Superfrog

Originally an old platform game released on the Amiga, Superfrog has been remade for the modern audience. Superfrog HD tells the tale of a prince who is turned into a frog by a jealous witch who also abducts his girlfriend. Sulking by the river, the prince finds a floating magic potion that grants him powers, and so begins his rescue mission and quest for revenge.

The graphics are sharp, bold and colourful, and the character sprite has been completely redesigned. In addition to the original levels, there are new levels which are basically remixes. In the old levels, you must collect a set quota of coins before you can exit the level, but this restriction is abolished in the new levels making them significantly easier. There are an insane amount of collectible items in the level, which mainly go to your points total, but some grant extra powers to Superfrog, such as the ability to attack, glide whilst falling, or temporary invincibility.

The levels often form maze-like structures with branching paths. There are often levers to hit in order to unlock paths further ahead and make progress through the level. There are also many secret tunnels that can open up when you touch the walls. You may simply discover these purely by accident, but if you keep your eye out, you will see visual clues such as missing edges in the walls.

Superfrog is no slouch and can speed through the levels much like Sonic The Hedgehog. However, you must pace yourself due to the dangers that are contained within the level. Superfrog can take 5 hits before dying, but it's instant death if he touches some spikes. This can be very cheap because the spikes can often blend into the background, be on the ceiling, be in places requiring 'leaps of faith', or have enemies patrolling next to them; which can send you plummeting down to your demise. If you do lose a life, you appear at a respawn point, but due to the maze-like structure of the levels, often it isn't clear which way you need to go, unless you instantly recognise the location and recall where you went.

Each of the worlds has 4 levels where the first level is easy and the fourth can be rather tough. Lives are hard to come by so you pretty much have to complete the level in 3 attempts. Lose them or run out of time, and you have to do the level again. It can be really problematic in the original levels because you are rushed for time, but must make sure you collect the coins. Rushing through can cause easy death, but also mean you miss the secrets and therefore you may get to the exit without meeting the coin quota. If this happens, you have to back-track to collect the coins and then return, which further wastes time and causes frustration.

Superfrog is a bit of a mixed bag. The retro style game-play gives it a bit of charm, but the cheapness of deaths and general difficulty spikes can be purely frustrating.