Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl/Helga Pataki

Combos

Matchups

Strategy

Techniques

Resources

#NASB_Helga

Story

Move it football head!

With her great academics and being a rough and cynical young girl, Helga is the local bully of Arnold and friends around Hillwood. Despite this she secretly harbors a crush on Arnold to an obsessive point. You bet she can bully the competition in the brawl!

Gameplay

Helga is a glass-cannon who can hit hard, but at the cost of attack speed. Like any bully hounding you for your lunch money, Helga thrives on getting her opponent right where she wants them for a beatdown. This is accomplished by her Neutral Special Golden Magic Slingshot, which has the unique property of pulling a foe towards her if the projectile hits. She also possess a counter in Homerun that will readily punish anyone who tries to overextend, and a recovery that can potentially allow her to come back from extraordinarily low angles.

If you're a straight up scrapper who doesn't mind the tradeoff of speed for power, Helga's perfect for busting some heads!

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Helga Pataki

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Franchise	Hey Arnold!
Weight Class	Light
Character Discord	Helga character discord
Home Stage	Traffic Jam

Strengths

Weaknesses

Where do you think YOU'RE going??: As mentioned above, Helga's Golden Magic Slingshot will send an opponent flying towards you should the projectile connect, making it extremely rewarding projectile to throw out. This allow her to start combos and extend her advantage from a long distance, or confirm into strongs that may otherwise have no setups. It's a constant threat, even against airborne opponents thanks to the multitude of different angles it can shot at. Any opponent trying to keep out of range of your damaging attacks will have to be on their toes. Counter: Homerun is a counter that acts as a unique defensive option to counteract Helga’s vulnerability and punishing mistakes. This also acts as an extremely rare midair defense option, allowing her to deal with people attempting to exploit her vulnerable recovery. Bully: Helga's moves have very strong knockback, which makes her very scary to approach up close. Getting hit with Lunch Tray can lead to a very early stock taken from you, and at higher %'s jab become an incredibly low-commitment kill option.

Mid: Several of Helga's most spammable and rewarding moves (such as jab, jump light, jump strong and slingshot) are all mid attacks, meaning keen opponents can comfortably hold forward to yellow block most pressure. Low survivability: While she does have ways to utilize her specials in mixing up her recovery timing, her light weight and the predictable travel path of up special make Helga's survivability below average compared to the rest of the cast.

Moves List

Light Attacks

Shove It!
5L / Neutral Light

"One side moron! I'm walkin' here!"

Damage	Startup Frames	Active Frames	Total Frames	Safety
8%	7	7 - 8	22	-6
Helga shoves whoever's in front of her with both arms. Very high knockback for a jab. Becomes a relatively safe kill option to throw out if opponents start living for too long. Sets up for jablocks and down light chases at low percents. Good range and decent safety make it relatively safe on block when spaced. However, like most of Helga's safer moves it is a mid, meaning keen opponents can hold forward block to cover yellow blocking it, jump light, jump strong and slingshot at the same time.

Smasher
8L / Up Light

Poor Brainy's face

Damage	Startup Frames	Active Frames	Total Frames	Safety
8%	7	7 - 9	22	-6
A quick and simple upward arm swing. Sets up for jump light strings and juggle situations on hit. Good follow-up off of dash attacks for starting combos at lower %s. Starting around 80% can lead to a jump up strong follow-up kill

Perfect Catch
2L / Down Light

Sliding into Arnold's DMs like

Damage	Startup Frames	Active Frames	Total Frames	Safety
8%	6	6 - 10	32	-17
Helga slides along the ground with a baseball mitt. A low profile traveling move with many uses. Helga's fastest grounded option. Combined with the distance it travels makes this a good out of shield punish. Can lead into down light chains or up light juggles depending on di. Hits below the ledge, pooping opponents slightly up and to the side. Starting around 100% can be true combo-d into jump up strong for a kill on most characters.

Hockey Tackle
66L / Run Light

Wait are there tackles in hockey?

Damage	Startup Frames	Active Frames	Total Frames	Safety
8%	5	5 - 12	35	-26
A quick running elbow tackle. Committal to throw out, but opens up a world of follow-ups on hit. Hitbox is much bigger than it looks, even being able to hit behind her and below the ledge. Like any dash attack it can be cancelled on hit. At low %s cancel into up light for jump light followups or jab for down light chases. At mid-to-high %s by the ledge it leads to kills with jump strong and both versions of down strong.

Jumping/Air Light Attacks

Straight Kick
j5L / Jump Light

Sick kicks

Damage	Startup Frames	Active Frames	Total Frames	Safety
10%	7	7 - 8	22	-6
A big straightforward kick that can be thrown out pretty freely with low commitment and potential high reward. Racks up % fast thanks to how well it chains into itself and other jump lights. 10% per kick is a lot when you can usually get away with at least 3 in a row. Range lets it wall of pain some stubbier characters in the neutral. Great for edgeguarding and as a non-commital slingshot followup, setting up for potential jump strong followups on bad DI.

