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Game: Spongebob Squarepants Jellyfish Dodge
Distributor: Jakks Pacific
Release Date: 2007
Genre: Sports/Platformer
TWO YEARS since I first started this blog, and I'm still going! What milestones have happened since last year?
My stop motion projects have continued(albeit more infrequently than last year), including a look at some Emoji-themed brick figures(which thankfully were MUCH better than the movie they may/may not have been based on)!
The gang and I went to our first Comic Con, where I got to get autographs from awesome people and see awesome sights, while Brick and Pink managed to find trouble wherever they went!
I did a number of themed showcases, including the Disney/Pixar Cars franchise
A week of buildable fidget spinners(right before everyone got tired of them)
My annual theme month, this time featuring Minecraft bootleg sets
And, just recently, a look at all the different lines(official stuff, and the straight-up bootleggin') made to cash in on the collectable deformed figure craze(most obviously POP! Vinyl Figures.)
I finally cracked the lid off knockoff games and consoles by featuring the infamous NES Titanic game on my first Knockoff Console Corner
Which was played on the most ambitious Famiclone I've ever seen: the Virtual Station
And unfortunately led to the first of inevitably many bootleg Plug n Play reviews, starting with the Vs. Maxx 50-in-1
I became the first person to EVER talk about or feature American Idol: Be a Star on TV, the most obscure licensed Plug n Play ever made
Star Wars: The Last Jedi, arguably the BEST in the entire franchise, was released, and I celebrated with my other annual look at Star Wars Plug n Plays with the Revenge of the Sith console(and its expansion, which was the first appearance of a Game Key here)
I did my first Top Ten list by showing off a number of franchises you most likely didn't know had brick sets based on them
I made my first "talkie" stop motion skit with a video totally not trying to cash in on the fleeting Steamed Hams meme.
As well as my first video set entirely to music!
One of my reviews was actually noticed by one of the creators behind the game, and I got some praise and insight into the making of the console! ...I might have to get this framed for posterity.
And, of course, I launched my Patreon, so now you can support(and purchase requests from) the one person in the universe who has decided to dedicate a good chunk of his time to unofficial brick sets, Plug n Play games, and bootleg games & knockoffs! ...Why do I suddenly feel pathetic...?
But, best of all? The one thing that made me proud to be alive and managed to shake me out of my eternally depressed state for a few glorious minutes?
I got to do a tribute to Atop the Fourth Wall! ...And yes, I know this is similar to the highlight of last year. All these reviewers to are infinitely and eternally more talented than anything I'll ever do, so paying tribute is as close as I'll ever get to capturing the smallest bit of the glory they radiate... Therefore, it's automatically the highlight of my year! ...God, I'm pathetic...
And since another year has passed since the beginning of my look at Plug n Play games, it's time to take a look at another of what has inadvertently become the symbol of the blog's anniversaries: Spongebob Squarepants!
A series that, as of this writing, is STILL going, currently airing its eleventh season, with a season TWELVE to air right afterwards! Despite everyone clearly having given up on it after the third season...
What's with Nickelodeon and artificially keeping shows in production that nobody watches anymore?!
Not to mention their production of a third theatrical movie that's currently in development, and a BROADWAY MUSICAL released last year that's gathered immense critical acclaim! Spongebob is here to stay, and Nickelodeon wants his name forever synonymous with their brand. Whether you like it or not! ...Probably much more the latter...
Of course, the days of Plug n Play games are gone, so while Spongebob may go on forever, the number of his dedicated consoles I have left to cover are limited, hence why I keep this to an annual thing. And now the time has come to look at another. First, it was Bikini Bottom 500. Then it was The Fry Cook Games. And today, it's Spongebob Squarepants: Jellyfish Dodge.
The console certainly makes it no secret that jellyfish are a major part of the games on this console. We have a raised figure of Spongebob, holding a net to partake in his favorite pastime: jellyfish fishing.
The jellyfish in question he's looking to catch probably being this large one that makes up most of the joystick. If we're lucky, it's a box jellyfish, and we can FINALLY end the Spongebobian nightmare... ...Then again, I need to touch it to move the joystick, so I DON'T want to also be poisoned... A bit of a conundrum, here...
The jellyfish covering, as you might guess, is VERY rubbery, and can easily be squished by putting even slight pressure on it with a finger. ...Don't do this to regular jellyfish. They don't like it.
They like this even less...
But if that's not enough jellyfish abuse, both the A and B buttons are jellyfish! ...So technically, by playing this game, you're traumatizing the jellies more than Spongebob does with his naive jellyfish chasing!
