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Crazy Frog Racer is a racing video game developed by Neko Entertainment and published by Digital Jesters, released November 21, 2005 for PC and PlayStation 2. The game was only released in European and Australian markets. It was the first game in the Crazy Frog Racer series.
The game features Crazy Frog and a new cast of characters introduced in this game racing in 12 tracks in a setting similar to the one featured in Axel F.
Development
On June 14, 2005, Wallaroo Licensing Company, representing Erik Wernquist, announced an opening for the license to Crazy Frog in the electronic entertainment market.[1]
Crazy Frog Racer seems to have begun development shortly after July 1, 2005, after Digital Jesters acquired the license from Wallaroo. Leo Zullo, marketing director and co-founder of Digital Jesters, hinted at expanding the Crazy Frog universe with new characters, stating:
"We're working with Wallaroo to develop our own intellectual property within the Crazy Frog universe, capitalizing on the colossal success of the ubiquitous character. We've continually hinted that big things were just around the corner at Digital Jesters, and they don't get much bigger than this."
The game was set to launch in November 2005, four months after the licensing agreement. The game would launch in Europe for £19.99 (€29.99), with a worldwide release planned for Quarter 1, 2006 (this never happened).[2]
Around October 18, 2005, a website for the game, CrazyFrogGame.com was launched. This website featured in-game screenshots and downloadable content such as wallpapers. A forum was supposedly also launched within the website for fans to "discuss tactics, strategy and all things Annoying in the run up to launch and beyond." The price was elaborated on further, being £/€19.99 for the PlayStation 2 version, and £/€14.99 for the PC version.[3]
On October 21, 2005, it was announced that Ubisoft had signed a deal with Digital Jesters to distribute Crazy Frog Racer in the UK, Benelux, Australia, New Zealand, and export territories.[4]
On November 17, 2005, the game had gone gold and was set to begin distribution in early December 2005.[5]
Game Modes
Championship
The standard game mode, where the player competes against CPU players to win the most points. After beating each cup, the next cup unlocks, as well as an arena for multiplayer. There are four cups to compete in in the game.
Baby Cup
The first cup, unlocked from the start. It will take about 15-17 minutes to complete. After beating this cup, you unlock the Funny Cup and Gutter Arena.
| East Park Beach | Southwest High Town | High Town | North City |
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Funny Cup
The second cup, taking about 20-22 minutes to complete. After this cup, you unlock the Crazy Cup and Target Arena.
| Sewer | West City | West Park Bench | Park Bench |
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Crazy Cup
The third cup, which takes about 30 minutes to finish. After beating this cup, you unlock the Special Cup, and Stadium Arena.
| Down Town | Center City | Peripheral | Technical Path |
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Special Cup
The fourth and final cup in the game, combining all three cups together for an hour-long marathon. After winning this cup, you unlock Matilda.
Single Race
Time Trials
Chase
Arena (Multiplayer)
Characters
Matilda is the only unlockable character in the game, awarded once beating the Special Cup.
Bonuses
Bonuses can be purchased during a race by collecting coins. Each coin is worth 500 points.
| Name | Bored Sphere | Two-Slit Sphere | Made-Up Sphere | Digital Mine | Time Bomb | Laser Mine | Forward Missile | Backward Missile | Laser Beam | Mortar | Shield | Boost |
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| Description | A sphere which pokes out spikes when someone comes near it. | A ball with two spinning blades swirling around it. | A sphere which splits into two halves that forms a magnetic field which damages others. | It starts with a random counter. Each time a vehicle passes it, the timer counts down, exploding when it reaches zero. | A circular timer, up to ten increments, appears on the front. It starts with 5 to 10 points, and explodes when it reaches zero. | As soon as a vehicle passes it, its light blinks, until it explodes. | Three missiles get fired in bursts forwards. | Three projectiles get fanned out behind the vehicle. | A laser beam gets fired ahead. | Hits a target at least 10 yards ahead, up to 30 yards, automatically targeting them. | Protects the vehicle for a period of time. | Causes a rapid acceleration for five seconds. |
| Cost | 1000 | 1000 | 1000 | 1000 | 1500 | 1500 | 2000 | 2000 | 3000 | 3500 | 2000 | 2000 |
When a vehicle is damaged, players can collect nuts on the track, repairing it.
Every character has access to Boost, Shield, Mortar, Laser Bomb, and Missiles. However, certain bonuses can only be purchased by certain characters.
| Laser Mine | Time Bomb | Digital Mine | Made-Up Sphere | Two-Slit Sphere | Bored Sphere | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Annoying Thing | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
| Ellie | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
| Jack | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
| Flash | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
| Drone | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
| Grim | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
| Michel | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
| Bobo | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
| Matilda | ✓ | ✓ |
Soundtrack
Ports
Sequel
Trivia
- Game ported on many platforms, but most closest to original one is DS port.
- Matilda is the only unlockable character. She unlocks when the player beats the Special Cup on any difficulty.
Gallery
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Official boxart of russian release by 'Noviy Disk'.
- ↑ https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/wallaroo-licensing-company-offers-bdquothe-crazy-frogldquo-for-worldwide-licensing
- ↑ https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/lsquocrazy-frogrsquo-leaps-to-playstation
- ↑ https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/crazy-frog-racer-website-goes-live
- ↑ https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/ubisoft-goes-crazy
- ↑ https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/crazy-frog-racer-goes-gold