Frogger
|
|
| Frogger | |
| Missing image Frogger_game_arcade.png Frogger screenshot | |
| Developer: | Konami |
| Publisher: | Sega |
| Release date: | 1981 |
| Genre: | Retro |
| Game modes: | Up to 2 players, alternating turns |
| Cabinet: | Standard |
| Controls: | Joystick; 2 buttons |
| Monitor | |
| Orientation: | Vertical |
| Type: | Raster, standard resolution (Used: 224x256) |
| Notes | |
| Developed during the Golden Age of Arcade Games | |
Frogger is a 1981 arcade game produced by Sega, developed by Konami. The game is regarded as a classic and was very popular for its novel gameplay and theme. It is one of the few classic arcade games whose gameplay did not involve killing hordes of enemies.
| Contents |
Overview
The object of this game is to guide a frog to its home. To do so, the player must get frogs to successfully dodge cars and navigate a river full of hazards. The skillful or lucky player may obtain bonuses along the way.
Description
The player guides a frog which starts at the bottom of the screen. The lower half of the screen contains a road with cars, trucks and other vehicles speeding along. The upper half of the screen consists of a river with logs, alligators and turtles. The very top of the screen contains five "frog homes"—the goal for each frog. Each level is timed, so the player must act quickly to finish each level before the time expires.
The only control the player has is navigating the direction for the frog to hop with the joystick. Each push in a direction causes the frog to hop once in that direction. On the bottom half of the screen, the player must successfully guide the frog between opposing lanes of trucks, cars and other vehicles, to avoid becoming roadkill.
The middle of the screen, after the road, contains a median where the player must prepare to navigate the river. By jumping on swiftly moving logs and the backs of turtles, the player must attempt to guide his frog safely to one of the empty "homes". The player must avoid alligators, snakes and otters in the river, but may catch bugs or escort a lady frog for bonuses. When all five frogs are directed home, the game progresses to the next, harder level.
Frogger is available as a standard upright. The controls consist solely of a 4-direction joystick used to guide the frog's jump direction. The number of simultaneous players is one, and the game has a maximum of two players.
Legacy
The game was originally going to be titled "Highway Crossing Frog," but the executives at Sega felt it did not capture the true nature of the game and was changed simply to "Frogger." In addition to inspiring numerous clones, this game spawned a sequel in 1991 called Ribbit which featured improved graphics and simultaneous two-player action.
Frogger is regarded as one of the "Top 100 Videogames" of all time by the Killer List of Videogames (KLOV).
Ports
Like many games of the era, Frogger was ported to several home systems for personal use. In 1983 Frogger was ported to the PC (booter), Apple II, Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Commodore 64, ColecoVision, Intellivision, and Magnavox Odyssey˛. Hasbro Interactive released a new version for Microsoft Windows and the PlayStation in 1997 (in this one, Frogger is green with an orange stripe).
 |
 |
 |
Unlike the arcade version, the home versions had numerous sequels, including:
- Frogger II: Three Deep (1984)
- Frogger 2: Swampy's Revenge (2000)
- Frogger's Adventures: Temple of the Frog (2001)
- Frogger Advance: The Great Quest (2002)
- Frogger Beyond (2002)
- Frogger's Adventures 2: The Lost Wand (2002)
- Frogger's Journey: The Forgotten Relic (2003)
In many of the recent games (starting with Frogger's Adventures), Frogger is shown as bipedal wearing a shirt with a crossed-out truck.
Popular culture
The game was featured in an episode of Seinfeld. Jerry Seinfeld and George Costanza are in a restaurant and George remembers he had the high score on the Frogger game there when he was a kid. When he looks at the machine he finds he still has the high score. The restaurant is going to get rid of the game and they tell him he can have it. The problem is, he has to move the game without unplugging it, because if he unplugs the game the high score will be erased. This results in a spoof of the actual gameplay of Costanza trying to cross the street with the game without getting hit by a car.
In 1982, Buckner and Garcia recorded a song called "Froggy's Lament", using sound effects from the game, and released it on the album Pac-Man Fever. The song begins:
- Froggy takes one step at a time
- The way that he moves has no reason or rhyme
- He hops and jumps, dodges and ducks
- Cars and buses, vans and trucks.
External links
- The KLOV entry on Frogger (http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=F&game_id=7857)
- MobyGames' entry on the Frogger series for personal systems (http://www.mobygames.com/game_group/sheet/gameGroupId,222/)
- Category at ODP (http://dmoz.org/Games/Video_Games/Platform/Frogger_Series/)
- Directory of Free Online Frogger Games (http://freewebarcade.com/arcade/frogger/index.html)
- A Shockwave version of Frogger (http://www.startinglinks.net/games/frogger.dcr)
- An online version of Frogger (http://www.games2go.co.uk/game/frogger)
- Sheepish (http://www.games2go.co.uk/game/sheepish), a game similar to Froggerde:Frogger