RibbitKing PS2 Review

If we had a chance to meet up and chat with the people behind RibbitKing, the first thing we’d probably ask them would be, are you feeling all right? As this is clearly an idea that only those with an imaginative way of thinking as well as being barmy in the head could come up with. Can you guess where it was developed then?

The notion behind RibbitKing is best described as a warped game of Golf (amusingly titled Frolf here), but it’s not about hitting balls it’s about whacking frogs all over the place. If you think the game sounds rather crazy then you’d be right, as this is one serious curio. We don’t like it very much, but there’s something unique about it that means we can’t make it escape from our heads, as much as we’d love it to.

The problem with RibbitKing is that there’s little skill past choosing the direction of your shot. The power bar leaves no possible way of being inaccurate as there aren’t any accuracy points that you must strive to meet on the bar. A 2-year old could play this quite easily, but at the same time the colourful and child friendly characters would probably amuse him or her.

A little more removed from the game of Golf is the fact that each of the courses are a little like assault courses for frogs and your score must go up rather then down, it’s a tremendous idea, which has crumbled in the hands of the development team. Your task is to reach the hole, whilst scoring points along the way, by doing various things such as popping big bubbles, rebounding off spider’s webs and more. Combos are even possible if you hit the frog into the right places. There are also obstacles that must be contended with and if beaten they also earn you points. Again this is more potluck, as the outcome of each shot is quite difficult to determine before taking it and at times things just feel like they are playing out without you. Maybe we just need practice.

The story mode should provide some light amusement for even the sternest of people; the joky sequences are entertaining enough, whilst the game itself gets dull very fast. Unlocking the unimaginative characters and the distorted frogs is done in this mode but we soon became tired with it all, it’s too bad that it isn’t too good.

Like the Everybody’s Golf series, RibbitKing is clearly trying to make the sport fun although unlike Sony’s series it takes it to an alternative froggy universe. But where Everybody’s Golf succeeded, RibbitKing fails miserably. It may appeal to kids and individuals who love Japanese curios, as you’ll already know, we don’t like it though.

4/10

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