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Classic Game Spotlight:
Frogger
Why did the chicken cross the road?
To get to the Frogger machine on the other side!
Without doubt, Frogger is one of the best known video game characters of all time. The original video arcade machine was released in 1981, and soon the game was ported to every major home video game system and home computer system. The premise was novel for the time: get your frogs across a busy highway and a treacherous river, dodging cars, trucks, snakes, and crocodiles. Twenty-six years later, the game’s simple mechanics have remained popular in numerous sequels and re-releases.
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Play Frogger Now!
There are literally hundreds of Frogger versions available to play. Here are just two versions to try:
* The Original Frogger (click to play). A shockwave version of the original Frogger Arcade game. This is an authentic replica of the original Frogger experience and plays in your web-browser. (Explore the rest of the FroggyVille site for lots and lots of Frog-related information).
* Froggy Ribbit (download and install to play). Part of the 2006 Retro Remake competition, this homebrew Frogger version includes updated visuals and a funky music track, but remains true to the original’s playability.
Frogger Facts
* Frogger’s original working title was the far less imaginative “Highway Crossing Frog”.
* Game developer Activision also produced a “Highway Crossing” game entitled Freeway for the Atari 2600, featuring a chicken. Both Frogger and Freeway were produced independently and released in 1981.
* There are actually two versions of Frogger for the Atari 2600. Parker Bros. (famous for Monopoly and other board games) acquired the cartridge rights, but not the magnetic media rights. This allowed Sega to make their own version for the Atari 2600 Supercharger system. Frogger is one of the few games that had two different companies make official versions of the same game for the same game system.
* Frogger has had many official sequels (and even more un-official clones, knock-offs, and homages). The 1984 release “Frogger II: ThreeDeep” saw our little frogs traverse an underwater world, a lake surface, and even take to the sky. Hasbro released several 3D Frogger versions in the late 1990s, and Konami recently released several Frogger-themed adventure games for the Game Boy Advance. The latest Frogger incarnation can be played on Xbox Live.
* Frogger’s ongoing impact on Pop Culture can be seen in many places. Click to view a Seinfeld Parody, a Robot Chicken sketch, and - for a blast of nostalgia - the original Parker Bros. TV commercial.
* Frogger has been paid tribute to in several Wonderland games, including Return To Wonderland (in World 8, Level 6) and Wonderland Adventures (in the Wondertown Video Arcade).
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