The game’s story takes place on a tropical island known as Volcano Island. Volcano Island one day falls under attack by the evil Mawgu, a sinister being who aspires to take control of the peaceful island and eventually, the entire globe. Ancient legend however, foretells the arrival of the great Chosen Ones who are destined to stop Mawgu once and for all. As it just so happens, SpongeBob, and his said Nicktoon buddies, are the Chosen Ones and they set out to free the island from the clutches of Mawgu.
Like many other 'team' platform games, Battle for Volcano Island allows players to switch between any member of their party. This is where the DS version outshines the PlayStation 2 version as each character has their own unique abilities, and thus different gameplay mechanics. Timmy, being the only character who can double jump, is able reach high platforms and cross over wide chasms, while Danny has stronger melee attacks making him more suited to combat. As for SpongeBob, he can inflate his pants and slowly float to lower ledges that would otherwise be inaccessible. Unfortunately, it isn’t always obvious which character you need to switch to due to the game’s tendency to hide platforms and hazards. Needless to say, this often results in you through no fault of your own.
The game is played across both screens, and levels are broken up into two main areas: Field and Action. The Field area is where a bulk of the game takes place. Essentially, your main objective is to locate three jewels which will open a door to the Action area. In order to do this, you’ll have to explore the level and find weird animal-plant hybrid creatures who, upon being tapped with the stylus, will either spit out a jewel, a power-up item or a hazard. There are also 20 volcano coins scattered throughout the level which are used in conjunction with the game’s ranking system. The Action area plays similarly to the Field stage only the level is more linear, you don’t have to collect jewels, and it has a bigger emphasis on combat. For example, you could be walking down a seemingly bare pathway only to be ambushed by a group of enemies that you must defeat in order to proceed.
How the hell is he still alive anyway? You'd think he'd dry up when out of the water.
We unfortunately have a minor complaint in relation to the game’s level design. Firstly, although each level’s theme changes to correspond to a different location on the island, for the most part it only goes as far as an imagery change. In other games there would be different objects and items to interact with while enemies would change their attack patterns. Sadly, Battle for Volcano Island just recycles core gameplay elements making the game feel repetitive over time.
At the end each level, you’ll also be treated to a boss fight. While the battles are generally easy, they go the extra mile by making you learn attack patterns and use tactics to defeat them. For example, in one battle, you need to stun the boss’ hands to form platforms so you can reach its weak point. You’ll probably even die (or come close to it) once or twice before beating a boss, which is saying something for a title aimed at kids. Additionally, there’s a mini-game following each boss fight which has you collecting falling fruit whilst avoiding hazards such as snakes and spiky fruit. It’s not much but it provides a nice break between levels.
In terms of multiplayer, Battle for Volcano Island supports co-op play for two players. Unfortunately, this feature can only be taken advantage of if both players own a copy of the game, which is a real shame given there are many DS games which support single-card play. On that note, you can play the fruit catching mini-game with friends via single-card play but as mentioned, it’s fairly basic and doesn’t really warrant extended play sessions.
Visually, while Battle for Volcano Island is presented nicely, it doesn’t fully utilise the DS hardware. Due to the game’s simplified 2D effects, it looks more like a Game Boy Advance title than anything else. Regardless, the game does a fair job of capturing the bright, colourful environments of the cartoons and also features some fairly detailed character sprites. As mentioned, quite often platforms and hazards are hidden off screen which suggests the developers may have originally intended on providing the player with a larger viewing area.
We prefer Mr. Krabs over this guy.
The game’s audio is a bit mixed. While the music isn’t memorable it still provides an island atmosphere which complements the game’s environments. There are also a few small lines of voice work but oddly enough, during cutscenes they don’t match the text.
Much like the PlayStation 2 version, SpongeBob SquarePants and Friends: Battle for Volcano Island for the DS is a fairly average platformer. While there’s a better balance between platform and combat elements, it lacks an overall depth in the game’s level design and gameplay mechanics to make it stand out. If we had to make a choice between both versions though, we’d pick the DS version.
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