Game Review

Frogger actually has two different ports of the arcade game for the Atari 2600. The most common one is the Parker Brothers version released on cartridge which, despite more limited graphics, is still pretty solid with great gameplay. This version is more obscure (and, since Starpath licensed the game from Sierra On-Line, it was titled as The Official Frogger like Sierra's computer releases and even featured the same artwork on the box). The two versions were possible since Parker Brothers had the rights for cartridge releases but not magnetic media. So Starpath's version was instead released on cassette tape and required use of the Starpath Supercharger to run on the 2600. In addition to the additional space cassettes offered over cartridges for storing the game code and data, the Supercharger also included additional RAM available for games. The extra resources were taken advantage of here and the result is incredible; this is definitely one of the better ports of Frogger!

For starters, you would hardly recognize this as an Atari 2600 game from the graphics; there is an impressive amount of detail for the 2600, excellent use of color, and animation is smooth as well. The sound is far better than most 2600 games and this is one of the few ports to include the background music during gameplay, not just in the intro. Not only is the background music present, but there are multiple themes that rotate (like the arcade version) so you don't hear just a single theme over and over again.

Impressive technical details aside, how's the gameplay? Turns out pretty much perfect; this version captures the action and gameplay of the arcade version almost exactly. All of the arcade game elements and characters are there, from disappearing turtles, racing cars, snakes, and more. Like the Parker Brothers counterpart, there is also a setting allowing your frog to move off the right or left side of the screen and wrap around instead of losing a life.

The only drawback to this version is that it requires the Starpath Supercharger (along with a cassette player); this add-on isn't super common so you may have trouble coming across one, and cassette tapes can be a pain compared to cartridges with long load times and occasional finickiness getting the program to load correctly. Still, I have to give this one an A; Frogger is an incredibly fun arcade game, and this version probably captures it as closely as possible on home consoles of the era with some of the best graphics and sound you could find on an Atari 2600.