Help a little frog defeat enemies and avoid obstacles and hop to the exit in this 2-D precision platformer.  It features black and white graphics and reminds me of the old games I used to play on my Apple ][+ computer.  It’s available on all current consoles and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.

Your frog can run and jump, as well as wall climb and wall jump similar to Mario or Mega Man X (but not nearly as well).  You can stomp on some enemies, but avoid touching any other dangerous obstacle like spikes.  If you get hit, you’ll have to restart the level.  Most of these precision platformers are just one screen, but here you might have multiple ones.  Luckily you can get a checkpoint sometimes so you don’t have to restart the entire level over when you die.

Of course my main problem with these types of games is that they are just too darn difficult.  Not even into level 20 and things got ridiculous for me.  But there are other problems, too.  The play control is slightly loose and slippery, not good for these types of games.  And on stages with multiple screens, moving from one to another can be jarring, especially when there’s an obstacle you can’t see yet, or if you’re making wall jumps in vertical sections.

Kid Factor:

Froggie: A Retro Platformer is rated E for Everyone with an ESRB descriptor of Mild Fantasy Violence.  If you or an enemy gets hit, you just dissolve into pixels.  Reading skill isn’t needed, but younger gamers may find this one too difficult.

Tags: Game Reviews