SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom

Help SponbeBob, Patrick, and Sandy save Bikini Bottom from robot invaders!

NA release: 31st October 2003
EU release: 28th November 2003
JP release: N/A
Developer: Heavy Iron Studios
Publisher: THQ
NGC Magazine Score: 32%
Mods Used: Widescreen Code

While the developers of Revenge of the Flying Dutchman had to scramble over making two games in a very short space of time, Heavy Iron Studios had slightly more breathing room with their SpongeBob game, and it shows in the final product. It’s not a complete mess, but rather a decent 3D platformer that had enough charm that a complete remake was released in 2020, followed by a sequel. It’s all very promising.

And Battle for Bikini Bottom does get the fundamentals right. It’s a 3D platformer with enjoyable movement. You take turns playing as SpongeBob, Patrick and Sandy the Squirrel who can all perform double jumps (Sandy can also use a lasso to hover). Each character also has their own abilities, with Spongebob using bubble powers to attack upwards, Patrick being able to pick up and throw objects and Sandy using a grapple hook.

The worlds are quite nice, too. They’re more linear than I was expecting, but do tend to loop around. It captures the style of the show fairly well, with the simple patterned backgrounds and plenty of colour. There’s a decent amount of variety and there’s a decent number of worlds, although they do get repetitive, especially towards the end of the game.

For fans of the show, there’s also a ton more references and stuff that I didn’t get myself as Spongebob is a show that I managed to completely bypass. It does feature most of the cast of the show (the main omission, Mr. Krabs, was noticeable enough for someone like me to notice) and the story and voice acting is charming. It’s a nice game.

Fun

The game (unfortunately) manages to combine the hideous touchy-feely values of the programme with a poot plot, badly designed levels and some awful collision detection to create a gaming experience equally worth avoiding. Trust us, you’d rather watch GMTV than paly this.
Rob Pegley, NGC Magazine #89

Remake or remaster?

This received a remaster, however it got a mixed reception, with some people thinking that a remaster would have been better. Common complaints are that the jumping physics are off and that, while the new graphics are nice, they don’t capture the show very well.

Official Ways to get the game

The remaster is available on Switch, PC, Xbox and PlayStation.