Frogger

Frogger was released in 1981 and is considered to be one of the greatest classic video games of all time. The goal of the player is to safely maneuver frogs across a road that is full of cars, trucks and other hazards in the road. Upon passing the road, a player must then maneuver the frogs through a river that is also filled with hazards. Although Frogger had a simple logic to it, gamers fell in love with it when it was released and it became one the most talked about games.

The game is played with only a joystick that is used to move left, right, up and down. When a game starts, a player will usually have three lives. There are other game variations that have more lives. Frogger is situated at the bottom of the screen and must move in an upward horizontal way to reach the frog homes. These frog homes are located on the top of the screen. When a player fills each of these homes with a frog, they will have passed the level and will begin play on the next level. Everytime a player passes a level, the next level will be more difficult than the last. The cars and other hazards on the road will get faster, and there will be more traffic. Also, the river will introduce many more hazards.

Frogger crossing the road

During the game., the road is the first thing that Frogger must cross before reaching the middle platform that separates the road from the river. The road will have cars, trucks, vans, taxis, bicycles, motorcycles, dune buggies and bulldozers running horizontally on it. Many of these road hazards are introduced to the player as they get to farther levels in the game. If Frogger is hit by any of these road hazards, a player will lose a life and start over at the bottom of the screen. When a player gets to advanced levels, the cars and other hazards on the road will get really fast and it will become very challenging for a player to cross the road.
 

Frogger crossing the river

In the first level, a player will learn how to jump from moving logs and swimming turtles to make his way across the river. Frogger is always safe when he is on a log, but if he is still on it when it hits the corner of the screen, he will die. The same applies to the swimming turtles. Speaking of the turtles, a player will have to be careful when riding them because they dive under the water and resurface. If Frogger is on top of a turtle that dives, he will die and the player will lose a life. A player will be able to see signs that a turtle is going to dive and should get off as soon as possible, if they can.

As a player advances through the game, the river crossing will introduce new challenges. Besides everything moving a lot quicker, the river will sometimes have crocodiles in place of the logs. There will also sometimes be snakes on the logs or on the middle platform that separates the road and river. In really advanced levels, the crocodile will appear in the frog's home to prevent Frogger from entering. While crossing the river, Frogger will sometimes see a pink frog that is making her way across the river also. If a player touches the pink frog, he can carry her to one of the frog homes to earn a bonus. There is also sometimes a fly buzzing around that Frogger can eat for bonus points.

Points

If a player is aiming for the highest score possible, the best way to earn points is to pass as many levels as possible. When a player has guided all five frogs to their homes, they will earn 1000 points. Getting one frog home will earn 50 points. Players actually earn points for every forward jump they do. Each forward jump is worth 10 points. Bonus points are also earned at the completion of each level that is based on how fast a player got all five frogs home. There is a 200 point bonus for escorting the pink girl frog to a home or for catching a fly.

Frogger Strategies

Like many of the golden age video games, if a player masters a pattern, they will be successful at the game. While learning the classic retro Frogger game, a player will want to learn the patterns of the cars, trucks, logs, turtles, etc. The upper left corner frog home is always the most difficult to get a frog into. This frog home, along with the one on the right corner should be the first ones a player aims for.

 My personal experience playing Frogger

I must say that during my childhood, I did not spend as much time playing Frogger as some of the other retro game classics. They did have it for awhile at the corner liquor store near my childhood home. I did spend enough time on it to get pretty good at it. I never really had any patterns and just played freestyle. To tell the honest truth, I do not remember what level I used to get to on Frogger. I do know that the vehicles on the road went by very fast and that there would be crocodiles in the river and in the frog homes. Snakes would be everywhere, and the game got quite challenging. Again though, I do not remember how far I got at Frogger. I'm not sure how many levels there are at Frogger. I have read that there is 16, 25 and 999. Do you know? If so, feel free to let our readers here know by commenting on this post.

Play Frogger online right now

This online version of Frogger will be fun to play for any Frogger fan out there. I have only played it a couple of times and it seems quite difficult for some reason. I only played it about five times and finally on the fifth try passed level two. I don't know if it's the game here or if I am rusty after not playing for about 25 years. When I have time, I will see if I can refresh my Frooger skills.

Play Frogger Now!