Froggie – A Retro Platformer does exactly what it says on the cartridge, so to speak. It’s a 2-bit Platformer where the titular Froggie hops, wall climbs and slides through 100 levels.
Story
Froggie – A Retro Platformer has no story but if I had to make one up based on the gameplay, Froggie is trapped in a dungeon with 100 rooms and in order to escape he must traverse through each room avoiding treacherous spikes, chasms, lasers and machinery. Killing adorable animals defending their habitat and crushing robots doing their job is optional.
Gameplay
Much like its 2-bit art style, the gameplay is equally as varied – you run and you jump. Froggie starts at one end of the room and Froggie must get to the door at the other end. Jump over enemies to avoid them or jump on them to destroy them. Every room has environmental hazards to avoid, and the difficulty in each stage is learning how to manoeuvre past enemies and these hazards in tandem. The rooms vary in length; as one can imagine, rooms start off small but grow in complexity the further you go.
Froggie can be killed in one hit but thankfully the rooms reload almost instantaneously, allowing the player to try-and-try again without any load screens. With arcade games like Froggie – A Retro Platformer, this is imperative for an enjoyable experience, especially when death is frequent and inevitable.
Level Design
There are 100 levels but they don’t have much variety. You will see the same assets used over-and-over, so your eyes will grow accustomed (and potentially quite bored) by room 50. In all honesty, Froggie – A Retro Platformer comes across as a game jam submission. The levels feel like they have been hastily put together and this is most evident when checkpoints appear near the exit, or when entire sections have nothing to do other than run through them.
Sound Design
Froggie – A Retro Platformer has one song to accompany you through all 100 rooms and its repetitive Techno beat will get stuck in your head. Personally, I hated it and would have preferred something more relaxing. However, the soundtrack (if you can call it a soundtrack) informs the theme of the game, which is all about speed, chaos and repetition.
Conclusion
Should you play it? Maybe
Why… Froggie – A Retro Platformer definitely achieves what it sets out to do, and that’s 100 levels of retro platforming. For a console game though, it doesn’t meet the bar. The entire time, I felt like I was playing a mobile game. So in summary, get Froggie – A Retro Platformer if you need something quick to play on your commute.
Final Score: 5/10
Reviewed on Xbox Series S
Developer: East Asiasoft and Vergiu Games
Publisher: East Asiasoft and Vergiu Games
Playable on: Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4/5, Nintendo Switch
Released: 21st February 2024
