A Review – by Pooka
As a Superfrog fan, I was really looking
forward to writing a review of this game. It took me long enough to get a copy,
I do have to say – but from what I’ve played so far, I know enough to write
this – my long-awaited review of the long-awaited Superfrog HD. I’m using the PS3 Version here, so if you’re on the
Vita or PC, you may find some small differences. I doubt there will be much
that isn’t relevant, though.
TL;DR? Summary: It’s okay.
Graphics
These were the
things first publicised about the game, the polished and pristine graphics,
made visible by the multitude of screenshots that Team17 saw fit to unleash upon the
public. And, to be honest, they are incredibly pretty.
A lot of thought’s
gone into the graphics – they’ve retained the animated feel of the game,
preserving the idea that 
you’re
playing an interactive cartoon: pleasing for a fan of the original, which
presented that perfectly. Even the intro sequence (disappointingly not animated,
nor does it use the original animation by EWS) looks like a cartoon, so it’s
clear that this is the angle they’re taking, even though inexperienced gamers
may see it and assume it’s a game for children... very much not the case!
Something that I’m
particularly impressed with is the backgrounds. In the Castle and Circus
levels, you can see the Woods through holes in the wall – themselves impressive, as layer upon
layer of trees in the background gives a sense of how voluminous the forest
goes on to be. Gleaming, shifting animation makes the areas SF explores feel
alive with movement, and leads to almost total immersion in your surroundings.
The sprites are
good too... at least, the power-ups and especially the
enemy sprites are, including the Witch, Colin and all the others. They look,
move and react as you’d expect them too and make good standard platform game
enemies and bosses... not much more you can ask for than that, really!
The one thing
that I do have a problem with is Superfrog’s sprite
itself. As has already been noted, SF here is the lean, mean green machine from
the box art and intro sequence, as opposed to the squat, short frog we got in
the original release. It looks jarring, especially when you let the controls go
and SF’s “at rest” position places his feet a few pixels below the floor,
whereas enemies rest right on top of it: apparent enough to be notable, too. SF
doesn’t look bad – he’s the same frog
we’ve all known and loved for a while – but there’s something about how
different he seems from his original appearance (and the other characters) that
grates on me, even if I can’t quite place why.
Gameplay
This is the thing
that can really make or break a game, and here I’m afraid I have to be slightly
critical. When compared to the original game, there is a difference between the
two that originally appears starker than it actually is. This is, of course,
from the point of view of a Superfrog
player. It might be interesting to see how somebody who hasn’t played the
original rates the gameplay value.
The first thing
to mention is the controls. Thankfully, it is
playable – the key mapping is okay, with one button used to both jump and fly
and another to fire Spud, with two buttons left unused (unusual for a game). SF
can also be controlled with either the Control Pad or the analogue stick. I
have a tendency towards the latter as I’m not used to the four separate buttons
on a PS3 controller (as opposed to the completed plus shape on the SNES), but
either way, it’s easy to get SF moving. However, how far and fast he moves can
be a bone of contention. Compared to the sharp, snappy control of the original
game, I found SF’s response time slower, and even a little spongey
– especially when he jumps. It’s a higher, more floaty jump than before, with a slower time taken to
fall (even without the parachute equipped). In a Mario title, when you press a button, he responds – in this, I can
press the X button and then take two seconds to wait for SF to have finished
his leap.
However,
when he does move fast, he does more very
fast. The physics have been touched up a little, so that SF speeds up as he
runs, as opposed to being entirely one speed. A special note has to be made for
the Speedup Pills – underused in the original, perhaps, whereas here they
precede an entire section of level which you have to complete in turbo before
being halted by a Slowdown Pill. Even without speeding up, SF continues to be
quick – there is the fast, slick feel which one supposes was the original aim
of Team17 when making this. It’s a little harder to stop him, in fact, and it
almost feels like you have to continually keep moving.
The main thing
that I noticed about the gameplay, however, is that given all this, it does work – on the new levels. The unlockable original levels, especially if you know what you’re
doing and where you’re meant to go, really seriously highlight how different
the controls are – Level 2-2 is a good example. There’s a large section of
spikes at the end of the level and it’s impossible to pass them sans Wings.
