Publisher
Konami

Developer
Konami HWI

Released: October 28, 2003
Genre: Action
Players: 4
ESRB: Everyone

6
6
5
7
6.0

Supported Features:

This is Konami’s second attempt to introduce our green little friend to PS2 gamers. In 2002 we had Frogger Beyond that was mildly entertaining but far from a successful release. Things have definitely gotten better for this new release, with gameplay elements that resemble the original 2D arcade classic cleverly woven into a quasi-3D platform game.

Frogger even gets a story with nifty CG movies. Merely crossing to the other side of the road isn’t enough to drive an adventure. Frogger now has a girlfriend, Lily (snicker) who has been frog-napped, and a group of evil lizards are trying to take over Firefly Swamp. You’ll need all your jumping and sticky-tongue skills along with some helpful advice from Grandpa to get through this game.

Using the D-pad (or left stick) Frogger can move one space at a time in four directions. Pressing X will have him jump two spaces. This concept alone creates half the movement puzzles within the game. Frogger can also use his tongue to grab poles and pull himself across great distances or grab onto objects with handles and push or pull them to clear the path or create a jumping point. You’ll use the shoulder buttons to rotate Frogger since pushing the direction to either side will turn and move him. This concept takes some getting used to, especially when navigating single-spaced lily pads.

There are plenty of places to die and dying is much too frequent for a game targeted toward kids. Even though a careless misstep will send you back to the last checkpoint, too many of these missteps and its game over. I know I don’t have the patience to keep restarting levels and your average pre-teen will quickly lose interest. It’s only made worse since most of the deaths are accidental and directly related to the unintuitive control scheme. And where on Earth did they find a frog than can’t swim?!

There are plenty of game modes to choose from. The Story mode is the core of the game and serves not only to tell the story but unlocks plenty of extra stuff in the Challenge mode and Art Gallery. The Challenge mode lets gamers play through 28 levels from the Story mode in one of three variations. Time Attack has you racing to the finish for the best time while Coin Attack has you grabbing as much coinage as possible. Step Attack is a very challenging mode where you have to reach the end of the level in the least amount of jumps.

When you finish these challenges you are given a special code you can enter online and compare your hopping skills with anyone else wanting to exchange Frogger bragging rights. This is a nice feature that would be even better if the game just used PS2 Online. I seriously doubt how many gamers will actually take the time to write down the codes and enter them in on their PC.

There is also a multiplayer component that actually rivals the single-player game. In fact, this game might have been better marketed as a “party game”. All games are four-player even if you don’t have a multi-tap or four people in the room. The computer will take over for any non-human players in any of the innovative multiplayer games.

• Conveyor puts you on a maze of conveyor belts that you must hop between without getting dumped off while you try to collect butterflies and avoid flying bugs.
• Collapse has on you a large playing field that is slowly falling away beneath you. Hop around and try to be the last frog standing.
• Panel Puzzle is like those old picture puzzle games where you jump on spaces to rotate a piece of the picture to form a larger picture. Trying to complete the picture without messing up the pieces that are already correct takes some serious planning.
• Rapid Race is a simple sprint race to the finish through a narrow obstacle course.
• Musical Pads has you scrambling to land on one of several lit pads before the music stops.
• Coin Collecting is a timed game where you dash for cash. Collect as many coins as you can before the timer expires.
• Countdown is an odd game where you are shown a number on the timer then the timer disappears and you have to countdown in your head and hop just when you think the timer reaches zero. This is probably my least favorite mode and can easily be cheated on with a wristwatch.
• It’s A-Maze-ing puts all frogs into their own sections of a maze and has you trying to escape. Funky power-pads can spin the maze getting you lost all over again.

Even though Frogger has moved into the world of 3D the gameplay is still unmistakably 2D. Shown from a top or slightly isometric view, Frogger in no way approaches the same level of 3D platform gaming as Namco’s Pac-Man World. Of course this view lends itself perfectly to the 4-way movement controls that are a signature part of the Frogger legacy.

In-game textures, graphics, and animation are rather primitive, only slightly exceeding sprite-level quality. It might have that Frogger “feel” but it certainly pales in comparison to anything else competing for your PS2 dollar. The kids this game was made for will probably be more forgiving than jaded reviewers such as myself.

Sound effects are nothing more than you would expect, simple arcade noises when Frogger jumps, uses his tongue, or splashes into the water. Insects make appropriate buzzing and humming noises but everything is rather subdued and often drowned out by the music.

There is some decent voice acting considering the nature of the game. It’s all very cutesy and great for kids but anyone over the age of ten will probably find the script laughable at best.

The Challenge mode is also a nice diversion and opens up 28 levels with three variations for each. The Internet Ranking system is a nice inclusion even though it probably won’t be utilized as much as the designers had hoped. There is a whole lotta game here for $30.