Don't be surprised if this ends up being you...
Besides a few uncolored and untextured starfish shapes sharing space with Spongebob and the jellyfish, there's also THIS thing near the top of the roughly shell-shaped console. ...I have no idea what it is. A barnacle? A plastic defect? A place they were going to put a button, but they changed their minds and just molded over it? I don't know. ...But, given where the Spongebob show stands nowadays, expect this to be the subject of one of next season's episodes... In two parts!
Despite Spongebob molded into the console and still taking up a good amount of space, I'm a little disappointed that this is the first console we've come across that's not molded in the shape of Spongebob. Sure, poking the jellies* is fun, but we're missing out on the thrill of Spongebob racing right towards us, or grabbing Spongebob's tree branch nose and threatening to break it off with every jump or hurdle(which is what I presume most people want to do to him anyway...)
*I'm sure that's an innuendo somewhere...
Luckily, Jakks Pacific has granted our strange, pedantic complaint, as two years after the initial release, they released the game again, but in a Spongebob-shaped console! ...Which is the exact same console used for their first Spongebob game, so I'm guessing they had a lot of spare Jellyfish Dodge motherboards and Spongebob shells lying around and they just figured "Eh, both the show and the Plug n Play market are dying. Might as well cash in while we still can!"
Seeing as how this console is the exact design as the original Spongebob Plug n Play, this can cause a bit of confusion for Plug n Play collectors such as myself. Remember to check that copyright date on the back before assuming you already own this console! ...As I unfortunately didn't...
Jakks Pacific and HotGen team-up. No surprises there.
After making it through some stock art that looks like someone digitally colored in a Spongebob coloring book page
We're taken to the main menu, which uses the EXACT same music as The Fry Cook Games! ...I still don't understand why these Plug n Play games have such an aversion to using the themes of the properties they're adapting...
From the menu, you're given the choice of four different minigames:
Jellyfish Dodge
Guide 'n Collide
Snowball Showdown
Sponge Pop
...Wait, did I say "minigames"? ...I think I've just told the biggest lie of my life. These are NOT "mini" games. Each selection is a full-fledged GAME, each containing their own set of levels, mechanics, and set of requirements to reach the end!
Each game is not simply "Do X Ad Infinitum To Earn a Place On The High Score Board". No. Each game has its own set of zones, each with its own set of levels that must be completed to advance to the next zone and ITS levels!
And within each level is a goal that must be met in order to complete said level and move to the next! Whether it's something as simple as "clear the screen of bubbles"
Or a more specific goal, like "Clear X in X Minutes" or "Don't Get Stung"
Or "Hit Patrick X Amount of Times With X Snowballs" or "Freeze Patrick Before Time Runs Out" or "Donate to ZC-Infinity's Patreon." ...Or is that last one just wishful thinking?
It's kind of like how The Fry Cook Games were set up, where you needed to complete a number of different events well enough to move onto the next zone. Except here, you're completing multiple levels of the same challenge with slightly different layouts and goals each time. Also, instead of unlocking the next zone by racking up enough points to achieve first place, you simply need to complete the levels. ...Which, thank god, because having to enter a contest on top of all the other goals would have made the Plug n Play game that took the longest to complete EVEN LONGER!
I am NOT kidding. This is officially the longest it's ever taken me to play through and win one of these Plug n Play consoles! According to the amount of footage I recorded, to get through every level, complete every puzzle, and reach the end of each game took me SIXTEEN HOURS! ...Actually, probably even longer, since I remember deleting a few videos out of frustration from not getting anywhere or because they glitched, so let's estimate completion time at NINETEEN HOURS! Over DOUBLE the time it took me to get through the former record-holder: The Price is Right! ...And I'm praying with all my heart and soul that this is a record that will NOT be exceeded by any of the hundreds of games I still have to feature in the future...
So let's start going through each game and see if those 19 hours have given me 19 hours worth of material to talk about! ...I sure hope not. I can't even keep someone's attention for two minutes...
Jellyfish Dodge. The title game, and the most action-oriented title on here. Every level takes place in an 8x8 square arena, where jellyfish will already be present on the field, and/or will swim in from the outside corners to catch you off guard. And while you'd think that "Jellyfish Dodge" is an apt description of what you need to do in this game, and half of the time it is, what you need to do is dependent on the zone and level goals.
Like I mentioned, this game is comprised of 4 zones each containing 15 levels, for a total of 60 levels and objectives to complete! And on top of that, there are 4 different game modes each level could be.
