Dutchman's Dash is a platformer flash game developed by Sarbakan for the Nickelodeon website. It involves SpongeBob and Patrick traveling across Bikini Bottom to save Gary from the Flying Dutchman.
Controls[]
- Left/Right: Move
- Up: Jump
- Down: Crouch
- Space Bar: Special Attack
Gameplay[]
Dutchman's Dash consists of a total of nine levels, although four of them are visited twice. In the first four levels, the goal is simply to reach the end without getting killed by enemies or hazards, and before running out of time. Each of these levels features plenty of pick-ups and power-ups alongside the enemies to aid you in your journey as you make your way towards the end; the power-ups grant you special abilities and let you take an extra hit from enemies without dying - get hit while using a power-up, and you simply lose the power-up.
The fifth level features a boss fight against the Flying Dutchman. Not only do you have to defeat the Dutchman before the time runs out, but you also have to keep an eye on Gary, who's trapped in a cage suspended above a pit of acid. During the battle, the cage slowly lowers itself downward; to prevent it from reaching the acid pit, you have to jump on the lever next to the pit to raise the cage. After you beat the Dutchman, Gary is rescued, but now the Dutchman wants revenge!
After the Dutchman boss fight, you replay the first four levels, but this time they're all reversed - not only do you play them in reverse order, but in each of these levels you start at the end and have to go back to the start. Additionally, the Dutchman's ghostly ship will be chasing after you, requiring you to constantly be moving to avoid getting caught.
Throughout the game, SpongeBob and Patrick share a life system. With each life, you start out playing as SpongeBob, and if he dies, Patrick spawns in where SpongeBob died, and you get to continue on playing as Patrick. If Patrick dies, you lose a life and respawn at the most recent checkpoint as SpongeBob.
Pick-Ups and Power-Ups[]
- Bonus Bubble: Gives you bonus points; earning 100 bonus points grants you an extra life. Comes in three colors - purple bubbles (worth 1 point), blue bubbles (worth 2 points), and yellow bubbles (worth 3 points).
- Fishing Hook: Appears dangling from the top of the screen and gives you a ride if you grab onto it, allowing you to skip over part of the level.
- Clam: Gives you goodies when you jump on it; some give you bonus points, others give power-ups.
- Pufferfish: Gives you the ability to inflate yourself and grow spikes, killing any enemy that touches you. If you use this ability while running, you'll also slide across the ground, making it easier to destroy enemies in your way.
- Jellyfish: Gives you the ability to throw jellyfish to kill enemies from a distance.
Enemies and Hazards[]
- Evil Snail: Moves back and forth across the ground. Hides in its shell for a short while if you jump on it.
- Evil Jellyfish: Floats around aimlessly. Can be killed by jumping on it.
- Cannonball: Flies across the screen and can be knocked out of the air by jumping on it.
- Fireball: Falls down from the sky.
- Ghost Cannonball: Same as a regular Cannonball, but is engulfed in ghostly flames and so can't be jumped on.
- Ghost Fireball: Same as a regular Fireball, but only appears when the Flying Dutcman summons it.
- The Flying Dutchman: Appears in level 5 as the game's boss. He floats around the room and attacks by throwing jellyfish at you, as well as occasionally letting out an evil laugh that makes Ghost Fireballs fall onto the platforms in the arena. When throwing the jellyfish, he alternates between sending a group of three jellyfish rolling on the floor and tossing up four jellyfish which ricochet around the roomTo defeat him, you have to hit his head six times either with a special attack or by jumping on him.
- The Dutchman's Ship: Chases you in the final four levels, instantly killing you if it catches up to you. In levels 6 and 7, the ship will simply come at you, but in level 8 the Dutchman becomes able to throw jellyfish if his ship gets close to you, and in level 9 the ship can shoot Ghost Cannonballs!
Errors[]
- When an Evil Snail is defeated, its sprite is always shown facing to the left as its death animation plays, regardless of whether or not it was facing that way to begin with.
- When a Cannonball is jumped on, a metal clanking sound plays, but no sound plays if two Cannonballs collide and knock each other out of the air.
Trivia[]
- This game was inspired by Super Mario Bros., and has many similarities to it - the Jellyfish power-up is even identical to Super Mario's Fire Flower power-up.
- The Cannonballs, Fireballs, and Ghost Cannonballs try to track your position as they spawn in but are somewhat inaccurate; to avoid them more easily, it's best to keep moving when they start to appear.
- If using a power-up, the Flying Dutchman boss fight can be beaten extremely easily and quickly because the Dutchman's invincibility period after he gets hurt is very short, allowing you to get another hit in as soon as he recovers.