Revenge of the Flying Dutchman

Revenge of the Flying Dutchman.

SpongeBob SquarePants: Revenge of the Flying Dutchman is a 2002 3-D action-platforming game developed by Vicarious Visions and Big Sky Interactive for the PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Game Boy Advance. It is the first 3-D SpongeBob game to ever be made and laid a template that later games such as Battle for Bikini Bottom and The Movie Game would follow.

Plot Synopsis

The game starts out with SpongeBob playing fetch with Gary. Gary then drags in a treasure chest, and SpongeBob who is filled with curiosity, breaks it open to reveal a glass bottle. Naturally he rubs it, and out comes the Flying Dutchman. The Dutchman, angered he was awoken from his long nap, decides to take SpongeBob as a pirate slave saying "I've never sailed with a block of cheese before" but SpongeBob panics and sells out Gary saying he should take him because he dug up the chest.

The Dutchman complies and decides he will take Gary but SpongeBob panics again and starts crying. Soon, all of SpongeBob's friends fall under the Dutchman's control. So SpongeBob learns he must find the Dutchman's 7 hidden treasures scattered throughout Bikini Bottom to be able to defeat him and save his friends.

Gameplay

The game features mostly platforming, collecting dabloons, buried treasure, and catching jellyfish, while some puzzles and combat are thrown in now and then. The game features a Port O' Head, where SpongeBob can change into one of four costumes. His normal clothes which provide no bonuses, his jellyfishing gear which allows him to catch the many jellyfish, a reef blower which allows him to move objects around to solve puzzles, and a Mermaid Man costume which gives SpongeBob super powers like throwing water balls.

Levels

• Bikini Bottom, the main hub

• Jellyfish Fields
• Chum World
• Goo Lagoon
• Sandy's Treedome
• Downtown Bikini Bottom
• Dutchman's Graveyard

Reception

The GameCube version received generally positive reviews. Obtaining a 66 on Metacritic, and an even better 73 on GameRankings.

One of the favorable reviews was written by Game Zone who praised the game's checklist as motivating the player, but railed on the game's crude dark backgrounds and fairly generic soundtrack.

IGN wrote a rather harsh review of the game giving it a 4.0 criticizing the game's sluggish controls, frequent load times, simplistic gameplay, and unnecessary and boring fetch type quests.

Fun Facts

• It is the first 3-D SpongeBob game, along with the first SpongeBob game on the PS2 and Gamecube.
• This is the last game to be made by Big Sky Interactive, as the many issues and complaints with the PS2 version caused Big Sky Interactive to shut down.