Whacking. Spongebob is dressed up in his "safety-first" karate getup, and has to hit a specified number of jellyfish before time runs out. But be careful! The jellyfish fight back, and you only have a limited amount of times you can be hit before it's Game Over.
Survive. Jellyfish come at you in various patterns, and you need to dodge them for long enough to avoid losing all hit points. Sounds easy? ...Well, they come at you unexpectedly from outside the arena, so you'll never quite know where NOT to stand...
Collection. Golden jellyfish float around the level! Grab each and every one before time runs out! And avoid their larger jellyfish buddies who have dedicated themselves to stopping your ceaseless jellyfish plundering in the name of sport!
Goal. Jellyfish are on the move, and have banded together to form nearly-impenetrable walls! Run through the gaps in each to make it to the trap door before time runs out and you're buried in jellyfish jelly!
So with 4 game modes spread across 15 levels in each of the game's 4 zones, this is NOT a game that can be completed quickly! When I played this, it took me roughly 80 minutes to finish every level and finally beat the entirety of Jellyfish Dodge. That's nearly as long as it took to complete the previous two Spongebob games I've featured! And this is ONE game! It's a game that'll test your patience and endurance at having to go through each game mode multiple times! ...But you'll probably enjoy doing it!
Yes, there are 4 game modes across 60 levels, but EVERY level is unique! EVERY instance of a game mode is different, in both layout and strategy. One level of Collection might require you to avoid pink jellyfish and collect the golden jellyfish in between waves.
While another has the golden jellyfish floating around for all to see, and if you can avoid the other jellyfish, you can just rush over and grab them!
Though not all levels feature golden jellyfish that stay put...
What makes progression even more fun is that there's no noticeable difficulty spike. ...At least, not one that causes difficulty to skyrocket. The first zone contains objectives and obstacles that you'll see in future zones, with enemies that move at certain speeds and follow certain movement patterns.
Patterns will become larger and more complex as you complete zones, but the levels in the last zone won't be anything you haven't adjusted to as you played through each previous zone. This has some of the most natural difficulty progression I've ever seen, and it keeps the game from getting too boring and repetitive, nor rage-quittingly hard! It's a VERY well-balanced system, and should be something that other games should implement as a standard!
I'm looking at you, Lightsaber Duels from Star Wars: The Original Trilogy...
The various obstacles you'll need to avoid also give each level a bit of variety. The most common enemies are the pink jellyfish, which either float across the screen or around in a predetermined pattern.
But you'll also encounter blue jellyfish that randomly float around and occasionally throw lightning blots in 4 directions, green jellyfish that create walls of deadly bubbles, and red jellyfish that leave long trails of electricity that are very easy to walk into! With every level, you need to know what you're up against and how to avoid it. ...It's not easy...
Luckily, most of the game modes also incorporate powerups, such as Clocks(which increase the time you have to complete the goal), Sneakers(which speed up Spongebob), Bubbles(which prevent you from getting zapped), and Whacking Gloves(which allow you to whack away jellyfish.) However, not all powerups are available in each game mode, and each lasts only for a short time, so use each wisely and only when you need to. ...Unfortunately, you can't use any of them AGAINST Spongebob, so that's a mark against the game...
But what IS a definite plus is the incredible animation! This is something all the Spongebob games so far have had in common. Even if I don't like the Spongebob theme, I can't deny that they put a LOT of work into the design and movement of the characters, with Spongebob and the jellyfish having a large amount of frames dedicated to their movement! It's fluid, pseudo-3D design work, on par with sprite-based console games of that generation! Just seeing how much work went into Spongebob jumping for joy makes me glad that I started collecting and featuring these games, just so I can witness these obscure trinkets of animation!
And the fact they put even more effort into Spongebob's death animation makes me even happier!
At the end of every zone, Level 15, a giant pink jellyfish shows up as the "end-level boss", in a level that's ALWAYS "Survive". It'll take up about a quarter of the screen and relentlessly chase you, usually as you're dodging whatever other jellies the level decided to throw at you. ...However, to call it a "threat" is overestimating its intelligence. Just run around the sides of the level, avoiding it and all the other obstacles, and wait out the timer!
At least until the last zone, where it makes much tighter turns and follows you closely. ...But here, you get to wear the karate gear AND smack it around when it gets tired! ...It does nothing, but BOY, does it feel good after having it chase you for 4 zones!
Once you've completed Level 60, you've won Jellyfish Dodge! Let's celebrate with some jellyfish jelly! ...Can't be any worse than ink lemonade...
