Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 leaks appear to confirm significant roster cuts

The latest leaks regarding Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 suggest that many experienced fighters from the original game roster have been removed.

Unfortunately, Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 was already a notoriously leaky ship before its official announcement. The initial leak hinted at Squidward being a playable character and the characters having revamped movesets, which ultimately turned out to be true. However, the leaks didn't stop there, as the entire game roster was later leaked through an prematurely released cover art on Amazon.

Although many were excited about the new characters such as the Angry Beavers and Azula from Avatar, many quickly noticed that 11 veterans from the first game were not visible on the cover art. This raised concerns that they had been completely removed from the roster.

Since the roster leak, fans have been searching for any confirmation that these veteran characters could make a return. However, it seems that some recent leaks have dashed these hopes and provided further indications that they may not be playable this time around, and perhaps only appear as NPCs in the story mode.

The first major leak indicating this occurred last week when a render of Hugh Neutron was shared on the game's Discord page, along with images of Gir and Gaz from Invader Zim. Although the reliable leaker PapaGenos had previously hinted that Hugh would be playable after seeing a render of him, this leak confirmed that he is only an NPC in the story mode and not playable.

Since then, several more leaks have been released, showcasing similar renders for previously playable characters who appear to only appear in the game's story mode as NPCs or bosses, such as Shredder and Powdered Toast Man. This has further reinforced the suspicion that there have been some significant roster cuts.

To add even more evidence to the theory and practically confirm what we had feared all along, the reveal trailer of Grandma Gertie showcased a new stage from Hey Arnold, where Helga is seen as a background character. All these factors combined seemed to confirm that along with Oblina, Toph, Sandy, Leonardo, Lincoln, Michelangelo, Shredder, Hugh, Powdered Toast Man, and CatDog, they will not be playable in the sequel.

While it's common for characters to be removed between sequels, some of the decisions made here have been somewhat controversial. For example, not all Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were united in one game, and Lincoln Loud, one of the most prominent Nick characters in the entire roster, was cut. Although it appears that 11 characters have been removed, it's important to note that nothing official has been confirmed so far. Therefore, it's advisable to approach all of this with a grain of skepticism.