fave childhood game
A reinvention of the classical arcade game surrounding a frog crossing the street into a 3D platformer in the PS1 style. Its controls haven't aged the best but the camera control is better than your typical one from the time considering how frogger moves. It certainly has charm put into it, even though the series didn't make much of it later on.
Of all the games called "Frogger 2", this is the one I grew up with. A continuation on the first Frogger reboot, it takes the same general approach to the 1997 game's whole thing and repackages it, nicer and friendlier for novice gamers. As a kid, I absolutely preferred this to its sequel.
These days? It's not bad, but it feels fairly shallow compared to its predecessor. Frogger '97 could be taken as a sandbox game, since the player is free in how they approach each level and look for each Baby Frog. This game's levels are linear obstacle courses, with Baby Frogs always collected in the same order. This lets the game set itself up for some more dynamic set pieces, like your prerequisite boulder chase, the floor-by-floor layout of "Research Facility", and a full three-lap race in "Space Chase". I think these are fine, and this clearly worked given how many subsequent Froggers imitated this format, but there's less of a sense of discovery as you explore each environment, at least for me.
The multiple playable characters are a neat touch. The differences are all aesthetic, but that's fine - Lillie is a cute legacy nod, Tad was honestly a cool surprise as a kid, playable Swampy feels very K. Rool-lite, and the Multiplayer/Time Trial-exclusive characters are fun experiments, even if I wish they were more relevant to the series (but then Frogger has such a scattered identity as a series, so maybe this is asking too much).
I'll be honest, there's something to the cutscenes I don't like. Part of it is the lack of texture work - stuff like water and Lillie's hair just looks rough. Part of it is how awkwardly it tries to explain the different level themes. Alright, I get Frogger and Lillie splitting up to explore the Underground/Jungle levels. I get Lillie ending up in a science lab at the edge of the jungle. I... don't get why Swampy goes to space. I especially don't get why Swampy returns from space and goes to his Halloween factory. Why does he have a Halloween factory? As a kid, I honestly thought the plot somehow involved Frogger going to an alien Halloween planet, and Swampy - who was established in the opening cutscene as being from the arcade and '97 games - was really an alien the whole time. And how, exactly, do the Baby Frogs factor into his master plan? Is his self-aggrandizing revenge game... powered by Baby Frogs? Contains a live frog for the game-owner to shoot? I never got that. I know, I know, not that important...
For my last playthrough, I played the game in Hard mode. The only difference between Hard and Normal difficulties is that Hard places a time limit. Is it weird that I found Hard easier than usual? I generally feel obliged to get all the coins when I play this game, but with the time limit in place, I just went for the goal right away (not sure it's actually possible to get all the coins on Hard). Turned a 3-hour game into a 45-minute one. Replaying this immediately after Frogger '97 made an easier game feel even more toothless.
P.S. - love that unlockable cheat that lets you eat random enemies and environmental features. Wouldn't mind more games having something like that.
These days? It's not bad, but it feels fairly shallow compared to its predecessor. Frogger '97 could be taken as a sandbox game, since the player is free in how they approach each level and look for each Baby Frog. This game's levels are linear obstacle courses, with Baby Frogs always collected in the same order. This lets the game set itself up for some more dynamic set pieces, like your prerequisite boulder chase, the floor-by-floor layout of "Research Facility", and a full three-lap race in "Space Chase". I think these are fine, and this clearly worked given how many subsequent Froggers imitated this format, but there's less of a sense of discovery as you explore each environment, at least for me.
The multiple playable characters are a neat touch. The differences are all aesthetic, but that's fine - Lillie is a cute legacy nod, Tad was honestly a cool surprise as a kid, playable Swampy feels very K. Rool-lite, and the Multiplayer/Time Trial-exclusive characters are fun experiments, even if I wish they were more relevant to the series (but then Frogger has such a scattered identity as a series, so maybe this is asking too much).
