*Game review is based on the 3DS version*

Ever since Super Smash Bros hit the N64 in 1999, a new style of fighting games were born. Since then many companies have tried to emulate the Smash Bros style, with games like Playstation All-Stars Battle Royal, TMNT: Smash-Up, Jump Superstars(and its sequel Jump Ultimate Stars), DreamMix TV World Fighters, etc., each with varying degrees of success.

By 2011, the higher ups thought it would be a good idea to make a Smash-style fighter featuring various characters from Cartoon Network's line-up, and on paper it does sound like a pretty awesome idea.

Unfortunately the execution left a lot to be desired.

The game starts with your standard modes with Story and Battle modes, as well as an Options menu and Vault(where you can view records, character stats, movies, etc.). The Battle mode has a normal and custom mode, and can be played between friends and/or CPU. Despite the game being a multiplayer heavy game(like most fighters are), there's not an option to play online, so you better hope you have friends that have this game and are willing to play this with you.

The game's visuals are nothing really to write home about, though there isn't really anything wrong with them either. The games follows the character designs fairly well, and seeing some of the different show's worlds recreated in 3D is pretty neat to see.

The game's music moves between dull and generic to outright non-existent. Even when I played the game with headphones and having the 3DS at full blast, I could barely hear any of the game's music, and if I did, it would be nothing worth noting. The game also features voice acting, but unfortunately hearing them yell the same lines over and over can be grating, especially considering some of the characters don't have their original voices. On the bright side, the ever awesome George Lowe(Known for Space Ghost Coast to Coast fame), and he sounds as great as ever(despite a few cheesy lines.)

The story is pretty much what you expect from almost any other crossover: A bunch of characters are bunched together and must travel into each other's worlds in order to beat the bad guy. One thing I'll give this game over Smash is that it actually used the character's universes to the story's advantage(which was one of my main problems with Subspace Emissary). Unfortunately it is also here where the game's biggest problems start to unravel. The story is mainly played through a series of platforming fighting several enemies along the way, the controls feel slippery and awkward. Jumping would feel loose and slippery and fighting enemies proved to be nuisance do to poor hit detection. There would also be moments where that moved you away from the main gameplay and placed you in different gimmicks like turret sections, cannon sections, slingshots, and etc. And for some reason the cutscenes aren't animated, and feel like they were poorly made through MS Paint

Going back to the main gameplay, it definitely feels like a Smash Bros game, but if feels like one if it had all of the precision, effort, and fun removed. Again, the controls feel very slippery and clumsy. Much like Smash, damage is determined by percentage and the more damage you receive, the farther you'll be knocked back. The game also features Super Attacks(like Final Smashes) that can be initiated by filling up a power bar(like PSASBR) that's filled by obtaining these power gems that appear after an opponent is attacked. Activating the attack then initiates a cutscene of the character using the attack, rather than the character using the attack in game(like in SSB or PSASBR), which can get very old and annoying quick. Also, for some reason, rather than having the camera zoom far enough to see all the characters(like Smash and PSASBR) it's zoomed into the character your using instead, which makes following your opponents a pain since more likely than not you won't have enough time to detect your enemy's attacks. Also one thing that's expected to see in a fighting game is too see your enemy's status, in this game you only have access to your own status and one opponent's status, fighting multiple enemies and the enemy status will alternate when ever the opponent on your screen is KO'd, which makes detecting opponent's progress difficult on top the camera issues.

The roster feels feels really small and underwhelming despite some notable fan favorites. The roster mainly features 18 characters from the "Golden Age of Cartoon Network" with characters like Bloo and Mack, Dexter, Grim, Billy and Mandy, Numbah One, Samurai Jack, all 3 Power Puff Girls, as well as some more recent characters Flapjack, Chowder, and Ben Tennyson and even features Captain Planet. Despite having some notable fan-favorites, the game also has various glaring omissions:notable shows include Ed, Edd N' Eddy, Courage, Johnny Bravo(who was included in PS360Wii Port), Scooby Doo, Hi Hi Puffy Ami Yumi, Juniper Lee, Megas XLR(personal Bias ), Generator Rex, Symbionic Titan, and most notably Adventure Time and Regular Show(the game appeared after these two aired, and in a year where the 2 hit their stride), and even Toonami's Tom. The console port bumps the roster up to 26, but the only character worth noting was Johnny Bravo as all the other characters appeared in the 3DS game as bosses(and are from shows already repped)...also apparently it was a better idea to have a second version of Ben 10 as a playable character

The characters also play like Smash Bros characters, each character has 4 normal and special attacks, several air attacks, grabs(though grabbing opponents feel sloppy), blocking and dodging. Unfortunately the roster is unbalanced with some characters being overpowered and having unfair advantages over others(Ben 10's side special in particular is ridiculously strong)

There's potential for a good game here, but there's a ton here that needs to be fixed before that can happen. Instead it's a very unsubtle Super Smash Bros clone that lacks the polish and excitement that that series is known for. From what I've heard. the console version addresses a couple of issues I had with the game(Online, display for all fighters, etc.) but until I try that version for myself, I'm still not sold

Final Verdict: I can only recommend this game to those who are huge Cartoon Network fans(added that it's pretty cheap), and even then it's a hard sell, especially with the limited roster. Otherwise your better off sticking to Super Smash Bros(or PSASBR if you like the Smash style, but aren't sold on Nintendo characters)