There's been many movies, TV shows and comics that have had a hand in creating video games based on their product. The world has gotten some great ones like Telltale Games' The Walking Dead and the Batman Arkham series. One frequent licensed property that keeps on getting video games is one of the most iconic cartoons of all time: Spongebob Squarepants.
There have been a plethora of games that have hit the shelves by Nickelodeon's popular sponge. Some of these games are basic platformers while others dip their toes into the party game realm. With Spongebob Squarepants: Battle For Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated out recently, it's time to look at the best and worst Spongebob games according to MetaCritic.
10 Revenge Of The Flying Dutchman (Best)
Surprisingly, MetaCritic has the Gameboy Advance version of Spongebob Squarepants: Revenge of the Flying Dutchman ranked high on its list of Spongebob games, but considering the fact most of the franchise's games do not have scores, this result is a bit of a fluke. The game earned a 71 on MetaCritic. Unlike the console version of the game that ranked similarly, the handheld version has Spongebob completing side-scrolling platforming levels where he must hunt for keys to treasure and find Gary at the end of each level.
9 Spongebob Squigglepants (Worst)
Have the urge to play a WarioWare game that isn't a WarioWare game? That's Spongebob Squigglepants in a nutshell. Using the Wii's uDraw tablet, the player is invited to complete a bunch of levels that include a series of microgames that fit a specific visual theme or control gimmick. The game earned a 59 on MetaCritic. While the game was praised for its ability to replicate the WarioWare formula, it fell short of being innovative and engaging for older audiences. The game was ported to the Nintendo 3DS later, but little change was made to the game.
8 Battle For Bikini Bottom (Best)
The reason why THQ Nordic felt it was a good idea to make a remake of this game was because of its popularity, although people would not be able to tell based on the MetaCritic score. Spongebob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom for the Playstation 2 falls fourth in all licensed Spongebob games with a 71, tied with Revenge of the Flying Dutchman (GBA).
The game has Spongebob, Patrick, and Sandy looking to save Bikini Bottom from robots unleashed by Plankton. The 3D-platformer has also garnered popularity in the speed-running community.
7 Lights, Camera, Pants! (Worst)
With a score of 57, Spongebob Squarepants: Lights, Camera, Pants! for the Xbox 360 gives players a chance to choose from a list of many lovable Bikini Bottom favorites as they compete to see who can win a starring role as the villain in the upcoming installment of "The Adventures of Mermaidman and Barnacle Boy." Each level in story mode gives players three mini-games themed on the role they are competing to earn. Unfortunately, critics looked at this installment as a party game that lacks the amount of game to keep people engaged.
6 Creature From The Krusty Krab (Best)
An action-packed game that gives players a wild ride, Spongebob Squarepants: Creature from the Krusty Krab for the GameCube hits many different genres at once through a dream-hopping experience. The game has players racing as Spongebob, fighting crime as Patrick's alter-ego Starfishman and destroying Bikini Bottom as a giant Plankton. Some levels include platforming while others simply ask players to navigate a race track or space itself. Either way, players got a bit of everything in a game that was given a MetaCritic score of 74.
5 Underpants Slam (Worst)
An Xbox 360 Live Arcade game, Spongebob Squarepants: Underpants Slam is a puzzle game that tasks the player to collect the undergarments of Neptune that were scattered around the world by a storm. Players can enjoy 10 levels of this game, with each level requiring the player to gather 99 pairs of underwear in each level. There's some combat in the game where players must fight jellyfish who try to steal the underwear but the timing must be right. The game received a MetaCritic score of 55.
4 The Spongebob Squarepants Movie (Best)
There have been many games licensed from the TV show, but how about the popular first film to hit theaters? The Spongebob Squarepants Movie for the Playstation 2 has players relive the 2004 film in a level-by-level platforming game. Levels follow the plot to the movie, from being at Goofy Goober's all the way to Shell City.
Playing Spongebob and Patrick also gives players the ability to try out different abilities for each. The game is well done for what is really just a promotion for their feature film. The game has a MetaCritic score of 75.
3 The Yellow Avenger (Worst)
Spongebob Squarepants: The Yellow Avenger on the Playstation Portable has Spongebob take on the role of Mermaidman, wearing his belt in order to stop a plethora of Dirty Bubbles from torturing civilians of Bikini Bottom. The game is a 2D platformer in a 3D environment. While the game can be fun to explore Bikini Bottom and defeat giant foes, the tediousness of the tasks that are required to complete each section of the game really held it back from having a higher score. Metacritic has this game score set at 48.
2 Spongebob's Super Bouncy Fun Time (Best)
Yes, an iOS game has the top MetaCritic score out of all the Spongebob games, coming in at 81. The goal of Spongebob's Super Bouncy Fun Time is to shoot as many jellyfish as possible in order to capture them and save them from danger. The game has 100 levels, with each one presenting a different scenario that the player must figure out how to get all the jellyfish without running out of ammo. The game is compared mainly to other puzzle games like Peggle, but it stands out as one of the best games Nickelodeon has made for the iOS, and in general.
1 Spongebob Squarepants Featuring Nicktoons: Globs Of Doom (Worst)
Players who are sick of just playing the same characters from Bikini Bottom may enjoy playing Spongebob Squarepants Featuring Nicktoons: Globs Of Doom, but critics are not crazy about it. With the help of Jimmy Neutron, Danny Phantom, and a few other Nickelodeon stars, Spongebob must do what he can to defeat the Morphoids in this action-adventure. The game has a score of 47 on MetaCritic, which is not terrible, but it may be worth exploring other games in the franchise's history.