Finally went back to beat this after starting it multiple times at friends' houses growing up without finishing. For what it's worth, my adult appreciation of this is far more holistic than than the one from my childhood - this isn't just a fun Scooby-Doo game but a genuine love letter to a property from a talented team of creatives that clearly loved the source material. As a lifelong fan of the Scoobster and his multiple spin-offs (there's a few "Pup Named Scooby-Doo" references I definitely didn't remember seeing before), it warms my heart to see something I was once passionate about be given such a carefully crafted experience like this.

That being said, I have a few bones to pick with the game itself, namely in the unnecessary difficulty spikes and wonky camera controls. Levels like "Aghast at the Mast" are so frustratingly designed and padded out that I'm almost glad child me never had to experience them, since they nearly killed my playthrough this time. And the camera exacerbates the awful levels by not allowing for player control, instead relying on the direction of approach from the player to determine what visual information needs to be on the screen, often omitting important platforming details just because you walked in the wrong direction. Absolutely infuriating stuff.

Still, I found a lot to love here despite the glaring issues. Would love to see this get the Bikini Bottom: Rehydrated treatment - a new coat of polish might be just what this needs to be a real cult classic.