My first Frogger title, which made the "He's Back!" tagline confusing to parse as a kid. I guess I knew Frogger was an arcade game through MAME, but there's sort of an odd effect when you're introduced to both the original version of a thing and a revival of that same thing around the same time. I for sure had no idea what "Retro" meant (as in the block of Retro Levels), nor how to parse it. It was just a cool-sounding word that I would later conflate with Jimmy Neutron's Retroville, again not "getting" the intent of its usage
This game is ridiculously unfriendly for series newcomers. I don't know how common Nitro Rad's takeaway, that this game is an actively miserable experience to grind out, is among people playing the game new these days. It was far and away the hardest (non-arcade) game I had access to as a really little kid, so I definitely spent a long time grinding it out. Maybe it was because I was really little, so everything was impressionable, or maybe it was because it was one of the few non-licensed games I had, because I definitely remember this being an early favorite. It's a great game for little victories. If you're not good enough to clear a world, focus on clearing a level. If you're not good enough to clear a level, focus on tracking down where the Baby Frogs are, and chart a path to each one. "Scorching Switches" is super intimidating at first, but as you memorize the level's layout, it becomes a lot more manageable. Plus those lives really only matter in the context of each individual level; don't worry overmuch about bringing ample lives into the next level.
I will fully concede that "Uncanny Crusher" and both versions of "Boulder Alley" are kinda BS. The game is usually pretty decent with how it handles its ice/slime mechanics, but mashing that together with the crushers in "Uncanny Crusher" is waaaaaay too stressful. Most of "Boulder Alley"/"Big Boulder Alley" are okay, but it's that stretch at the beginning with the giant ticks that stinks, mostly because it takes forever and you have to recalibrate yourself to that precise tedium each time.
On the flip side, I don't really mind how many levels get remixed in this game. I always thought there was a nice cadence to it, where you usually get a pretty experimental level sandwiched between the first run and remix levels. "Time Flies" has always been a favorite for how unique a premise that is. Very much a resource management level, something Frogger isn't usually worried about.
I don't love the Golden Frog system. Basically, each world had a Golden Frog hidden in one of its levels; this Golden Frog will unlock the next world and contribute to the good ending. It's a decent idea, but since the Golden Frogs are hidden in arbitrary levels, you don't need to experience the full game to get the best ending. It kinda sucks that, for example, the Golden Frog of the Mechanical Zone is hidden in "Scorching Switches" when "Platform Madness" and "Lava Crush" are far more interesting levels. If you're just cutting a swath straight to the endgame (as I did this last playthrough), you don't get to experience either of those. You also only ever get to experience the original version of "Tropical Trouble", the final level, once per save file, which always felt like a rip-off. The remixed version just isn't as good.
Also the PC version is bugged so it doesn't play music, so get ready for lonely melancholy Frogger action if that's the version you play.
This game is ridiculously unfriendly for series newcomers. I don't know how common Nitro Rad's takeaway, that this game is an actively miserable experience to grind out, is among people playing the game new these days. It was far and away the hardest (non-arcade) game I had access to as a really little kid, so I definitely spent a long time grinding it out. Maybe it was because I was really little, so everything was impressionable, or maybe it was because it was one of the few non-licensed games I had, because I definitely remember this being an early favorite. It's a great game for little victories. If you're not good enough to clear a world, focus on clearing a level. If you're not good enough to clear a level, focus on tracking down where the Baby Frogs are, and chart a path to each one. "Scorching Switches" is super intimidating at first, but as you memorize the level's layout, it becomes a lot more manageable. Plus those lives really only matter in the context of each individual level; don't worry overmuch about bringing ample lives into the next level.
I will fully concede that "Uncanny Crusher" and both versions of "Boulder Alley" are kinda BS. The game is usually pretty decent with how it handles its ice/slime mechanics, but mashing that together with the crushers in "Uncanny Crusher" is waaaaaay too stressful. Most of "Boulder Alley"/"Big Boulder Alley" are okay, but it's that stretch at the beginning with the giant ticks that stinks, mostly because it takes forever and you have to recalibrate yourself to that precise tedium each time.
On the flip side, I don't really mind how many levels get remixed in this game. I always thought there was a nice cadence to it, where you usually get a pretty experimental level sandwiched between the first run and remix levels. "Time Flies" has always been a favorite for how unique a premise that is. Very much a resource management level, something Frogger isn't usually worried about.
I don't love the Golden Frog system. Basically, each world had a Golden Frog hidden in one of its levels; this Golden Frog will unlock the next world and contribute to the good ending. It's a decent idea, but since the Golden Frogs are hidden in arbitrary levels, you don't need to experience the full game to get the best ending. It kinda sucks that, for example, the Golden Frog of the Mechanical Zone is hidden in "Scorching Switches" when "Platform Madness" and "Lava Crush" are far more interesting levels. If you're just cutting a swath straight to the endgame (as I did this last playthrough), you don't get to experience either of those. You also only ever get to experience the original version of "Tropical Trouble", the final level, once per save file, which always felt like a rip-off. The remixed version just isn't as good.
Also the PC version is bugged so it doesn't play music, so get ready for lonely melancholy Frogger action if that's the version you play.