Guide 'N Collide. Well, I hope you enjoyed the action-based gameplay of Jellyfish Dodge, because, from here on out, gameplay gets much slower and puzzle-based. That's not necessarily a bad thing. ...It's just I have a hard time equating Spongebob with anything intellectual...
Here, the goal is much more fixed: Place directional fans to guide the jellyfish from their nest to Spongebob. You only have a few of each fan and a limited amount of time to place them, so I hope your geometry's up to snuff! ...Which mine never was...
There's much less to say about this game(which I think has a more common name, but I can't place it) than the previous one. The first few levels take pity on you and show you where to place the fans to get the jellies from A to B.
But after that, you're on your own! You'll need every single brain cell firing on all logical cylinders to carefully place every single fan in the exact right place to take advantage of all the walls, angles, and other fans that'll guide the jellyfish directly to Spongebob! ...Is it REALLY worth it? ...Well, I completed the whole thing, so I guess that question is irrelevant...
Unlike Jellyfish Dodge, the difficulty spike from zone to zone is quite obvious, as the areas and number of fans get bigger and larger. While early puzzles, you can probably figure out in 20 seconds, expect to be spending a good 20-30 minutes on later zones! You're lucky I edit my videos down to only show the results, or you'd be sifting through about 4 hours of me playing the same puzzles over and over again before I find the solution! ...And I'm lucky too, since I imagine I'd lose more subscribers that way...
It's probably worth noting that the game takes pity on you for the harder levels and grants you a limited number of "hint tokens", 3 to start with, with 3 added for every zone completed, resulting in a maximum of 12. ...And I'd also like to point out that I completed the entire game WITHOUT a single hint token! I braved EVERY. SINGLE. LEVEL. without cheating, no matter how much I wanted to at times! Everything you see in the video is all me and my raw brain power! I, a 26-year-old man, have spent hours of my life playing and completing every puzzle of a game, so I can sleep easy, knowing that I can complete a SPONGEBOB game meant for 10-year-olds! ...Why do I feel like jumping off a bridge...?
Some of the levels, I actually managed to complete without using all the fans! Bikini Bottom Level 6, in particular, I completed using only ONE fan! I don't know if this was oversight on the programmer's part, or an intentional attempt to troll the player into thinking all the fans need to be used. ...But, if it was the latter, then well played...
The levels I absolutely HATE involve these moving clams, which move left/right or up/down at differing speeds, and they eat any jellyfish they run into, instantly ending the level! They're VERY hard to avoid, even if you've played the level several dozen times and know their pattern. Because by then, you'll be so frustrated that you're still on this level, that you'll have lost all logical thought needed to place the fans and avoid the clams!
If I ever end up traveling past Bikini Bottom(which IS a real place[sort of]), THIS is going straight in the water! ...Then again, they tested nukes there, so this would probably do more good than harm at this point...
However, the biggest annoyance isn't even with the game, but the controls! The microswitches on the original console are VERY sensitive, going off if the joystick is so much as touched by a speck of dust, and resulting in the cursor/character going off in directions you don't want. This is especially bad in Jellyfish Dodge and Guide 'N Collide, where trying to get a hold of where the character/cursor is going usually results in unwanted death, or the cursor flying off in random directions and wasting precious time to set up! I know I've complained about unresponsive controls in the past, but I wasn't asking for the other extreme!
I'm usually a purist, but in this case, you're better off tweaking Spongebob's nose...
Once you've spent a good 3-4 hours(or you cheated and used my video as a walkthrough) and completed all 60 puzzles, you've beaten Guide 'N Collide! And you can now spend the rest of your day leading jellyfish into ACTUAL fans! The chopping variety!
Next up is Snowball Showdown. And one of two games that weren't originally meant for this console.
In last year's look at the Fry Cook Games, I remarked that it was the first console I featured with a GameKey slot, Jakks' short-lived attempt at expanding the libraries of their Plug n Play games. I didn't have the GameKey(of which one was eventually featured in my Star Wars Revenge of the Sith review), but I mentioned that the games were later featured in a future console. This is that console, and it's finally time to feature them!
You can even tell that these games were meant for a different package, as instead of the level select menu the previous two games had
These are given their own separate generic menus, which are comprised of text in front of a background picture of Spongebob's house. ...The earlier menus weren't exactly a Renoir painting, but they're kind of drawing attention to the fact these games are from an older console...
