SpongeBob SquarePants: SuperSponge (PlayStation)

SpongeBob SquarePants: SuperSponge is a 2D platformer based on the cartoon. SpongeBob does Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy's dirty work so that he can make Patrick's birthday worthwhile.

This was also the first time where someone else had voiced Mr. Krabs instead of Clancy Brown.

This game is notable for having its entire development cycle, not just limited to source code, concept art, and a massive amount of prototypes pertaining to both the PlayStation and GBA versions, leaked onto the internet. Twice.

Development Info Prototype Info

Unused Graphics#

Remnants of a health bar seen in early builds. In the final game, SpongeBob collects spatulas that function like Sonic the Hedgehog's rings. The health bar mechanic, however, did end up getting used in the GBA version.

Gary Sketch#

A pencil sketch of Gary used in the May 2, 2001 prototype when talking to Squidward.

MISSING Sign#

A sign saying "MISSING" found within the tiles of the game's font. This was used in place of apostrophes in a few later prototypes.

Size Tests#

Size tests exist for most unused enemies, using sprites from a very early build of the game.

Island#

Bikini Atoll, the island from the show's intro. This can be seen in some very early screenshots of the game found in the source code.

stoneBak#

A strange image of a Superman cosplayer's face with his eyes and mouth cut out.

+alphamid2#

A tileset meant for "The Graveyard", which features gravestones with the names of several artists for the game on them.

Their names are Kevin Martin (lead artist), Nick Thomas (additional artist), Shaun Pearson (abbreviated as SP), Wai-Hung Wan, Chris Rundell, and Robert Wilmot (FMV and artist) respectively.

SB#

An early sprite of SpongeBob.

Unused Animations#

SpongeBob#

SpongeBob has many unused animations, some of which have the design of early prototypes.

Several unused SpongeBob death animations. The fifth animation was used in early prototypes. The third animation was used in later prototypes. The second animation was used for drying up in some prototypes. The eighth one appears to be a reference to the episode Frankendoodle...which is strange, because this game was released months before that episode aired. The episode was already finished, so they may have gotten an advance copy, considering a few clips in the intro are from episodes that hadn't aired yet.

An animation of a shy SpongeBob. It may have been used in a cutscene.

A sequence of every face SpongeBob can make, including deaths. The used animations are in separate folders.

An idle animation of SpongeBob turning his face into a large eye and back. The eye pop frame is probably for blinking. This was used in some prototypes.

An animation meant to be used when SpongeBob is holding an item. This seems to be an early version of the used animation, which is calmer.

SpongeBob makes a weird noise when performing this action. This was used as an idle animation in some prototypes. It is used in the GBA version.

SpongeBob turning his face upside down, used in the GBA release.

SpongeBob walking with a item. In the final, he carelessly runs with his objects.

SpongeBob yells to somebody.

SpongeBob goes into deep thought, only to be presented with an idea and a sheepish smile.

SpongeBob throwing an object.

This animation is used in a cutscene, but his expression is covered up by a sandwich.

Man Ray#

Due to the SharkMan enemy being an incomplete duplicate of Man Ray (or vice versa), a few cut animations of him are leftover.

Unused Items#

A spatula floating on a balloon. They can be seen in the May 2, 2001 prototype, at the beginning of Jelly Fields.

These glasses are in some earlier prototypes. It allowed you to catch blue jellyfish (probably explaining why the jellyfish sprite is gray) in some prototypes for Downtown Bikini Bottom, where Mr. Krabs would tell you about it with cut dialog only recorded by a placeholder voice:

This page or section needs more audio. There's a whole lotta words here, but not enough audio. Please fix this. Specifically: Add the audio files from the prototypes.

Used when talking to Mr. Krabs the first time.

"Spongebob!!! Argh! Where have you been hiding, boy? Take these 'ere glasses, lad. You got to see the jellyfish before you can catch 'em."

Used when talking to Mr. Krabs after he explains the glasses.

"Spongebob!!! Put yer glasses on lad or i won't let you work during yer vacation!"

These items would heal SpongeBob in early prototypes, and the GBA version. In the final version, SpongeBob's health is his spatulas. These can be seen in the map editor and can be reimplemented.

