SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake offers a lighthearted yet formidable journey. The game motivates replay, but with its entertaining levels and whimsical quests, replaying does not feel boring or drawn out. Along the way, there are a lot of secrets to find and clever little tricks to employ.
SpongeBob SquarePants fans of all ages will find great fun and hilarious references throughout the game. A new story takes familiar characters through colorful realms in a range of delightful costumes, fighting new and old enemies. Whether you're searching for pointers on combat, puzzles, or anything in between, utilize this spoiler-free set of tips and tricks at your cosmically shaking discretion.
10 Save Side Quests Until All Main Missions Are Complete
The Cosmic Shake encourages replaying levels after completing them (and the whole main storyline). Some side quests are not even available until after revisiting the world. For example, traveling to Jelly Glove World a second time lets you talk to Glovey Glove, who tasks SpongeBob with playing the three carnival games found in the area.
There is an exception to saving all side quests until the end, though: Picking up the optional mission Find Spot's Hiding Spot is an excellent idea as soon as it is available, as it tasks SpongeBob with finding Plankton and Karen's pet amoeba, Spot, in each level. Seeing the little guy is not always possible on the first playthrough of the level, but more often than not, it is.
9 Focus On Gathering Jelly During A First Playthrough Of A Level
In a "work smarter, not harder" fashion, focus on gathering jelly and completing the level during the first run through. Some pathways lead to nothing, or just some jelly, during the first visit to the world. Upon further visits, side quest items can appear, or tasks can become newly available thanks to abilities gained through gameplay.
SpongeBob can find an instance of this early in the tricky Mante Fe and Jellyfish Fields area. Floating tikis lead over a waterfall to nothing the first time around, but upon later visits to the same area, a side quest item can be found at the end of the floating tiki trail. Focusing on gathering jelly and completing the campaign at first will put you in the best position to tackle side quests.
8 Remember That Costumes Are Cosmetic Only
Playing around with the extensive costume selection in Cosmic Shake is a lot of fun. They are purely cosmetic and will not affect the combat, platforming, or any other aspect of gameplay. As well as being frivolously interchangeable, there are some great looks and references in the costumes catalog that fans of the show are sure to appreciate.
Unfortunately, the costumes in cut scenes are set and do not change to whichever outfit SpongeBob is wearing at the current time. Even so, it's nice to know from the off that you're not missing out on any abilities or other benefits by selecting one costume over the others. Find your favorite!
7 Karate Kick Utilization
Time for some KAR-AH-TAY! All the moves in The Cosmic Shake are pretty handy, but the Karate Kick is particularly useful. A tremendous universal tip for this move is to time pushing the button with the appearance of the move icon. It will work from much further away than you may think.
The kick is also a great tool to utilize in combat, as it is practical to avoid taking hits or to reach those pesky tartar sauce-shooting enemies and take them out quickly. The Karate Kick can also prove essential to landing some jumps, hook swings, or surfboard rides. Even seemingly trivial areas can benefit from this kick, such as when attempting to get over the gaps and spikes in the garden maze in Medieval Sulfur Fields.
6 Use SpongeBob's Shadow For A Safe Landing
Some collectibles and quest items are tantalizingly placed on hard-to-reach surfaces or floating tikis. To ensure SpongeBob's safe landing on these, use his shadow to line him up with the destination.
This is a common tip for platform games, but there's an additional wrinkle: Be careful to notice that SpongeBob has two shadows, one from the light source in the level that changes shape with him and one circular one that appears right below him. Be sure to use the circular shadow right under him to assist with landings.
5 Finding The Answers To Picture Puzzles
Puzzles in this game can range from challenging platforming sections to aiming and throwing items and piecing together scrambled pictures. The answer to the first two examples can be obviously in sight, but with the picture puzzles, SpongeBob can always find the solution within the same room as the puzzle. When pieces of a picture puzzle are placed (say that five times fast) into the correct spot, they will make a noise to alert you that they have been adequately slotted.
In Prehistoric Kelp Forest, at the checkpoint Cave Painting Cave, a set of stone slabs are propped up and need to be unscrambled to complete a drawing and open the door behind it. SpongeBob can destroy an arranged three-by-three set of boxes to reveal the order the stone slabs should be placed.
4 Refilling Your Health Bar With Patrick's Help
While the aesthetic of the game is cheerfully cartoonish, battle scenarios can still be challenging enough for SpongeBob to take some hits. There's a useful little trick you can try if you find yourself critically low on HP.
Stand still if the health bar gets down to just one underpants, and Patrick will bring you the closest pair he can find. Be careful where you do this if you're on a precarious platform or similar, though: Helpful and entertaining as he may be, Patrick is not attentive with when or where he drops the life-saving underpants. He could drop them right into a lake of goo or lava.
3 Box-Breaking, Jelly-Obtaining Tips
Jelly is plentiful throughout the game, and obtainable in various ways. From being strewn across the ground to being rewarded for defeating foes, jelly is in boxes stacked in towers, triangles, and pyramids. To quickly break open the different arrangements, smash them from the bottom and stand underneath. As they fall onto SpongeBob, they will break apart, saving time breaking them individually.
Another quick and effortless way to break open boxes is to touch the red tikis that explode. Just walk or jump up to them to touch them, then retire to a safe distance. SpongeBob will be unscathed by the explosion, and the jelly will simply come to him.
2 Getting The Upper Hand On Enemies
Enemies continually assail the spongy hero as he navigates through the worlds. There are a variety of different types, and, conveniently, useful little tricks to help dispatch each one. Jumping or dodging away from Ninjellies (the tiny round chomping creatures), for instance, will often see them run off a ledge or a cliff and take care of themselves.
Letting flying cube enemies, Slamvils, slam themselves down into lava or goo will also be a self-solving problem. Baby Booms, identifiable by their yellow waist inflatable, can be damaged by hitting back the purple bobbles they throw. Two hits right back at them should do the trick. Defeating bathtub-wielding Big Jellies only when necessary, like in purple battle bubbles or in the Pirate World to raise the Flying Dutchman's socks, can be a big-time saver.
1 Mastering Tongue Sliding
Tongue sliding is an activity from Battle for Bikini Bottom (original and rehydrated) that makes a glorious return in The Cosmic Shake. In a similar fashion to the game's predecessor, some of the slides in The Cosmic Shake offer secrets accessed by going a different way. To ensure you don't miss these, don't push forward on the left stick while operating the slide.
Doing so will speed SpongeBob up, while not pressing forward will slow him down. Refraining, then, will enable you to take in the full view and direction options available on the slide, at a leisurely pace. By the same token, though, there are advantages to speeding up at the right moment. Doing so will assist with making jumps between slides, onto trampolines, and swinging hooks.