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Superfrog
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Superfrog | |
|---|---|
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| Developer(s) | Team17 |
| Publisher(s) | Team17 |
| Release date(s) | 1993 |
| Genre(s) | Platform game |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | N/A |
| Platform(s) | Amiga, PC |
Superfrog is a 2D Platform game developed for the Amiga and then converted for the PC, developed by Team17 Software in 1993. The Amiga version was popular enough to spawn an Amiga CD32 version, which could also be played on some Amiga computers fitted with a CD drive. Team17 published all the versions in their own right as an independent publisher, although the box of the PC version claims that the distributing was handled by Ocean Software (it is possible that Ocean acquired the redistribution rights to the PC version following the success of Worms, in the hopes that people would recognise the Team17 name).
Superfrog fans seem unable to agree on the correct capitalisation of the name. Most fansites list the name as "Superfrog", while Dream17 previously made a point of capitalising the F ("SuperFrog") although this has recently changed. Superfrog is a "registered member" of the Dream17 Forum (where his character is played by Dream17 Staffmember Euan Mumford, a.k.a. Worm Mad) but his username is "Super Frog". Dream17 staffmember Pooka runs a Superfrog fansite with the domain super-frog.co.uk, but on the site refers to the game as simply "Superfrog", so it's probable that the hyphenated form was the only domain available at the time.
The logos on all variations of the boxart, as well as the logo on the titlescreen, spell the word(s) entirely in capitals - "SUPERFROG". Team17's official website lists the title simply as "Superfrog", although this has changed on occasion during website redesigns.
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The story (mostly conveyed through the introductory animation by Eric W. Schwartz) is about a prince (inspired from the Frog Prince fairy tale) who is turned into a frog by a witch. His girlfriend is then abducted by the same witch. He was subsequently sulking by the "River O' Despair" when he found a floating bottle of Lucozade, which made him Superfrog. The objective of the game is to find and defeat the witch, then rescue the princess.
The game features an overt commercial tie-in with the energy drink Lucozade as a health-boosting powerup, similar to the Chupa Chups sponsorship of Zool, and 7-Up's sponsorship of Cool Spot.
Team17's earlier games became relatively obscure after the release of the hugely popular Worms series, though many gamers remember Superfrog fondly for its solid gameplay, smooth scrolling, cartoon-quality graphics, and upbeat music. Although a relatively small release by the standards of blockbuster platformers like Sonic, it was very well received and has retained a fan base which considers it a technically perfect example of the genre. It has at least two fan sites online, the most popular being Super-frog.co.uk.
One level took the form of a side-scrolling shoot 'em up called Project-F in homage to Team 17's own Project-X (even going as far as using a remixed version of the original game's theme tune), and there were inter-level bonus games based around fruit machines, in which bonus items could be earned.
Over the years, rumours have circulated about potential sequels to the original. Skytopia.com published a brief news snippet about a potential sequel, quoting an unnamed programmer as saying "It is going to be amazing". There have also been rumours of a potential DS or PSP revival of the original. Most recently a Team17 animator changed his avatar on the Team17 forum to that of a freshly-animated Superfrog walk cycle.
Team17 themselves appear not to have forgotten about Superfrog, as the titular character - the frog himself - makes cameo appearances in their most recent games, notably Worms Blast and Worms 3D. Martyn "Spadge" Brown, Creative Director at Team17, has also expressed an interest in reviving the character in a new Superfrog title.