Smash has some serious competition coming on October 5, as the Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is coming out that day. Being developed by Ludosity, the same people behind Slap City, the game will play like a clone of Super Smash Bros. Melee, complete with wave dashing, as shown by the gameplay showcase. Ludosity wanted to go all out with the game. Since they know how to make Smash Clones, it seems only fair that they’re going to make the best one possible given such a massive roster of iconic cartoon characters. However, there’s one thing that players are concerned about when it comes to the game’s development. That one single thing about Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is that all of the characters don’t have voiceovers in the game.

Super Smash Bros., filled with characters from iconic games throughout time, has voiceovers for all their characters. Since the game comprises mainly Nintendo characters, not including voices for them would be a crime. However, there’s a more nuanced reason that the Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl isn’t going the same route. 

While not explicitly stated by the developers, getting voice actors for cartoons is difficult. This was one of the main reasons someone like Clancy Brown, who voices Mr. Krabs, wasn’t involved in making the SpongeBob 3D platformer Battle for Bikini Bottom. The voice actors, much like real actors, are working on other projects, and some of them might have even retired their roles as certain characters. However, getting Tom Kenny for SpongeBob would be easy, as he’s involved in the new SpongeBob 3D platformer, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake. The real issue comes from getting the voice actors of characters like Helga from Hey Arnold! or voice actors for characters like Ren & Stimpy. 

However, just because Ludosity isn’t looking into putting voiceovers in Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl now doesn’t mean they won’t add them in the future. Their official reason was stated in a Q&A with Game Informer. Joel Nyström, CEO of Ludosity, had this to say. “Our focus was on creating the best possible gameplay experience for core brawling fans and Nickelodeon fans around the globe. It is not as straightforward to do as one might think, and as we continue to build the Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl franchise, we will be reviewing all options, which may include adding VO down the road.”

Besides Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl voiceovers, there’s also some more information coming from the Q&A with Nyström. He mentions that the game will include a base roster of 20 characters, with two more coming down the line as free. But for those ready to see some Nickelodeon Smash reveals, they’re going to be adding DLC characters in the future, hoping to expand the DLC roster to the game and including more characters from other shows. Fans of Jimmy Neutron or Timmy Turner who haven’t seen them appear yet, still have a chance. 

Another thing he mentioned is that Nickelodeon asked Ludosity to make the game competitive from the start, in addition to the fact that there are no plans to add live-action characters. Even though the title of the game says Nickelodeon and not Nicktoons, the developers don’t feel that characters like Drake & Josh will fit in with the game’s roster, so they’re planning on sticking with cartoons for the foreseeable future. They’ve also mentioned that the game differs from Smash Bros. in many small ways, which helps the game set itself apart from the series and keeps it as its own game. 

With all this information in mind, players won’t have to wait long as the game launches in just under three weeks. With October 5 creeping over the horizon, there’s going to be no shortage of hype for the game coming out.