(Originally published to Glitchwave on 1/28/18)
[Image from glitchwave.com]
Spongebob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom
Developer: Heavy Iron Studios
Publisher: THQ
Genre(s): 3D Platformer
Release Date: October 31, 2003
Platforms: GCN, PS2, Xbox
Back in 2003, the 3D platformer was still a prevalent genre in gaming, but it was running its course at this time and was running out of fresh ideas. I was seven years of age at the time and was not aware of the genre’s stagnation, so I was liable to buy into anything. Because I was of the impressionable young demographic who was not tired of jumping on platforms as kooky characters, I was ripe for the industry to take advantage of. In this case, it was Spongebob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom, another licensed game with the yellow sponge who was taking the world by storm. Would I have ever been interested in this game if it didn't have Spongebob's face all over it? Most likely, no. Like any other kid, I went hook, line, and sinker for any recognizable face on any video game. I played plenty of awful licensed games when I was a kid and Spongebob was even involved with some of those. In the case of Battle for Bikini Bottom, I am so glad that I was a kid in the early 2000s so I could play this game. If I wasn't I would have probably stuck my nose up at this game like the frothing snob I am. Anytime past my single-digit age, I feel as if I would've known better than to buy into this licensed dreck because I was aware of the deserved stigma behind licensed games. I became aware that licensed games were typically rushed to a set deadline regardless of the final project being done. I caught onto the fact that the developers usually didn't care to grasp the source material. This is not the case for Battle for Bikini Bottom at all. They suckered me in, but I was anything but duped. In fact, this game is the optimal Spongebob experience in video game format. It oozes the charm and humor of the show from all of its pores.
The story is pretty simple: Plankton makes an army of robots to take over Bikini Bottom but accidentally sets the switch to "don't obey" which is a classic, silly cartoon conundrum. The same night, Spongebob and Patrick make a wish to have real robots to play with. When he awakens, Spongebob jumps out of bed with that unbridled Spongebob enthusiasm to interact with his cybernetic machinations. However, he is shocked and appalled when he finds that his house has been ransacked and vandalized with graffiti, and sheepishly asks Gary if he made this mess. Spongebob must be a heavy sleeper to have stayed in an unconscious state during the raucous, which explains why he needs a house-shaking fog horn as an alarm clock. Once the robots start running amok, Spongebob feels responsible for all of the chaos, with the anxiety of the Bikini Bottom News Crew covering the pandemic and promising severe consequences for whoever unleashed the robot scourge. Plankton, who stands outside Spongebob’s pineapple abode knowing full well that Spongebob is gullible, gaslights him into thinking that his careless wishing caused this overnight pandemonium, so Spongebob adventures across Bikini Bottom busting up every bucket of bolts in the way. This game's premise wouldn't have been as fun if Spongebob wasn't so dense.
Even though nostalgia still blinds my objective perception like a manipulative spouse, I cannot deny that Battle for Bikini Bottom wears its 3D platformer influences on its sleeves as conspicuously as Squidward wearing no pants. The game apes the non-linear collectathon format that Banjo-Kazooie popularized so much that I’m surprised that Spongebob doesn’t carry around a backpack with Gary in it. While one could still criticize Battle for Bikini Bottom for being heavily derivative, I think some clemency could be considered for the fact that it's a licensed game. The novelty of baking off a preexisting property outside of an original video game IP comes with its recognizability to its brand, so one should never expect a licensed game to be revolutionary. Besides, what 3D platformer of the early 2000s isn’t at least somewhat guilty of ripping off Banjo-Kazooie in some fashion? The main collectible that allows Spongebob to unlock every area of his hometown is golden spatulas, valuable pieces of fry cookery seen once or twice in the show’s first season. There are eight golden spatulas per area, including the hub, and four acquired through the boss battles. Some are earned through overarching tasks like retrieving jellyfish sting ointment for a freshly burned Squidward and rescuing Mrs. Puff’s students from the neverending abyss of the Kelp Forest. Other spatulas are off the beaten path of the more linear sections that divide the levels as opposed to Banjo’s sprawling open playgrounds. Visiting a new section of the town requires Spongebob to collect a specific number of golden spatulas, and they’re all a reasonable number as par for the collectathon course. Golden Spatulas can also be purchased from Mr. Krabs with the rainbow bit shiny object currency, and Spongebob can also trade ten of Patrick's socks back to him for one as the game’s secondary collectible. Why Patrick has a staggeringly large collection of socks when he doesn’t even have feet and what he uses them for, I don’t even want to know.