Backhand Slap
j8L / Jump Up Light

Go up

Damage	Startup Frames	Active Frames	Total Frames	Safety
8%	7	7 - 9	22	-6
A quick slap above her. Near identical to grounded up light in terms of frame-data. Leads into itself for further juggle or into down air to reset back towards the ground. Confirms into jump up strong kills starting mid-high %s.

Double Heel Kick
j2L / Jump Down Light

Stompin

Damage	Startup Frames	Active Frames	Total Frames	Safety
8%	7	7 - 9	31	-6
Helga stomps the air below her, spiking any opponents caught by it. Deceptively big hitbox. Can beat or favorable trade with a lot of less-disjointed recoveries in the game. One of the few down airs in the game that can still somewhat double-dair thanks to this range and speed. Great as a combo ender or slingshot followup for leading into tech chases.

Strong Attacks

Love Poem
5S / Neutral Strong

Little pink book has them shook

Damage	Startup Frames	Active Frames	Total Frames	Safety
14%	18	18 - 22	45	-10
Helga swings in front using one of the poetry books she write love poems in. Not many cases to use this move over down strong. Same safety, less damage, shorter range. It doesn't help that it is a mid, which blocking opponents are already looking out for thanks to her other mid options being so good and spammable. Generally outclassed by jump strong when it comes to RPS-ing against up strongs.

Kicking Dust
8S / Up Strong

I'm gonna put some dirt in your eye

Damage	Startup Frames	Active Frames	Total Frames	Safety
16% (17% held)	16	16 - 20	45	-12
A high kick that hits above and slightly in front of Helga. Holding down the strong button will modify the attack, making her kick up dust. Outclassed by jump up strong in most situations. Frame-data is near identical, but lacks the versatility that comes with being able to drift with aerials. Alright for RPS-ing opponents landing with jump down strong thanks to its extra horizontal reach. Hold the strong button for an increased hitbox in front of Helga, as well as dealing 1% extra damage. There isn't any discernable reason to not always go for this version of the move.

Lunch Time
2S / Down Strong

The last tapioca pudding, just for you!

Damage	Startup Frames	Active Frames	Total Frames	Safety
15% (18% held)	18	18 - 22	45	-10
Helga swipes at the opponent with a lunch tray, starting from above and traveling in front of her. Holding down the strong button will modify the attack, making her slam the lunch tray to the ground, turning it into a spike. Sends at a nasty horizontal angle that puts opponents into awkward recovery situations or outright kills them. Key for securing KOs by the ledge. Can be DI'd down and teched mid stage to avoid getting sent offstage. Hold the strong button extends the hitbox further down, letting it hit below the ledge. This also turns the move into a spike and makes it deal 3% extra damage. Good for hitting opponents with weak recoveries or bad snap by the ledge. The spike angle however means it can be teched even sooner than the regular version of this move, something to keep in mind when using it on-stage.

Boxing Swing
66S / Run Strong

Lights out

Damage	Startup Frames	Active Frames	Total Frames	Safety
17	15	17 - 21	45	-20
Helga delivers a left hook while bursting forward from the momentum of the dash. Slow to start up, but the quick burst of horizontal movement from the move can occasionally catch opponents off guard at the mid-range. Like any dash attack it can be cancelled on hit.

Jumping/Air Strong Attacks

Locket Socket
j5S / Jump Neutral Strong

"My love"

Damage	Startup Frames	Active Frames	Total Frames	Safety
14%	18	18 - 22	45	-7
Helga swings her locket containing a picture of her long-time crush, Arnold. Holding down the strong button will modify the attack, adding an additional hearts hitbox behind her at the end of the swing. Good range for spacing around block and opponents throwing out stubby moves. Can lead to cheesy early stocks when followed up off of jump light near the sides of the stage. Hold the strong button to add an additional hitbox behind Helga at the end of the swing. This hit has very high knockback and hitstun, killing at surprising %s. There's no harm in always inputting this version of the move when going for jump strong, however landing it requires much more forethought and setup.

Curse You!
j8S / Jump Up Strong

"21 hours, 58 minutes, and... 14 seconds until YOU DIE!"

Damage	Startup Frames	Active Frames	Total Frames	Safety
16%	16	16 - 20	45	-8
A big upward fist swing. One of the most common stock-enders Helga finds herself going for. Deceptively large, and extremely strong. Can take early stocks if hit high enough off the ground. Can be combo-d and kill confirmed into off of up light, down light, jump up light, and both dash attacks. Even when no a true follow-up, ending juggles with this move can still lead to a stock on some characters thanks to it's range. Like almost every other character in the game, Helga can 50/50 combo into it off a forward throw. This is especially nice for her given the move's size and power.

Volleyball Spike
j2S / Jump Down Strong

What did the five fingers say to the face?

