I love Frak. I was 6 years old in 1985 and my parents bought 2 BBC Micro computers at about that sort of time in my life. I loved most of the games on that computer but Repton and Frak were 2 of my favourite games. My mum was always copying games from the original disc to blank discs. It was extremely rare that we owned an original copy of any game.
Frak is a firm favourite with those of us who had a Beeb (or access to one) at a young age, yes - and you certainly weren't alone in having lots of copied games! 😉
@Colin Hoad 😂 I'm ashamed to say that I hadn't played this game until I was one of the games testers on Nick's recent Steam version. It's definitely more tricky than it looks (especially the upside down levels!).
Great to see this one featured Colin, as it's one of my all time favourite Beeb games - I'd probably have it in my personal top 10, maybe even top 5 (hence my typical essay thoughts on it!!); even nowadays is one of my go-to games when I feel like a 20 minute blast of some old BBC gaming fun. It was also one of the first BBC games (and as such, any computer games) that I ever played. On the fabled "first two compilation disks my Dad borrowed from work"; it was the third game he ever loaded up to show me (after 'Frogger' clone 'The Frog', and 'Killer Gorilla'). Additionally to that, probably some months later, it was the first game that I got anywhere with, when young me managed to complete the first level ... Which I actually did partly by accident. There's actually a shortcut (you probably know this already) at the end of L1 where you can walk down the bottom part of the 'K' (by the way, young me never immediately noticed the level spells out 'Frak!') and just keep walking; just as you're about to fall to your death, Trogg's nose will clip the final key, completing the level. I wonder if Nick Pelling put this in deliberately or is just a fun little accident of design. It is a terrific looking game, so colourful and bold, I'd actually say one of the best looking on the Beeb, especially for such a relatively early-ish release. Considering it only actually features four colours on each level, the way it employs those colours is amazing. In many ways, 'Frak!' doesn't even look like a BBC-only game at all in terms of style of graphics. I have to say, I never encountered it in schools (except when I'd take my own copy in for a sneaky lunchtime play!), but it is such a unique game that any Speccy or Commodore owning, non-BBC friends that ever game 'round for a computer session would always ask we play it, it seemed to be one that anyone who ever played it really liked. I always hold 'Frak!' up as a great example as a BBC original, non-arcade clone game that demonstrates what a good gaming machine the Beeb actually could be. I always found it a funny, interesting game element how you'd play in the dark after the time ran out. I'd have to sort-of-disagree with you about the pixel perfect collision, though - it always struck myself, and friends playing it, how it would vary. Sometimes a balloon or knife would almost clip you but let you off, other times it clearly wouldn't be within contact range but it was yellow-balloon 'Frak!' time. However, Trogg himself does handle well, and I've always liked the way he can grab onto a ladder mid-jump to prevent himself falling too far to his doom. The game is hard, at least very tricky. If I lost a life on the first level, I'd usually restart, as Levels 2 and 3 are so HARD that you'd need all lives intact just for a remote chance to complete it. Did I ever get to the end? No. Occasionally I'd get through Level 2 onto the insanity of Level 3 (where, gotta say, the route you're meant to follow isn't the clearest), would once in a blue moon ALMOST complete it, but never quite. My Dad was always telling me that "A man at work finished it, and when you have, the whole thing then plays upside down", which eventually was confirmed to be true, the game does. (BTW 'Frak!' was seemingly a particular favourite at my Dad's workplace, great use of the MOD's resources there!!!; and even today, 'Frak!', like 'Frogger', is a typical generic term my father will use when referring to computer games). There was always the rumour of various 'naughty' hacked versions, the most common cited being where Trogg's yo-yo is replaced by something that definitely isn't a yo-yo, but back in the day never actually encountered any of these (I know there's a couple of versions on-line). I did however, later have a hacked version where you could choose extra (infinite?) lives, level select, and various other options (which is where I finally got to see the "upside down play"). However, the hack was quite buggy and after a game over or two, would have all sorts of weird side effects on gameplay (which themselves were fun to play, but unpredictable). I was always a bit miffed when I found that the Electron version, despite only being monochrome, had more levels; always longed for - and was a bit surprised, given the game's success- an expanded BBC equivalent version with these additional levels. Also, I wasn't aware until recent years that the jaunty rendition of 'Captain Pugwash' that plays over the instructions is actually, supposedly copy protection (Pugwash being a pirate!), supposedly triggered when the game is copied - how true this is I don't know, but that original disk version of mine was indeed a (ahem) backup copy and used to blare it out. I do have an original cassette version I later acquired but not sure I even loaded it up so don't know if the whole thing is true or not. The in-game music is indeed great; for some reason even to this day I often find myself whistling the theme to Level 2. It's a shame that Pelling's planned 'Frak 2' never saw the light of day. I saw the new Steam version was available; ordinarily I'm not much one for modern remakes or "in the style of classics" games so much (dunno why, if it ain't original era it just doesn't really hook me in), but think I'm gonna download the new expanded version to lose myself in a bit over the festive period.
