Let’s get the ones I have less to say about out of the way first.
Silver Ball Representation
Chance: 1%
Want: Abstain
This is the first Nickelodeon specific ranking in this thread to ever be before my time. Thanks for making me feel young for once!
I don’t know anything about what Silver Ball Era Nickelodeon was like beyond getting slimed for saying “I Don’t Know” and… the Silver Ball.
Maybe they could have the Silver Ball as a Sports mode ball if they ever add anything to that in an update but otherwise, I don’t think they even actually owned any of the stuff they broadcasted in those days.
Bloom (Winx Club)
Chance: 30%
Want: 25%
I didn’t watch this one as a kid, and it became a Nick thing looooooong after the fact, but honestly, I’m still gonna rate Bloom fairly high because why not, right? TMNT is here, Garfield is here, there’s a possibility they could throw in Alvin and the Chipmunks and the ****ing Smurfs at some point, Winx Club is another acquisition along those lines, so I don’t see why it should be left out. I know it’s not as big an IP as any of the things I just listed, but neither is AAAHH Real Monsters, so whatever. Bloom has her fans demanding her, so anything is possible.
Bloom would also add another “action character” to the roster, and let’s be frank, Nick really does not have a surplus of those at all. I’m up for Bloom.
Okay. Now we get into the really meaty one. I’m shocked a character this iconic and this divisive didn’t get his own day.
Tommy Pickles
Well, we all knew this had to happen eventually. The Rugrats Debate has made it to the RTC thread.
Hoo boy, here we go…
Chance: 50%
Tommy Pickles is possibly the only Nickelodeon original character (not counting any from Nick Jr) who was ever at any point as iconic as the cast of Spongebob is now, with the only runners up being other Rugrats characters.
Rugrats at its peak was by all accounts a cultural phenomenon. Tommy, Chuckie, Angelica, and the present and accounted for Reptar, were Nick’s biggest stars for years before the Sponge showed up to climb to even greater heights. You can say Fairly Oddparents is Nick’s second biggest show after Spongebob, but it never got the level of sheer real-world fame that Rugrats did. It was, with absolutely zero exaggeration, everywhere, and it was everywhere for a long ass time. I think people often forget how much of a juggernaut Rugrats really was back when it was the top-**** dog of Nick.
Rugrats as an ongoing franchise, movies and spinoffs/sequels included, lasted a whopping 17 years before finally ending and lying dormant until the 2021 reboot brought it roaring back. It has over 20 awards to its name, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (something not even Spongebob has!), mountains of merchandise that it’s fellow Nicktoons at the time could only dream of having, and of course, absolute scads of video game appearances, both Rugrats specific and Nickelodeon crossovers. Needless to say, in the world of Nickelodeon, Thomas Malcom Pickles is a big damn deal, and that is something you simply just cannot ignore when talking about his chances of getting into NASB.
The problem? Well. Tommy is a baby.
While I personally don’t think it’s going to be much of an issue, there are a lot of people who think it’d be morally reprehensible to put a baby character in such a violent game. These same people probably throw blue shells at Baby Mario no problem.
Tommy has many appearances in Nicktoons crossover games, where despite being only a year old, could stick up for himself and get banged around by the other characters just fine. A few appearances had him ten years older, but for the most part, the most “violent” games, be they kart racing, mini game collections or even other fighting games, Tommy’s been a baby, because that’s how we know him best.
Also, even if you are fighting a baby, the nature of this game means Tommy can not only fight back in turn, but can even defeat foes such as Shredder, Aang, Danny Phantom, Jenny and Invader ZIM.
Again, no one has a problem with the Mario Babies getting blown up and run over, why suddenly clutch your pearls for a character who has made at least 15 video game appearances, some of which involve him getting blown up and run over? Hell, Pichu is a baby! No one complains about beating up Pichu!
Would fighting Baby Tommy look really off? Maybe at first, yeah, but you’d probably get used to it pretty quickly, especially if Tommy winds up being particularly powerful. He’s been in Nick Brawl games before this one after all.
