In the console version, the player can play with three computers and no other human players, or with a friend or two with the remaining computer(s). One can switch abilities, which have multiple uses. There are also things only a certain character can do. For example, SpongeBob is needed to use Bubble Bombs to blow up a pillar, Danny is needed to use Ghostly Wail on some glass, Timmy is needed to use Freeze Gloveto freeze some water, or Jimmy has to shoot down some things with his Neutron Flare.
Goddard can be found in all four worlds (and oddly enough, inside himself) so he can upgrade the player's weapons and abilities.
The DS version is a full 3D platformer where the player controls one of the four characters at a time, which can be selected at any moment via the touchscreen, while the GBA version is a 2D platformer in which the player must alternate between the two characters given at the beginning of the level in order to progress. It uses pre-rendered 3D sprites based on the models of the DS version