| Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion | |
|---|---|
North American cover for the Nintendo 3DS version |
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| Developer(s) | Papaya Studio |
| Publisher(s) | Crave Entertainment (US) Deep Silver (UK) |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo 3DS, Wii, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 |
| Release date(s) | Nintendo 3DS Wii, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 |
| Genre(s) | Fighting |
| Mode(s) | Single player, Multiplayer (via wireless/StreetPass) |
| Rating(s) |
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| Media/distribution | Game Card, Wii Optical Disc, Blu-ray Disc, DVD |
Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion is a fighting video game developed by Papaya Studio and published by Crave Entertainment, for the Nintendo 3DS. The game was released on June 2, 2011 in North America. While, in Europe it is set to release on December 1, 2011. A port of the game for major game consoles (Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3) entitled: Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion XL was released in North America on November 15, 2011.
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Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion is a fighting game which plays very similarly to the Super Smash Bros. series. Up to four players (human or CPU controlled) control a character and fight on a multi-tiered 2D stage. Players may use various items that appear randomly to get the fighting edge over their opponent. Additionally, the stage may use set elements in order to take out other players.
When players strike one another, glowing orbs will fall out of them. If players collect enough of these orbs, they will fill up their special meter that unleashes a powerful "Punch Time Explosion" attack against their opponents. For example, Dexter will summon one of his fighting robot suits and fire off devastating lasers.
In the XL version, fighting characters can team up with certain assist characters and do Synergy attacks. For example, Ben can team up with Fred Fredburger and light his flatulence using his Swampfire form for a devastating explosion attack.
A TV announcer for Cartoon Network (voiced by George Lowe), decides to take a day off and watch some of the company's television series. However, he finds that all these shows are facing utter destruction. Leading him to watch the all-star superhero Ben Tennyson, who, seeing a newspaper article about the return of his arch-enemy, Vilgax, heads off to find him. Ben is then transported into another world. Where he battles a corrupted Chowder, a Cat-bear-rabbit-thing who loves to eat. The hero then teams up with him to find Mung Daal, Chowder's employer. They find him with Vilgax, who escapes while the two are defending Mung.
Chowder's dimension is then destroyed and they're then brought to Ben's universe, and are transported to the Null Void after freeing a corrupted Buttercup. The three find Vilgax, but are brought to Primus to fight Ultimate Kevin Levin while Vilgax escapes yet again. After the battle, Ben's world is also destroyed, but the three heroes are saved by Dexter, who's built a machine that allows them to travel to the different dimensions. They then go to Flapjack's universe to save him, but the harbor is attacked by Stickybeard and his crew.
While the others retreat, telling Flapjack they'll return, Flapjack fends off the candy pirates (along the way finding Captain K'nuckles), then fighting Vilgax and a corrupted Numbuh One. After Vilgax escapes, Numbuh One joins with Flapjack and K'nuckles to defeat Stickybeard. When Bubbie the Whale finds out Flapjack is under attack by Stickybeard and his pirates, Bubbie swallows up Flapjack, Captain K'nuckles, Numbuh One and Stickybeard, making it harder for Stickybeard to do battle, (Because Flapjack and Captain K'nuckles have been inside Bubbie a thousand times.) After Stickybeard's defeat, the heroes are picked up by the others and brought to Numbuh One's dimension.
Numbuh One, Flapjack, and K'nuckles then defend the Kids Next Door's treehouse from the candy pirates. Meanwhile, back in Dexter's dimension, Father sneaks in and sabotages the lab, sending Ben, Chowder, and Buttercup to the City of Townsville (the Powerpuff Girls' dimension), where Mojo Jojo is on a rampage in a giant robot. There, they find Blossom and Bubbles (who were corrupted, but returned to normal once they accidentally hit the travel machine's door). The group fights their way through the bustling metropolis, but then fight amongst themselves as to who would go to face Mojo. The winner of the fight then destroys the robot's power core. Mojo then escapes, and the heroes leave as the dimension is destroyed.
The group finds themselves at Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, where they rescue a corrupted Mac and Bloo and defend Cheese from villainous forces. After that, Mac and Bloo join up with the heroes and head out just as the dimension is destroyed. After picking up Numbuh One, Flapjack, and K'nuckles at KND treehouse, the now-one team returns to Dexter's lab, which is now heavily damaged. After the group fights their way through (rescuing Monkey in the process), they find Father, who then fights the player and Numbuh One. After Father escapes, the heroes are attacked by Aku.
After Aku is defeated, the heroes travel to Endsville and encounter the Grim Reaper. After fighting their way through, rescuing a corrupted Billy and Mandy, and battling an army of zombies, the group goes to the Underworld. There, they find and defeat Mojo Jojo and Father. They then escape the dimension as it, to, is destroyed (Chowder just barely making it). They then take the capsule (the Announcer noticing how it's surprisingly roomier than it looks from the outside) to Samurai Jack's dimension. After defeating the corrupted warrior, Jack joins up with the heroes, but are attacked by Vilgax. After Vilgax's defeat, the now rather large group travels through Jack's world and defeats an army of Basket Robots.
As the dimension capsule prepares to make one more warp to save the universes, it suddenly explodes, leaving the heroes floating in an unrecognized dimension. The Announcer then watches, shocked, as his own remote control floats down and transforms into a giant robot, revealing it had been responsible for the destruction of the individual worlds. It then entraps the heroes in an energy ring and is about to send them through a portal to oblivion.
