Like the film Plankton puts "plan Z" into effect, stealing King Neptune's crown, sends it to shell city, and frames Mr. Krabs for the theft.

As a result SpongeBob and Patrick are tasked to retrieve the crown from Shell City to save Mr. Krabs and Bikini Bottom within 6 days by King Neptune.

As the player collects "Manliness Points" (represented by glowing weights), they will learn new moves for SpongeBob and Patrick which are needed to complete the game.

In order to learn the moves required to advance in levels and the stories, SpongeBob and Patrick will have to complete these side missions (like the extra driving and minigame challenges) to get these tokens.

Unlike the console versions, there is a life system, and there is no save feature; instead, players are given a variety of level passwords as they progress through the game.

[5] Juan Castro of IGN, who reviewed the home console versions, stated that "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie delivers an entertaining (and oftentimes challenging) mix of platform and driving sequences.

[citation needed] GameZone's Louis Bedigian, who reviewed the Xbox version, felt that the game did not take advantage of the system's graphical capabilities, and wrote, "The cut scenes are more like storyboards than movie sequences.

[27] Nintendo Power, reviewing the GBA version, noted the ability to change paths throughout the game, but wrote that "some areas are more difficult to reach than they should be, making the platforming tricky at times.

Hollingshead wrote that "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."

"[13] Hollingshead praised the PC version for its graphics and sound, and wrote, "The humor from the TV show has been translated very well to this computer game, and some of the dialogue is a riot.

Playing as Plankton was a great idea, and kids will love listening to the diminutive evil-ruler wannabe as he comments on the people and things around him."

"[15] Kristen Salvatore of Computer Gaming World felt that the PC version and its puzzles would appeal primarily to young children, but wrote that people expecting to "play" the movie would be disappointed.

[29] The port was poorly received for numerous technical issues, including severe input lag, sound delays of up to one second during in-engine cutscenes, and stretching the 4:3 display to fill a 16:9 aspect ratio.