Stephen Geering - Frogger: Temple of the Frog (2001)

 

Composer: Stephen Geering 
Console: GBA
Game Release Date: 2001-11-21
Bootleg Release Date: 
Ripper: @OHMYRICHARD / CamCartoonFanatic
Runtime: 34:40, 20 Tracks

This was listed on Wikipedia as being one of the most sold GBA games at 1.7 million copies sold but years later I feel it has mostly fallen in obscurity. Hell, the whole series is not anywhere near as popular as it once was. 

I played this a long time ago when I was much younger on my blue GBA SP. I beat it then. While recovering from the virus I reloaded up my 3DS and installed Frogger on it, to give the game a go again. Years before I had intended to play it on my Ouya but that never happened. 
I am proud to say that it worked perfectly on my 3DS and I had no issues.  

So, Frogger: Temple of the Frog is a game in the Frogger series. The series is best known for its arcade games in the 80s and becoming one of the most famous game series of all time. Because of its popularity the game had many sequels, spin-offs and entries in the series. While there isn't a coherent story within the many games like in Zelda or Mario there were some games that tried to have a story within it. I don't know if that series has a name but it includes this game, the other Frogger Adventure games and The Great Quest. It saw Frogger re-imagined in a world of anthropomorphic creatures with him as the main character saving the world. It fit in with a lot of the anthro games that were coming out like Ratchet and Clank, Kao the Kangaroo and Ty the Tasmanian Tiger. 

One of the games in the series Temple of the Frog was the one only one I had ever played in the series. 
It sees Frogger having to help out the inhabitants of the swamps after the mysterious Dr. D has stolen the four elements from each island. The game has the typical frogger style gameplay albeit with huge levels with unique hazards and strategies. You need to collect all the elements in each level to complete it. 

I remember struggling on the first level to just get an understanding of the many hazards. Few areas are safe to stand in and enemies move fast. After you get the hang of it, the game becomes a bit easier. You just have to always keep watching and learn the safe spots. Every level has a different strategy and design to keep you on your toes. 

Despite the gameplay being what it is the developers kept it fresh throughout with beautiful level design and epic boss fights. I was seriously impressed even back then at how good the fights were. I remember in particular the water boss gave me a lot of trouble even though it shouldn't have been that hard. 
In my recent run of the game I got really pissed off when I paid the toll for the 3rd last level, tried it out but stopped because I had to do something. When I rebooted the game not only did I have to pay again but the 250 coins I had left were just at 0 for now. Really stupid. Fortunately if you run through level 2 of the water world enough times it will give you lots of coins and lives. I also recalled having a tough problem with the 3rd boss but doing it again I had no trouble. I guess I wasn't collecting coins in a good enough strategy back then. 

The second last level was insane. I even had problems with it on my recent run. I struggled when I tried it years ago. How stiff the controls are plus the fast movements needed to navigate the conveyer belts make for a good challenge. Even with the extra lives scattered throughout the level it's not enough to make it easier. 

Now the final boss is by far the best boss fight in the game. Major spoilers so stop reading if you intend to do a run of this game. So, the games big reveal is that Dr. D is actually the Grim Reaper himself. He has stolen the 4 elements to take over the world and Frogger must stop him. The fights are intense with Frogger first having to retrieve the elements from Death as he uses their power against him and the second with Frogger mastering the 4 elements and using them against Death. For what it is that is a spectacular fight even if on a GBA it doesn't seem that impressive. I loved it. 

A little tidbit I had to look into this game a few years ago after a Prince track reminded me of the games title theme. I had no idea which song it was now but I think they both used a slap bass and that's what got me nostalgic. 

The only composer listed for this game is Stephen Geering. There isn't much listed but he has an IMDB page which lists his credentials. For composing he has scored a few licensed games like Magic the Gathering, Scooby-Doo and Jurassic Park. He also scored Lost in Blue which I intend to play at some point. He has a website which I will link below and what I think is his own company, In Geer Music. This soundtrack, although lobit is very funky sounding and good. It sounds super unique with the only other soundtrack I could really compare it to being the Sypro GBA games. Geering utilizes the GBA's limitations and creates this awesome soundtrack for it. 

There's a sequel on the GBA called Frogger's Adventures 2: The Lost Wand which I am going to play when I go camping this year. I'm quite excited to play it. 

Below is a rip done by Cam Skunk over on Trello. Cam seems to have a bunch of other OSTs up too that I will check out soon. There is also a YouTube upload but I believe this is a different rip as the stream has one extra song. To stop things from becoming even more confusing I won't be including my copy which has the extra song plus most songs doubled in length. If there is a demand for it though I will release it publicly. 

Cam Skunk's Rip: https://trello.com/c/Ztw9UtyT/41-froggers-adventures-temple-of-the-frog-gba

YouTube Stream: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLa_cGAOQOXNKyPLtN4_gZPUyW3FvAZya5