SpongeBob Squarepants Battle For Bikini Bottom(BFBB) was a 2003 classic action-adventure game based on the tv series byNickelodeon. It hadeverything you would wantto see from aSpongeBobgame - him goofing off with all of his undersea friends, iconic locations like Goo Lagoon, cartoonish gags, and a great sense of humor. One of the greatest 3D collect-a-thon platformers, like;Spyro The Dragon,Banjo-Kazooie, andSuper Mario 64- withpuzzles, collectibles, andbosses.
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The newly releasedSpongeBob Squarepants Battle For Bikini Bottom Rehydratedis bright and vibrant, basically eye candy. It keeps the same storyline with new and improved visuals. A lot of upgrades inRehydratedare now the standard for game development in 2020. However, the game preserves the original work - creating access suited to a modern audience. This way, the original gem is essentially the same with a fresh splash of paint, or, a tall glass of rehydrated water.
10Better: Character Graphics
The characters have had a definite upgrade to match the aesthetics of the currentSpongeBob Squarepantstelevision show. Color is a central element in this upgrade. SpongeBob is a brilliant highlighter yellow, Patrick pops in his fresh pink glow, and even Squidward looks less pale. The color of the characters matches the hydrated and vibrant high definition environment, which is in stark comparison with the 2003 game.
The color isn’t the only stylistic change. Subtle elements have improved the characters, such as the alignment of SpongeBob’s teeth, the slight widening of his eyes, and even removing the black creases from Patrick and Squidward’s foreheads as indents, have all had a pleasant upgrade.
9Worse: Character Shadows
While the graphics have improved in theremake, it severely lacks one specific graphic element - the non-player character (NPC) shadows. It’s downright degraded fromBFBB,where the shadows portrayed the shape of the character - as a shadow should.
InRehydrated, the characters have disk shadows, which is strange seeing as real-time character shadows were a feature in the 2003 iteration. Although the players' shadow is rendered in real-time, up close, the graphics are pixelated. At least the environment’s shadows are improved.
8Better: Character Reactions
Compared withBFBB, the characters now actually react appropriately. Instead of SpongeBob manically smiling when receiving bad news, his reaction matches the context of the situation. These changes are among the many subtle ways the game feels more appropriate to a 2020 audience.
During conversations, characters now transition mid-sentence to sync and reflect what they’re saying. SpongeBob raises his eyes and hands to make a point, scratches his head in deep thought, or places his hands triumphantly on his hips. These talking variations add more depth than the original 2003Battle For Bikini Bottom game.
7Worse: Photographs
A sorely missed change made in theRehydratededition is the quirky, original photographs. While these might be a minor detail, it’s humor like this, which is quintessential to the goofy SpongeBob charm. For instance, in the 2003 game, SpongeBob had a picture of him and Squidward in a ‘friends’ picture frame.
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Changing it to an image from the show feels like a sore way of replacing an otherwise hilarious photograph. This is one of many pictures that has had alterations. One positive change was the photo of a handsome Squidward.
6Better: Fast Travel
The fast travel element saves a lot of time and frustration. With 3D collect-a-thon platforms, there’s always something that you missed. When rounding up all of your collectibles, it can be very annoying to search through all the areas manually.
With the newRehydrated, it’s much more straightforward. A silver spatula appears on the menu once a player sees one. You can teleport right over to the missing item without searching from level to level.
5Worse: Too Polished
While theremastered2020Rehydratededition of the game has carefully stuck to the storyline and kept true toBFBB’sodd bits and pieces, it might be too polished, losing the feeling fromBFBB. It stood out from other licensed games because it had a lot of character and personality.
The new game is vibrant and beautiful, but players can see some personality changes right at the start. SpongeBob’s house felt like it was under attack. Things were destroyed, broken, the message on the wall looked menacing, and the was a rocket crater. InRehydrated, the attack seems too neat, like polite robots attacked his home. Everything was just slightly tilted, and the writing was less threatening. Also, in the image forBBFB, there was a helmet, signifying a threat. Now the game looks so polished you don’t suspect an attack at all.
4Better: Underwater Effects
Other than thesuperb environment graphics, the most appreciated change inRehydratedis the goo simulation in Goo Lagoon. The new parallax effects combined with white rippling lines create the illusion that the goo has depth. A much-needed upgrade from BFBB’s low resolution repeating textures that just looked unnatural.
Other impressive underwater simulations that are cooler are the fire effects found in the underground cavern. These are much more realistic, with embers flying alongside the fireballs. Also, in Squidward’s fireplace, a fire now resides where before it was just logs and a bit of smoke.
3Worse: Border
The new borders inRehydratedfor Spongebob’s neighborhood have been replaced with a short ledge drop off, which might be confusing to new players who are not familiar with the perimeter of the game. InBFBB, all of the limits had a definitive red marker along the ground.
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The red line features in a few areas ofRehydrated, such as Bikini Bottom City. It’s strange that it wasn’t used throughout the game and is slightly annoying, not knowing where the out of bounds areas are.
2Better: Battle Movement
The combat inBFBBwas not a bad aspect of the original game, but the fighting has been improved to matchRehydrated. The combat is a lot faster-paced than inBFBB,the moves feel heavier, and the animation is zippier.
It blends well with the other improved aspects of the game and proves to be more challenging than the original gameplay. The heavier movement sets the remake apart fromBFBB, appealing to gamers that want faster movement to make the game more exciting.
1Worse: Multiplayer Mode
Multiplayer battle mode was a promising new aspect. It did not feature inBFBBand had the potential to be a great addition. Inmultiplayer, you can choose from seven characters - including Gary! The prospect of battling a giant robotic Squidward was great - he looked terrifyingly amazing.
However, the battling was surprisingly limited. The movements are; attack, jump, and ground pound. Only two of the characters had special battle moves, Squidward and Robo-Plankton - both are unusually strong. There’s also no real introduction as to what the aims are, and it lasts way too long for casual gameplay - 45 minutes. Also, there are no consequences when you die as the player just reloads.
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