Spongebob Squarepants is a Nickelodeon cartoon that has seen many video game spin-offs, especially during the show's golden days. From Beloved hits such as the Heavy Iron games to cult favorites like “Creature from the Krusty Krab,” there have been many highs and lows when making a video game based on Nickelodeon’s cash cow. In 2005, Spongebob was given the Mario Party treatment. Light Camera Pants was created as a party game for up to four players to compete for the ultimate prize, winning a significant role in a Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy episode. A hefty dose of nautical fun follows with playful challenges and unique additions to the party game format.
When a Special episode of the Mermaid Man and Barnicle Boy TV Show is being produced, Director Gill Hammerstein (Nolan North) looks for actors to play the designated roles and determines that whoever gets the most popularity points after auditioning in challenges will win the ultimate prize, the role of the super-villain known as the sneaky hermit. Spongebob (Tom Kenny), Patrick (Bill Fagerbakke), Sandy (Carolyn Lawrence), Squidward (Rodger Bumpass), Mr. Krabs (Clancy Brown), and Plankton (Mr. Lawrence) all audition and compete to win the big prize and hopefully impress Hammerstein.
The Story isn’t an ideal thing to have in a party game. Still, what Lights Camera Pants does is weave a Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy Episode that you’d most likely see on the actual Spongebob show and create a reason to keep players coming back repeatedly. The storylines for Gill Hammerstein and the Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy Episode have a lot of charm and character. They create lots of laughs and can sometimes spew out some hilarious dialogue that is true to the nature of the world of Spongebob. Although the story is the smallest part of the game, I’m impressed that the creators even took some time to create a surprisingly fun and more involved story than most party games I can think of.
The Characters have the same charm and likability that is most well known from the Nickelodeon Cartoon. Old and some new faces make decently memorable impressions. Gill Hammerstein is a character created specifically for this game and is played by Nolan North, who is the same person who plays Sid the Sloth in the Ice Age films. His personality is shown very clearly, and he can be pretty funny when needed. The hosts for the auditions are Spongebob characters who make brief cameo appearances, such as Bubble Bass, Mrs Puff, and Squilliam. The rest of the characters, such as Mermaid Man, Barnacle Boy, Manray, The Dirty Bubble, Spongebob, and the gang, all do fair jobs and make the most of their performances, especially in the game’s cutscenes. Each character uses their time on screen wisely and can leave a good impression on kids, adults, and Spongebob fans.
The Gameplay isn’t revolutionary or anything outstanding, as there are better Party games, specifically ones from the famous Nintendo plumber. What makes this game stand out from all the other Mario Party clones is its fun and well-executed mini-games, and its concept of what the player will gain by winning these said mini-games. Up to four players can join the fun and play as Spongebob, Patrick, Sandy, Squidward, Mr Krabs, or even Plankton. Players can choose the difficulty challenge in easy, medium, or hard settings for their characters or CPU characters. The main goal is to earn the most popularity points after playing three mini-games in a specific area of Bikini Bottom. The winner at the end of the auditions gets the particular role for the Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy special episode. The players will then be treated to a special cutscene where the winning character will be shown in the designated role he/she is assigned to. At the end of the game, the player with the most roles and popularity points will win the ultimate supervillain role known as the sneaky hermit. There are three story modes: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Each mode requires players to meet a specific amount of points to progress to the following audition location. Failure to meet the standard will have players replay the same current audition once more to rank up more points. As for the minigames themselves, they fit pretty snugly with the SpongeBob show itself. There are 30 mini-games in total. Flipping krabby patties at the Krusty Krab, rocking to the rhythm at the Sand Stadium, and fixing broken machines at the Chum Bucket are some of the mini-games you can expect. Along the way, players will win extra content, such as paintings for the gallery and collectible statues for your shelves. Completing all the story modes will allow the player to create their own Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy episode by having the ability to choose which character will be in any given role. My only huge complaint is that the game often crashes, and it is very annoying, so it's best to save your game as frequently as possible. Besides the crashing, this is a Mario party clone I can get behind, as it's both fun and surprisingly rewarding.
The Graphics could be better when compared to other Spongebob games, such as “Battle for Bikini Bottom.” Still, for what it's worth, the graphics do pass as expressive enough and, in some ways, do emulate the 2D animated style of the Nickelodeon show. The cutscenes are where the emotion and charm really do shine. The big selling points are the scenes with Gill Hammerstein and the film clips of the Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy episode. Their character animation can be very charming and funny when needed. When it comes to the design of the characters in the actual gameplay, they don’t look half bad. I’ve seen more expressive Spongebob animation in other SpongeBob video games, but the characters don’t look uncanny or unnatural. The environments of the party challenges are where the colors and creativity shine through. I still remember the neon-lit colors of the Rock Bottom Challenge in Sand Statuim or the colorful natural beauty of any challenges in Jellyfish Fields. These graphics could have been improved, even if they were PS2 graphics. Still, the colorful environments and character designs do just enough to pass as decent graphics for the eyes.
The Music is composed by Charlie Brissette and Hamilton Altstatt. The soundtrack is fun and captures the nautical nonsense SpongeBob is most well-known for. Sometimes, the mini-games influence how the music is portrayed in rhythm-based games such as the iconic Rock Bottom Challenge. The tunes help set the mood of the game the player is about to play. They create a SpongeBob experience worth investing time into.
This is the closest party game I can think of that can stand toe-to-toe with any Mario Party game. Of course, the Mario Party games are in a league of their own. Still, “Spongebob Squarepants Lights Camera Pants” is a good Party game, way better than it had any right to be. Its unique concept for winning challenges to get roles in a Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy Episode is an exceptional concept for a party game. The fun challenges keep to the spirit of the world of Spongebob, and it can even be quite enjoyable to play with others. While the visuals look a bit off, the loading crashes are annoying, and maybe one or two minigames could have benefited from more polishing; this is a fun game that holds up quite well and is one of the best non-Mario-related party games out there.
(Final Grade: B-)