Naming a work “_____ Returns” is a statement. Perhaps the property went into dormancy for years or even decades. Maybe the latest entries lost sight of what made its predecessors so compelling. Regardless, the talent working on this installment are confident; they know that this installment will put the franchise back on track! Just look at Donkey Kong Country: after series developer Rare was purchased by industry newcomer Microsoft, Donkey Kong lost the widespread appeal it had for what most wrote off as unappealing, gimmicky spin-offs. Until Donkey Kong Country Returns, that is. Nintendo’s 2010 soft reboot revitalized the brand overnight and went on to define it for fifteen years (until the excellent Bananza finally took over the reins this past July).
Image: KAGE-008 / World of Longplay. The onset of digital storefronts during the seventh console generation gave publishers space to publish small-scale throwbacks. Frogger Returns wouldn’t exist otherwise.
Not every work to employ that naming convention marks an honest return to form, of course. One such example would be Konami’s oddly-named downloadable 2009 title Frogger Returns. What makes it bizarre is that the publisher already attempted a throwback through Frogger 2 a year prior. Considering that context, Frogger Returns reads less as the triumphant comeback of an icon and more of a repudiation of his atrocious 2008 Xbox 360 exclusive. Which… well, sure. The first Frogger remains a serviceable time killer, and there’s room in my library for another. Conveniently, Returns graced every system its immediate predecessor did not: the PlayStation 3, Wii, and Nintendo DSi. Note: the DSiWare version hit the following year and it’s the one I’m reviewing via my Nintendo 3DS.
First, a crash course on Frogger. You have forty-five seconds to reach Frogger’s home. Movement is simple: he can hop up, down, left, or right; Frogger lacks any other abilities. Konami’s quarter-guzzler whisks you through a litany of lethal hazards. The bottom half of the screen is a series of busy roads, while snakes roam the swampy top half. Platforms float horizontally across the latter, some of which are alligators; landing atop their heads is fatal! Oddly, the batrachian can’t swim, so touching the water ensures a swift death—and, naturally, some turtles you can ride will dive underwater. Altogether, there are five cubbies for Frogger to enter, and once you hit one, another anuran spawns at the bottom of the screen; rinse and repeat. Filling a stage brings you to the next one, and there are five in total. The appeal’s in attaining a new high score, something Frogger encourages through bonus-yielding lady frogs and flies. Entering Frogger’s home and clearing a level yields extra points, too. This is one of “the” coin-op staples, to the point where Seinfeld paid tribute to it.
Image: KAGE-008 / World of Longplay. Moving Frogger’s done through the control pad or A, B, X, and Y buttons. His movement speed in Returns is consistent with the original.
Much of that persists into Frogger Returns: the grid-based movement, lethal hazards, focus on score attacking, and ultimate goal of going home (George Costanza is not along for the ride, however). Now, Returns only has four stages, one shy of the original—it is a DSiWare romp, in fairness. Not a lotta room for content considering the platform’s harsh memory cap. To help compensate, Returns recycles its material across four modes. “Arcade Mode” is the main attraction and, with its cycling through each level and the gradual increase in difficulty, is the closest we get to an authentic Frogger experience. “Time Trial” asks you to finish either one or all four stages as quickly as possible. “Score Attack” is structured similarly; it and “Arcade” also only give one minute to reach Frogger’s abode. Finally, “Free Play” is the “casual” option where you marathon the campaign with the luxury of infinite lives. Regrettably, the appeal in achieving new high scores suffers after you discover Returns’ leaderboards lack online functionality. At least, that’s true of the DSi version. Dunno about the others, though any online connectivity the Wii version supported would undoubtedly be down now.
As the opening level, Big City acquaints players with the basics; it’s Returns’ most open, least hectic level. However, it gradually escalates in intensity: Frogger’s gotta traverse a river at the midway point, some highways thereafter, and finally two moving conveyor belts (each level is paced similarly, dedicating chunks to different gimmicks). The initial stretch also contains thick bushes Frogger must walk around, and later levels host similar nuisances. This metropolis is also one of two levels to contain a button you can hop on; doing so here is optional and briefly freezes enemies. Nearly every idea unique to Returns is present in Big City in some capacity.
Image: KAGE-008 / World of Longplay. Initial stretches of a stage tend to be straightforward. Then developer Hijinx Studios starts tossing out twists.
