Big: The Search for Froggy

Big: The Search for Froggy is a 2021 title developed by Sonic Team in collaboration with TimeStrike for the Nintendo Switch video game console. It was released to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Sonic the Hedgehog series, but strangely enough, it focuses on not Sonic the Hedgehog but a minor character known as Big the Cat. The game was developed as a sequel to Big the Cat's story in Sonic Adventure, and canonologically takes place between that game and Sonic Adventure 2 as the first game in its own series (Big the Cat). While the gameplay of The Search of Froggy is based off of Big's Adventure experience, the action is shaken up considerably and many changes were brought to his gameplay, such as making Big generally faster and modeling his pacing after that of Sonic's.
It was developed in response to the backlash that Sonic Forces received five years prior, being Sega's way at poking fun at the series' fanbase. According to TimeStrike director , they had limited resources, so they had to reuse models and materials from Sonic Forces (and in turn Sonic Generations) in order to suit the deadline they needed to meet for the game. Because most of TimeStrike's employees were already working on Zonal Fever at the time of this game's development, there were also a lack of employees working on the game. Things became so desperate for Sonic Team that they started porting over stage designs from Sonic Adventure to save time. While the game managed to be completed by the deadline, it was a long, exhausting development cycle.
The game was going to be developed for The V², but they ran out of time to port the game to that system due to low budget. Remaining time for the game was used to patch up any glitches the team found.
==Gameplay==
The goal of each level in The Search for Froggy is to take eponymous protagonist Big the Cat from the starting point to the ending point (Goal Ring). Big the Cat is slower than the typical Sonic the Hedgehog character, so he has room for a more expansive and complex moveset compared to them. Big has a low jump () that's just enough to let him jump across short gaps, but can do a belly flop mid-air ( + ) that can rebound him upwards and provide him more distance as a result. Big can also pull out his umbrella and safely glide across long distances via having it open ( + ). Big is also capable of doing a Battering Ram attack (), taken from Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood. This makes him dash forward at a high speed, but he can be somewhat tricky to control with that much velocity. With enough speed, Big's power can break open fragile objects or help him bust through walls. With his weight, Big is also capable of carrying huge objects when near them () and putting them down ( + ); this can be used to solve puzzles. Big is also capable of swinging his umbrella around as a weapon for combo-based attacks ( + ).
Big also carries a Fishing Rod, which is a key part of his overall gameplay. If Big swings forward his rod near an enemy, he can smash it to bits with a devastating amount of power. By holding down on the cast button (), the player can have Big's rod line go a far distance. This can be used to hit item boxes from afar, enemies otherwise out of reach, hit switches, and the liking. If Big casts his line into the water, his hook will automatically target whatever it's closed to and hook onto it; by pulling on the line ( (downwards)), Big can drag whatever it is out of the water. Heavier objects can be carried out of the water if the player enters specified button combinations after hooking onto them ( + + + ). Everything Big catches either goes into his hands (level-specific items) or into a net (fish). Big can also swing around his lure as a fiery weapon (), which goes in circles and can light up torches or roast enemies closing in on Big. He swing his lure around as he moves, but if he moves too quickly, he can collide with his own lure and take damage. 
The player has to use the left thumbstick to move around () and the right thumbstick to move the camera (). 
===Health system===
Unlike in other Sonic the Hedgehog games, Rings do not serve as Big's source of health. Instead, Rings are collected and used to purchase new lures and rods from Omochao among other upgrades, but can still be lost in the levels by taking damage from enemies. Big's health system is instead a continuous health bar, similar to the one featured in the Tails/Dr. Eggman stages from Sonic Adventure 2. Big takes more damage if he gets hit by heavier attacks, but he's a generally sturdy character, so he's rather tough to knock out. By hitting open health pack monitors, Big can restore some of his health, with golden varieties of the monitors restoring all of Big's health. Even though Rings are no longer Big's source of health, they still serve a good role in his level; the more Rings Big collects, the stronger his attacks and line pulls become.
===Rank system===
The score meter in the upper-left screen increases slowly with every enemy killed and every Ring collected, but the biggest buffs come from the fish Big collects. The heavier the fish, the more points that get added to the score meter. By getting high enough scores, the player can get a desirable ranking, and there are three of them. "Bronze" is awarded if the player has a fairly good score, "Silver" is awarded if the player has a big score, and "Gold" is awarded if the player got a huge score. The less time the player spends in a level, the better their final score will be, so players looking to get all Gold ranks in the levels should avoid spending too much time looking for big catches. If the player's score is minimal or not big enough to receive a Bronze ranking, they won't get a rank at all. Whether or not the player goes for the Gold rankings is entirely up to them; getting big ranks is optional. However, getting enough Ranks of any sort will unlock new items in Omochao's shop.
