My Frogger Toy Trials Review

Once upon a time, there was a frog. Now, this frog heard that the chicken had crossed the road and decided to one-up him by crossing both the road and the river. This is the story of Frogger, one of the endearing classic games released while gaming was in its initial ascent. Cloned by such games as Activision’s Freeway on the Atari 2600, Frogger has gone on to spur a long series of games, most of which have not deviated from the square-hopping action of the original game. The latest game in this line of Frogger titles is My Frogger: Toy Trials. But, is this latest game in the series a furthering or a detriment to the series? Read on to find out.

Graphically, My Frogger: Toy Trials is pretty good, although there are better games on the DS graphically. The graphics are somewhat cutesy and bright, but the game seems to be aimed at younger gamers, so that is to be expected. The environments all look appropriate for what they are supposed to be also. Overall, there’s nothing overly significant in the graphics that’s worth complaining about.

In terms of sound, the sound effects are competent, but not overly impressive. They are pretty standard fare across the board, with little creativity to be seen, but they aren’t atrociously bad. The music likewise is okay, but not overly memorable. Like most handheld games, this game uses textboxes instead of voice acting, but that’s so normal that I can’t complain about it too much. Overall, the sound doesn’t really add anything to the game, but it doesn’t take anything away from the game either.

In terms of gameplay, most of the levels are pretty standard for what is to be found in Frogger games these days, namely, square-based jumping. This form of gameplay is what Frogger is known for, but it does come across as a bit dated anymore. Still, for the true Frogger fanatic, this won’t be as big of a problem as such gameplay will appeal to them, and the square-based gameplay would help with introducing the younger generation to gaming without making it overly difficult to understand.

That is, however, with one exception. It’s easy enough to understand using the arrow keys to move and using the B button to jump forward, and even using the Y button to utilize the special ability of whatever costume Frogger is currently wearing. However, when you start having to use the L and R buttons to turn Frogger before jumps, a couple mistakes may occur before you get used to it. Still, the control scheme is simpler than what is to be found in many games.

Frogger can get a variety of costumes as you progress through the game, and each costume gives him a different Y ability. Changing between costumes at checkpoints to utilize their various abilities will be necessary and will only become more necessary as you progress through the game. Most of the puzzles aren’t too difficult to figure out, but some of them may take a bit of time to figure out, especially for younger players.

The story is the type that serves only to push the game along and give you an excuse for playing the levels, but isn’t too deep or involved at all. Still, if you truly want a diversion from the main game, you can unlock mini-games that can be played in either single player or multi-player. Also, there are times when there are levels with different playstyles than the main levels, such as one where you have to use the stylus to roll a large frog through a level. These things add some diversity to the game and prevent it from becoming repetitive.

Anyway, the game isn’t bad by any means, but the story isn’t particularly lengthy, and the mini-games and the multi-player modes, which I assume (but can’t confirm, as I have nobody to play against) involve the mini-games that involve multiple characters, wouldn’t amount to much. So this game might be one that only the hardcore Frogger fans should get now, and the rest of you should wait for a price drop if you’re going to get it at all.