cinematic universe' path to dominance is a road that has been worn-down and set aflame by Disney's Marvel, then they'll slam all gear in a multiuniversal crossover instead. And to be fair the idea is certainly different, although that doesn't mean I think it's a good one, or well conceived.
So far this news only really blew up because of Warner Bros. embarrassing themselves by trailing several years behind on a meme. (Thanks for Big Chungus in Space Jam, guys, you really hit that one on the height of it's zeitgeist) This time it's the all-powerful Shaggy meme that steamed out a couple of years back. Yep, Shaggy is going to be a fighter in this game and that alone has scored just a little bit of free publicity as people see that headline and then quickly check their calendars to make sure they haven't accidentally slipped back in time. But rumours run even deeper than that. Apparently we can expect Batman (Duh) and Gandalf. (Um... okay that one leaves me a little speechless) Is this going to be Sir Ian McKellen's iconic Gandalf? Because with an upcoming new take on Lord of the Rings that is presumably going to recast the main characters, that seems a little bit reductive in helping audiences come to terms with these new faces. (But then, they've already licenced a crappy mobile game with the old likenesses, so maybe WB is just stupid.)
If there's one thing I can say positive about this proposed fighting game, and there is literally only one thing, it's that the assumed title derived from a copyright filing, MULTIVERSUS, is actually pretty cool. It oozes tons more imagination than 'All-Stars Brawl'. But to loop back to my original point, this is all showcasing the head-scratching fact that Smash's brand of fighting game is spawning something of a subgenre, and it's weird that this is happening after 21 years in series developments. (although to be fair, we don't know that Multiversus is going to be stock-based, but the cross-over element, as well as the general timing, certainly fits that mould) Is the allure just because the king is stepping down from the throne, inviting this mad scramble to snatch the absent throne? Are they drooling after the decades of success that the Smash formula has heralded? Why do it just after the final flare of the Life-light chorus, I just don't get the reasoning!
Throwing more competition into any field of gaming is generally a good thing, rising tides raise all ships, as they say, but there's a touch of the corporate that I just can't shake here which poisons any excitement I otherwise might have built up. Why bring Nickelodeon characters to life if you don't also invite the iconic voices that come with them, Spongebob without Tom Kenney is just a household sponge, what are you doing? And though it'll definitely be funny to watch Fred Flintstone, Mad Max and Tom and Jerry wrapped up in a cartoon puff-cloud (All of whom are apparently confirmed characters for this game) without the eye of a damned maestro in charge of this project this is going to turn into a total mess of conflicting styles and characters that turns out little better than a MUGEN fighter. I suppose the next 'Fighter approaching' isn't going to be a character reveal, but the reveal of the next studio trying to springboard their inhouse franchises for a cheap turn-around.
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