SpongeBob needs to find his way to Shell City to get back King Neptune's crown, and thus clear Mr. Krab's good name and keep him from being turned into Krab Kakes. It's a long, dangerous journey, but fortunately, his good friend Patrick is available to tag along. And tag along is all he does, because despite the appearance of a dual partnership in the game, it quickly becomes evident that it's really only one playable character that's been melded from two.

The game takes the same story from the movie, in that SpongeBob has been passed over for promotion, because he's just a kid. Determined to prove his "manliness," SpongeBob decides to save Mr. Krab by retrieving King Neptune's crown, which has been purloined in a nefarious plot by Plankton to frame Mr. Krab and take over the restaurant business. However, unlike the console versions, the story here feels tacked on and doesn't really do much to tie the levels together in any sort of cohesive manner.

There are several worlds, each with around five action levels and a corresponding number of mini-games; some of which are unlockable by playing them as encountered, and some of which can be purchased through Mindy's store. At Mindy's, players can also purchase powerups. These games and powerups are purchased with clams, the going currency in SpongeBob's world. And, lastly, Mindy's serves as a shortcut map to the unlocked worlds and levels.

SpongeBob and Patrick are presented as a duo, but in actuality, they're one character. Basically, SpongeBob/Patrick move from left to right in a side-scrolling platform/adventure format, collecting clams for currency, and also various powerups for health, extra turns, ammunition for SpongeBob's water bubble weapon and an invisibility attribute. Their forward movement is very slow, but by pressing the R button, they can dash forward until stopped by an unmovable obstacle. Sometimes this dashing forward will smash open hidden areas; it always takes out any enemies in their path. This dashing movement will become the preferred method of locomotion, as many enemies can't be seen until SpongeBob/Patrick are right on top of them, and this dashing eliminates any hidden dangers. It also is the only fast way to get them across the screen, as there is no running option; they either walk very slowly, or dash forward.

The enemies, for the most part, are easily dispatched. The one big booger is the Giant Clam, which, when encountered, is almost impossible to get away from, as it takes a few minutes for them to power up the dashing forward movement. While powering up this move, they keep getting eaten again. The only practical way to avoid this is to dash forward madly every new section, to take out any Giant Clams that may be lurking unseen.

The levels are short, and can be run through fairly quickly if one doesn't care much about collecting the clams. However, in order to buy any extras, clams are needed, so players will want to spend some time exploring. The levels are timed, but SpongeBob/Patrick get to keep any clams they already have when starting over, so it's not a big deal to begin again at a checkpoint.

While the worlds have different themes, they all play the same way. Walk, dash madly, jump on top of enemies and pick up clams and powerups. The mini-games provide a little variety, but as most of these are racing type games, they're not all that varied, either.

The visuals are good, and the environments are drawn cleanly and brightly. SpongeBob and Patrick look and move well, and evoke their native cartoon home. The enemies are also animated well. But everything still looks the same, for the most part, even with the different themes. The platforms are laid out in a simplified Pac man style in most of the levels, except for an interesting level that is played out on a large hairy man laying on top of the sea; at least it looks like a large, hairy man, and as the level is called "Hasselhoff," it must be so. Evidently there is a high wind blowing here, as forward movement is very difficult.

The sound is catchy, and, while not all that similar to the cartoon, still manages to capture the auditory essence of SpongeBob.

This is an OK platformer, and isn't a bad game. Neither is it a very good, game, either. WayForward are the developers, and have designed an adequate game that has no problems as such, but it also doesn't offer much variety or involvement, either. Their other recent GBA release of Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper is a much better game in terms of quality and fun. Unless your child is an avid SpongeBob fan, I would pass on this handheld version and opt for one of the console versions of The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie, which are much more fun.