So while I was making my Hat In Time level, I came across another one that was on the Steam Workshop. After installing and opening it, I was delighted to find an almost exact recreation of Jellyfish Rock: one of the first level's from Spongebob Squarepants: Battle For Bikini Bottom. First of all, I just wanna say thanks so much to Steam User, DaltonaCAN, for combining two of my favorite games (You can check out their level here), and with that, I'll get into the main point of this blog.
Battle for Bikini Bottom was probably the first real video game I ever played, and was the biggest reason I wanted to get a Gamecube when I was younger. Even 15 years after its release, I still find myself going back to the game, making new save files, and starting all over, simply because it's just that good of a game. Developed by Heavy Iron Studios, the story of Battle for Bikini Bottom shows everyone's favorite sea sponge defending his home from an army of out of control robots created by Plankton as a way to steal the Krabby Patty formula.
The Story
Being made during what I call "The Golden Age of Spongebob" (1999-2004), the story feels fresh, funny, and never gets old no matter how many times you replay the game. Almost all of the show's major characters at the time are in the game, and aside from Mr. Krabs & Mermaid Man, they're all voiced by their original voice actors. Every interaction feels really natural, and the comedy feels like it was pulled directly from the show.
Probably my favorite scene of dialogue comes at the beginning of the Sand Mountain level. Spongebob runs into Squidward at the ski lodge, who eventually explains the player's main goal for the level. Before that though, the level opens with Spongebob asking to use Squidward's toothbrush... again. Naturally, Squidward is pretty upset about the whole thing, but eventually just decides that it's just another annoying thing that his neighbor does, and goes on to complain about everything else that goes on (Including a funny part about marbles). The entire conversation is utterly meaningless to the game's plot, but it's inclusion makes the narrative so much more enjoyable and accurate to what the show's dialogue would be like.
The Levels
Being primarily a level designer, it probably wouldn't make a lot of sense for me to not talk about level design, which is where I think this game shines the most. The play style feels as close to an open world game as you can get, without really being open world. All the different levels are connected through the main level (Bikini Bottom), and each one is broken up into its own different sections. This layout, while still using a level system, really makes it feel like you're traveling across all of the iconic locations from the show.
What makes the levels feel really fluid is how they teach the player how to play. Most of the levels are dedicated to teaching the player about a specific system, while the later levels are used to challenge the player's skills with those mechanics. One of my favorite examples of this is The Mermalair. It's intended to be the first new level the player can go to after defeating the first major boss and acquiring a new move for Spongebob: the bubble bowl. Throughout the level, the player is challenged with new obstacles that require the use of the bubble bowl. Ultimately, these challenges lead the player to the game's second minor boss, who gives them one final bubble bowl challenge. As a whole, the Mermalair is one of my favorite levels in the game for its great use of progression; plus it's really fun to interact with Mermaid Man & Barnacle boy.
My Only Issue
Unless you're a game like Breath of The Wild, there's always gonna be an area where a game could've improved, and with Battle For Bikini Bottom, I think that was Patrick. Let me just clarify a few things; Patrick is probably my favorite character from the show, and I think this game portrayed him very well. However, I think if they made some changes to his move set, he would have been a bit more balanced with Spongebob & Sandy. Patrick has three moves that he can use, which is the least amount of moves that any of the characters can use. His moves aren't particularly bad, but I think that the addition of another move would've made Patrick feel like he could be used more. Thankfully, it looks like the issue was fixed with the released of the Spongebob Squarepants Movie Game.
Regardless of this flaw, I still love this game. The level progression is steady, the story is original and funny, and it also has one of my favorite soundtracks from any game. Once again, I found myself beginning a new save file for Battle For Bikini Bottom, and I can guarantee you that I'm gonna enjoy every minute of the playthrough.