Let’s eliminate some series options first
Ren & Stimpy, Angry Beavers: I would genuinely be shocked if they added literally anyone from these series’. If I absolutely had to name a likely candidate I’d say Mr. Horse but eh
SpongeBob, Hey Arnold: It got 2 newcomers in base game, they’re both pretty popular but I just don’t see them doing a third newcomer for this game for either of them as DLC
Danny Phantom: It’s been claimed by the leaker that Danny, Ember and Vlad apparently rotated between 2 slots for a bit, before they eventually settled on Danny and Ember. If we were getting another DP character as DLC I can’t justify why it wouldn’t be Vlad, but since he was also deconfirmed by the leaker I will instead assume it’s not getting any DLC
Rocko: I don’t think this is a set in stone rule but something I did notice regarding the Nick crossover games is that Rocko got 2 reps in these games when he was actively getting stuff (Super Brawl Universe and KR2 gave us Heffer as well, and during that period of time also gave us Rocko comics and Static Cling which released in 2019). And ever since Static Cling came and went and no new Rocko project was in sight, it got reduced back down to just Rocko himself. Even in KR3 Heffer was one of the few roster cuts. Again, this isn’t a definitive rule, but I do think there could be some merit to it due to Danny’s series finally getting more than just Danny in a year where he’s finally getting something new (the comic). So I will assume that Rocko isn’t getting another character in this instance
Wild Thornberrys, Garfield: These two series feel like they’re already well represented with the characters we got and I imagine the devs would feel similarly. Especially with Garf leaning more into memes I feel like it’d just make an inclusion like Jon even more redundant. It’s like, Nigel and Garfield being the sole reps of their series is kinda what makes them special and neat, and I just doubt that that’ll change
Avatar/Korra, Jimmy Neutron, El Tigre: These franchises got new characters/cut characters in base game and according to a playtester the DLC supposedly rounds out the base roster decently well. I imagine that means filling up series rep that’s more lacking atm rather than adding onto what’s already there
So as far as franchises go that leaves Loud House, Rugrats, TMNT, Invader Zim and MLAATR
It’s a tough call from here on who I think we’d end up getting but I’m gonna refer back to how other GameMill Nick games tend to rep series and go from there
Generally, they have 2 LH reps, 4 TMNT reps, 2 Invader Zim reps, 1 MLAATR rep and a varying quantity for Rugrats. Considering we currently have 1 LH character, 3 TMNT characters and 1 IZ character (if Gir is included with Zim as one I suppose) so I’d wager those 3 franchises we’ll get a character
From there I think it’s between Rugrats and MLAATR and I think I will have to lean towards Rugrats here, partly due to MLAATR generally just getting repped by Jenny and partly because the DLC is currently lacking 90’s franchises and Rugrats seems to be the only remaining viable option
so my franchise predictions for DLC are:
- Rugrats
- Invader Zim
- TMNT
- Loud House
Just from a franchise standpoint this feels like it fulfills the definition of being kinda mixed, since a lot of people want more Rugrats/Invader Zim, but also don’t necessarily want more TMNT/Loud House
Now to determine who’s actually in:
Rugrats: Chuckie
Prepare for a long read on this one
So I’m of the belief Nick crossover games have had…some kind of correlation in regards to their rosters. I think I’ve explained this belief before but KR3 has every currently cut NASB 2 character as playable except for Shredder and Hugh, but also noticeably does not have Nigel. Meanwhile Nick Tennis DID have Thornberrys, but it was Eliza, not Nigel
Anyways, Rugrats started out with Tommy, Angelica and Reptar, and KR2 added Chuckie. Fast forward to KR3 and we have Reptar, Chuckie and Suzie, but no Tommy or Angelica
Then in Nick Tennis we got Angelica and Suzie, but no Tommy, Reptar or Chuckie. And now here in NASB 2 have Reptar and Tommy as part of his win/loss animation.
It’s also worth mentioning Reptar, Tommy, Angelica, Chuckie and Suzie were the only 5 Rugrats characters to get announcer calls in NASB 1, no Phil & Lil, no Stu, etc
What I’m getting at with the correlation between Nick game rosters is that it seems like for certain franchises characters take turns repping their series. Reptar is consistently in all of them, but then we have Suzie in 2 games in a row, Tommy finally back, but as part of Reptar’s win/loss thing, and Angelica was in Nick Tennis as the sole Rugrats rep initially
That leaves Chuckie, who we know already has his voice actor attached for the game (Chuckie’s KR3 voice actor is also Lucy’s) and thanks to things like Chuckie Chan has more realizable fighter/meme potential that would probably influence Ludosity/Fair Play/Nickelodeon to pick him
Invader Zim: Dib Membrane
Gir is still with Zim, Gaz is an NPC, Professor Membrane has like no alt potential, that leaves Dib as the obvious IZ pick and also a top request. After all some of the DLC picks are still supposed to be good
TMNT: Probably Casey Jones, maybe a villain
Casey Jones feels like the obvious pick here, would round out the crew the best with Splinter not being an option now, but I could also see them potentially going for a classic non Shredder villain. Whether that’s Bebop and/or Rocksteady, Baxter Stockman, Lord Dregg, who knows for sure. But the safest prediction is Casey so that’s what I’ll stick to
Loud House: Luan Loud
While Luan is definitely the most speculated/probably desired LH newcomer, she’s always been a divisive character even in the immediate fanbase. And doubly over here since she’s LH, but generally speaking most of her other sisters are either a bit plain, mechanically redundant, or just have better alternatives in general (I’m also ruling out Clyde and Ronnie Anne on that last metric thank you Gerald
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So in conclusion, my current DLC prediction looks something like this. It’d sell, has a couple good and a couple bad picks, rounds out the base game roster decently well, etc
Thanks for reading let me know how wrong I am
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