The game is a basic turn-based artillery game, a la the Worms series. You take control of Spongebob, aim your snowball in the direction you want to throw it, carefully time your shot to hit the power meter at the target level, and LET 'ER FLY! If all prerequisites are met, the snowball smacks into Patrick and leaves him cold!
The goal is to hit Patrick enough times to turn him into a star-cicle. Then you go onto the next level and do it all over again. Which, hey, I'm causing Patrick pain. I could do this ALL DAY!
Later levels implement another objective that must be met. Either hitting Patrick a certain amount of times with a limited amount of snowballs
Or freezing Patrick within a time limit. And while you'll probably get through most of the early instances without breaking a sweat
Future levels are going to take a while. ...To say the least...
Especially since, as the game continues, wind becomes a factor, which blows progressively stronger and stronger in each direction, throwing off your shots! ...I'd ask how gale-force winds are a factor UNDERWATER, but I've learned not to ask questions with this show, as it's created with the sole intention of shredding the cerebrum of anyone who dares... Besides, I'd then have to ask how there's SNOW underwater...
Luckily, there are a few elements that help you in your eternal quest to make Patrick's life miserable! If you can find and throw an accurate enough snowball at them, various powerups can be collected that'll let you throw more snowballs each turn(Rapid Fire), split a snowball into three(Cluster Ball), grow the snowball(Mega Ball), or have limited control over where the ball will land(Guided Ball).
However, my favorite method is to use the traps around the environment. Nothing beats a giant snowball rolling down a hill right into your opponent's face that HE accidentally set off!
Except maybe knocking a giant snowball off a platform right onto your opponent's head! Sometimes, there ARE positives to playing a Spongebob game!
Once again, this is a game that's actually a full-fledged GAME, with another SIXTY levels to get through. ...Unfortunately, it's a much more annoying game to get through. The previous games had a level select feature, so if you don't feel like going through 60 levels all at once, you could take a break and come back to it. ...Not the case here. When you play this game, you play it FROM THE BEGINNING!
There's not even an indication to how many levels there are, and for a while, I thought it just went on forever, like most puzzle games on these consoles. However, there's a Practice mode that allows you to replay levels you've already completed, and I highly doubted it went up to 9999999, so I knew that it ended at SOME point.
You're given unlimited continues whenever you fail a level, but if you want to see the game to the end, you start from Level 1! Meaning if you turn the console off, you start ALL OVER AGAIN!
Thankfully, the console has a built-in Sleep mode, which activates after about 5 minutes and prevents battery drain. ...Still, if you're going to attempt this game, I'd recommend a fresh set of AAs. ...And a free afternoon.
With a lot of time, patience, and a tether to keep you from throwing the console at your TV screen, you'll eventually complete all 60 levels and win Snowball Showdown! ...And then you'll immediately want to go back in, because it's a July heatwave, and that snow looked good...
In which case, take on their Multiplayer option, which follows the same level structure, but you and a friend alternate between Spongebob and Patrick! ...Or just play against yourself and make sure Patrick doesn't even get one shot in and he turns into a block of ice in seconds. ...Which I'm pretty sure we all want to see happen to Patrick...
And that brings us to our final game on this console: Sponge Pop. We're brought back into action-oriented gameplay. ...And it's easily the most frustrating game on the console...
This game is a basic Breakout clone, where you're bouncing a pearl against the top of Spongebob's head, trying to hit every bubble to clear the stage. We've seen this genre EVERYWHERE, and it's no surprise that even a Spongebob console would eventually include it.
In fact, it's not even the first instance of this game on a Spongebob console! This is an update of a similar game from the original Spongebob Plug n Play game, simply given sharper graphics, more powerups, and extra lives! ...Apparently, this was the designers' favorite game, if they chose to port this over to the newer Spongebob consoles, while the other games go untouched. ...Which would have been nice to give someone who's lacking the first and increasingly hard-to-find console!
So yeah. Clear the screen of bubbles, win the level. We've seen this gameplay in countless forms over the years.
But you also need to blow the lid off the place and get out to win the level! ...That's original, I guess.
Later levels include black bubbles, which take multiple hits to disintegrate, jellyfish, which bounce your pearl around randomly when hit
And indestructible shells that your pearl bounces off harmlessly. ...And, in this game, they're much less "obstacles", and more "timesinks", put there to simply make every level go longer as opposed to posing any major threat! ...Though the game's hard enough without their help...