The next three levels try to tweak the routine. Level 2 whisks you across more conveyor belts before asking you to dodge subways, hop along another wave, and use a button to move a third batch until they’re positioned in a manner you can safely jump across. Sewer starts with a typical Frogger shlep across platforms that dip underwater before funneling you through a linear, steam-ridden route. Then, you’ll manage across a bunch of submerged crates that temporarily rise out of the water in predictable patterns. Its final stretch is more kosher Frogger: hop along footholds and evade pests. Swamp follows suit; it has no gimmicks beyond the return of the alligators and a monkey who throws bananas.
All four stages are comparable in size and channel the “I gotta keep moving!” anxiety that powers the original. Hijinx Studios tried their best to imbue each with a distinct flair, too. Big City, Subway, Sewers, and Swamp share select assets—antagonistic rats lurk the middle two, for instance—but boast enough distinct qualities as to not blur together.
Image: KAGE-008 / World of Longplay. Visually, Sewer is Returns’ most memorable stage. It boasts the most distinct color palette, one littered with dirty, industrial yellows and blacks.
Returns’ biggest shakeup to the Frogger formula is probably its items, luxuries that temporarily make things easier. Green cubes provide a little extra time. Blue cubes temporarily immobilize enemies. Purple, in contrast, temporarily move them in reverse (this caused me a few embarrassing deaths when I wasn’t paying close attention). Unquestionably the handiest goodie, yellow cubes shield the adventurous amphibian. It only lasts for a brief spell, but it’s typically just long enough to safely make a beeline for his den. Oh, and purple female frogs still give a point bonus if you make it there after securing one.
Reaching Frogger’s lairs is tougher than it should be, though. Big City establishes a big reason why: Returns’ camera is unreliable. Where the original and Frogger 2 firmly maintain an overhead perspective, the camera angle here adjusts slightly as you move—which can unintentionally make it hard to gauge whether you’re about to leap on a platform or fall overboard. Thanks to the small screen, your view of what’s to your left and right is limited, meaning faster hazards can blindside you. Even the turtles and alligators you use as platforms are less forgiving: jumping on the former’s heads or latter’s tails causes the croaker to drown (alligators still devour Frogger should you land on their heads, of course). It all coalesces into an experience where a few too many life-or-death leaps feel unsafe, even unfair.
Image: KAGE-008 / World of Longplay. Okay… look. Maybe this is on me, but I feel like moving up once here should cause Frogger to jump on that log. Instead, he’ll land on another plop of land. Parts of Swamp are similar, except you will land on a log. It’s disorienting!
As far as I can tell, all three versions of Returns are equal in terms of content, though the presentation took a considerable hit in the conversion to the DSi. For whatever it’s worth, the convenience of playing it on the go is nice, and since the 3DS eShop was nearing its end, I decided to bite the bullet and give Returns a shot (the DSi and Wii online storefronts were long gone, and I didn’t have access to my PS3 at the time to check if it’s still available there). Now, the console versions aren’t gorgeous—though going by the footage I’ve seen, their cameras seem steadier—but the DSi one looks ridiculously cheap. Models are blocky, textures and shading are subpar, the presentation’s lacking, and the music lacks anything that could be called a melody.
Three years after Returns, Konami published Frogger: Hyper Arcade Edition, another attempt to recapture the icon’s glory days. Overall, it eclipses Frogger 2 and Returns, though it’s still no great shakes and, unsurprisingly, also fell into obscurity. Game development is a grueling ordeal, of course, and I harbor no ill will towards the people behind these titles; it’s clear they were quick, cheap cash-ins Konami haphazardly tossed out to capitalize on a wave of retro revivals (a theme consistent with their other Hijinx collaborations; the studio went on to helm a forgotten Vandal Hearts revival and the maligned Silent Hill HD Collection).
Image: KAGE-008 / World of Longplay. While it’s a small detail, I like that the definitive Frogger setting, the bayou, was reserved for the finale. Reaching it actually kinda felt like a true homecoming!
Still, it is disappointing that Frogger’s console stints during this era wound up so forgettable. While the series never withered away, a traditional, enjoyable follow-up on my 360 or 3DS would’ve been a pleasant surprise! Instead, where contemporaries like Pac-Man straddled the line between nostalgia and innovation elegantly, Frogger never successfully evolved its core conceits. Consequently, the arcade amphibian has fallen off my radar, but one day I’ll fish up some of his other curios and hope to discover a gem or two.
Image: KAGE-008 / World of Longplay. And, hey, Frogger Returns beats the last DSiWare game I dissected. Gotta give Konami and Hijinx props for managing that much, I guess.
Thanks to Wolfman for helping with edits.
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