Along the way in stopping the robot menace, Battle for Bikini Bottom thought it would be imperative to let the player control Spongebob, Patrick, AND Sandy. As one would expect from the character lineup of a sponge, starfish, and a squirrel in a pressurized space suit, each of them has their own movesets and unique abilities. Spongebob, being the titular character and all, gets the most playtime out of the three characters. He is the only character that gains new attack moves as the game progresses making him the most versatile in terms of a moveset. His base bubble wand is not only a swift melee attack, but it's an all-in-one tool used for all of his other moves. Spongebob can strike from below with a bubble Viking helmet bash, or crush enemies with bubble gorilla feet from above. The unlockable bubble moves include bowling a bubble into enemies and launching a guided cruise missile with a five-second limit. No, he does not have to yell “Bring it around town!” to execute all of these bubble stunts. Patrick is the least versatile in every aspect of gameplay. Besides what is either a belly flop or a semi-dry hump (they’re underwater after all) attack, he can body slam to stun some larger robots with a shockwave radius. Patrick’s special schtick is picking up the "throw fruit" watermelon to either attack robots from a distance or press buttons from afar. There are also white "freezy fruit" Patrick throws into the goo to freeze, allowing him to walk on it for a short period of time mostly to retrieve one of the game's many collectibles. Patrick's throwing technique is eventually rendered obsolete as soon as Spongebob acquires the cruise bubble, so most of the utility the game gets out of Patrick are puzzle sections (which is ironic because Patrick is supposed to be the dumb character in the show). They could have made Patrick a strength-heavy character by having his attacks do more damage, but that would probably make the game a little more uneven. I would argue that they did this with Sandy anyway. Sandy is and has always been my favorite character to play as because she has the most range in terms of attack and movement. She has a karate chop, a mid-air kick, a lasso, and a gliding move, and can attach herself to mid-air Texas insignias to swing off in high places to cross even tighter gaps. More often than not, I used Sandy in levels where she was available over Spongebob because her gliding move made it so much easier to traverse every level where she was available. Strongest critter in Bikini Bottom, indeed. Not even bonafide, original 3D platformer games have juggled a string of multiple playable characters this fluidly, and the fact that playing as all three adds a wish fulfillment bonus for every fan of the show is an excellent bonus.
Bikini Bottom has expanded its districts throughout the show’s tenure even in the prime early years, and Battle for Bikini Bottom showcases thirteen of them. The “base” of Bikini Bottom serves as the game’s hub world and along its straight, narrow road, it features notable sub-areas like Spongebob's house, Sandy's treedome, and the Krusty Krab. The Bikini Bottom hub world feels cozy and familiar, but every landmark is squeezed too close together along the road, which I suppose might be due to the limitations of the game. While these spots are certainly the most distinguished ones found in the show, the game treats them all as minor steps to visit as a referential lark. What Battle for Bikini Bottom excels at is extrapolating on Bikini Bottom’s familiar settings that are visited periodically, are background setpieces, or are the focal point of one episode.
There are nine different main levels accessed from toll booths in the hub world and are organized by easy, medium, and hard difficulty curves. Every single level in this game is completely unique to one another in terms of level design and objectives. The green, grassy valley of Jellyfish Fields is a perfect first level because of the climb you undergo to get Squidward that soothing ointment remedy. While the first level in the game is naturally easy, the way it progresses to the peak of King Jellyfish’s shower domain feels epically grand nevertheless. Downtown Bikini Bottom follows up the same type of level progression where climbing up on the rooftops with Sandy leads into a robot horde battle inside of a lighthouse. Goo Lagoon has an infectious, fun energy with plenty of beach time along with a carnival pier in the same district. Rock Bottom exudes that surreal, noirish darkness that made its sole appearance in the show so memorable. The Batcave Mermalair of the geriatric underwater superhero duo of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy is surprisingly heavily based on solving puzzles. Sand Mountain is a level that revels in the slide mechanic with three perilously thrilling slopes to sand down Spongebob’s tongue with friction, and Spongebob's Dream is an unpredictable mish-mash of different objectives based on whose dream Spongebob is infiltrating. The only level in the game that is worth criticizing is Kelp Forest. I’m glad the stone tiki section and the winding kelp slides add a much-needed spike in difficulty, but performing these tasks in what seems like total darkness is not a necessary handicap. I could turn the brightness up on my television, but I refuse to do so on principle. It makes the hauntingly ectoplasm-drenched Flying Dutchman’s Graveyard look as vibrant as Goo Lagoon by comparison. What happens when areas around Spongebob’s neighborhood and the Krusty Krab are fleshed out in the video game format is that their brief occurrences on the show make their transitory sightings more interesting. When watching the early seasons of Spongebob, I will wonder where that giant jellyfish rock statue is, or the record-breaking sand castle in Goo Lagoon. Rock Bottom’s abstract art museum is genuinely something I want the show to delve into, even though I know it's a pipe dream.
