Superfrog Review

Remember the Amiga, a time when you could buy a pack of floppy disks from your high school, and you wouldn’t know what you bought, it would just be a random assortment of games, because piracy was still around then just like it is now. Days when a turbo button was something you used when you wanted to run a new game, and Megadrive controllers would work natively in your new computer. If yes, you will have noticed the stream of re-releases of popular Amiga games that have been coming out of recent years, all massively popular back in the day and that have a dedicated fan base.  There are still many gems in the Amiga library that need the HD treatment, Cannon Fodder is included, but Super Frog was one of the more defining plat formers on the platform, from the well-known creators of the Worms series, Team 17. For fans of the original games, these new HD remakes can be hit or miss, some games are only remembered fondly due to mostly nostalgia, as they do not hold up to today’s standard (Check our Chaos engine review). Others work as well as they did back then, because the genre has stayed mostly the same, SuperFrog is thankfully the latter, and holds up just as you would expect any platformer to, the original Super Mario games are still fun to play, and Superfrog is too.

SuperFrog HD is exactly what you would expect, it’s the original, with lovely new 1080p graphics, for those who missed it the first time around, this game is a platformer, it’s basically the same as any platformer from that era, get from point A – B, look for all the secrets and kill any enimies that would try to stop you. Of course in this game, everything is so damn happy and sute I always felt terrible jumping on their heads or throwing green balls at the to kill them, hell even all the damn trees are happy, the sun though is chilling with his shades on. But seriously, SuperFrog HD is a platformer, it has aged well and still has some very challenging parts for old fans and new fans alike. Even finding all the secrets that vary from hidden coins that have to be knocked out Mario style, or hidden tunnels that can only be found by running into the entrance, Also found for traps to keep you away from the secrets. Giving a score at the end out of 3 stars depending on what you managed to find helps that along. Not only those but the slot machine is back, and with a lovely graphical overhaul allowing you to gamble away your hard earned coins in a game of chance,

Graphically, SuperFrog looks exactly what was released back then, just with much cleaner sprites and of course a higher resolution. All the characters and sprites have been re done, and the levels have also been changed around too, though it also comes with the original levels for the older gamers who want to experience the original game again. Though there are only some differences between the originals and the modern, but i’m sure original fans will love it.

Of course music and sound effects have to be kept the same, otherwise that sense of nostalgia is lost in translation, so do not worry all the original sound track is still here, and as good as it was when first released. I quickly remembered most of the first world and have had it stuck in my head, even when writing this, a nice feature is that the game also supports steam trading cards, so for those who love to collect, you will be able to have some super frog wallpapers and emoticons to use if you can collect them all.

Again there are many different types of remakes, and it is always lovely to see the developers put the originals and new levels together in the game, it is still a disappointment that not more games follow Halo anniversary edition, or R-Type Dimensions and allowing to play with the original graphics. Though the game runs great as it would be expected, and supports gamepads natively, which for uses of Steam big picture, it’s a good thing to hear.

All in all, SuperFrog is a great throw back to times gone, and even though it is more than 20 years old, it still plays like it could be released by a smaller indie company today. As always it’s great to see original Amiga games getting this kind of attention and hopefully it will be a continuing trend. For such a well-made remake SuperFrog HD gets 4 out of 5. SuperFrog may always be overshadowed by the work series, but it will always have a dedicated fan base.

Disclaimer:All scores given within our reviews are based on the artist’s personal opinion; this should in no way impede your decision to purchase the game.