So many licensed games flooded the marketplace from the inception of video games up until about the early 2010s. They seemed to have faded in prominence over the year. As a kid, this was absolutely enthralling: who wouldn't want to PLAY their favorite cartoons? The brutal truth was, most of these games ended up in the dollar bin for good reason. When IPs come from companies with no game development experience, they end up being outsourced to whoever will take the offer up; and, since the IP is already popular, it has an immediately obvious install-base. The game companies then see easy labor, and are often unfaithful to the source material, meanwhile the CEOs forget that their fans are more than just dollar signs.
At this point, though, I think it is well-known that Battle for Bikini Bottom is an exception to this rule. This is a quality platformer, filled with iconic locations from the show. Of course, some end up being more iconic than the others; it's what happens when you have to fill a level quota.
The levels vary in their cohesiveness, from Jellyfish Fields being nothing short of a masterpiece from start to finish, to disjointed messes like Downtown Bikini Bottom. Ignoring these variations in quality, the game almost never stops feeling enjoyable. Every world has the same amount of golden spatulas to collect, but it never feels rote, even on a filler level like Sand Mountain which essentially consists of repeating the task three times in different shapes.
This game also got promoted to gorgeous HD in the remake "Rehydrated," and it is definitely worth a second playthrough.
The humor in the game is solid, with much of it being cribbed from the show, but the original jokes land most of the time. All the original voice actors reprise their role, except for Mermaid Man and Mr. Krabs. This means that all of the charm of the original few seasons carries over one-to-one, for the most part.
My only gripe is that the "shiny objects," which serve as this game's currency, become increasingly needed over time, but there is no matching increase in the amount you would organically obtain. I spent a large chunk of time farming the same few spots for easy combos. The biggest middle finger this game throws at its players is a $40,000 (well, not technically dollars) theater where you can look at concept art for the game. While not a requirement, when you are being forced to shell out for bungee jump missions, Mr. Krabs spatulas, and the entirety of Sand Mountain and SpongeBob's Dream, it just feels like a slap in the face.
Speaking of the Mr. Krabs spatulas, Patrick's spatulas require you collecting socks from hidden areas of each level in a classic collect-a-thon style, which rewards exploration. There is a glaring asymmetry between these ones, and the shiny objects, which feel more like a cop-out.
The game features three playable characters: SpongeBob, Patrick, and Sandy. Both SpongeBob and Sandy are incredibly fun to play as, but Patrick is sluggish, and his gimmick of throwing objects (such as freezy fruit to freeze lakes and ponds), feels more like a slog than a jamboree.
Most of the enemies are fun to fight, but one in particular is straight-up nightmare fuel. Seriously, my BPM rises by 20+ every time I see these things. The SpongeBob Wiki says they are "improved" in the remake, requiring an additional hit to defeat. I guess if you consider the original game Dante's fifth layer, that is an improvement.
Verdict
This is a solid game, but it begins to feel quite boring towards the end. 7.5/10.