This product is like new. At NexWave Games, like new means:
Additionally, all discs at NexWave Games are carefully inspected and assessed for quality. When discs arrive, we do not accept any that are so badly damaged that they are unlikely to work. We only accept discs with light scratches at most. Discs with scratches are then treated in our professional disc repair machine. By warming the disc and polishing it with soft brushes, these machines can remove a very thin layer from the disc. This removes the layer containing surface scratches and improves the disc’s readability. This ensures the disc works properly, even on consoles with ageing lasers that have difficulty reading games! Great news for the player.
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie for PlayStation 2
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie for PlayStation 2, also known in Dutch as De SpongeBob SquarePants Film, sends SpongeBob and Patrick to Shell City to retrieve King Neptune's crown. Plankton has framed Mr. Krabs for the theft and is trying to take over Bikini Bottom. You jump through three-dimensional areas, fight his henchmen and complete challenges to continue the journey. The playable main character and the type of task change along the way.
SpongeBob uses moves including a spinning karate attack, an upward strike and, later, a guitar that fires a controllable sonic wave. Patrick can cartwheel, slam down and throw objects at enemies or switches. Goofy Goober Tokens from completed challenges let Mindy teach you new moves. You also collect Manliness Points by defeating enemies and smashing objects. These points improve abilities you have already learned, giving familiar attacks new possibilities.
Between platforming sections, you drive the Patty Wagon or slide along a course. You can race against the clock or try to pass through every ring. Other tasks involve crossing moving blocks or rolling SpongeBob through obstacles as a ball. This is a single-player adventure. The pause menu lets you return to visited levels to look for remaining tokens and treasure chests; those chests unlock extra material.
Region and language
Our PlayStation 2 games are PAL editions and come with a Dutch or English box, unless stated otherwise. By default, you receive the version for the European market. We note it in the product details if the region is different or the box is in another language. In almost all cases, the game is playable at least in English, and often in the other five common European languages too.
Manual
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie for PlayStation 2 includes the manual unless the product title states otherwise. If the booklet is missing, the title says “No Manual”. This lets you see before ordering whether the game comes with a manual.
The manuals included with our games usually contain at least English and often around six European languages. The exact languages vary by edition, so Dutch is not always included. The booklet explains the controls and the main rules. You can use it to check how to control the game, which actions are available and how its different features work.
The history of The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie
THQ released The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie in America in 2004; the European PS2 edition followed in 2005. Heavy Iron Studios developed the console adventure after SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom. THQ's 2004 annual report already described how it had assigned the new film game to the same studio. Moving to a cinematic story gave the team a journey beyond Bikini Bottom, with Shell City and Plankton's Plan Z providing a clear direction.
The adaptation turns that journey into a sequence of platforming, vehicles and skill tests. The crown remains the story's goal, while tokens determine which move you learn along the way. This gives short challenges a role within the larger journey. A driving or sliding course can contain several challenges, letting you approach the same surroundings with a different objective. Collecting points also develops the attacks you already use.
SpongeBob and Patrick each received a set of moves suited to their appearance and humour. SpongeBob's stretchy pants become a bungee cord, for example, while Patrick can swing from floating ice blocks with his tongue. These actions expand film scenes into spatial problems. The game therefore uses its characters not just in cutscenes, but also in how you cross a gap, hit a target or attempt a route again.
Similar games for PlayStation 2
Ratchet & Clank for PS2 shares the jumping, defeating enemies and revisiting earlier areas. Ratchet buys weapons and tools with bolts, while SpongeBob and Patrick learn moves with tokens and improve them with Manliness Points. In both games, you consider whether new equipment or an ability changes a route. Ratchet travels between planets with different objectives, whereas Neptune's crown holds SpongeBob and Patrick's film journey together.
Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc for PS2 also combines platforming with unusual attacks and varied interludes. Rayman's temporary powers last only briefly, so you study an obstacle before acting quickly. SpongeBob and Patrick's new moves remain available once learned and can be improved further. Both games let the surroundings determine which action is needed, but Rayman's time-limited tools call for different planning from collecting tokens.
Ice Age 2: The Meltdown for PS2 gives Scrat his own journey alongside the film's story. His search for nuts leads past ledges and hidden places, with short tasks for other animals in between. SpongeBob and Patrick instead follow their film's central goal, alternating platform levels with set driving and sliding courses. Both connect a comic character to jumping and collecting, but Scrat's hunt for food directs attention differently from tokens that unlock new moves.
Shrek 2 for PS2 uses a group of four characters with complementary abilities. Playing solo, you switch between the heroes; extra controllers allow other players to join the journey. Three or four players require a PS2 Multitap. The SpongeBob film game also has different protagonists with individual moves, but remains a solo adventure. Its challenge therefore rests with one player tackling both the platforming and the separate driving and sliding trials.
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit for PS2 uses devices and two cooperating protagonists to catch pests and explore neighbourhoods. The SpongeBob film game likewise asks you to consider the right tool, such as Patrick's throwing move at a switch. Wallace and Gromit can, however, be controlled by two local players, whereas SpongeBob and Patrick remain under one player's control. Their route also revolves around tokens and skill challenges rather than missions for residents.
