The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie

 Xbox
Metascore
74

Mixed or average reviews - based on 14 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 14
  3. Negative: 0 out of 14
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  1. Official Xbox Magazine
    89
    Much more than a cheap commercialization; it's a meaty game that kids and some masochistic adults will enjoy endlessly. [Dec 2004, p.84]
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  2. PGNx Media
    84
    A surprisingly solid platformer with variety, thanks to the complex combat, driving and additional challenges to recommend to platform fans.
  3. AceGamez
    80
    The Spongebob Squarepants Movie has impressed me so much that I'm almost embarrassed to admit it. There's loads of variety to keep anybody quiet for ages - it even kept me up, playing until the break of dawn!
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  5. IGN
    78
    Controls feel responsive and the camera rarely hinders your view of the action. And the humor of the show practically seeps out of every clamshell and bed of kelp you cross.
  6. Game Chronicles
    77
    With solid graphics and voice acting identical to the television program, this title should satisfy any fan of the motion picture, especially the little ones.
  7. GameBiz
    77
    Once you get into the games antics you'll see that there's actually a solid foundation built for a good quality adventure game, with a nice famous cartoon character under your control.
  8. Play Magazine
    75
    The game is designed in such a way that it behooves the player to not just pass levels but excel at them. [Jan 2005, p.69]
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  9. TeamXbox
    74
    While SpongeBob Squarepants: The Movie doesn't break any new ground and won't win any game of the year awards it is a solid single player game that will keep youngsters and maybe even people into their 20's busy for at least twelve hours.
  10. Xbox Nation Magazine
    70
    Exceedingly colorful, fun to play, and possessed of a great sense of humor, Movie both stands and delivers. It's some delicious sea food meant to be swallowed - whole. [Nov 2004, p.91]
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  11. Stuff
    70
    The irreverent, goofball sense of humor from the show is intact, which makes up for the sometimes iffy controls.
  12. Gaming Nexus
    70
    The fighting is pretty straightforward, and once you get a few power-ups, even that becomes simply routine.
  13. GameZone
    69
    Kids (young kids) will like this game except for the frustration. The vehicle controls aren't very accurate, causing a lot of unnecessary screw ups during that part of the game. Other than that it's a piewalk.
  14. Game Informer
    60
    The core gameplay is simply tired. Jumping around collecting random doodads is just old - it's time to move on to new objectives in platformers. [Dec 2004, p.167]
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  15. Computer and Video Games
    60
    We've all got a soft spot for SpongeBob here at OXM towers (Ben T in particular), but our osmotic obsession can't mask the fact that this is a by-the-numbers platformer, albeit a charming one. [Official UK Xbox Magazine]

Awards & Rankings

69
#69 Best Xbox Game of 2004
82
#82 Most Discussed Xbox Game of 2004
10
#10 Most Shared Xbox Game of 2004

User Reviews

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User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 14 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 14
  3. Negative: 1 out of 14
  1. CriticNamedZack
    May 24, 2019
    7
    Story: The plot is very similar to the movie itself. King Neptune's crown has been stolen by Plankton and Spongebob and Patrick must retrieveStory: The plot is very similar to the movie itself. King Neptune's crown has been stolen by Plankton and Spongebob and Patrick must retrieve it from Shell City where Plankton sold the crown...

    Pros:
    • It follows the story of the movie quite closely, while adding new scenarios and getting them to fit into the plot. Overall I think they managed to tell the movies story well.

    Cons:
    • The picture cutscenes that progress the plot however look very cheaply put together and some even look awkward. I know the time to make this game was quite short, but I think these cutscenes would have been so much better animated (go into more detail about that later)

    Gameplay: The gameplay is similar to that from the last game, Battle for Bikini Bottom (BFBB) since it's made by Heavy Iron again. You play as and switch between Spongebob and Patrick with both having different abilities and skills. You collect Goofy Goober Tokens (golden spatulas in BFBB), weighs (Shiny Objects) and Treasure Chests (Socks but better).