That said, this is just me talking. The devs may have different standards. A joke was made about Lily Loud not being able to join in on the action because she’s a baby, so perhaps the same mindset could be used to explain Tommy’s absence.
Speaking of Louds, Lucy Loud apparently needed a lot of convincing to be allowed as a playable character for reasons yet unknown. Lucy being the youngest character on the roster thus far (if you don’t count Jenny canonically being built five years prior to the start of her show at least) has everyone theorizing it could be because she’s only 9 years old. Tommy is a mere 1 year old.
I don’t know if they’ve said anything else on the matter, usually they’re pretty open to tell us if Nick doesn’t want something. If Nick vetoed Tommy because he’s a baby, they probably would have told us by now.
Now, everyone seems to think Reptar is meant to be a compromise since the actual babies and kids can’t be playable, but if you ask me, I think they picked Reptar because Reptar is a badass fire breathing dinosaur, one of the show’s breakout stars and one of Nick’s tentpole nostalgia bait characters. It’s possible Reptar won out because of the baby problem, but you can’t tell me his cool factor and Nick’s favoritism of him didn’t play a role in there somewhere.
Two other things to note are one: Tommy’s complete absence whatsoever from the game. Not even a stage cameo. All he gets is a mention in the Tommy Ball, which, two: the Tommy Ball makes three appearances in the game. As an item, as a ball in Sports mode, and as a background object in the Rugrats stage. This is a bit of a stretch, but the ball being so present in the game sort of robs Tommy of one of his potential moves. For all we know that was purposeful. But Tommy’s being nowhere to be seen could be purposeful too as a means of leaving him open.
Do I think we’re getting Tommy in this game or any potential Ludosity developed NASB sequels? Look, Rugrats is a huge part of Nickelodeon’s history if not the biggest, being the one that started it all. They can’t just have ONE Rugrats character and ONE Rugrats stage. There’d HAVE to be more. But would it be Tommy? Debatable. If the age of the characters is such a big deal, a compromise can be made in using Angelica instead, who is the show’s other breakout star and was considered a lot more popular a character than Tommy during the show’s run. Angelica is 3 years old, yeah, but she’s got enough of a mean streak for someone three times her age and was often written with smarts and a wit beyond her age like most cartoon kids anyway. Angelica is also in every game Tommy has been in, including the other crossovers and fighting games.
There’s also the All Grown Up version of the characters, who I’ve seen mentioned several times, but man, AGU Tommy was such a sissy that I’d still give that one to Angelica instead. How did this kid peak as a baby?!
If age is not a problem, then there’s still that competition against Angelica for the spot, who I actually think would generally make a much better character choice, but Tommy may just show up anyway because he’s still Tommy Goddamn Pickles.
Want: 95%
I have a veritable truckload of nostalgia for Rugrats. Rugrats was my first real fandom growing up. I remember seeing the touring live show with those lumpy-ass costumes. I remember the rush of waiting for the movie to come out, which Nick promoted like it was the second coming of Jesus, and how finally seeing the movie felt like a genuine event. Most of all, I remember Tommy was my favorite character.
I think Tommy would be a hilarious character to have in NASB, not because I want to beat up a baby, but I want to beat up others with a baby! Also, like I said, Tommy is about as much of a “Nickelodeon All Star” as you can get, and there’s no disputing that.
Thing is, I still feel like Angelica would overall be a stronger choice for a Rugrats character. Even more iconic and popular, a more recognizable character design, and a more dynamic personality that would make for a more dynamic moveset, being a manipulative little sociopathic troublemaker. Who hasn’t wanted to punch those teeth in as a kid?
If it came down to it though, yeah, I’d welcome Tommy in with open arms (and closed fists). I’ve said I love my off-the-wall picks, but NASB really could use a huge slam dunk heavy hitter of a famous character like Tommy Pickles in it.
I’m honestly kind of surprised there isn’t that much demand for more Rugrats characters. Guys, come on, it’s Rugrats!
I’d put in a nom for Angelica if I wasn’t working on getting that Angry Beavers triple day.
Which, by the way, all noms towards Norbert, Daggett and both.
Patchy the Pirate Prediction: 15%
