Spongebob: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated doesn’t reinvent the wheel when it comes to platforming, and much of its gameplay feels every bit as old as its 2003 counterpart. But what Rehydrated gets right is preserving what made the original so special, while also bringing the visuals up to date in dazzling fashion.
“Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?!…”
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. 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 Rehydrated (hereafter referred to as Rehydrated) is a gorgeous remaster of the original game. 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. 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 first thing anyone will notice is the beautifully updated visuals to 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. Unfortunately the same can’t be said for the various levels throughout the game. 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. Rehydrated’s levels are beautifully recreated and updated, with new little details thrown in to really bring the world of Spongebob to life. 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 breathes brand new life into all of the character models and levels throughout the entire game as well. Spongebob, Patrick, and Sandy all look way closer to their cartoon counterparts, as do all of the side characters throughout the game. Although there are some stilted animations in cutscenes between the characters, the actual in-game animations are fantastic. There are even some new little animations thrown in to spice things up, such as Spongebob’s idle animations imitating some popular Spongebob memes. 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 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. 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.
The best part of Battle for Bikini Bottom is just how understanding the original developers were of its source material. 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 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. That’s not to say that all of the jokes land. 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. Battle for Bikini Bottom does tend to lean a bit more into crass humor than Spongebob is known for, which Purple Lamp Studios has decided to keep 100% intact. I do wish some more attention was paid to the joke writing of the game, as many of the jokes do not work in 2020, but I whole heartedly respect the decision to remaster the game in exact detail.
The gameplay of Rehydrated is a 1:1 recreation of the original from 2003. While no one will mistake the platforming gameplay to be revolutionary, it’s fun enough to pick up and play. There are still some platforming mechanics and levels that are frustrating, which is just a result of the developers choosing to leave the original gameplay intact. The floaty nature of the early 2000s platformers don’t hold up to modern standards, so while I respect Purple Lamp’s decision to keep the gameplay intact, I do wish they had taken some liberty to update some of the more floaty platforming mechanics. Often times I would find myself just missing a certain platform, only due to Spongebob being difficult to control in the air.
As fans of the original will know, Battle for Bikini Bottom puts players in direct control of Spongebob, Patrick, and Sandy. Spongebob, as you would expect, is the character that is the most heavily used character with Patrick/Sandy being companion characters. Spongebob has several special bubble attacks at his disposal, such as a bubble-bowl attack and a homing missile bubble he can use to solve puzzles or defeat enemies. Patrick uses his best weapon at his disposal to great effect: his stomach. And Sandy is a bit more of a well-rounded character who is perfect for traversal with her lasso that allows players to hover in the air for a few seconds. The combination of the three characters breaks up the gameplay loop enough to allow the platforming from becoming stagnant.
One of my favorite aspects of the original and Rehydrated is puzzle solving. As with the platforming, no one will mistake Battle for Bikini Bottom’s puzzles to be incredibly difficult or on the level of a game like The Witness. However, several puzzles allow the player to think outside the box a bit and force the players to use all three of the playable characters to solve them. While Spongebob may be able to get to certain areas, you may need to use Patrick to throw a watermelon to open a gate or Sandy to use her traversal to reach a different platform.
A new part of Rehydrated is the inclusion of multiplayer with four new playable characters. There’s only one mode available: endless waves of robots that Robot Squidward (a cut boss from the original game) is sending your way. Players have the opportunity to play as Squidward, Mr. Krabs, Gary, and Robo Plankton as they face the endless waves of robot enemies. The mode is fun enough for a few minutes, but I quickly found the multiplayer gameplay stale for a few reasons. Firstly there doesn’t seem to be any sort of life-limit. Players can go through the entirety of the mode without the threat of a “Game Over”. While on one hand, it’s nice that you can complete the mode without the worry of failure. On the other, it’s disappointing that there isn’t really any challenge in the mode as players can just brute force their way to the end.
Spongebob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated is as close to a perfect 1:1 recreation of the original 2003 fan-favorite. While the gameplay certainly feels outdated to modern platforming standards, there’s a lot here that fans of Spongebob will find enjoyable. Much of the writing and humor from the original doesn’t hold up in 2020, but there’s something to be said about wanting to preserve all of the original content. Rehydrated is a fun little romp through Bikini Bottom, and it makes me hopeful for future games with everyone’s favorite sea-sponge!
