Blog:Frogger (Game Gear)

Frogger (Game Gear)

by CRV (talk) | Originally posted June 19, 2021

One frog. One mission. To save lives.

The Frogger arcade game was created by Konami, but it was a massive hit for Sega, the game's distributor. Early in the life of their Game Gear system, they decided to revisit the golden age classic, but this portable iteration would not see the light of day until the prototype appeared in the early 2000s.

That's a shame, too. Some of the games Konami came out with later are fine, but this Game Gear version is all you really need from a new Frogger. No voice acting, not much of a story, no puzzles — it simply adapts and enhances the original formula.

The objective has been changed up a bit. In the arcade game, you crossed a road and a river to get to the other side. Here, you still have to avoid traffic and water, but now you must also rescue frogs found throughout the stage and bring them back home.

And you won't just be doing it across a modern highway, either. You'll even go back in time to ancient Japan, where you'll have to hop over lava, and to prehistoric times, where you must dodge giant beasts.

The other big change is the addition of the tongue mechanic, several years before the Hasbro game finally introduced it to the public. You can scarf up flies and fruit for bonus points.

As was alluded to earlier, Game Gear Frogger was never released. The game languished on magazine release lists for months. Some have speculated it was because of legal issues between Konami and Sega. A source close to development thought it was rejected because the game was too dated. That didn't stop Sega from bringing out Pengo for the Game Gear's Japanese launch, though.

Said source also confirmed Game Gear Frogger was developed by S-Plan, which was run by former Sanritsu planner/graphic designer Junzo Shimada.

The American company Majesco re-released the Game Gear in 2001. The back of the box touted Frogger with a screenshot from what looks like the Genesis version, but it was quietly cancelled. It's unknown if this would have been the old version Sega passed on or some new version commissioned by Majesco.

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Post updated June 21, 2021