Spongebob Squarepants The Movie
Posted December 31, 2004
In a time of crisis only one “man” can stand up to the forces of evil and save the day. In this instance that brave manly man is a macho sponge with pants of square.
The sinister Plankton, the proprietor of Chum Bucket has come up with his most diabolical plan to take control of the world, the dreaded Plan Z. After framing Mr. Krabs for the disappearance of King Neptune’s crown he steals Krabs recipe for the infamous Krabby Patty. How can stealing a recipe for a sandwich lead to world domination, you ask? It’s simple really. Give the people a souvenir bucket hat that turns them into brainless minions. Genius I tell you!
With the world around them falling apart it’s up to Spongebob and his buddy Patrick to set out on the dangerous road to Shell City to get Neptune’s crown back and prove Mr. Krabs is innocent. With the aide of the king’s daughter Mindy she’ll dispense advice and special abilities to you to help you on your quest of bikini proportions.
Gameplay:
I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised with this game. Because it is based off of a children’s movie I had already had preconceptions that it would be mindless bargain bin gaming at best. Those preconceptions flew out the window as soon as I picked up the controller and it may shock you to know that Spongebob Squarepants the Movie is actually a competent platformer.
You start off as Mr. Absorbent himself in a dream sequence that involves a slice of cheese. As you make your way to the restaurant you have to karate punch and jump your way through enemies and ledges. Every enemy you defeat gives you Manliness Points, which can be used to upgrade health and power moves. Eating Krabby Patties replenishes your health and collecting Treasure Chests unlocks extra features.
While all of those elements are featured on the first they follow throughout the game and get progressively more challenging. The enemy variety beefs up from Jellyfish to Flingers and Poppers so further stages can be quite difficult. The platforming portion also beefs up the farther you get in the game leaving you will jumps that need to be well timed like wall jumps and long double jumps.
You can control both Spongebob and Patrick and while each has their own stages, sometimes you can switch between the two during a level. Spongebob can uppercut and play the guitar to damage enemies while Patrick can swing by his tongue and roll around. For the most part the two characters play very similarly but there the few differences between the two.
As you beat stages and do certain tasks you will be given a Goofy Goober Token. With enough of these Mindy will unlock a new move for you and several stages require that you have a certain maneuver. One stage may tell you that you need to be able to break through the floor and another may tell you that you need to play the guitar. When you come to one of these points it’s time to look elsewhere and collect some Tokens.
While the main focus for the game is all of the platforming there are some driving and tubbing stages tossed in for good measure. I thought these were pretty good since they broke the monotony of jumping and punching.
To drive you are put behind the wheel of a mobile Krabby Patty with a track laid out in front of you. As you weave between obstacles you can collect more Manliness Points as well as turbo boosts that allow you to go faster for a short amount of time. There are several ramps that require boosting to get over so be sure you don’t burn them all. While the driving is enjoyable it is very simple so don’t look for Need for Speed-like physics. After all you are driving a sandwich.
The other vehicle stage involves our heroes sliding down tracks and hills in a tub. There are several challenging jumps, tight turns and blockades placed in your path, plus you can fall off the track. If you do happen to bite it and go to the big bikini in the sky don’t worry, you’ll start over again at your last checkpoint. Without any form of directional assistance much of these stages are trial and error.
The action gets progressively more difficult but it never gets to the point that it would really challenge an advanced gamer, after all this is a kid’s game. The gameplay is about as simple as it gets when compared to other platformer games, but it’s perfect for the target audience and charming enough with its humor for adults too.
Graphics:
While this game follows the story of the movie flawlessly, you don’t get treated to clips during cut scenes. Instead you see freeze frames from the film with a narrative in the background. It is effective but I’m sure kids would have wanted to see the sponge in motion but nevertheless it stays true to its roots.
The visuals of Spongebob the Movie are very impacting with vivid colors and some great animations. Character and environment designs are extremely simple from a game standpoint, but the cartoon isn’t exactly a Mona Lisa either. It’s the simple look that allows for the wacky animation and humor to come forth.
During several stages the camera can become quite a nuisance though because it doesn’t move by itself. You have to constantly adjust it in order to see what’s going on so don’t curse too loudly if you take a cheap shot or find yourself falling to your doom. Because of the camera you will spend most of your time looking at Spongebob’s butt but occasionally you’ll be able to see his charming facial features.
Audio:
Another thing that will please the kiddies is the fact that the game sounds exactly like the cartoon with quality voice acting, great lines and sound effects. Don’t be looking for anything like sweeping musical scores or 10,000 lines of dialog and you won’t be disappointed.
Even still the voices will put a smile on your face with the amusing things the characters say. Some of the one-liners are repeated frequently and there really are only a few different sound effects. For a children’s game though I was very surprised with the production quality put into the sound department.
Conclusion:
While the game is aimed at kids that can’t get enough of the sponge, gamers with an open mind will find plenty of entertainment in this absorbent package. Despite not having clips from the film, the game follows the movie’s plot and personality down to the wire. While there is no multiplayer to speak of the game will last about 12 hours and there are plenty of extras like artwork and costumes to unlock.
While there are plenty more impressive platform games out there, for its target audience this one is a winner. If you or your kid enjoys Spongebob this one will keep them entertained for a good long while. There’s enough variety in gameplay and hilarious bits to warrant recommending this title.
