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.