Iconic cartoon duo Ren and Stimpy to join Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl

Many fans of the classic ’90s cartoons that aired on Nickelodeon fondly remember The Ren & Stimpy Show, and for good reason. The show depicted unrestrained cartoon slapstick in its purest form, and it often reached a level of vulgarity that even many cartoons of today do not even attempt to replicate. Understandably, those who followed the platform fighter Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl since its announcement have hoped that the game would reveal Ren and Stimpy as playable characters. Fortunately, a newly released trailer for the game did just that, which will surely make fans of the cartoon incredibly pleased.

The new Ren and Stimpy trailer only lasts for over half a minute, but it still gives a decent idea as to what the duo’s moveset will look like. Both characters fight together as one, and according to a PlayStation Blog post, each of their attacks references a specific moment from The Ren & Stimpy Show. Some of the duo’s more recognizable attacks include their log projectile, which references the iconic log commercial from the show, and their “Strong Up Air” attack, which calls back to the arguably more iconic “Happy Happy Joy Joy” song.

A surprisingly promising game

When developers Ludosity and Fair Play Labs first announced Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl, many reacted with both ironic and genuine excitement as well as some skepticism over the idea of a licensed Super Smash Bros. clone. But once more information about the game started to come out, genuine interest grew as gameplay demonstrations depicted a surprisingly technical fighter with a plethora of advanced tricks to take advantage of. One recent demonstration even specifically showed Spongebob performing the famous wavedash technique from Super Smash Bros. Melee, a visual that is both fun to watch and more than a little surreal to process.

The hype for Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl grows by the day, and the announcement of Ren and Stimpy will only accelerate that hype. Hopefully, both characters, as well as the final game in general, will turn out just as enjoyable as the trailer makes them out to be.