The Announcer then says "Well, that is a cruddy ending! I knew I shouldn't have bought a discount remote. It just doesn't make sense: our heroes had the fire, they had the heart, they had fought on earth, and they had fought on water, and with their powers combined...well, something should have happened, but it didn't." Chowder then farts, prompting the Announcer to say "Hey, who just broke wind?" The combined elements the Announcer had mentioned (fire, heart, earth, water, and wind) then combine and summon Captain Planet, who frees the heroes and the final battle between the heroes and the Remote ensues.
Once the remote is defeated, Dexter uses the parts to restore the universes and, after one last goodbye, everyone is returned to their home dimension. Everything then goes back to normal, except, as the Announcer points out, that he now doesn't have a remote and must get up and change the channel himself. As everyone returns to their homes, he wonders if he could get a lava-man to change it for him with a giant lever, the idea of which he likes the sound of.
| Fighter | 3DS | PTE XL | Series | Costume | Synergy Partner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aku [1]abc | Samurai Jack | Creepy Aku | Valhallen | ||
| Ben Tennyson (Young)[1] | Ben 10 | Galactic Enforcer Ben 10 | Schnitzel | ||
| Ben Tennyson (Teenage) | Ben 10: Ultimate Alien | Spacesuit Ben 10 | Fred Fredburger | ||
| Billy and Mandy | The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy | Billybot & Mandroid | Cheese | ||
| Blossom | The Powerpuff Girls | Brick | Gwen Tennyson | ||
| Bubbles | The Powerpuff Girls | Boomer | Eduardo | ||
| Buttercup | The Powerpuff Girls | Butch | Major Glory | ||
| Captain K'nuckles | The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack | Captain K'neecaps | Stickybeard | ||
| Captain Planet | Captain Planet and the Planeteers | Captain Pollution | Dracula | ||
| Chowder and Kimchi | Chowder | Shirtless Chowder | Madame Foster | ||
| Dexter | Dexter's Laboratory | Robot Pilot Dexter | Gazpacho | ||
| Father | Codename: Kids Next Door | Benedict Uno | Fuzzy Lumpkins | ||
| Flapjack | The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack | Sardine Flapjack | Dee Dee | ||
| Grim | The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy | Clown Grim | Mung Daal | ||
| Him[1]ab | The Powerpuff Girls | Workout Him | General Skarr | ||
| Hoss Delgado[1] | The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy | Zombie Hoss | Panini | ||
| Johnny Bravo[1]ab | Johnny Bravo | Jungle Johnny | Dracula | ||
| Kevin Levin[1]abc | Ben 10: Ultimate Alien | Slimy Kevin Levin | Numbuh 4 | ||
| Mac and Bloo | Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends | Rambo Mac & Adger Avenger Bloo | Peppermint Larry | ||
| Mojo Jojo | The Powerpuff Girls | Helmetless Mojo | Vreedle Bros. | ||
| Monkey | Dexter's Laboratory | Regular Monkey | Numbuh 2 | ||
| Numbuh 1 | Codename: Kids Next Door | Secret Agent Numbuh 1 | Major Glory | ||
| Samurai Jack | Samurai Jack | Ninja Jack | Valhallen | ||
| Scotsman[1] | Samurai Jack | Highlander Scotsman | Numbuh 2 | ||
| Toiletnator[1] | Codename: Kids Next Door | Detictive Toiletnator | Mandark | ||
| Vilgax | Ben 10: Alien Force | Classic Vilgax | Coco | ||
| Total | 18 | 26 |
^a Available as an assist character in the 3DS version only.
^b Playable in the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and Nintendo Wii versions only.
^c Available as a boss character.
| Character | 3DS | PTE XL | Series |
|---|---|---|---|
| Akuab | Samurai Jack | ||
| Announcer's Remote Controlb | Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion | ||
| Cheesea | Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends | ||
| Cocoa | Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends | ||
| Dee Deea | Dexter's Laboratory | ||
| Draculaa | The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy | ||
| Eduardoa | Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends | ||
| Fred Fredburgera | The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy | ||
| Fuzzy Lumpkinsa | The Powerpuff Girls | ||
| Gazpachoa | Chowder | ||
| General Skarr[2]ab | Evil Con Carne | ||
| Gwen Tennysona | Ben 10: Ultimate Alien | ||
| Hima | The Powerpuff Girls | ||
| Kevin Levinab | Ben 10: Ultimate Alien | ||
| Johnny Bravoa | Johnny Bravo | ||
| Madame Foster[3]a | Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends | ||
| Major Glory[4]a | Dexter's Laboratory | ||
| Mandarka | Dexter's Laboratory | ||
| Mung Daala | Chowder | ||
| Numbuh 2a | Codename: Kids Next Door | ||
| Numbuh 4[1]a | Codename: Kids Next Door | ||
| Panini[5]a | Chowder | ||
| Peppermint Larry and Candy Wifea | The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack | ||
| Schnitzela | Chowder | ||
| Stickybeardab | Codename: Kids Next Door | ||
| Valhallen[6]a | Dexter's Laboratory | ||
| The Vreedle Brothersa | Ben 10: Alien Force | ||
| Total | 20 | 22 |
^a Assist character.
^b Boss character.
On 3 October 2011, representatives of Papaya Games unveiled a new Developer's Diary featuring the console version of the game, announcing new characters, stages, and new gameplay modes. [7]
In the XL version, there will be new Story Mode changes. For example, in the 3DS version of the Ultimate Kevin Levin boss battle, Ben Tennyson was only supposed to attack Kevin and avoid his attacks. In the XL version, Gwen Tennyson shows up to help Ben in the battle with Ultimate Kevin Levin by trapping Kevin's arms with her powers. Also in the XL version, there will be a shop where the player can buy playable characters, arenas, alternate costumes, and TV show clips with points they earn while fighting. For example, a clip can be bought from an episode of Samurai Jack where Jack is fighting against Aku.