Emulators:

As far as I'm aware the only legal Emulators at the moment are DeSmuME and MelonDS. This game is arguably easier to run on a real DS, so keep that in mind.

Menus:

Timing starts when you select "New Game" on a fresh file. Timing ends when the final screen appears with the main Heroes on a Green Background. Both the D-Pad and Stylus work so use whichever you're more comfortable with as you can be fast with either option. During certain levels it is fast to pause and restart the level. It is important to remember that the character you have selected when you restart will remain as the selected character when the level loads back in.

Cutscenes:

There are a lot of parts in the game where there are long unskippable text boxes. I like to hold 'B' to speed them up, and use another finger or rock my thumb onto 'A' to advance them.

Controls:

If you're running on an Emulator, I would highly recommend mapping the Microphone to a Controller Button to minimize switching between Controller and Mouse. I personally have it mapped to Right Trigger. It's also worth remembering that you can Strafe with the 'Y' Button, and move the camera with the 'X' Button.

Characters & Items:

Unlike the Console version you only control one character at a time. Character switching is done by dragging your character of choice to the center of the bottom screen. Everybody has seperate Health and Power so be mindful of where everybody's meters are at to avoid dying. Hearts will replenish the Health of whoever picked it up. Health is lost when making contact with Enemies, environmental hazards like acid or lava, or falling from a great enough height. If the fall is great enough you can and will die instantly. Each character has different items that replenish their Power Meter, and they can be picked up by anyone. These Special Moves are activated by holding the icon in the center of the screen, or by blowing into the Microphone. There will occasionally be Pink Orbs that give you one Super move. These are activated by tracing a circle along the bottom screen.

-SpongeBob SquarePants:

SpongeBob is sort of the "all around" character as he's solid at everything. SpongeBob can only jump once but re-pressing and holding the jump button will let him glide with his Parachute Pants until he touches the ground or the button is released. This is really good for covering horizontal distance. SpongeBob's special move is Vertical Bubble. This carries him vertically with good speed, but it has very poor horizontal movement. The Power Meter is filled by collecting Blue Bubble Solution Bottles. Combining Parachute Pants and Vertical Bubble is very good for skipping big sections that require waiting for platforms. You can abuse this in places like Kelp Forest, Fairy World, and Retroland. SpongeBob's standard attack is blowing Bubbles. These aren't especially strong but they come out in quick succession, making them a good combat option. His Super is to blow a bunch of them in a circle which is very good for closed arenas with a ton of enemies.

-Danny Phantom:

Danny is especially good for Combat, but isn't the best for Platforming. Danny can jump once, but is the only character who can Wall Jump between two walls that are close enough together. This can be useful for skipping sections in Vlad's Castle, but other than that it is pretty situational. Collecting Green Plasma Orbs lets Danny phase through Green holes in certain walls. This has Danny move strictly horizontally and is useful for skipping having to wait for platforms in Fenton House, and Bikini Bottom. Danny's standard attack is firing Plasma Rays from his hands. These are stronger but slower than SpongeBob's Bubbles, and are very good for combat. His Super creates a shield around him that makes him invulnerable. The shield does great damage to enemies, but contact with them will make the shield dissappear faster.

-Jimmy Neutron:

Jimmy is the best for Platforming, but he struggles quite a bit with Combat. Jimmy is the only character who can Double Jump, which is great for making and correcting tight jumps. A well timed Double Jump can also be used to circumvent fall damage. Collecting Purple Fuel Tanks fills his Power Meter and lets him fly with his Jet Pack. The Jet Pack is slower than Vertical Bubble but it has much better horizontal movement. Combining Double Jump and Jet Pack along with walls that have certain angles lets Jimmy skip plenty of platforming sections that require hitting buttons or waiting. Vlad's Castle, Kelp Forest, Fairy World, Rampant Rampage, and Retroland come to mind. Jimmy's standard attack is his Shrink Ray which needs to be pointed at an enemy until they dissappear. This takes a long time making it the worst attack in the game. His Super move has his Shrink Ray hit multiple targets and shrinks them much faster than normal.

-Timmy Turner:

Timmy is easily the most situational character in the game, as you'll mainly be using him for Stealth. Timmy can only jump once, but he also has the fastest running speed by far. This makes him great for covering ground distance when you aren't required to kill enemies. Timmy doesn't have a standard attack, as he instead hides in a Bush. When in the Bush if you aren't moving enemies won't detect you, but if moving in the Bush enemies that are close enough will spot you. There are mandatory Stealth Sections in Vlad's Castle, Chum Bucket, and School, and getting caught will make you have to redo the entire section from the beginning. Collecting Wands will let Timmy freeze nearby enemies in place until the stoplight turns green. This​ is good for freezing the angry dogs in Neighborhood, as they'll insta-kill you if they catch you. His super has Cosmo and Wanda turn nearby Enemies into Items.

