Frogger Decades
Score: 49% ESRB: 9+ Publisher: Konami Developer: Konami Media: Download/1 Players: 1 Genre: Action/ Puzzle
Graphics & Sound: The graphics in Frogger Decades are updated nicely and look good. There are nice little details in the levels and lots of new enemy characters that were never around in Frogger's days of old. The alligators are back, but you also have rhinos' backs to ride on, as well as the standard lily pads. You'll find large and small crabs, poisonous mushrooms, raccoons, snails and various other creatures designed to thwart Frogger's progress as he makes his way through an obscure path on the way to his birthday party. One thing I found odd was the fact that, on rare occasion, Frogger's appearance would revert back to his 8-bit days, but only for a moment. I'm not sure what brought this on, but it was strange, almost like a glitch but it seemed intentional. I'm sure this is simply a nod to the old look of Frogger, but since there's no explanation, it may just occur randomly. The sound effects are a blend of the old and new. You can hear classic Frogger sounds, along with some new ones thrown in. The background music is upbeat and peppy and it works well for the game. It has a bluesy/ragtime feel to it.
Gameplay: When you begin Frogger Decades, you can play in either Story Mode or Time Attack. There's an additional mode that is locked to you, however you can open it upon completion of Story Mode. In Story Mode, Frogger's friends have planned a surprise birthday party for him, but Doc Croc has tampered with the invitation and erased the quick path leading to the party's location, replacing it with a convoluted one taking him through many different and varied worlds including a boggy swamp, an industrial area and even a pirate ship. Along the way, Frogger will need sustenance in the form of bugs and resting spots that show up as red flags. The screen is always advancing behind you, so you can't take an indefinite time to decide where to jump or how to plan your moves, because once the bottom of the screen catches up to you, Frogger dies. That being said, it really doesn't seem to matter, since you start right where you left off and you can do this over and over again. Time Attack seems pretty much the same as Story Mode except that a clock is continuously spinning, so you are trying for your best time. You can only play worlds that you have gotten to on the Story Mode, so, at first, World One will be all that is available to you.
Difficulty: The difficulty in Frogger Decades can't be changed, so it is what it is... and it's tough. The concept of the original Frogger from back in the day was never all that hard, but the game could be brutal if you didn't have good timing. However, in Frogger Decades, more often than not, it's the inability to execute the move you want that causes you frustration. In the case of Frogger Decades, the difficulty is compounded by wonky swiping controls and an ever-advancing death line that forces you to make decisions quicker than you may want. Frogger Decades forces you to use moves that only work part of the time and are the only way to proceed. If you can't properly execute these moves very quickly you die, although the only penalty for dying is the aggravation of having to wait a bit before trying again from where you just were. The screen is constantly moving forward, and waiting too long or trying your move too many times results in death as well. These factors combine to the detriment of the game, removing the chance of it being fun. Einstein's definition of insanity comes to mind here - and for me, it was easier to simply turn the game off. More on the weird controls below in Game Mechanics.
Game Mechanics: The first thing that bothered me about Frogger Decades was the forced tablet style of play. Instead of allowing you to play the game widescreen or tablet style, as most games do, you absolutely must play it tablet style. You do have the ability to turn the camera slightly and to pinch-to-zoom, but it didn't help much. The game begins pleasantly enough with a nice little cut scene about Frogger's friends, the party and Doc Croc trying to divert the little green guy. The first level starts off with a minimum of obstacles and creatures trying to kill Frogger. At the bottom of the screen, you'll get a "tutorial" that will pop up each time a new move is introduced. If you accomplish the move correctly, a little "x" appears over the number for that move. If you don't, the "tutorial" screen simply goes away, eventually, and you can still progress through the game, having not mastered the move. This will come back to bite you later, mind you. The controls in Frogger Decades just don't feel right for the series. I would have thought that it would have made sense to simply tap where you wanted Frogger to jump, but instead, you swipe your finger in the direction he is to jump. If you want to make Frogger stick his tongue out, you tap in front of him. Almost the same move is used to make him jump in place to reach out of the way bugs. Consequently, I accidentally do one move instead of the other all the time. To make Frogger do a longer forward jump, you press for a second or two and then swipe forward. This move is the one that I didn't learn properly from the tutorial, yet I was allowed to progress until it was impossible for me to go any further. Not cool. I did finally learn how to do it, but the drawing description just wasn't specific enough or the move simply didn't work each time. I was a big Frogger fan back in the day, but sadly Frogger Decades sullies the series' classic name in a big way. I can't recommend this game, even to fans of the original, longing for a taste of nostalgia. All you'll find here is the bitter flavor of frustration.
-Psibabe, GameVortex Communications AKA Ashley Perkins
Related Links: Frogger Decades | iTunes Page
SkyDrift Crimson Alliance