Nicktoons Movin'

Though more EyeToy games were released following EyeToy: Groove, not many of them were released in the US, where instead the third game to be released for the peripheral was Nicktoons Movin’. Based on various Nickelodeon shows, it became the first EyeToy game in the US to not be developed by London Studio as well as the first to be based on a licensed property. In an effort to complete my EyeToy collection, I found this one for cheap at a local game store, not knowing what to expect going in. Once I played it, however, I walked away a bit disappointed for reasons beyond its content.

Hey Arnold! The Jungle Movie

One of the earliest Nickelodeon shows I have had experience with in childhood was Hey Arnold!, which details the school life of a wise-beyond-his-years, “football-headed” kid named Arnold living in an urban neighborhood. The show ran for five Seasons from 1996 to 2004, during which it had a theatrically-released film in 2002 entitled Hey Arnold! The Movie, which I will admit I had not actually seen for whatever reason. A second movie, Hey Arnold! The Jungle Movie, was supposed to act as a finale for the series, however it was scrapped in part due to the 2002 movie’s failure at the box office, only for the project to get revived in 2015 following fan support and a move from the then-new network head to revive older popular properties. This allowed the movie to finally see the light of day in 2017 on Nickelodeon, providing proper closure to a cliffhanger from the show 15 years later regarding the whereabouts of Arnold’s missing parents. While I did record the movie out of interest when it aired, I didn’t end up actually watching it until recently. The movie does work as a proper finale to the series, though while it was great to see these characters again after so many years, I couldn’t help but feel it come off as impenetrable to a non-fan.

SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated (PS4)

Around the time I got around to actually playing SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom on the PS2, THQ Nordic announced an HD remake of the game developed by Purple Lamp Studios, known as SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated, for modern systems in a similar fashion to Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy. Since I was going to anyway, I played through the original game and thoroughly enjoyed it, anticipating what they would do to bring the game up to modern standards. Building the anticipation further was the announcement that they would reintroduce content that was cut from the original game, including an entire boss fight known as Robo-Squidward. After getting a chance to play the PS4 version of the remaster upon release, I had just as much, if not even more, fun as I did with the initial release even with some flaws.

SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom (PS2)

When SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom, based on the long-running SpongeBob SquarePants cartoon on Nickelodeon, was first released in 2003, I did not actually own any of the home consoles it was initially released on, and so had to settle with experiencing the PC version, which was presented as a point-and-click game. If memory serves, it was generally serviceable, however for years I had been wanting to see what the console version was like, even after finally getting a PS2 as a gift just as the PS3 was around the corner. After finally getting a PS2 copy of the game a few months ago, I was just planning on playing it after playing through the Spy Fox trilogy when a remake was announced by THQ Nordic for later this year, entitled SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated, which promises a Crash Bandicoot-style graphical upgrade and the inclusion of a number of cut content from the original release, making me anticipate playing the original even more to see what it was like. After getting the experience I always wanted, I found the game had held up surprisingly well, even with some minor setbacks.

Batman vs Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Batman is no stranger to odd stories, but none quite like IDW’s Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic from 2015, a crossover between the two titular franchises. I had read it at the time and enjoyed it, so I was very curious to see the recent animated adaptation, Batman vs Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This film represents an unlikely crossover between not only the two titular franchises, but also an unlikely deal between Warner Bros. and Nickelodeon, considering their status as rival companies. Fortunately, the end result is well worth the price of admission.