As this kind of game is naturally difficult, it shouldn't be a surprise that this version is also difficult to beat. However, this game includes its own reasons for being tough to complete! One major issue is that Spongebob, unlike most paddles in these games, isn't flat, and he takes up a good chunk of the bottom of the screen! If the pearl hits the wrong side of him, it doesn't bounce back up, ending up buried on the ocean floor...
What makes the pearl even harder to keep in the air(water?) is this speed-up powerup that sometimes falls from the bubbles. It's meant to make the level go faster, but it's TOO FAST! The pearl bounces around the screen like a kid on a strict diet of Smarties and Coke, and it's faster than you can move Spongebob! If you pick one of these up, you might as well just not touch the controller until the pearl hits the ground, with how likely you are to keep control of it...
Later levels will also start with a row of black bubbles only a foot above Spongebob's head, resulting in near-instant death when the pearl is launched! ...I hope your life bank is stocked like Burt Gummer's fallout shelter by this point...
Ok, so the game is challenging. The other three were as well, and I got through them just fine. What's the difference? ...Well, the kicker is this is the ONE game on this console where you CAN'T continue! Once you've lost all your lives, no matter where you are, it's GAME OVER! In a game with FIFTY levels!
This is the game that took up most of my time, and made me question if I was going to finish this console in time to write about it. In total, it took me EIGHT hours to complete it, the same amount of time it took me to complete The Price is Right! ...Only I don't feel as accomplished completing this game, as The Price is Right contained SEVENTEEN different minigames to complete and show off. Here, I was bouncing a ball on my head for 8 hours! And not even my head, but a character's I don't even like! This is what I decided to dedicate my life to, people! I spent a good third of a day bouncing spheres off Spongebob's noggin...
Still, I need to show that I got SOMETHING out of all of this, so if you ever decided to take on the Sponge Pop challenge, here are my tips to avoid dying and starting over:
1) Know a Good Powerup From a Bad One. Like I said, the speed-up powerup, despite good intentions, will end your game almost instantly(unless you can find a powerup that counteracts it). The slowdown powerup does what it says, but since the pearl doesn't move that quickly to begin with, it's unnecessary and only serves to prolong each level. The small pearl can be useful at times to get those last few bubbles from inside a tight space, but on the whole, it's harder to keep track of. The most common powerups you'll want to keep an eye out for are Big Pearl, Multi Pearl/Mega Multi Pearl, and Big Head. The Big Pearl and Multi Pearl will lessen how much time it takes to complete the level, and Big Head gives you a wider area to bounce pearls off of and lessens the chance of a pearl bouncing off your side into the ground. If you can get all three at once, you're on top of the world!
Especially since only one pearl needs to make it through the top of the level to complete it!
And if you DO end up with a powerup you don't want, keep an eye out for the blue Jellyfish, which cancels out all powerups(save for if you have multiple pearls onscreen.) ...But it works the other way as well, so if you have a sweet combination in play, avoid these like an actual jellyfish! ...The real-life variety, not the pink jellyfish that randomly bounce the pearl around. ...Though you should probably avoid those too...
2) Exploit the Power Pearls. These powerups are the rarest in the game, but their use is essential to getting anywhere in levels they appear! The power pearls zap through ANYTHING on screen, including the shells and black bubbles, without stopping.
If you can find one, you'll clear a level in no time(at least, compared to the other levels in this game.)
However, once you have a Power Pearl, you need to avoid ALL other pearl powerups, as picking up any other pearl modifier will cancel out the current effect. So if you see a Multi Pearl, despite how much help it would be on any other level, DON'T GRAB IT! Unless you like these levels 10 minutes long...
3) Keep Spongebob Under The Pearl At All Times! I know this sounds like a no-brainer, but, as I mentioned, controlling Spongebob is more difficult than most other ball-and-paddle games. Not only does he take up about a fourth of the play area, but he moves noticeably slower than most other paddle games(especially if you're used to using a mouse/paddle controller.) And since the ball has to hit the top of his flat head, or it'll just bounce off into the sand, that gives you a very small surface to work with.
How little a space you have becomes even more apparent in levels towards the end, where the bottom layer of bubbles is barely a foot above his head, and you're losing lives every time you blink! Curse Spongebob and his tiny cranium!
Once again, grab the Big Head at every opportunity! Not only does it change how wide Spongebob's head is, but it gives you more surface area and makes it more difficult for the ball to bounce off his sides and into the ground! ...Plus, it makes him look more ridiculous, so you have more reason to enjoy the game.
