As a massive Spongebob Squarepants fan since my childhood, the aspect I appreciate the most about the show was its ability to craft jokes without diving into crass humor. That’s not to say that all of the jokes land. The vast majority of Battle for Bikini Bottom’s comedy and character is so deftly handled that it could be considered an episode from the early seasons of the show. Spongebob Squarepants (the original cartoon) features some of the best comedy and characters in a children’s show and is undeniably on the Mount Rushmore of classic cartoons. The best part of Battle for Bikini Bottom is just how understanding the original developers were of its source material.
And I don’t think I’ll ever get used to seeing Patrick with a full set of teeth which isn’t on the art direction, since the original Battle for Bikini Bottom featured the same haunting smile of Patrick. There is some off-putting art direction, however, such as Sandy’s super well-defined fur which doesn’t necessarily fit with all of the other textures in the game. The art team over at Purple Lamp Studios even went the extra mile with some of the textures of characters, such as Spongebob’s spongey body. There are even some new little animations thrown in to spice things up, such as Spongebob’s idle animations imitating some popular Spongebob memes. Although there are some stilted animations in cutscenes between the characters, the actual in-game animations are fantastic. Spongebob, Patrick, and Sandy all look way closer to their cartoon counterparts, as do all of the side characters throughout the game. Rehydrated breathes brand new life into all of the character models and levels throughout the entire game as well. What really blew me away were the little touches such as the clams that fly away when you approach them (think pigeons or other small wildlife in other games), or the various Bikini Bottom citizens placed throughout the levels. Rehydrated’s levels are beautifully recreated and updated, with new little details thrown in to really bring the world of Spongebob to life. While there were certainly some standouts like Jellyfish Fields or the overall Bikini Bottom hub-world, the majority of the visuals from the 2003 original do not hold up. Unfortunately the same can’t be said for the various levels throughout the game. In 2003, Battle for Bikini Bottom nailed all of the character models for all of the classic characters that still hold up today. The first thing anyone will notice is the beautifully updated visuals to the game. Throw in a brand new multiplayer mode featuring cut content from the original and fans of the original will find plenty to dive into. The in-game models and environments are beautifully updated to modern standards, the levels are recreated to a 1:1 scale of the original, and all of the original voice acting is intact. Spongebob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated (hereafter referred to as Rehydrated) is a gorgeous remaster of the original game. Make no mistake, the actual platforming quality was never earth-shattering instead, the game breaks the mold of licensed games by acutely understanding its source material and giving Spongebob fans something to cherish.
Spongebob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom is one of the rare titles in the PS2 era that transcended the typical quality of a licensed game that was oh-so-plentiful. “Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?!…”