Anyone who knows Nickelodeon’s Spongebob Squarepants knows about the original feature-length movie released in 2004, The Spongebob Squarepants Movie. Of course, as with any animated feature in the 2000s, a video game adaptation was soon to follow. Who better to tackle the job than the people at Heavy Iron Studios, the same people behind the 2003 gaming classic Spongebob Squarepants Battle for Bikini Bottom. Needless to say, the game makers had their work cut out for them. What transpired is a game that could be considered a spiritual sequel to Battle for Bikini Bottom, offering similar gameplay elements while adding new elements to make for a great game based on a beloved movie.
Having been foiled in stealing the Krabby Patty Formula many times, the evil Plankton (Mr. Lawrence) brings out his evil Plan Z as he steals King Neptune’s (Jeffery Tambor) Crown and frames Mr Krabs (Clancy Brown) for selling it off to the dangerous land of Shell City. It's up to Spongebob (Tom Kenny) and Patrick (Bill Fagerbakke), with the assistance of King Neptune’s daughter Mindy (Scarlett Johansson), to go on a perilous mission to retrieve the stolen crown and clear Mr Krabs's name to put an end to Plankton’s takeover of the whole Bikini Bottom Area.
The Story surprisingly hits most of the same beats as the movie. The downside is that the jokes and the sad moments may have less impact than they do in the film. That's okay, though, because this is a game that the player is allowed to have fun in and not be emotionally invested in any of the character arcs, which is not bad. Only some things in the game happen in the movie, as many moments are used as fillers to bulk out the game. The great thing is the filler matches the tone of the rest of the story, and the moments stay within their welcome. It's a much more emotional experience to watch the movie instead. Still, the story nevertheless remains faithful to the film in most cases.
The Characters you remember from the Spongebob movie and show are mostly all here. Unfortunately, you won’t see characters like Sandy or Mrs. Puff, but to be fair, they didn’t make much of an impression in the movie itself. Most of the voice actors from the Spongebob show come to voice the iconic characters in the film. They even managed to get the actual voice actor of Mr. Krabs Clancy Brown to record lines for the game. Even some of the newcomers shown in the film, such as Mindy and King Neptune, are voiced by the authentic voice actors in the movie, Scarlett Johansson and Jeffery Tambor. The characters remain faithful to the film, which makes the video game feel more like an outstanding adaptation of the 2004 flick.
The Gameplay is similar to Battle For Bikini Bottom. Like before, the game is a 3D platformer, and it goes through and through in the same vein as Super Mario 64 and Banjo Kazooie. What makes this game stand out from Battle for Bikini Bottom is the many bonus things you get to do in this game, such as Driving, Sliding, Spongeball Challenges, and Floating Block Challenges. You switch back and forth from playing Spongebob and Patrick as they journey from the comfort of Bikini Bottom to the horrors that await them in Shell City. Each of them comes with unique abilities that can be awarded to them by their mermaid friend Mindy after collecting a certain amount of Goofy Goober Tokens. After being granted a power, the player can upgrade their ability to make the game easier after collecting enough manly points collected as colored barbells. Another Colletable is the treasure chests.When found, they can unlock cutscenes, artwork, and more. The main collectible, Goofy Gober Tokens, are the Golden Spatulas of this game and need to progress to new levels. It is admittedly tedious when you don’t have enough Goofy Goober Tokens to make it to the next level; thankfully, backtracking to other levels to earn more tokens makes everything worthwhile, as there are plenty of challenges and opportunities to earn more. Speaking of which, the bonus challenges are a lot of fun and do put up a good fight in terms of challenge. The highlight of these bonuses is the ability to drive in the patty wagon and slide down on slopes. After completing them once and earning their initial Goofy Goober token, many new challenges on the same track will either make you race against the clock or drive or slide through floating rings to earn more tokens. Driving and sliding aren’t the only bonus challenges available. Sometimes, you may come across square tiles that lead to specific difficulties, including combat arenas, spongeball arenas, or floating block arenas. Completing those will earn the player even more tokens. Each level is fun to explore, and everyone comes with a challenge that can encourage anyone of any age to play and master.
The Graphics are on par with the visuals from Battle for Bikini Bottom. They are of the times, but the outstanding level design, cartoony character models, and lovely color palettes are just as excellent as in 2004. Character models look very good for the time, and their expressions are handled very well. The colorful locations can be told apart from their distinct color palettes, such as the sharp reds in the “Bubble Bowling Baby Hunt” level and the toxic greens in the “Shell City Dead Ahead” level. Most levels, whether platforming, driving, or sliding, encourage the player to explore their surroundings to find hidden challenges and collectibles. One neat thing I find most interesting is how, on most levels you visit, the enemy designs with similar patterns look different depending on the setting, which is such incredible attention to detail. The only thing I’ll admit is kinda mediocre are the opening and closing to levels using cheap PowerPoint presentation stills to tell the movie's story. It would have been better to have actual clips from the film itself. Still, I’ll credit that at least the overlining narrator's dialogue is trying to be funny with his line delivery. Despite that, these visuals still hold up well and capture the Spongebob spirit to a tee.
The Music was composed by Jimmy Levine, Robert Crew, and many more. Like the last Spongebob Game, each track is memorable, and each world Spongebob or Patrick visits has its own theme, depending on the level. Every track is not quite as iconic as the ones from Battle for Bikini Bottom, but the composers nevertheless nailed it once more in creating tunes that are fun to listen to while playing the game itself.
While I feel it doesn’t quite match the level of perfection that Battle for Bikini Bottom did, Heavy Iron still managed to deliver a solid platforming experience that’s both decently challenging and respectful to the original source material. The in-between PowerPoint-like cutscenes are very cheap. Still, the gameplay, graphics, and music are just as spectacular here as in the last Spongebob game Heavy Iron made. For a game based on a movie based on a popular cartoon, this is a game that tried harder than it needed to. I love this game. It's another gaming classic, and even the rough spots can’t ultimately bring down what is another winner for Heavy Iron Studios.
(Final Grade: A)