THQ was pretty well-known back in the day (that being the 1990s and the 2000s) for its many video games based on popular Nickelodeon cartoons. Seeing as how "SpongeBob SquarePants" has been (and continues to be) arguably the most popular Nickelodeon show of all time, it should come as no shock that the franchise has received its fair share of games. The first one to release on sixth-generation consoles was "SpongeBob SquarePants: Revenge of the Flying Dutchman," which was developed by BigSky Interactive, a company that closed its doors after the release of this game. I can kind of understand why.
"SpongeBob SquarePants: Revenge of the Flying Dutchman" is a relatively short adventure, but one that's actually pretty fun. The controls, though occasionally sluggish, are fine enough, the level design isn't bad, the many worlds of SpongeBob are accurately portrayed here, and the music is quite catchy. On top of that, the voice acting is pretty solid, thanks to the fact that BigSky got most of the original voice actors to return, and they do a great job bringing their characters to life in the game.
The game isn't without fault, however: from an aesthetic standpoint, though the music is catchy, it is repetitive and it only changes depending on your costume, and the graphics are subpar. Meanwhile, the objectives aren't necessarily clear (this is a game aimed at children, they should be), the game as a whole doesn't feel very much like the show (the characters act far different than they should), and the loading times are downright obnoxious. So much so, in fact, that there is literally a loading screen for the loading screen, which is absolutely unacceptable. On top of that, if you're like me and played the PlayStation 2 version, you probably had to "save scum" your way through the entire game because of the fact that entering a new area could often result in a glitch that sends you back to the PS2's memory card screen and effectively deletes the progress you made to that point. It's really not convenient, and it's unacceptable for such a thing to exist.
All in all, "SpongeBob SquarePants: Revenge of the Flying Dutchman" is nothing special, but it's a fun little game that kids and "SpongeBob" fans can enjoy...on the GameCube. If you really want to play it, play it on the GameCube, that way you don't have to engage in a battle with a stupid loading glitch. Either way, it's a decent game, nothing more, nothing less.
Final rating: 6 out of 10 "Decent"