Damage	Startup Frames	Active Frames	Total Frames	Safety
15%	17	17 - 21	49	-6
A big slap that hits below her. A decently strong spike. Relatively safe on block when spaced, especially against opponents conditioned to block mid against potential neutral light attacks. Pretty good RPS tool, particularly for calling out snair spam from characters like Patrick and Catdog.

Special Attacks

Golden Magic Slingshot
5P / Neutral Special

"With my Golden Magic Slingshot! Doi!"

Damage	Startup Frames	Active Frames	Total Frames	Safety
10%	13	13 - 98	38	-4
Helga pulls out her golden magic slingshot from the episode What's Opera, Arnold?. Upon releasing the special button, a rock is fired from the slingshot. Prior to releasing, the shot can be angled, anywhere from 0 degrees straight ahead to about 80 degrees angled upwards. It an also be canceled out of by using the block button. On hit, the projectile sends opponents inwards towards Helga, allowing for follow-ups. Neutral tool to throw out sometimes when there's distance between you and the opponent. Like with most projectiles, it can be grabbed or reflected back to use against you. Angling the shot upward or jumping and then shooting can avoid this, as well as cover the opponents aerial approaches. An amazing advantage state extender that sets up for further attacks. Shoot one towards a launched opponent after completing a combo, potentially either hitting them back towards you for more hurt, or making them squirm and putting themselves into awkward disadvantage positions. Can be used off-stage while recovering to mess with opponents edgeguard attempts. Shooting towards the ledge can reversal careless opponents who aren't blocking or are jumping offstage. If an opponents tries to edgeguard you with a strong attack, sometimes the strong will both hit Helga and reflect the slingshot, with the reflect shot hitting 2nd and sending Helga towards the stage instead of the blastzone. This move also destroys certain projectile ledge setups, such as Spongebob's bubble or Zim's Gir and gnome. Block cancelling the start of the move mid-air lets you do some tricky momentum stuff.

Approaching Uppercut
8P / Up Special

Ol' Betsy would like to say hi

Damage	Startup Frames	Active Frames	Total Frames	Safety
8%	22	22 - 32	47	-60
Helga charges up Ol' Betsy (her fist) in a clockwise motion, before releasing it and lunging upwards. This serves as her primary recovery move. The more the attack is charged before releasing, the farther it travels and the stronger the knockback is on-hit. This recovery goes a fair distance vertically (especially when fully charged). The horizontal travel is quite poor however, meaning it often needs to be supplemented with a double jump and/or an airdash. Use slingshot to cover yourself while drifting towards the ledge to better get into a position where up special will reach and you don't need to use up all your off-stage resources. Helga stops falling while charging. While means a net-improvement to the travel distance upon release, this also makes her a sitting duck and a free spike for opponents prepared to spike you. The hitbox is fairly large, clipping through the ledge on stages such as Jellyfish Fields. Punishes opponents not blocking and messes with certain otherwise mindless ledgetraps, such as Jenny down strong. After 1 second (60 frames) of being in freefall, Helga exits freefall and can act again. This means she can go for another up special, or another recovery option like a double jump or airdash. Can be used as a mixup to get to ledge after recovering high. Fully charged on-stage uppercut can be used as a cheesy knowledge-check against respawning opponents on certain stages with high respawn locations, like Irken Armada Invasion.

Homerun
2P / Down Special

"She's just standing there... MENACINGLY!"

Damage	Startup Frames	Active Frames	Total Frames	Safety
(Countered Attack %) x 2.3	11	11 - 40	50	-
Helga assumes a counter stance with her bat. Upon getting hit in this state, she swings the bat back at the attacker. The direction of the swing can be influenced using the directional stick. This move only counters hit moves, meaning Helga can be grabbed out the startup. Slow startup means the move can't be thrown out in time in some disadvantage situations. To make up for it the active frames are very generous, and the endlag is quite short. Despite the counter stance having armor, the swing does not. This means that even on a successful activation most multi-hitting moves will still beat you out. Even when successfully countering, Helga still takes the intended damage from the move. In return, the damage dealt by the counter-swing deals 2.3x of the move countered. This means countering Reptar's down special does 69% in return. Nice.

Taunt

Taunt
Taunt Button

Wait, this isn’t Nicktoons MLB

Damage	Startup Frames	Active Frames	Total Frames	Safety
-	16	16	-	-
Helga poses with a ball and bat, taunting the opponent. This taunt has a small hitbox behind her around the back foot and bat. "First spitball of the day, football head". Has a small but powerful spike hitbox behind her. Only active for 1 frame. Can be used to punish no-invul ledge grabs, recoveries with bad snap, or just to BM. Has a surprisingly large amount of pushback on block. Can be used for goofy teeter setups.

Strafe Taunt
Taunt Button + Strafe

Mickey Kaline's very own

Helga balances perfectly atop a big baseball with a wide grin.

• "Non-confrontational that's me alright".

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