Frogger 64

The Good
Any gamer growing up during the golden age of gaming has heard about Frogger, a game where you have to guide a frog across roads and rivers while avoiding obstacles, in an attempt to get into your five homes. Those who haven't have been living under a rock for so many years. There have been many versions for the Commodore 64, each with its ups and downs. My first glimpse of Frogger came from Interceptor Micros, a small company that dealt with clones of various arcade games.

There are some nice touches to the game. The title appears as if it is one of those neon lights that stand out. Also, there is a proper high score table, complete with name and score; and the same sound heard when you insert a coin into the original coin-op can be heard when you press the fire button in Frogger 64 to start a game. Inside the game, the graphics look colorful enough and every sprite is drawn the way it appears in other versions of the game.

There is no background music during play, but the “threatening” tune from level two onwards makes up for this, and this tune appears to go faster after each level. The sound effects are appropriate for what you are doing. For instance, the frog hop is heard as you navigate your frog around. Also, when you manage to get into one of your homes, you are rewarded with a nice sound. Of course, there is the aforementioned start-up sound.

Frogger 64 can be played either by joystick or keyboard. I found the former easier for me, and it is a welcome relief from the keyboard-only control in Scramble 64 where, in that game, the keys you need to use are located on opposite sides of the keyboard, resulting in having your arms crossed the entire time during the game.

The Bad
Graphics-wise, there are some things that aren't quite right to me. For instance, the river is black as if the logs, alligators, and turtles are floating in tar instead of water. The truck doesn't look like a truck at all, and the biggest problem lies with your frog. It has been given no animation at all, and it moves quite slow to the point. In the official versions, your frog can outrun the cars approaching him on the same line; but in this conversion, it has no chance.

The Bottom Line
The version I grew up with, Frogger 64 is a decent port of the original arcade game, but it has a few flaws. However, the addictive nature of the game out-rules these flaws (for me, at least). If you still want a perfect version, then you'd be better off with the versions released by SEGA or Parker Brothers