SpongeBob SquarePants: Lights, Camera, Pants!

- Reviewed on GameCube -

SpongeBob SquarePants: Lights, Camera, Pants! released on October 19th, 2005. 

Combining the enjoyable party-style game genre, with the loveable and memorable SpongeBob cast, SpongeBob SquarePants: Lights, Camera, Pants! is a party title for all to enjoy!

This title can be played with up to four others, or by yourself in single player. 

Although there are a few flaws (in my opinion) in this SpongeBob game, SpongeBob SquarePants: Lights, Camera, Pants! is still worth your time and proves that older games from past generations can still hold up today.

This review WILL have Major Spoilers so keep that in mind before continuing...

The main, overall gist of SpongeBob SquarePants: Lights, Camera, Pants! is about the Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy Movie and the auditions / scenes needed to make it.

Side note, "auditions" in this game, refers to the minigames in SpongeBob SquarePants: Lights, Camera, Pants! This game doesn't use the word minigame, but instead, auditions (hence the story of the game). 

In story mode, Gill Hammerstein (a hammerhead shark character) is put in charge and needs to find the future villain for the movie (that being you, if you win the overall story mode). 

Gill will go to multiple locations within the SpongeBob universe and that's where you will compete in three minigames relating to that area. 

The locations in which you will compete in minigames (auditions), are (in chronological order)...

    - The Krusty Krab

    - Goo Lagoon

    - Mrs. Puff's Boating School

    - The Sand Stadium

    - The Chum Bucket

    - Jellyfish Fields

    - Bikini Bottom Jail

    - Downtown Bikini Bottom

The characters you can play as, also are...

    - SpongeBob SquarePants

    - Patrick Star

    - Squidward Tentacles

    - Sandy Cheeks

    - Mr. Krabs

    - Plankton

There are about 30 minigames total in SpongeBob SquarePants: Lights, Camera, Pants! 

Of course, there is also single audition mode, where you can play one minigame at a time instead of having to progress in the story mode to get to that one game. 

The caveat to this, is that you must play the minigame in story mode first before you can unlock it for free play (single audition). 

Completing story mode also unlocks different story mode tiers. These tiers include Bronze (must play first), then Silver, then Gold. 

Luckily however, there are cheat codes that you can easily look up online and use within the game's bonus feature (on the main menu). 

These cheats can be used to unlock all tiers, without having to complete Bronze or Silver first. They can also be used to unlock all the collectibles within SpongeBob SquarePants: Lights, Camera, Pants! 

These collectibles include Action Figures and Artwork (not concept art, but parodies of real art in the SpongeBob universe).

My overall issue with SpongeBob SquarePants: Lights, Camera, Pants! and its collectibles is that if you want to complete all the challenges and earn the collectibles the right way, you cannot progress to Silver unless you get all the Bronze rewards first (or if you do continue, the Bronze rewards will be locked forever). 

This is unfair to video game perfectionists who may not be good enough (or have the time) to sit for hours trying to complete these (sometimes hard) challenges. 

As a person who likes to have all the collectibles (when I can), I ended up just using the cheat codes to unlock all the rewards and play Bronze, Silver, and Gold without having to worry about the challenges. 

The Bronze, Silver, and Gold stories also aren't different either. They are the same locations and minigame order, just with higher progression limits. 

To actually complete and progress in the story mode, you must have the most popularity points. 

These tally up at the end of each 3-set minigame locations and the winner gets the star role in that cutscene. 

Its impressive that SpongeBob SquarePants: Lights, Camera, Pants! has dialogue for every character in the same scene.

Not only is this impressive, but it also helps with the longevity and replayability aspect. 

It gives you a reason to replay the story (on the next / new tier) and see what other characters roles would look / sound like.  

Cutscenes do take a while to load (at least on my GameCube) and I did have one instance of the game glitching out on one of Mrs. Puff's minigames (as of writing this blog post). 

Graphics are definitely dated and noticeable (at least on GameCube) but does add a little charm and nostalgia for me personally. 

There is indeed voice acting from the original cast and the music is your standard SpongeBob themes but with added rock and roll. 

Controls are stated in the loading screens for each minigame, and you have the option to "Rehearse" which is again, replacing the word Practice, to fit the theme of the game. 

Movie Maker is an unlockable that does take time to unlock (if you don't use cheat codes) but is a blast to use and create custom "works of art".

The ending to story mode results in the player (or CPU) with the most, overall (tallied up) popularity points earning the role as the supervillain called "The Sneaky Hermit". 

Once the game finishes, you will be treated to an approximated 30-minute episode of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy (the Movie) where all the scenes from throughout the story mode are rearranged to make a full-length film (using the character you played as). 

Pros: 

    - Great Longevity

    - Replayability

    - Original Voice Acting

    - Many Minigames and Locations

    - Collectibles 

    - Cheat Codes

Cons:

    - Dated Graphics (on GameCube)

    - In-Game Glitches

    - Long Loading Times (on GameCube)

My Rating for SpongeBob SquarePants: Lights, Camera, Pants! (on GameCube):

4 / 5

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Disclaimer

All Reviews, Ratings, Pros, Cons, and Opinions Shared on this Blog (Press A Reviews) are my (Connor Butler) own Thoughts and Feelings.