4) STOCKPILE LIVES! This is the most important bit of advice I can give you! Lives are gained by stacking Krabby Patties, which you do by collecting ingredients that sometimes drop from bubbles. Once you've collected 7 and finished the burger, you get an extra life. So when you see the buns/lettuce/cheese/tomatoes/pickles/patty falling, GRAB IT! You'll NEED them for future levels!
It's so important that you have a good number of lives for the last 10-20 levels, that I'd recommend that if you lose more than one in the first 10 levels, just exit out and start the game over again! Lives become much harder to come by as the game goes on, so everything you get in the first 10 levels, handle like a hydrogen bomb with a casing made of glass!
Even if you think you have a good amount of lives, there will be several levels where your precious stash will deplete in seconds... So ALWAYS be on the lookout for Krabby Patty ingredients and grab them at every opportunity! ...Unless grabbing one would cause you to drop the pearl and cost you a life you're trying to gain. ...Obviously.
5) Be Patient. I know I'm quoting Captain Obvious, but this is still an important bit of advice. It's FIFTY levels, with no continues or level skips, that all must be played in one sitting! And with how much harder this game is than most other Breakout/Arkanoid clones it's no surprise that you're going to die.
And die.
And DIE! Starting all over each time! In a game that will take you roughly TWO hours to complete! This one of those "throw-your-controller-at-the-wall"-type of games, so I'd highly recommend NOT immediately playing this game over again if you've just spent 90 minutes bopping Spongebob on the head with a pearl, only to have a jellyfish redirect the ball at the ground and cost you your last life. ...Unless you've recently lined your walls with bubble wrap. ...For reasons known only to you, you disturbingly crazy person...
Every 10 levels, Plankton shows up as a recurring boss, each time in a more elaborate Krabby Patty mecha. What's the purpose of his getup? ...Absolutely nothing! You just break through the bubbles, hit him a number of times, and he flies off without doing a thing!
Save for the final encounter, where he attaches a magnet that captures the pearl and randomly launches it in a random direction. NOW he's a threat, especially since you're probably on your last 1 or 2 lives! The only strategy I can recommend is that you keep hitting him and ALWAYS keep your eye on the ball, especially when he's ready to launch it back at you! Eventually, he'll fly off, you break down the top barrier, and finish the level.
And CONGRATULATIONS! You have completed Sponge Pop and the final game on this console!
The only game that also comes with a High Score table, so you can show off both your final success AND repeated failures to the world! ...Unless you're like me and you erase the game's data every time you need to start over. ...Hey, you're not missing out on anything, and it makes you look better! ...Though I probably look worse now that I admitted that...
And with that, Spongebob: Jellyfish Dodge has been completed! ...The console, not just the game. We've dodged/smacked jellyfish and taken on a jelly King Kong would have been threatened by, guided multiple jellyfish to their inevitable doom in Spongebob's disintegration net, given Patrick hypothermia and pneumonia to the point he's now at death's door(and Death's welcome to him), and pummeled Spongebob with a heavy pearl to the point where he can no longer form coherent sentences.
Hey, better than the TV show nowadays!
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Design: I love it when these consoles incorporate parts of their cosmetics into their control scheme, in this case, grabiing a joystick shaped like a large jellyfish that Spongebob is trying to catch! It's a very nice and comfortably designed joystick, with the jellyfish covering being soft and rubbery, fitting nicely in the hand and preventing horrible cramps(which you may get anyway, considering how long you need to play this game...) The rest of the console isn't as impressive as the Spongebob-shaped designs we saw the last two years, but I do like that they went to the trouble of molding Spongebob on top of the console, rather than just painting him on. Plus, the jellyfish buttons are cute. It's a basic controller-shape, but it fits nicely in the hand, and it's just interesting enough to catch your attention in stores. Also, I'm not talking about the other design until we look at the game it originally belonged to. ...Which will happen... ...Eventually.
Controls: It's a classic joystick-and-button arcade setup, easily set up for one hand to grab the joystick and the other to hold the console and push the buttons(as long as you're right-handed.) They respond just find in the game, with no confusing layouts or delays. ...Though they may be a little too responsive, with how close the microswitches around the joystick are, and you can end up pushing a direction you don't want Spongebob to go in, especially during the timed games. This is why I actually recommend playing these games on the rerelease console, where the joystick's not as finicky. Still, if you feel like you can get the hang of this minor annoyance, the controls work just fine. ...Or as fine as you'd expect controls made out of jellyfish to function...
