If you were gaming in the early to late 2000’s then you probably remember games like Zuma or Luxor. Balls Like a Frog is just like those classic marble games, except it is on the Commodore 64. One of the most interesting things here is the plethora of controls supported.
Don’t call it a demake
Okay, you can call it whatever you want. Balls Like a Frog is in the style of more modern games such as Zuma, Luxor, and more that populated the $10 and cheaper rack at Walmart in the 2000’s.
Your frog sits in the middle of the screen waiting for the marbles to roll down the path. Your goal is to match 3 or more marbles of the same color. They disappear and the line stops advancing till the marbles fill the gap.
If the marbles reach your frog, it is game over.
There are 76 levels across 22 maps for you to conquer in Balls Like a Frog. This means a lot of action here. A fun time for fans of this genre.There are three game modes –
Adventure (normal game)
Gauntlet (endless playing)
Training (tutorial level)
About those controls
The Commodore 64 only shipped with the keyboard and some cables required to hook it up to your TV and such. It did not come with a controller or mouse (mice being an extremely high priced, little used luxury item in the mid 80’s.
Balls Like a Frog offers many options to interact. Keyboard, controller, paddle controllers, and mouse. Paddle controls is an interesting addition, one I would love to see offered more, whenever possible of course.
You can hold two balls, one ready to fire and the other (represented by the ball on the back of the frog) in reserve. Think of this as Tetris’ “Next” block window.
Grab Balls Like a Frog from their Itch.io page.
Are you a fan of these types of games? Let me know in the comments below. Do you still play them, if so, which one are you rocking?