The sinister Plankton, the proprietor of Chum Bucket has come up with his most diabolical plan to take control of the world, the dreaded Plan Z. After framing Mr. Krabs for the disappearance of King Neptune’s crown he steals Krabs recipe for the infamous Krabby Patty. How can stealing a recipe for a sandwich lead to world domination, you ask? It’s simple really. Give the people a souvenir bucket hat that turns them into brainless minions. Genius I tell you!
With the world around them falling apart it’s up to Spongebob and his buddy Patrick to set out on the dangerous road to Shell City to get Neptune’s crown back and prove Mr. Krabs is innocent. With the aide of the king’s daughter Mindy she’ll dispense advice and special abilities to you to help you on your quest of bikini proportions.
Gameplay:
I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised with this game. Because it is based off of a children’s movie I had already had preconceptions that it would be mindless bargain bin gaming at best. Those preconceptions flew out the window as soon as I picked up the controller and it may shock you to know that Spongebob Squarepants the Movie is actually a competent platformer.
You start off as Mr. Absorbent himself in a dream sequence that involves a slice of cheese. As you make your way to the restaurant you have to karate punch and jump your way through enemies and ledges. Every enemy you defeat gives you Manliness Points, which can be used to upgrade health and power moves. Eating Krabby Patties replenishes your health and collecting Treasure Chests unlocks extra features.
While all of those elements are featured on the first they follow throughout the game and get progressively more challenging. The enemy variety beefs up from Jellyfish to Flingers and Poppers so further stages can be quite difficult. The platforming portion also beefs up the farther you get in the game leaving you will jumps that need to be well timed like wall jumps and long double jumps.
You can control both Spongebob and Patrick and while each has their own stages, sometimes you can switch between the two during a level. Spongebob can uppercut and play the guitar to damage enemies while Patrick can swing by his tongue and roll around. For the most part the two characters play very similarly but there the few differences between the two.
As you beat stages and do certain tasks you will be given a Goofy Goober Token. With enough of these Mindy will unlock a new move for you and several stages require that you have a certain maneuver. One stage may tell you that you need to be able to break through the floor and another may tell you that you need to play the guitar. When you come to one of these points it’s time to look elsewhere and collect some Tokens.
While the main focus for the game is all of the platforming there are some driving and tubbing stages tossed in for good measure. I thought these were pretty good since they broke the monotony of jumping and punching.
To drive you are put behind the wheel of a mobile Krabby Patty with a track laid out in front of you. As you weave between obstacles you can collect more Manliness Points as well as turbo boosts that allow you to go faster for a short amount of time. There are several ramps that require boosting to get over so be sure you don’t burn them all. While the driving is enjoyable it is very simple so don’t look for Need for Speed-like physics. After all you are driving a sandwich.
The other vehicle stage involves our heroes sliding down tracks and hills in a tub. There are several challenging jumps, tight turns and blockades placed in your path, plus you can fall off the track. If you do happen to bite it and go to the big bikini in the sky don’t worry, you’ll start over again at your last checkpoint. Without any form of directional assistance much of these stages are trial and error.
The action gets progressively more difficult but it never gets to the point that it would really challenge an advanced gamer, after all this is a kid’s game. The gameplay is about as simple as it gets when compared to other platformer games, but it’s perfect for the target audience and charming enough with its humor for adults too.
Graphics:
While this game follows the story of the movie flawlessly, you don’t get treated to clips during cut scenes. Instead you see freeze frames from the film with a narrative in the background. It is effective but I’m sure kids would have wanted to see the sponge in motion but nevertheless it stays true to its roots.
The visuals of Spongebob the Movie are very impacting with vivid colors and some great animations. Character and environment designs are extremely simple from a game standpoint, but the cartoon isn’t exactly a Mona Lisa either. It’s the simple look that allows for the wacky animation and humor to come forth.
During several stages the camera can become quite a nuisance though because it doesn’t move by itself. You have to constantly adjust it in order to see what’s going on so don’t curse too loudly if you take a cheap shot or find yourself falling to your doom. Because of the camera you will spend most of your time looking at Spongebob’s butt but occasionally you’ll be able to see his charming facial features.
Audio:
Another thing that will please the kiddies is the fact that the game sounds exactly like the cartoon with quality voice acting, great lines and sound effects. Don’t be looking for anything like sweeping musical scores or 10,000 lines of dialog and you won’t be disappointed.
Even still the voices will put a smile on your face with the amusing things the characters say. Some of the one-liners are repeated frequently and there really are only a few different sound effects. For a children’s game though I was very surprised with the production quality put into the sound department.
Conclusion:
While the game is aimed at kids that can’t get enough of the sponge, gamers with an open mind will find plenty of entertainment in this absorbent package. Despite not having clips from the film, the game follows the movie’s plot and personality down to the wire. While there is no multiplayer to speak of the game will last about 12 hours and there are plenty of extras like artwork and costumes to unlock.
While there are plenty more impressive platform games out there, for its target audience this one is a winner. If you or your kid enjoys Spongebob this one will keep them entertained for a good long while. There’s enough variety in gameplay and hilarious bits to warrant recommending this title.