If there was ever any question about the lifespan of Konami mainstay Frogger, it should be laid to rest now. Sure, frogs usually have a life expectancy of about seven to fifteen years, but so far we’ve seen twenty years of rush hour weaving and platform hopping with only a few questionable outings to speak of. It should be enough to prove that this little green guy has legs, which is why it comes as no surprise to find that My Frogger Toy Trials is a solid puzzle-flavored platforming romp.
For his twentieth anniversary Frogger has experienced a rebirth of sorts, and the game sports an actual story because of this. He is no longer a simple anthropomorphic platforming mascot, but a Pokemon-type child’s toy. The story begins in the house of Kyle, the co-star of this tale. Kyle entered a contest where kids draw their own creature and eventually receive a surprisingly life-like toy in the mail. This toy is then taken to a tournament to determine which child’s creation is the best of them all.
When the titular pond-creature arrives he is met only with disappointment, because Kyle did not draw a frog, but a dragon. The story that follows is one of acceptance, teamwork, and mystery, as there are plenty of hooded evildoers and suit wearing smooth-talking animals around every turn trying to twist the competition towards their own ends. All in all it’s probably the most involved Frogger story ever, and even if it sounds like a Saturday morning anime it’s a huge step for the series.
"... a solid puzzle-flavored platforming romp."
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The gameplay takes a similar albeit smaller step forward, keeping most of the elements that made up the classic Frogger games intact, while adding a few new elements to keep things interesting. Frogger’s main gameplay hook still involves jumping — be it over ponds, enemies, or other various obstacles, he’ll be leaping until the game is over. Although the game and its levels are 3D, the game isn’t played in full 3D. Movement is grid-based, but unlike most games of that nature that hit in the mid-90’s it actually works here. Pressing a direction on the D-pad moves Frogger in that direction, but moving him jumps him forward a square. If you’re to the right of a river, pressing right will cause Frogger to plunge in, and inexplicably drown. This is where the shoulder buttons come in handy — pressing L or R will change the direction Frogger is facing without moving him. When he’s looking in the right direction he can jump over the river and onto the safe, dry land. At first this set-up is jarring, but it’s easy to get used to.
Frogger is also able to equip power-ups that grant him special abilities, like super-strength. These power-ups do little to add depth but are a nice way to break up the monotony of simply jumping around. The touch-screen also sees minimal use, though it’s nothing to write home about. Touching certain areas of the screen when Frogger sits on a catapult will send him flying across the screen, but it doesn’t add the level of interaction planned and easily could have been done with a button press.
"... power-ups do little to add depth but are a nice way to break up the monotony of simply jumping around."
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The levels themselves are well designed, though they fall into the "Platforming 101" textbook syndrome too frequently for a game that’s come out over ten years after the advent of the modern platformer. I mean come on, fire and ice levels? Whoa! Moving platforms? Box pushing? This is serious stuff! Settings and sarcasm aside, the main problem with the level design is how the bird’s eye view is used and how it affects depth perception. Sometimes you just can’t tell if a ledge is one square out of range in terms of height because of the view. It’s not a huge problem, but it makes some tasks harder than they need to be and will frustrate some gamers endlessly. If you can get past these few gripes, however, you’ll find some decent, albeit "classic" platforming design here, with a few mind-twisting puzzles to boot.
What gamers will get out of My Frogger Toy Trials will come down to a matter of taste. Will it be worth it for more mature gamers to brave the Pocket Monster coat of paint to experience a decent if derivative platformer? Probably not, which will plant this one in the "for the kiddies" camp. However, when you consider the source material it might not be such a bad place for this game to be.