I'll be honest, there's something to the cutscenes I don't like. Part of it is the lack of texture work - stuff like water and Lillie's hair just looks rough. Part of it is how awkwardly it tries to explain the different level themes. Alright, I get Frogger and Lillie splitting up to explore the Underground/Jungle levels. I get Lillie ending up in a science lab at the edge of the jungle. I... don't get why Swampy goes to space. I especially don't get why Swampy returns from space and goes to his Halloween factory. Why does he have a Halloween factory? As a kid, I honestly thought the plot somehow involved Frogger going to an alien Halloween planet, and Swampy - who was established in the opening cutscene as being from the arcade and '97 games - was really an alien the whole time. And how, exactly, do the Baby Frogs factor into his master plan? Is his self-aggrandizing revenge game... powered by Baby Frogs? Contains a live frog for the game-owner to shoot? I never got that. I know, I know, not that important...
For my last playthrough, I played the game in Hard mode. The only difference between Hard and Normal difficulties is that Hard places a time limit. Is it weird that I found Hard easier than usual? I generally feel obliged to get all the coins when I play this game, but with the time limit in place, I just went for the goal right away (not sure it's actually possible to get all the coins on Hard). Turned a 3-hour game into a 45-minute one. Replaying this immediately after Frogger '97 made an easier game feel even more toothless.
P.S. - love that unlockable cheat that lets you eat random enemies and environmental features. Wouldn't mind more games having something like that.
i had the demo for this one as a kid
so i didn't beat it until i was a quite bit older used to think it was hard and even a bit scary (i was very young) but then returning to it yah very easy and not remotely scary lol
so i didn't beat it until i was a quite bit older used to think it was hard and even a bit scary (i was very young) but then returning to it yah very easy and not remotely scary lol
There is no reason that they should have gone THIS HARD on a soundtrack for Frogger 2. Like certified bangers from start to finish.
Decent game in short bursts.
absolutely blasted game. tell me you dont feel the absolute edge riding thrill of life itself when you find one of your baby froggies in a colossal anthole while your wife is pulling some indiana jones shit to get the other.
for real though loved this game. the gold standard as far as extending and breathing new life into an arcade mechanic and a classic videogame.
for real though loved this game. the gold standard as far as extending and breathing new life into an arcade mechanic and a classic videogame.
had this for pc don't remember much other than good
The Frogger PS1 games were childhood classics. I honestly hold both of those games with high respect in my heart.
Huge improvement on every level
This game only gets as high as 2 stars because the multiplayer and bonus stages were epic, but I hated the single player for some reason, liked Frogger 1 better despite its extreme difficulty.
honestly this game rules and is leagues better than kirby superstar
Kind of mid when compared to the 1st one but still really solid and fun
this box art used to give me nightmares
's a good game tho i recommend it
's a good game tho i recommend it
Honestly this game isn't bad. It's a pretty straight forward game but it's got some charm to it. I don't know what to even call it because it plays like the original classic Frogger but with a 3D twist and some height to it allowing you to go up and down things. I wouldn't really call it a platformer either because.
I remember the multiplayer being pretty okay as well.
I remember the multiplayer being pretty okay as well.
One of the first video games I played as a child. It was the first game I ever completed to the end, which sparked the start of my gaming career.
This game has a surprising amount of child violence
The much more approachable, relaxed version of Frogger, where theres some story and a traditional sense of progression. I like it, its fine, maybe even warranted compared to the wall that is Frogger 1.
Played this one a lot when I was younger. Great soundtrack, pretty fun gameplay. On the short side, but a pretty enjoyable time.
Difficulty from the first game was dropped but sadly too much as it's a bit easy although the level design itself is a lot better. The soundtrack is once again amazing.
This was a fun and cute little game, definitely is the Pac-Man World to Frogger.
Fun short game. Fun to see where Zapper started off at, and makes me wish Indie dev's were making nostalgia frogger-like games.
preddy fun
fuck this game
Legit fantastic music and sound design
a solid sequel and leagues easier than its predecessor. kinda suffers from being too short tho. don't play the ps1 version.
unrelated anecdote: i vividly remember the install screen art for the pc version of frogger 2 having a edgy kangaroo character (not roobie) but i don't think he ever appears in the game. who is he. i want to know.
unrelated anecdote: i vividly remember the install screen art for the pc version of frogger 2 having a edgy kangaroo character (not roobie) but i don't think he ever appears in the game. who is he. i want to know.
Such a solid frogger experience with tons of worlds and unique mechanics to play around with. Very good.
I think of this game so often for some reason. It was actually decent.
very challenging, sometimes to a fault. if you could rotate in place this game would be so much smoother. must admit it's already smooth as butter as-is, to be fair. too short though