Legend of the Lost Spatula is the first solo, non crossover SpongeBob SquarePants video game. It was released for the Game Boy Color on March 14, 2001 in North America, and in Europe on May 4.
Synopsis[]
SpongeBob SquarePants is unicycling one day on Jellyfish Fields, when he stumbles across a statue of a sponge with a golden spatula atop an oven. He asks Mr. Krabs all about the statue. He replies that a long time ago, a city called Palm Bay was ruled by the legendary Master Fry Cook. Just then, the volcano Mt. Kabloovious engulfed the city in grease flames. Years after the disaster, the Flying Dutchman and his first mate stole the Golden Spatula from the ruins. SpongeBob then embarks on a quest to retrieve the artifact and become Bikini Bottom's greatest fry cook. He then journeys to the depths of Goo Lagoon to find the Flying Dutchman's key. Along the way, he helps his friends Patrick, Squidward, and Sandy locate their missing objects, and aids Mr. Krabs in delivering a pizza. After helping them, he gets one of four oven knobs to activate the portal in the statue. Will SpongeBob ever get the mythical Golden Spatula and become the world's greatest fry cook?
Gameplay[]
Gameplay footage.
As SpongeBob, the player embarks on an undersea quest to find stolen golden spatula to become the ocean's greatest short-order cook. Along the way, SpongeBob meets and interacts with many of the show's main characters like Mr. Krabs, Squidward, Sandy, and Patrick. The game uses elements of adventure and side-scrolling gameplay. The game itself is a platformer game, where SpongeBob can jump and run on platforms, while avoiding enemies such as Bubble Bass and scallops. SpongeBob by default can be hit 2 times, but he has infinite lives. Treasure chests are scattered across the map, which may contain special items such as:
- Bubbles- they temporarily stun large enemies and send them off running to the other direction.
- Ol' Reliable- can catch small flying enemies
- Net launcher- traps large enemies and defeats them. Limited net ammo which can be replenished from finding nets in treasure chests.
- Spring Shoes- makes SpongeBob jump higher
- Pants- gives SpongeBob 1 extra health.
- Hall Monitor Belt- gives SpongeBob 2 extra health.
- Hydro-dynamic spatula- shoots limited Krabby Patties to temporarily stun enemies
- Krabby Patties- ammo for the hydro-dynamic spatula
- Glasses- makes SpongeBob see inside chests without opening them
- April Fools!- empty chests.
- Power Ring- makes SpongeBob invincible (he'll be knocked back by attacks though) permanently, but he cannot use another item while wearing it.
First, SpongeBob must find the giant treasure chest underneath Goo Lagoon. Then, take the portal back home, and retrieve the following objects for the following: Patrick's shorts, Sandy's hat, Squidward's jellyfish jelly, and to deliver Mr. Krabs' Krusty Krab Pizza. They will give SpongeBob new or upgraded items after completing the task. Mermaid Man will give SpongeBob the Power Ring if all four tasks are completed before all four oven knobs are gotten. Three out of four oven knobs are gotten after defeating a boss. The bosses are the Jungle Fish, the Hot Sauce Bandito, and a Big Jellyfish. After getting all four oven knobs, SpongeBob will fall into the activated oven, teleporting him to Rock Bottom, and later defeat the Flying Dutchman at the underworld.
Reception[]
The game has received mostly mixed reviews. Frank Provo of GameSpot said "One could argue that SpongeBob SquarePants: Legend of the Lost Spatula is geared toward the younger audience of the TV series, which would explain the game's simplified gameplay and lack of variety. However, while the plot is endearing and the characters will no doubt appeal to the series' fans, there is no evidence to suggest that children would actually enjoy playing a game this unremarkable--let alone adults." Provo criticized the game for its "simplified gameplay" and "lack of variety," but gave praise to the graphics, saying the game "at least looks decent."[1] Jon Griffith of IGN complimented the game as a "decent platformer" with "large levels, multiple objectives, and amusing characters" but criticized it for its password saving system, confusing level design, and difficulty in certain aspects of gameplay.[2]
Walkthrough[]
Trivia[]
General[]
- This was the first official, non-crossover SpongeBob SquarePants video game released.
