Superfrog HD

How do you think you'll look and feel in 20 years time? If you're currently over the age of 20, the answer is probably "not as good as you do now."

Two decades has certainly taken its toll on Superfrog, an early effort from Worms developer Team17. But you have to look below the surface to see it.

For while the developer has done a commendable job in giving its 1993 platformer a youthful face lift, and has even put it on an exercise regime in order to be fit for a fresh generation of gamers, there's no disguising the fact that it can't quite impress like it used to.

The original game belonged to that sizeable raft of post-Sonic platformers. It riffed on the super-fast gameplay, chunky sprites, and twisty level design of Sega's seminal Megadrive game, which earned it a fair amount of love on an Amiga platform that was desperate for its own mascot.

Superfrog HD, which appeared on PS Vita a year ago, represents a generous re-release. It includes a complete HD (naturally) graphics overhaul and a number of level design improvements, both of which serve to file off some of the rough edges that come with most early '90s games.

It looks very pleasant too, with a bright cartoon art style and laudably smooth scrolling and panning effects.

The original experience is also available, should you wish to take a stroll down memory lane, or a steeper challenge.

You play the part of a prince who has been turned into a frog by a witch. Naturally, you set off to set things right.

This is the cue for four worlds of classic platformer action. You've seen this kind of thing dozens of times before - jump on baddies' heads, dodge spikes, collect trinkets, and get to the level exit as swiftly and safely as possible.

Alternatively, you can go off and explore every last nook and cranny. There are hidden rooms and corridors aplenty here (to the point of distraction), each brimming with an overwhelming array of collectibles.

In fact, the sheer number and range of collectibles is faintly ridiculous, and betrays a lack of focus that pops up repeatedly throughout the game.

There are numerous types of fruit, currency, and goodness-knows-what to find and collect. Little of it seems to mean anything outside of contributing to an arbitrary score.

There's a similar aimlessness to Superfrog HD's platformer mechanics. You're granted a disparate array of abilities that don't seem to gel. Besides jumping on heads, you can lob a green blob at your enemies, once you've collected it.

In the same way, it's possible to float long distances once you've found a set of wings. The fact that these core abilities aren't available from the off sounds like a clever touch, but in practice it smacks of the developer trying to be different at a time when the platformer genre was already becoming over-saturated.

I found myself cursing when I tried to activate one of these abilities, only to realise that I hadn't collected it yet on that particular level.

I was similarly irritated when my Sonic-like dash was brought to a rude halt by one of the game's tiny, difficult-to-spot enemies. It can prove even more difficult to land a jump on them, and many require multiple hits to down.

Superfrog HD is an interesting example of the kind of competent platformers that existed in abundance 20 years ago. While it's been lovingly restored, though, many of its archaic mechanics show signs of wear and tear.