Graphics: The graphics unfortunately seem to downgrade with every game. In Jellyfish Dodge, we have a wide array of detailed backgrounds, different enemies and animations, and a nearly-3D look to Spongebob, especially when he's jumping through the trapdoor or when he's stung for the last time. They're graphics almost as good as what we saw in Bikini Bottom 500, and I'm impressed at how much work they put into something not a lot of people are going to play! Guide 'N Collide also has very detailed backgrounds, and I'm impressed with how well they scroll, and we're still given a large amount of frames in the fan, jellyfish, and Spongebob's animations! ...Unfortunately, there are far fewer different animations and sprites, and Spongebob's movement especially looks stiff and lifeless, even when he's successfully caught all jellyfish! We again get very detailed backgrounds and foregrounds in Snowball Showdown, but the character animations have been reduced to quick, jerky movements that would have been right at home on a Game & Watch! And by Sponge Pop, animation has mostly been reduced to single or a low number of frames in front of stock backgrounds. Still, across the board, everything's colorful, you can make out what you're looking at, there's advanced shading and detail on a lot of the sprites and backgrounds, and it looks better than it should(especially when compared to those terrible Vs Maxx games...) I just wish the quality didn't follow the same path as the show...
Music & Sound: Most of the music is taken straight from The Fry Cook Games, so I can't exactly give it high marks for originality. However, it still sounds nice, adopting a very bouncy calypso style with most of its tracks. In fact, it works better here than in The Fry Cook Games, which I thought needed a more aggressive score given its competitive tone. Here, it keeps the energy going, and matches the cartoony under-the-sea aesthetics just fine. Heck, I can remember what it sounds like after turning the console off, and that they didn't just have one track, that's a MAJOR achievement for one of these consoles! The sounds are again stock, with a lot of them obviously being used in other games. Zaps, punches, "ta-da" jingles, you've probably heard them in other games you've played without even knowing it. There aren't many of them in this game, either, with most of what you'll hear simply being bubbles popping(which, it being Spongebob and all, is no surprise.) So while the sound's not that impressive, the music works a LOT better here, and keeps the flow of the games going! ...Which you'll need, given how long these take to get through...
Gameplay: Unlike the somewhat-original format the games on the previous Spongebob consoles had, these games take the form of popular arcade-style games that you've probably seen before. We have the Pipe Mania-style puzzle with Guide 'N Collide, the Worms-style turn-based tactical combat with Snowball Showdown, and the obvious Breakout/Arkanoid-clone with Sponge Pop. We know how each plays, and they've probably been included as minigames in more popular and advanced games you've played. The most original, and arguably the best, inclusion on this console, is the title game Jellyfish Dodge, where every fast-action level has a different goal and layout, so it's not just obviously copying one certain game. ...Though maybe it's a WarioWare ripoff? Still, if they were going to rip off other games, at least they chose the timeless classics, and they gave each a cartoony makeover that fits the Spongebob aesthetic, giving frequently-cloned games an identity. It's not much of one, but I've seen worse(again, Vs Maxx...) They play just fine, they found a way to make them fit in with the Spongebob universe, and there's enough to each to keep them interesting and separate from every other instance out there. ...Why does Spongebob get the exciting gameplay, while Spider-Man games are a cure for insomnia?
Replay Value: Again, most of the games are based on classic arcade games, so the gameplay is old, but timeless and fun. Each game offers HOURS of play, so it's unlikely you'll complete the whole thing in one sitting. After you've beaten most of the games, they include a Level Select feature, so you can go back and play the levels you like, or, in the case of Snowball Showdown, play with friends! So while there's no reward for going back and replaying these games, and Sponge Pop is the only game with a High Score Table, it's pretty much on the same level of the show in that there's enough entertainment as a time waster to keep people coming back.
Overall:
This game's boring compared to The Fry Cook Games, and I'm not as impressed with how it looks as Bikini Bottom 500, but that doesn't mean it's a bad game. Despite the uninspired sound, annoying-at-times controls, and the clear graphics quality degrade between each game, the graphics are still colorful, the music is bouncy and memorable, and the gameplay is timeless. I prefer The Fry Cook Games for the originality and amount of replay value, but this is a good console for their interpretations of arcade classics and how well they made them work in the Spongebob universe. If you like these arcade games, and you like Spongebob, check this out. It's worth more of your time than the show is nowadays...
And with that, we've put a lid on the blog's SECOND YEAR! Thank you either for following me for this long, or for just discovering this blog and deciding its worth your time to follow, and join me in the future for more Spongebob, Spider-Man, Minecraft, Nanoblocks, pirate games, stop motion animations, and the 3DO! ...But don't hold your breath on that last one...
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