What a weird time we are living in. We are so very close to living in a world where console quality games become available on phones and tablets. Spongebob Battle For Bikini Bottom Rehydrated is the first mobile title I’ve played that shows just how well a mobile title can look and play when compared to its console counterparts. It looks great, plays great, and gives you a reason to bust out the iPad in the closet.
Maybe I should have seen it coming. I live and die by my aging iPad. I do all my writing for this site as well as various script duties that I have. I watch my shows and movies on my iPad before bed and have even fallen into some interesting video games thanks to the pretty okay Apple Arcade, Sayonara Wild Hearts and Butter Royale being standouts. But Spongebob Battle For Bikini Bottom Rehydrated is the first time a console game experience works on the controller free iPad.
The first thing I have to note is that I didn’t play Spongebob Battle For Bikini Bottom Rehydrated with those terrible onscreen controls. I’m not some sort of heathen, no matter what my mother might say. I did the sensible thing and simply connected my wireless Xbox One controller. The experience was as smooth as the butteriest butter this side of buttervile. Controllers were tight, something absolutely necessary for a 3D platformer.
Visually, Spongebob Battle For Bikini Bottom Rehydrated looks impressive on iOS. Graphics and sharp and the upgrade to HD does the game wonders. Sure, it isn’t as impressive as what you’d find on the versions on current consoles, but the cartoon visuals really help to negate the visual downgrade. If you come from the PS2 original to the iOS version, you are going to be very happy here. And while I never played the original, I did play its sequel based on the Songebob movie which is essentially the same game with a new story. I loved that game at the time and this one is even more fantastic thanks to not being tied to a movie.
Coming into Spongebob Battle For Bikini Bottom Rehydrated fresh really helps the experience. A lot of time these old 3D platformers don’t hold up very well, but thankfully that isn’t the case here. Taking the Super Mario 64 stars idea and replacing it with golden spatulas make for a familiar gameplay experience in a pretty great world. Lots of challenges also mean there is some meat on the bone for those looking for a challenge. In fact, many of the sliding segments had me battling the clock like a crazy person. These were in the Spongebob Movie game, but there they always felt forced onto the game and were required to move ahead in the story. Here they are fun extras for completionists.
For a game that is considered the pinnacle of many peoples childhoods, like Super Mario 64 was to my generation, a remaster was always going to be a tough pill to swallow. Nostalgia is a hell of a drug and we often can;t go back home because growing up sucks and changes us. Thankfully, this is the best way to remaster a title. It’s a fun and simple game that old fans will love while being cute enough to draw in younger fans considering that Spongebob is bigger than ever.
The content is solid, even on iOS, and the voices, at least all of them besides Mr. Krabs are great. That might be the only really big drawback as I’m sure they could have figured a way to re-record Mr. Krabs’ lines with Clancy Brown. Instead, we are left with a pale imitation that does hurt the experience. What’s interesting is that I didn’t face what a lot of people faced on the console versions. The camera control with a gamepad was a bit clunky, but that was normal and I hardly noticed, maybe because I’m from that era. Loading was a bit long at times but not unbearable and the framerate stayed consistent almost throughout, to the point I don’t remember any dips that affected gameplay.
Spongebob Battle For Bikini Bottom Rehydrated on iOS is fantastic and does wonders to show how far mobile gaming has come. It may not look as great as its console big brothers, but it looks and plays great for the platform that its on. I was happy with the experience putting in a ton of hours enjoying this classic. Some issues still pop up but they are few and far between. Some graphical tearing and a couple weird glitches mar the experience, but only slightly and not frequent enough to turn people away. If you have an iPad and are looking for a full-fledged video game, Spongebob Battle For Bikini Bottom Rehydrated is a must and sure to keeps you and your little ones happy.
Pros:
+ As fun as ever
+ Runs great on iPad
+ Great remaster job
Cons:
– Loading times
– No Clancy Brown
– Minor visual glitches
Final Score:
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