Frogger

The Good
The Apple II was my first computer, and I would play this game on it all the time. Even when I moved on to an IBM 386, then a 486, and then finally a Pentium 1 featuring Windows 3.1, Frogger was still a very very fun game to come back to. This is the 21st century, and after all the spectacular graphics I've seen and gotten used to from systems like Dreamcast, Playstation 2 and Xbox 360, it is indeed hard to take the Apple 2 version seriously. There are plenty of arcades around the country featuring Frogger in its pristine state, and there are plenty of Frogger roms and Mame emulators on the web to not have to sit in front of your dusty Apple 2 and play a version that will make your eyes cry and ears cry.

But don't tell me that it should have never been made. For a good 15 years, it was good enough for us gamers.. For a good 15 years it was an almost perfect arcade-port. The graphics might not be what they used to be, but the gameplay is intact.

The Bad
Really, in those days we all thought this game was perfect, and could play it for hours even after months. The only complaint was there was no sequel!

The Bottom Line
One big nostalgic experience. Everybody loves Frogger just like they love PacMan, Space Invaders, Sabotage, Missile Command, and Centipede.

Probably the best game you could get for the Apple II, along with Sabotage.

The Good
Back in the early Eighties, people were used to games such as Space Invaders and Galaxian, where they moved their laser left or right across the screen while shooting aliens swooping down at them. Then Konami’s Frogger appeared out of nowhere, and players suddenly found themselves controlling a frog, and they could move up - not just left or right - toward their five homes on the other side within a time limit.

To reach these homes, however, they must cross a busy highway to a median strip, and from there negotiate a river full of logs and diving turtles, and finally into all of their five homes. Fifty points are awarded to the player for reaching one home, but more points are awarded for bringing their lady frog along with them and gobbling an insect. The game starts off easy, allowing players to get used to the game. It eventually gets harder, with the game introducing snakes, alligators, and otters into the mix. The level design also differs slightly and everything is sped up, requiring them to time their moves carefully.

Besides the gameplay itself, Frogger was innovative in two other ways. There are more ways you can die, such as being run over by a vehicle, letting the timer expire, staying on a diving turtle, missing the homes, being eaten, and falling into the river. The gameplay is complemented by well-composed music. As well as the standard songs, the US version of the game has “Yankee Doodle” thrown in for good measure. The animations are brilliant; I like how the skull and crossbones are formed when a life has been lost. The game also has that “just one more go” vibe to it.

The Bad
I can’t find any flaws to this timeless classic.

The Bottom Line
Frogger is a refreshing change from the shooters that dominated the arcades way back in the early Eighties, and it contained many innovative features such as the use of background music and the number of ways you can die. The graphics and sound are excellent, and the game’s addictive nature will keep you coming back for more. Two thumbs up, way up!

The Good
Official 6809 arcade game clones were rare. Zaxxon and Pooyan on the CoCo, Moon Cresta on both the Dragon and CoCo, and Frogger, also on both spring to mind. So any official port was always welcome, but if truth be told this was a pretty unexciting version. The graphics are not at the highest resolution possible, going for colour over higher resolution black and white PAL/mono green PMODE 4 colour set. This actually works well, for once the Dragon colour set is perfectly suited for depicting a non space/sci fi setting. The sound is ok for its time, but within a couple of years games like Shock Trooper and Fire Force did so much more on the same machine. Where the game shines is the gameplay. Just like Frogger in the arcade, it is a cute and highly addictive game, albeit one that is pretty easy to clock.

The Bad
If this had been made a couple of years later I suspect we would have had better sound, graphics and a bit more innovation. It feels a bit like a budget release, serviceable at everything, but nothing outstanding.

The Bottom Line
Cheap no frills Frogger. Nothing else need be said. Playable, addictive, but feels more like a budget release than a full blown release.