    Pros:
    • The upgrade system from collecting weighs that allows you to upgrade character abilities and health is a really neat addition which makes Spongebob and Patrick more interesting in combat, while also needed when this game gets more harder. The rate you get weighs as well is well-balanced and you only get all the upgrades right near the end of the game which is great pacing.
    • I like the diversity in the gameplay on how it switches from platforming, to sliding levels like in BFBB, to boss fights and even driving the Paddy Wagon from the movie.
    • This game is also pretty challenging the further into it you get. Sometimes it feels a bit unfair at times, but for the most part this was more of a challenge then BFBB.
    • The Treasure Chests are good collectables with many unlockable features such as costumes, audio lines, concept art etc.
    • I think considering that Heavy Iron had to create much more detail and design in the levels from at times just a single scene from the movie is really impressive while managing to create a few new ones.
    • This game has a 100% reward which I always find that as a bonus. Nothing amazing, just a nice touch.

    Cons:
    • As much as I like the changing gameplay, I really don't like the Paddy Wagon levels. It controls really badly and is just not fun to use. It's made worse when your doing the time and ring challenges and 4 out of the 18 levels are Paddy Wagon...
    • I like the combat, but sometimes I had some bizarre hit detection. Mainly from trying to deflect enemies projectiles or enemies hitting me in off angles.
    • It also has to be said that this game takes a lot of assets from BFBB. This may not bother you at all or some of you might find it lazy. But regardless, it has to be mentioned.
    • Bosses are very easy for the most part and don't offer any challenge. The exception is the last boss fight which is actually very challenging and really cranks it up which I did like that fight. But the rest were too simple
    • The levels are not as open so exploring them to find more details is not so great this time around.
    • This game relies on backtracking way too much, which wasn't an issue in BFBB.

    Sound and Music:

    Pros:
    . • The voice acting is well done. Most actors from the movie are present and all of them are pretty solid. Sadly Dennis and David Hasselhoff didn't reprice their characters, but the replacements are actually great so I can't really feel that disappointed.
    • The music is pretty good once again, though not the same standard as BFBB. Some tracks are just ok, but the majority of them sound really good, especially the more rock based ones.

    Cons:
    • Some lines of dialogue seem a little rushed. Always in the cutscenes as well.

    Performance and Graphics:

    Pros:
    • Graphics almost exactly like BFBB and that's a really good thing and not surprising since a lot of the models and textures from BFBB are used in this game.
    • The game also ran in 60 FPS the whole time with no issues or slowdowns whatsoever.

    Cons:
    • Wish the game had more in-game cutscenes. The ones we have are not perfect, however they are much better then the picture cutscenes.

    Verdict: I have to say I like this game more then the movie itself. I think it lacks a bit of polish like BFBB had which does show it certain parts of the game. It's still a good and worthwhile 3d Platformer and Heavy Iron did a good job considering how much pressure they were under to make this game, I would just expect a bit of frustration with some parts and elements of this game.

    Story: 8/10
    Gameplay: 7.5/10
    Sound/Music: 8.5/10
    Performance/Graphics: 9/10
    Overall Rating: 7.9/10    … Full Review »
  2. EpicLadySponge
    Feb 2, 2017
    8
    The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie manages to slide its game before its movie counterpart to face numerous other licensed games of 2004 andThe SpongeBob SquarePants Movie manages to slide its game before its movie counterpart to face numerous other licensed games of 2004 and outmatch them all to even the results with its superior spiritual predecessor named Battle for Bikini Bottom.… Full Review »
  3. MasterRiley
    Jul 20, 2016
    9
    After playing Battle for Bikini Bottom I had to play this game, luckily it was created by the same developer and at the same level of quality.After playing Battle for Bikini Bottom I had to play this game, luckily it was created by the same developer and at the same level of quality. This game is undeniably awesome, one of my favourites as a kid. Its got great gameplay, a good story, great level design and world building, cool enemies and bosses, and lots of replay value.… Full Review »
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