It’s been nearly three years since Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 was released on November 7, 2023. Though the game initially launched with a roster made up of 25 characters, four more — Mr. Krabs, Zuko, Iroh and Rocksteady — would later be added as DLC.
Of course, Iroh had a lot of anticipation behind his release considering his popularity among the general Avatar: The Last Airbender fanbase. However, when he actually released into Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2, he quickly became one of the most hated characters.
Iroh became so despised within the Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 community that there was eventually a push to have him banned from events. Even some of the players that used Iroh supported this notion.
What’s funny about this is that Iroh apparently wasn’t even considered to be a top tier character at the time. He was certainly strong, but was generally perceived to be a high tier.
Essentially, players wanted Iroh banned due to how “annoying” it was to fight against him. He had a tendency to slow the pacing down of an otherwise fast-paced game.
This was mostly due to how Iroh’s down special functioned. He would take about two seconds to drink some tea. If successful, Iroh will recover some damage, empower his attacks for a period and generate some Slime meter.
Those familiar with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s Wii Fit Trainer should notice similarities to the Deep Breathing down special. The major difference is that Iroh’s version of the technique felt quite a bit overtuned by comparison.
Wii Fit Trainer’s Deep Breathing only recovered 2% damage while Iroh’s Jasmine Dragon’s Tea recovered a full 15%. It also makes more of a difference considering that Wii Fit Trainer has an average weight (96 points compared to Mario’s 98) while Iroh is said to be the ninth heaviest out of 29.
Additionally, Iroh’s Jasmine Dragon’s Tea greatly extended the reach of many of Iroh’s fire-based attacks. He can even interrupt the special into other specials, so it felt like less of a commitment compared to Wii Fit Trainer’s Deep Breathing.
Eventually, Iroh received significant nerfs that dropped him several tiers. For context, his Jasmine Dragon’s Tea now only recovers 4% damage compared to its previous 15% healing effect.
Check it all out in the video below presented by The GRD and TheFrozenCavern:
Click images for larger versions
