Frogger In Toy Town Review Apple Arcade

Frogger in Toy Town finally provides a compelling answer to the question everyone has been asking since the Konami mascot’s 1981 debut: Why is this frog the size of a car? The answer, here, is that the cars are actually toy cars and that Frogger isn’t trying to cross the road; he’s trying to survive the everyday perils of life on the floor of a typical suburban household. By recontextualizing Frogger’s gameplay inside a world of toys, tilt-shift, and touch controls, developer Q-Games has delivered a great launch title for the fledgling Apple Arcade and the best Frogger game in decades.

An Impressive, Miniature World

That set-up could easily just have been window dressing. Fortunately, Frogger in Toy Town brilliantly commits to the bit, thoroughly exploring the ramifications of its household setting in its gameplay. Until now, Frogger has never been able to fight back against the cars and trucks ceaselessly crisscrossing the road in front of him. He, like any frog caught in the path of a Honda Civic, could dodge or die. But, in Toy Town, Frogger's automotive opponents have finally met their match. This change in scope results in environments that are substantially more reactive than anything we’ve seen before in a Frogger game.

At the game’s outset, our little green friend is tasked with rescuing dozens of tiny “froglets,” each of whom is stranded in a trio of suburban houses after being whisked away by an especially gusty storm. As you play, you’ll attempt to rescue three froglets before each checkpoint. Take a hit before reaching the checkpoint and you’ll lose any froglets you’ve collected so far. Take three hits and you lose.

Frogger's Awakening

Great care has been taken to ensure that Frogger in Toy Town’s aesthetic fulfills the promise of its setting. The game employs the same tilt-shift effect as Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening remake (released on the same day), blurring the edges of the screen and imbuing each level with a dioramic quality. I’ve always enjoyed games, like Chibi-Robo!, that invigorate a familiar, suburban setting with the unique wonder that comes from being the size of a salt shaker. Thanks to its gorgeous graphics, Frogger in Toy Town pulls this off in a way that Chibi-Robo!, released in 2005, simply couldn’t.

Frogger in Toy Town has a brilliant look (and equally brilliant gameplay).

In Toy Town, each level is loosely modeled on an area in or around the house. Frogger must quickly hop past swiftly heating stovetop burners, dodge vacuum cleaners, and elude annoying toy soldiers. These levels are littered with glowing items which Frogger can store in his elastic frog mouth, then spit out when needed to defend himself against his toy-sized enemies.

Ribbits and Physics

Impressively, these items remain in the world as physical objects, resulting in meaningful gameplay changes if deployed in the right area. If Frogger spews a roll of duct tape into the middle of a four-lane toy car highway, it will quickly cause a pile-up, allowing our web-toed hero to climb over the traffic, instead of weaving through it. The same can happen when a Lincoln Log jam hits a stream in the yard outside. Similarly, a froglet might be stranded on the edge of a basket precariously perched above a patch of thumbtacks, requiring Frogger to deploy an item as a counterweight and save the froglet.

All of this makes the world of Frogger in Toy Town feel tangible, real, and reactive. However, the physicality of the world can also result in some minor frustrations. Because the world is tactile and, occasionally, messy, the grid-based movement that has always guided Frogger’s gameplay doesn’t always work as neatly as longtime players have come to expect. You might be standing next to a toy car track, waiting for the right moment to cross the road, when a car sideswipes you. Or, you might be attempting to climb the handle of a shovel leaning against a picnic table, only to find that you can’t quite line-up your ascent. The world is moving and Frogger is now a chaotic agent for change within it. Sometimes, though, that comes back to bite him.

Levels are loaded with nooks and crannies where helpless froglets may be hidden away. In order to unlock the full list of hidden levels and alternate costumes, you’ll need to do your best to find them all. I plan on returning to Toy Town to continue the search-and-rescue operation — though the 99 other games that will be available through Apple Arcade by the end of the month make the prospect of spending too much time on any one game a little daunting.

A Loaded Toy Box

Frogger in Toy Town may not be Apple Arcade’s killer app — so far, Sayonara Wild Hearts seems to be garnering the most attention — but it is the first really good Frogger game since 2000’s Frogger 2: Swampy’s Revenge. Importantly for the nascent platform, it’s a strong sign that Apple Arcade has the potential to upend the conversation around mobile games. This isn’t a cheap cash-grab, monetized to death. Frogger in Toy Town is a thoughtful, creative reinvention of the series... that happens to be available on iPhones.