Nickelodeonis having a bit of a resurgence in the gaming industry. Titles likeNickelodeon Kart RacersandNickelodeon All-Star Brawlhave helped some ofNickelodeon’sclassic cartoons enter the spotlight once more, meanwhile games likeSpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydratedhave reinvigorated interest in licensed 3D platformers. While not all of these titles have been met with critical acclaim, they helped Nickelodeon carve out a slice of the industry for itself that could be filled with other returning Nicktoons.
This resurgence should specifically see the return of the popularNicktoons Unite!series. That crossover series has not had a new entry since 2008, and now may be the best time for it to make a comeback. There isa new hunger for Nickelodeon video games, and it is time for the company to capitalize on that nostalgia with new multiversal adventures.
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Nicktoons Games Were a Perfect Treat for Nickelodeon Fans
BeforeNickelodeon Kart RacersandNickelodeon All-Star Brawlbrought Nick’s most popular cartoons together, there wasNicktoons Unite!The series began in 2005 with a title of the same name that brought togetherthe four biggest Nick cartoonsat the time to save the multiverse. Players could control Jimmy Neutron fromThe Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, Timmy Turner fromThe Fairly OddParents, Danny Phantom fromDanny Phantom, and SpongeBob SquarePants. It was great to see all of these popular characters interact, made even better by the fact that the game featured four-player co-op for those that wanted to adventure through Nickelodeon’s IPs with friends.
The first game was successful enough to spawn three sequels, the first one launching in 2006.Nicktoons: Battle for Volcano Islandincreased the amount of playable characters to six. Danny Phantom, Timmy Turner, andSpongeBob SquarePants were joined by Patrick Star, Sandy Cheeks, and Sam Manson. The characters had to save the multiverse once again, and while it was far from a perfect game, it was a lot of fun for fans of these cartoons.
A third title would release a year later.Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybotsimproved on almost every aspect of the previous entries, andincreased the roster of Nickelodeon charactersimmensely. Players could control all the main characters from the previous games, and they were joined by characters from shows likeInvader Zim, My Life as a Teenage Robot,Rocko’s Modern Life, andThe Ren and Stimpy Show.
The final game in theNicktoonsUnite!series hit store shelves in 2008, putting SpongeBob SquarePants at the center.SpongeBob SquarePants featuring Nicktoons: Globs of Doomcontinued the multiverse story, but brought the series to a mediocre conclusion. Many of the shows from the previous game did not return, withThe Fairly OddParentsbeing noticeably absent. It paled in comparison to what came before, and also seems to have alsostopped any plans for futureNicktoons Unite!games.
If the initial popularity ofNickelodeon All-Star Brawlis anything to go by, there are fans who would want more experiences like theNicktoons Unite!series.These four 3D platformersprovided a decent amount of fun for fans of the network, and the popularity of wild crossovers has only grown since. Today’s hardware could lead to a whole new type of exciting crossover withNickelodeon’s most iconic series. Purple Lamp successfully brought SpongeBob SquarePants 3D platformers back, and now it should be handed the keys to the entire Nicktoons multiverse.
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