Frogger
The object of Frogger was almost Zen-like: to get to the
other side. But considerably less Zen were the many obstacles in your
path: zooming cars, trucks and buses, snakes, alligators and
unpredictable turtles. What started as the simple twist on an old joke
("Why did the frog cross the road?") quickly turned into the world's
most dangerous commute.
Frogger started your daredevil amphibian at the bottom of
the screen, separated from his five lily pad homes by a busy street
and a cluttered river. Using the joystick to hop up, down, left and
right, you guided your frog pal up and around the speeding vehicles to
the relative safety of a dirt median. Past that, it was all water,
which for some reason killed this particular amphibian. To stay alive,
the frog had to hop from log to log and onto the backs of swimming
turtles. Adding to the danger was the turtles' tendency to drop down
for an underwater swim. If those red-backed turtles suddenly turned
green, you knew it was time to hop off or lose a life.
After one frog reached one of the five lily pads (and you only had
a limited time to get there), another would start at the bottom until
all five slots were filled. Once that was done, a new level began,
each harder than the last. As the game progressed, the cars and logs
got faster, and new enemies began to appear. Snakes roamed the median
and the logs, and certain logs were replaced with hungry alligators.
But if it was any consolation, female frogs and tasty flies would also
sometimes appear, giving you a chance to earn a few extra points.
It was an instantly catchy concept, backed up with bright graphics
and an unforgettable musical refrain. Like Pac-Man, Donkey
Kong and a handful of other games released around the same
time, Frogger helped turn the video game industry into a
genuine phenomenon, spreading into music ('Froggy's Lament' made the
Pac-Man Fever album), merchandising and even Saturday morning
cartoons.
A rights battle between designer Konami and US distributor
Sega/Gremlin kept Frogger from spawning as many sequels as some
of its contemporaries, but the original game remains one of the most
well-known titles in arcade history.
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