- Despite this, it is not the first video game that SpongeBob SquarePants has been featured in; the first game in which that was the case was Nicktoons Racing, released in 2000 for Microsoft Windows and Game Boy Color, even though it is a crossover game featuring tons of characters from other Nickelodeon cartoons.
- This is the only official, non-crossover SpongeBob SquarePants video game to be released for the Game Boy Color, or any 8-bit system.
- Both of the commercials for this game and Operation Krabby Patty feature the SpongeBob SquarePants theme song.
- The following passwords are not seen in-game however they work as a "debugging feature," as seen here:
- D3BVG-M0D3 (debug mode) enters a stage select screen. Alongside, it will give SpongeBob all items.
- -THQ-0NLY- (-THQ-ONLY-) only enters stage select.
- 1TEMS4FR33 (items for free) gives SpongeBob all items.
- This game has a room that is not used in the final game as seen here, which appears to resemble SpongeBob's living room with speakers from the episode "Jellyfish Jam."
- SpongeBob's pants indicate his health. Every time SpongeBob gets hit, he gets stripped down to his underwear. When SpongeBob becomes naked, the level is lost.
- It is impossible to lose in this game, as SpongeBob has infinite lives.
The Legend of the Lost Spatula Game Boy error screen.
Origin of the screenshot from the episode "Hooky."
- This game has a special error screen if the game is inserted into the original Game Boy, Game Boy Pocket, Game Boy Light, or the Super Game Boy peripheral for the SNES.[3] The error screen is displayed because these systems are not compatible with Game Boy Color exclusives. The screen shows a picture of SpongeBob's surprised face which is taken from the episode "Hooky."
- Palm Bay and Mt. Kabloovious are both parodies of Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius. The story Mr. Krabs tells SpongeBob is a reference to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D., which buried the civilization in ruins.
- This game is referenced in the Game Boy Advance version of Revenge of the Flying Dutchman, in which one of the wishes is "I wish my friends and I could star in our own video game!," where everyone's sprites are in "SpongeBob's Block."
- The Flying Dutchman's first mate is mentioned in this game more than a decade before Lord Poltergeist's introduction as the Flying Dutchman's old first mate in the 2011 season 8 episode "Ghoul Fools."
- Official T-shirts use two cutscenes for the game, one featuring SpongeBob holding his spatula and the other featuring SpongeBob and Patrick.
Errors[]
"Barg'NMart," instead of Barg'N-Mart.
- The Barg'N-Mart's sign reads "Barg'NMart."
- The Krusty Krab and the Chum Bucket are next to each other and not across the street from each other.
- The Barg'N-Mart is located near the Chum Bucket. A similar error occurs in The Yellow Avenger and SpongeBob SquarePants featuring Nicktoons: Globs of Doom.
- Similar to how it is in "The Chaperone," Mr. Krabs and Pearl's house has a paved pathway instead of a dirt pathway.
- Sandy's treedome is in a grassy area.
- If SpongeBob talks to Plankton after finding the giant treasure chest, he will say: "All I want is crabby patty" instead of saying "All I want is a Krabby Patty." The words are unusually uncapitalized, and the sentence lacks a necessary definite article.
Plankton said, "All I want is crabby patty" instead of the quote "All I want is a Krabby Patty."
- The Game Boy Color exclusive error screen has the name "SquarePants" miscapitalized as "Squarepants."
- Due to the Game Boy Color's graphical limitations, some of the sprites are discolored, such as Squidward's white sclerae and Sandy's blue space suit and cheeks.
- When SpongeBob wears the Hall Monitor belt, his entire pants become a shade of blue, instead of simply wearing his normal pants under the belt.
- Squidward Tentacles' house has no ears.
Video[]
References[]
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