Frogger's Adventures: Temple of the Frog released in North America for the Game Boy Advance on November 22, 2001. In this all new side-scrolling adventure, the player must guide Frogger through fifteen increasingly difficult levels scattered across five varied game worlds, defeat five evil bosses, and recover the four sacred elements to save his swampy home. Each of these levels contain a slew of enemies, platforming challenges, death traps, and pitfalls that can instantly kill Frogger and send the player back to square one.
If you have ever played a Frogger game, Temple of the Frog’s gameplay is easy enough to pick up. The familiar core of dodging objects, crossing rivers, and avoiding death is present, but slightly expanded with enhanced platforming elements, light puzzle-solving, and boss battles. Frogger hops across floating platforms, avoids blazing infernos and spear wielding bad guys, and uses his tongue to grab fireflies. While there isn’t much difference between Temple of the Frog and Frogger’s previous games, there is enough variance between the two to keep a player engaged for a few hours if nothing else. The puzzles are obviously straightforward and combat is nonexistent, but the platforming challenges presented and ease of retrying a level after failure makes the game slightly addicting, at least enough for me to continue playing until I reached the credits.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the fact that Temple of the Frog is a less than stellar presentation on the Game Boy Advance. While the game performs perfectly, the controls are responsive, and I didn’t experience a single issue during my playthrough, the game’s pixel art and overall art direction leaves a lot to be desired. I consider myself a fan of pixel art and have been more than pleased with the art style's recent revival with popular Indie titles and game series such as Octopath Traveler, but the pixel art on display in Temple of the Frog is mediocre at best and ugly at worst. There are beautiful games on the Game Boy Advance, with and without pixel art, but Temple of the Frog is not one of those games.
Overall Frogger's Adventures: Temple of the Frog is a charming and competent platformer that captures the essence of the arcade classic with a twist of adventure. However, the game ultimately stumbles with ugly visuals, a short playtime, lack of replayability, and a pointless story, making it a fun diversion rather than a must-play on a handheld whose game library is already full of fantastic platformers. If you're a die-hard Frogger fan or looking for a lighthearted platforming romp, it's worth a shot. But for those seeking a deeper and more engaging experience, there are greener (and swampier) pastures to explore on the Game Boy Advance.
If you have ever played a Frogger game, Temple of the Frog’s gameplay is easy enough to pick up. The familiar core of dodging objects, crossing rivers, and avoiding death is present, but slightly expanded with enhanced platforming elements, light puzzle-solving, and boss battles. Frogger hops across floating platforms, avoids blazing infernos and spear wielding bad guys, and uses his tongue to grab fireflies. While there isn’t much difference between Temple of the Frog and Frogger’s previous games, there is enough variance between the two to keep a player engaged for a few hours if nothing else. The puzzles are obviously straightforward and combat is nonexistent, but the platforming challenges presented and ease of retrying a level after failure makes the game slightly addicting, at least enough for me to continue playing until I reached the credits.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the fact that Temple of the Frog is a less than stellar presentation on the Game Boy Advance. While the game performs perfectly, the controls are responsive, and I didn’t experience a single issue during my playthrough, the game’s pixel art and overall art direction leaves a lot to be desired. I consider myself a fan of pixel art and have been more than pleased with the art style's recent revival with popular Indie titles and game series such as Octopath Traveler, but the pixel art on display in Temple of the Frog is mediocre at best and ugly at worst. There are beautiful games on the Game Boy Advance, with and without pixel art, but Temple of the Frog is not one of those games.
Overall Frogger's Adventures: Temple of the Frog is a charming and competent platformer that captures the essence of the arcade classic with a twist of adventure. However, the game ultimately stumbles with ugly visuals, a short playtime, lack of replayability, and a pointless story, making it a fun diversion rather than a must-play on a handheld whose game library is already full of fantastic platformers. If you're a die-hard Frogger fan or looking for a lighthearted platforming romp, it's worth a shot. But for those seeking a deeper and more engaging experience, there are greener (and swampier) pastures to explore on the Game Boy Advance.