Frogger

"Classic Frogger, but nothing to take advantage of the Genesis' capabilities."

Frogger was one of the last ever games released for the Sega Genesis. Brought out in 1998, Frogger was most definitely a late entry. Sadly, there's a lot of wasted potential here, as Frogger looks exactly as it did in older versions of the game. The Genesis may be weaksauce by today's standards, but this version of Frogger could easily exist on the NES, Master System, or possibly even the Atari 2600.

Graphics: 6
It gets a six for two reasons: I'm a sucker for old-school graphics, plus the title screen and Game Over screen actually do look Genesis-quality. If you want eye candy, though, be prepared for an eyeful of candy corn. These graphics are awful and could have easily been improved.

Sound: 4
Frogger's sound, like its graphics, would feel more at home on a system from the 8-bit generation. Several old, probably-not-copyrighted songs play that you may remember (Yankee Doodle is a prevalent Frogger theme, for some reason). Reminds me of how the NES version of Tetris featured "Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairies" as its main theme instead of the typical "Theme A" we all know.

Gameplay: 8
Frogger's game is quite difficult. Avoid the traffic (plus the occasional snake hanging out by the sidewalk) and then cross the river (which is full of turtles, logs, and crocodiles that you can ride) and head for home (which occasionally has an alligator blocking the path or a fly, worth extra points). For some reason, jumping into the open water kills Frogger, but leaping in the small pools at the end is just fine. Whatever.
Occasionally, you'll see a discolored blob on a log referred to as a "River Frog." (If that's a river frog, then what do you call Frogger? City frog?) If you touch this frog, there will be an odd sound effect and the two will merge to become RIVER FROGGER! DEFENDING LIBERTY, JUSTICE, AND THE PURSUIT OF FLIES! Returning River Frogger to the pond instead of regular, lame Frogger nets you more points, which in turn give you extra lives.

Replay: 4
High score fanatics, add 5 to my rating. Regular gamers, keep the rating as is.

Overall: 5
An average, if uninspired, bare-bones port of Frogger. With river frogs.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 08/02/04