Why? Because SF jumps too high, bumps his head and falls onto the spikes
without fail! In fact, it’s only because of the inclusion of the original
levels that the differences are so pronounced. The new levels are built for the
Superfrog HD engine: the originals
aren’t. Lesson learned, in a very frustrating fashion.
Sound
The first
question anyone’s going to ask here is obvious: is the music the classic
soundtrack by Allister Brimble?
No. Is that annoying? Yes, very. Is the new music as good? No.
That’s not to say
the new music’s awful; in fact, it’s very atmospheric. It’s just not the
original stuff, and what’s worse, it’s trying to be. Certain sections of the
soundtrack sound ripped off from the Brimble score,
as if they’ve slipped a few bars in here and there. It sounds odd and a little
confusing, as the rest of the stuff clearly demonstrates the musician’s ability
to write decent video game music. Even the title screen tune is a fairly
accurate tribute to the original, so why not either use the original stuff or
go for entirely new scores?
This
wouldn’t be a bad thing if the unlockable original
levels didn’t have the original music in all its glory. They do – it’s exactly
the same soundtrack. It’s probably even from the same source. Okay, so the
original levels wouldn’t really feel the same without the original music, and I’m
very glad they put it in – very glad indeed. The problem is that gamers are
going to hear this music and compare it to the new stuff, and therein lies the hitch – while the new stuff’s fine, Brimble’s music is terrific, and Superfrog HD feels wrong without it. It’s even unfair to the new
composer (an intern, so my sources tell me) in some ways.
Other than that,
the sound’s fine. It’s clear and crisp, and although the sound effects aren’t
the original ones, they add a lot to the game. Turning them off via the menu
really does make more of a difference than you may think, as well.
Extras
I’ve written an article expounding upon the differences of the new
game already, so there’s not much more to report here. I’ll pick up on a few
things, though.
I like SF’s new
parachute ability, the trophy system, Spud’s wherewithal to defeat land-based
enemies, the menu, the boss fights (I’d have appreciated more than the Witch
though!) and (to some extent) the original levels. They’re all workable additions
and add a lot to the game, which would be weakened without them. The online
scoreboard’s fun too, and it’s oddly pleasing to see myself on it! It’s also
nice to be able to play through levels again 
after you’ve completed them –
something which I felt the original game lacked. And the Frog Trials, while I
don’t particularly find them very fun, do prove for an amusing distraction and
a bit of practice.
However, one
thing I feel compelled to say that I don’t like – even though a lot of people
do – is the cross-platform support. I don’t own a PlayStation Vita and I don’t
know many people who do. This is specifically a problem when it comes to
discovering secret passages or using the elusive golden lilypad
power-up, as you need the Vita to really feel the effect of some of these. In
fact, it’s impossible to 100% the game if you do. This is baffling, frankly,
and feels just like hungry money-grabbing in some ways: buy an entirely new
console to get some secret areas? Really? That’s just
cruel! You get both versions when you buy the game on PSN, so why not all the
secrets? Is everyone automatically assumed to own both consoles?
Overall
I’m aware I’ve
been quite critical above, and in spite of all I said, I am quite pleased with Superfrog HD. It’s good to get SF back
after twenty years and it’s a brave attempt at getting him a new fanbase, despite the target audience clearly being existing fans of the game. But I do also have a lot of
problems with it, and therefore I can’t give it a perfect score. Fans on the
Facebook page have been asking for the original graphics and sound back, and
that shows – in some ways – a level of dissatisfaction with the product as a
whole.
Before you make
your decision, though, I will say this:
it does grow on you. Eventually. It takes a bit of time (especially if you’ve
been playing the original recently) but after a while, I (at least) found myself
becoming more au fait with the
controls, graphics, sound and overall feel. The original levels, while not
really designed to work with this HD engine, are a comforting relief from the frankly
baffling new ones, and the gambling machine sub-game is still really annoying
in every single way possible, so there’s a lot of familiarity here, despite the
initially shaky start. Yes, it has its flaws – some trivial, some unforgivable –
but, as less than £10, it’s definitely worth a play. And you may just enjoy it.
Superfrog is a lesson on how to make a spectacular platformer. Superfrog
HD is nothing more than a Good Solid Platformer
in its own right... but, considering how games are these days, maybe that’s
just what we need right now.
Substance: 7
Style: 8 (-1 for the
music)
Slant: 5
Overall: 6.5