Throughout the game there will be plenty of times where you have to do a Touch Screen game to progress. There are about two or so instances where you can skip them with clever platforming however. This is one of the reasons a real DS may be worth trying as some of these can be a bit awkward with a Mouse.

-Circuit Breaker:

These are incredibly easy. There are Diodes that you need to bridge from the left side all the way to the big one on the right side. You can only connect Diodes by touching ones of the same shape that are next to each other. In most if not all cases these are over in 10 seconds max.

-Ghost Grab:

In the top center of the Touch Screen there will be a Green Portal you need to flick the Ghosts towards. I find this is easier on a real DS because of the smaller screen and better accuracy of the DS Stylus, but these are relatively short and are only found in Amity Park.

-Power Source:

In the bottom center of the screen there's a Power Source you have to drag through a maze to the ball in the direct center. Touching the walls will make you lose a couple of seconds each time. You can save yourself as long as you make sure not to break the connection by lifting the Stylus off of the screen. This one also could be easier on a real DS.

-Villain Attack:

These are quite easy when you know what to expect. One of the hero's friends will be under attack from one of the main Villains. You have to tap their attacks to intercept them before they hurt your friend. You can keep spamming around the Villain to break their attacks quickly so just watch what they do, and make sure to break all of their attacks. Your friend usually can get hit three times before you lose, so just pay attention.

-Jellyfish & Fairy Harvester:

These are easily the most annoying of the Mini-Games. There will be a machine at the bottom of the screen sucking in Jellyfish/Fairies, so you have to draw a circle around them to lift them to safety. If too many fall in you lose. Occasionally a Jelly Jar/Anti-Fairy will come in and you'll have to pop the bubble over the machine so they'll fall in and jam it enough times to win. I feel like using a Mouse is pretty finicky with this game especially, to the point where I'd say these could make or break using an Emulator. Thankfully after Dimmsdale you never have to do these again.

Bosses:

This game has pretty busted Bosses that can be really confusing if you aren't familiar with this game and the jank it brings to the table.

-Amity Park Boss: Vlad

This is the easiest Boss in the game. Vlad creates copies of himself that move around the arena. The real one has a shadow underneath him, so just make sure to shoot the real one. Shooting a fake one will have him reflect your attacks so dodge if you have to. If Danny gets too low on health switch to SpongeBob.

-Bikini Bottom Boss: Plankton

This is hands down the worst, most broken Boss in the game because of a fatal glitch that soft locks the game. Plankton will be on a Jellyfish Robot in the center of a circular arena and after he takes damage he'll suck you into the center. Attack him with Danny to deal more damage when on the upper level. When on the lower level keep killing Jellyfish until they drop Bubble Solution. You only need one bottle (half of the meter) but getting two before you go back up is good RNG. After you have enough, lure Plankton's shadow to one side then run to the other side and switch to SpongeBob to use the Veritcal Bubble to reach the upper level before Plankton pops your Bubble. Plankton will be on the other side so switch to Timmy to catch up to him. Then switch back to Danny and attack Plankton. Rinse and Repeat until the fight is over.​ You want to avoid attacking Plankton with SpongeBob on the upper level as there's a strong chance he'll become unbeatable eventually, due to his machine increasing in size every time making it so you can't escape the lower level.

-Dimmsdale Boss: Crocker

Crocker will chase Timmy on a circular path. If Crocker touches Timmy you die instantly. There are Wands and Storm Clouds spread across the arena, and you want to use Timmy's stoplight to stop Crocker over one of the shadows so the cloud will zap him. You do have to time it well as Crocker can break free before he gets zapped so pay attention to the color of the Clouds. From where Timmy starts if you grab the Wands along the path you can stop after the third Cloud, then make Crocker wait under one of the ones right in front of him a couple of times to get him into a good position to beat him.

-Retroville Boss: Calamitous

The first two phases are more of a race than a fight. Grab the Rocket Fuel along the path and just try to be quick while avoiding falling down. In phase two you can save some time at a couple of different spots by using Jimmy's Jet Pack and SpongeBob's Vertical Bubble to get to a higher path faster. If at any point you fall too far down you'll die and have to restart the fight. Phase three you have to attack him first, which is faster if you do this as Danny. After he retreats you have to grab a chip and do a bunch of Mini-Games to disarm the Doomsday Machine, which you'll want to be Timmy for so you can run to each screen faster.