==Characters==
Big the Cat	Big the Cat is the main protagonist of The Search for Froggy. After Dr. Eggman abducted his best friend Froggy for "experimental purposes", the big cat felt inclined to save his long-time best friend regardless of whatever challenges that may come his way! He's the only playable character and has expertise primarily in fishing, but is a surprisingly excellent combatant as well! The biggest challenge for him, however, will be eventually saving the world from the grasp of the mad doctor, who managed to hold Sonic and his buddies hostage!
Froggy 	Froggy is Big the Cat's long-time best friend! Though he has gotten in his own fair share of trouble before, once having had a part of the creature known as Chaos inside of him that nicked Big's "lucky charm", he is a happy lad that enjoys Big's company and enjoys fishing with him. When Dr. Eggman kidnapped him, he croaked so loud that Big woke from his nap! He currently resides in Eggman's cold headquarters, hoping Big will come to save him as he did in the good 'ol days of Sonic Adventure.
Omochao 	Though Omochao is often perceived as highly irritating, he happens to return once more alongside Big the Cat! He hosts the game's shop, where he's happy to sell lures, rods, wearable costumes, and the like to the player. While he retains being energetic and friendly, he slowly unveils his distaste for his bad reputation over the course of the game, and he starts to drop the niceness. Despite his presence in this game, he is not a tutorial guide, and the player learns how to play the game by reading through Big's own personal fishing manual found in the Pause Menu.
Dr. Eggman 	Longtime series antagonist "Dr. Eggman" returns once more! He kidnapped Froggy due to him still containing valuable data left over from the being known as "Chaos", and hopes to create his own artificial clone of Chaos so he can dominate the world with a controlled variation of Perfect Chaos! As always, he is sinister and cruel and likes to keep things right to the point, but can take himself way too seriously at times and as such fill his plans up with countless blunders. Still, he tries his best to defeat that "pesky hedgehog" known as Sonic, and currently hopes to put an end to Big's frog-catching schemes!
Blade 	Blade is the leader of the Jackal Squad, a team of thieves and mercenaries that are aiming to steal the Chaos Emeralds! Blade is a ruthless, vicious leader that takes any opportunity he can seize, and has big plans to gain immense power; enough to allow him to dominate the world! Big the Cat must fight against the Jackal Squad and its leader so that he can take the Chaos Emeralds and righteously hand them over to Master Emerald guardian "Knuckles the Echidna". He best be prepared, however, because Blade is a strong swordsman!
==Items==
Ring 	Grants the player ten Rings. Variations of the Ring monitor offer varying amounts of rings; either 1, 5, 20, or 50.
Combine Ring 	Merges all of the player's rings into one when they get hit. If this one ring is earned again, all rings are restored.
Power Sneakers	Allows the player to move at high speeds temporarily, which can be useful for allowing Big to move through areas fast.
Invincibility 	Makes Big temporarily invulnerable, blocking all attacks and making it harder for enemies to lay pressure on him.
Shield 	Gives the player a shield, which can absorb one attack. It has no bonus effects or anything of the sort.
Magnet Shield 	Blocks one attack and automatically draws rings over to Big, as long as they're a short distance away.
Health 	Restores half of Big's maximum HP. If a golden varient is collected, all of Big's HP becomes restored.
Bomb 	Eliminates all enemies that happen to be nearby, saving trouble. Found in very combat-heavy situations most of the time.
Time Stop 	Stops time temporarily, giving Big a better chance to catch platforms or move through obstacles unharmed.
==Trivia==
*A lot of Big's moveset was inspired by his own in Sonic Heroes and in Sonic Chronicles.
*It may not look like it, but Big: The Search for Froggy is not a joke article and should not be labelled as such. It is a serious game with a silly backstory behind it.
Category:Platforming Games
Category:Puzzle Games
Category:Sonic (series)
Category:Nintendo Switch Games
Category:Sonic Team
Category:SEGA Games
Category:TimeStrike Products
Category:Rated E Games
Category:Rated 3 Games
Category:Rated A CERO Games