A placeholder for the items you collect at the end of each level. This is used in the map editor.

Unused Enemies#

EyeBall#

An eyeball on a stalk. It appears in Inside the Whale in earlier prototype builds.

Nautilus#

A 3D nautilus, modeled after the one from the episode SB-129. It has several animations. Considering its origin, it likely would've appeared in Prehistoric Bikini Bottom.

BallBlob#

A blob strongly resembling a blue Dirty Bubble. It only has a bite animation and an idle, which is one frame. It was used in Acrid Air Pockets in some prototypes, and it ended up being used in the GBA version.

SharkMan#

The shark from the episode MuscleBob BuffPants was meant to be an enemy, but never appears. He originally appeared in Industrial Jelly Fields and Man Ray's Lair (originally named Polluted Seabed) in some prototypes before being replaced by Man Ray. He has a variety of animations. He also has a 3D model and some textures, but they seem to reflect a different version.

Unused Audio#

Unused Music#

In BIGLUMP.BIN, there are multiple unused music tracks.

Big Top#

A song meant for a carnival or circus level. It plays during the credits in the GBA version. It was most likely intended for the funhouse in "Snail Race".

Game Over#

A song that was supposed to play when you get game over when at the continue screen and the countdown reaches zero. It plays in the GBA version.

Party Scene#

A song meant for the ending scene in the game. Instead, as with the previous song, there's just silence with talking.

Original Cutscene#

This soundtrack was used in the earlier prototypes of the game but never made it into the final release.

Parasitic Worm Intro#

A short track that was meant to precede the Parasitic Worm boss. It plays in the GBA version for the Sub-Shark and Parasitic Worm bosses.

Unused Music Patterns#

These patterns are not used anywhere in the XM files, however the pattern data still exists, and can be added back.

sb-title#

Pattern 47

A completely unused theme, which could've been for the credits.

CHAPTER2#

Pattern 6

An alternative ending to Cavernous Canyons, which moreso fits with the middle of the song.

CHAPTER3#

Pattern 10

This was probably a transition from the cut Parasitic Worm intro to the actual boss theme.

Pattern 24

This one seems to fit with the main theme for "Inside the Whale".

CHAPTER6#

Pattern 0

A completely unused looping song, alleged to be an early attempt at the song "Roller Coaster" by composer 4mat². The samples are wrong, so it sounds rather odd.

Unused Dialogue#

Several XA files go unused, many of which were used in Operation Krabby Patty and other SpongeBob AWE Games titles. These all seem to be re-recorded versions of lines from episodes of the show.

SpongeBob#

Patrick#

Squidward#

Sandy#

Plankton#

Barnacle Boy#

In the final cutscene, Mermaid Man says this line, but not Barnacle Boy. According to the original storyboard, Barnacle Boy was the one to "curse" SpongeBob, which fits his personality more than Mermaid Man. Very odd.

Various Debug Mode Related Texts#

This needs some investigation. Discuss ideas and findings on the talk page. Specifically: Does this still exist in the final? Early builds had this on by default.

In the file BIGLUMP.BIN, there are various texts relating to a debug mode. The first 12 lines are used in the pause menu to toggle power-ups in earlier prototypes of the game.

Set DEAD mode
LEVEL SELECT
Set BASIC UNARMED mode
Set BUBBLE MIXTURE mode
Set CORAL BLOWER mode
Set JELLY LAUNCHER mode
Set BALLOON mode
Set FLY mode
Set SQUEAKY BOOTS mode
Set NET mode
Set FULL UNARMED mode
Invincible SpongeBob
STRDEAD_MODE
STRLEVEL_SELECT
STRLEVEL_SELECT_C1
STRLEVEL_SELECT_C2
STRLEVEL_SELECT_C3
STRLEVEL_SELECT_C4
STRLEVEL_SELECT_C5
STRLEVEL_SELECT_C6
STRBASICUNARMED_MODE
STRBUBBLEMIXTURE_MODE
STRCORALBLOWER_MODE
STRJELLYLAUNCHER_MODE
STRBALLOON_MODE
STRFLY_MODE
STRSQUEAKYBOOTS_MODE
STRLEVEL_SELECT_START
STRNET_MODE
STRFULLUNARMED_MODE

References#