Facing the legions of robot army goons in these assorted Bikini Bottom locations never becomes inconvenient or annoying, even though they are a contagion that needs to be wiped out to regain peace and harmony. Fighting any of these robots is never really challenging as each of them falls apart with one or two hits. Their substance as an enemy distinction lies in their diversity. The robots seemed to have formulated a chain of command based on height and mass in their mere hours of existence. Pint-sized robots such as the taser-carrying Fodders and the halitosis-having Chomp-Bots will go down with little opposition, but they are usually packed in numbers. Mid-sized Ham-Mers that smash people with a bad pun attached to their arm and the Tar-Tar robots that squirt the horrifying condiment (from a sea creature’s perspective) from a hose will usually also accompany the smaller grunts. The aerial Chuck throws missiles with the grace and accuracy of Tom Brady, and failing to tippy-toe around the Sleepytime Robots will result in an alarming penalty. Eventually, once the larger robots like Slick in the oil bubble shield and the spinning triplet Tubelets are introduced in the late game, the wide range of robots all banding together with their unique attributes can actually get quite hectic. Reclaiming the Krusty Krab from them takes a bit of strategy to succeed. The impression we’re supposed to get from Plankton’s rogue creations is that they are a mischievous bunch, but I swear that Chuck and Slick straight-up murder people in their introduction cutscenes. What surprises me more is that the robots don’t cause a disconnect with Spongebob’s underwater world. On top of everything else, knocking these tin cans around feels magnificent thanks to the sharp sound and impact. Chaining combos in combat and setting off Thunder Tiki traps to blow them sky-high is so satisfying.
After collecting a number of golden spatulas by a number divisible by five, Spongebob opens the shell gate and teleports to an arena where he fights a harrowingly uncanny robot creation of one of the three playable characters scaled to match the size of a small building. First, Spongebob and Patrick rumble around with a Robot Sandy in a Poseidome wrestling ring at the request of the sea king depicted on the show. I adore the adrenaline and motion of this fight as oftentimes, I'd just dodge its karate chops at me until it hit me just for my own sick amusement. Robot Patrick used to make me feel uneasy when I was a kid. I'm not sure if it's due to the creepy level music or the foggy, toxic dinginess of the Industrial Park. It’s likely due to Robot Patrick's design. He looks less like a robot and more like if Patrick was a back-alley rapist. He’s got a menacing grin of cruelty that makes your skin crawl. Karate-geared Robot Spongebob and the final level in its mechanical brain are no-nonsense as it heavily requires every move you've learned throughout the game and doesn't give you any checkpoints or health. It's a pretty intense finale for the game. Outside the curiosity of seeing the main characters depicted as towering mechanical machines made for destruction, the multi-phased boss fights they serve as are perfect for splitting up the game’s progression. There are also three minibosses found at the end of a few levels, including King Jellyfish taking a shower and the treacherous pirate ghost Flying Dutchman after swindling a deal with our heroes. Mermaid Man villain Prawn, an original creation of the developers, is as dynamic as Man Ray or the Dirty Bubble as a snooty, Eurotrash plankton who weaponizes sound from a phonograph head.
Other fantastic aspects of this game are in the form of little intricacies through the game. Spongebob's shoes squeak every time he moves just like in the show. The announcer fish from the show commentates on every boss fight, Patrick peers into the Treedome just like in the first episode of the show, and the bus stop gag from Rock Bottom even makes an appearance. Bubble Buddy, Spongebob’s makeshift imaginary friend who pissed off everyone in town, is one of the core NPC characters in the game that assigns Spongebob various tasks to collect more Golden Spatulas. Still, the strength of the game’s connection to the show runs deeper than mere references. If the show’s writers weren’t involved in the game’s development, I’d be incredulously surprised. The game’s writing is practically as sharp and charming as it was during the show’s early seasons when the game was being developed. Spongebob and Plankton banter with their contrasting dynamic, and seeing Sandy and Patrick talk to the maniacal shrimp is something amusing unseen in the show. Surly Squidward makes comments to Spongebob as caustically as usual, and it’s hilarious seeing him dream of torturing Mr. Krabs with his dream symphony while his boss returns the favor by sticking him at work in his own astral fantasy. Unfortunately, one glaring flaw that sullies the strong connection to the source material is that Clancy Brown doesn’t voice Mr. Krabs, but an imposter who can’t help but sound like an offkey impersonation (who also voices Mermaid Man as poorly).
Either the developers engorged themselves in the source material by prying their eyes open like Alex Delarge, or THQ hired some of the biggest Spongebob fans to develop this game. Either way, this game avoids all the pitfalls that beset the licensed game, and it all seems so simple. The game shares many similarities to Banjo Kazooie and other platformers that came before it, but a licensed game doesn't have to be original to be entertaining. It begs the question: how hard is it to understand the source material before you adapt it to another medium? I've played plenty of games like Battle for Bikini Bottom, but none of those games remind me why Spongebob was my favorite cartoon like this one does. Spongebob was never this cerebral, ground-breaking TV show, but it succeeded because it was timelessly written and was extremely charming. It's wonderful that the charm of Spongebob translated so well into this game. All the while, it doesn’t just absorb and expunge the source material: it returns the favor by using the video game format to expand on the source material, something that most licensed games are too lazy to do. The mission of the developers was to make the game recognizable to its source material, but it really doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things because the game is so exceptional. I’d even go out on a limb and say it ranks up there with one of the best 3D platformers of all time because all of the platformer aspects it liberally borrows are executed solidly. I feel no shame loving this game even as an adult.
No comments:
Post a Comment