Never played the original, but found this one incredibly fun with an absolutely gorgeous and colorful look with lots of life to it. The camera on occasion became a pain to deal with since it stayed locked in place in really inconvenient locations, leading to some horribly annoying gameplay moments. The gameplay could feel repetitive at times, but it was easy to enjoy the world of SpongeBob and the humor and joy that comes with it (aside from the HORRENDOUS voice acting for Mermaidman)