FROGGER
(Parker Brothers/Sega/Konami, 1982)
If you haven't heard of Konami's famous arcade legend Frogger before then where have you been? Frogger is not only one of the most addictive old school arcade games of all time but it is still one of the few retro games that was able to come back from the grave after a long absence. This overhead classic with frogs first came home to the home market way back in the early eighties thanks to Parker Brothers and we lucky Colecovision gamers got one of the better editions out there.
The idea for this game is simple here: all you have to do in Frogger is help a little frog cross a busy 4 lane intersection filled with deadly on coming vehicles but it doesn't end there. After you manage to survive the onslaught of cars, tanks, and trucks you must guide your frog through the dangerous swamp area. The swamp is perhaps more difficult then the streets because your little guy can't swim and he must jump on moving logs and turtles to make it home. Once you fill all 5 holes with 5 five frogs on the top of the screen you can complete the level but if you manage get all the frogs home and finish the level the traffic gets faster and the hazards become even greater.
Sure, getting a small frog across the screen sounds pretty easy but some lanes of cars go faster than others and the trucks sure take up a lot of room to block your poor little frog on the road. While in the swamp you have to be careful of disappearing lily pads, snakes, and vicious alligators too. Careful yet quick movements are key to survival. You wimps can forget about taking your time too because you have only 60 seconds to get to the top or you will die.
Frogger almost loses nothing in this translation. Sure, the graphics are out dated and there is little to no detail to speak of like you would expect from a Colecovision title and this version never slows down or flickers despite all the things going back and front on screen. This version even includes the famous background music that the Atari 2600 and Intellivision editions didn't have (you even have the option to turn it off) and the start up music and the level complete tracks are still here as well. All the cool sound effects are still here too like when Frogger hops around or when he dies. Is it so bad that I like hearing the sound when the Frog gets crushed by a truck? The sounds are just like the arcade game I remember!
The reason so many gamers love this game is because it's just a great example of timing and skill plus how could not you love the story of a frog trying to get home, eh? Frogger the arcade game was even heavily featured in an episode of Seinfeld during it's last season. If you have not seen that show yet; George still had the top score for a old Frogger arcade cabinet. He was trying to take the huge game home but he must save the battery life in the process. This Frogger episode was way funnier then that rather disappointing final show by the way. Frogger for the Colecovision is one of the closest home versions to the original I played for the years and it was even more impressive back in the day. If you got a old Coleco laying around the house and you're looking for a great game, this is a must own.