Superfrog is one of those unforgetable titles
that you remember by heart. Team 17 was one of the biggest and most respected Amiga
developers around the time when Superfrog was released, and it seemed they were unable to
fail with their games. They had previously released the ULTRA-KILLER Alien Breed and
Project X, and Assassin was also a very popular title. They would later on create the
oh-so-popular Worms series, which took them even higher for a while, but eventually took
them down even lower than they were before, and today they are almost forgotten. But let's
talk about the times when computers were cool instead!
Superfrog is an ordinary jump'n'shoot platformer, but still an unique Amiga title because
of it's super-smooth graphics and wonderful levels. We had already seen Gremlin's Zool one
year earlier, but it wasn't much of a Sonic the Hedgehog-killer people had spoken of.
Superfrog however, was the first game that proved that you don't need to own a Super
Nintendo to play a great platformer!
The game tells the story of a young prince, who is turned into a green frog by the Evil
Witch when he tries to stop her from kidnapping the beautiful Princess. He later finds out
that he has superpowers as a frog, and decides to rescue the princess in order to restore
the kingdom. This is presented to the player through an opening sequence animated by
no-one less than Eric Schwartz! (author of Sabrina Online).
The graphics of Superfrog may look simple, but you will soon realize how amazing it is.
It's not overdone in anyway, not too much and not too less. You can clearly see where all
objects are, and it plays absolutely 100% smooth, even when Superfrog is running faster
than the wind after he picks up a turbo bonus. Not like Zool, which would get choppy at
some stages when there was much on the screen or fast animation. The controls are easy to
master, and Superfrog has his blobby assistant friend, Destructo Spud (who pretty much
looks like a green tennisball with eyes) which you as the player can throw at enemies. You
can also pick up wings, which enables Superfrog to hover for a while when in the air.
The musical part of this wonderful game is... wonderful. It is composed by Allister
Brimble who also made the music in Alien Breed, Assassin, Body Blows, Overdrive, Project
X, and pretty much every other Team 17 game at that time (my favourite from Allister is
the Mortal Kombat music however!). It's very cute and fits the game perfectly. You will
eventually find yourself hooked as you discover yourself humming the melodies even when
you've turned off the computer.
The CD32 version isn't improved at all from the floppy version, except there's no loading
time and the controls has been updated a little (2-button support). It would have been
cool to hear the music as CDDA instead, but the game is so good anyway so it's really
nothing to complain about. There is no save feature in the game, so instead it uses a
password system. The player collects coins during each level, and at the end of every
level you get to GAMBLE. You are taken to the slot machine where you can gamble with the
coins collected. You have to win the password for the next level, which is a cool idea
for the game, but can also be frustrating if you need to turn off the game and were unable
to win a password. You can also win extra lives!
This makes an excellent CD32 title as the game is very console-like. People
with Super
Nintendo and Sega Megadrive were spoiled for years with beautiful platformers, so now it
was finally time for Amiga owners to enjoy a top-quality platformer. Superfrog rulez!
And oh... I forgot to tell you. There is also a secret bonus level hidden somewhere. I
won't say what it is, but it's got something to do with Project X *hint hint* :D :D |