I always enjoy your recollections, thank you for sharing! Frak is a firm favourite with many Beeb gamers, I'm glad to hear it's one of yours 😀 Do have a go at the Steam version, it's definitely worth it and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how faithful it is to the original game 👍
@@MrLondonGo Probably already mentioned it on a number of the Top 85 Beeb games comments. :) 'Repton 3' ('Life of Repton' is my personal favourite, so comes under the same banner). 'Citadel' is an extremely close second.
Running out of time proves far more than a minor visual impediment 😂 When a level switches to "night time", Trogg's yo-yo no longer removes daggers and balloons from play!
Great video, thank you! I'll be honest now and I had Frak but I didn't like it. (most probably because I found it really hard to play, mainly the jumping which I found incredibly tough). If I remember rightly, if you break into the loader it plays the Captain Pugwash theme?
It is tough, no doubt about that! Yes, there is a Captain Pugwash theme poke, you're absolutely right - no doubt in homage to all the pirated copies of Frak! 😄
Such an absurd game: top marks for silliest concept. I recall one gets more points for level 1 by doing it in a fast time, rather than collecting the gems and shooting all the baddies.
Ah, is that right? I'll have to see if I can do a "Frak speed run" like those people who manage to complete Super Mario Brothers on the NES in just a few minutes! 😄
You say pixel perfect hit detection ... If anything the problem arises in the other direction, whith daggers killing you even when they didn't hit you ... I assume this is because of troggs hit box
Perhaps it depends on which way Trogg is facing? I know his nose is extra sensitive, hence being possible to use it as a collection device 😄 The daggers generally cause trouble, though, I agree...
That's not the original loading screens. I think that must be the hacked versions. In the original there was no music for loading and the captain pugwash theme only played if you ran hidden code in the loader that didn't normally run! Captain pugwash was a pirate see :-)
I love Frak. I was 6 years old in 1985 and my parents bought 2 BBC Micro computers at about that sort of time in my life. I loved most of the games on that computer but Repton and Frak were 2 of my favourite games. My mum was always copying games from the original disc to blank discs. It was extremely rare that we owned an original copy of any game.
Frak is a firm favourite with those of us who had a Beeb (or access to one) at a young age, yes - and you certainly weren't alone in having lots of copied games! 😉
I've just noticed level 1 spells out FRAK in level layout. 33 years later.
Don't worry, I think I only first noticed it when I saw the full level layouts in Nick Pelling's new PC version of Frak on Steam!
The hacked version of FRAK was in our school and it was very naughty if I remember correctly. Enough said lol.
Ah yes, probably the same hacked version I remember, too... 😅
profanity is not clever or grown up. (but it can be very funny)
It was called Bad frac. Loved it!
"Here we go, I'm going to complete the level now..." 😂😂😂. If there's anything I've learned it's that you never take anything for granted in this game.
Haha you're absolutely right, never take anything as written with this game! Balloons haven't been this devastating since the Hindenburg 😅
@Colin Hoad 😂 I'm ashamed to say that I hadn't played this game until I was one of the games testers on Nick's recent Steam version. It's definitely more tricky than it looks (especially the upside down levels!).
I had a copy of this in 1984-5. Thank you for the steam link, I just bought it and I hope that means I'm in the clear now. lol
Haha I'm sure you've paid your dues to Mr. Pelling now 😅 Enjoy the new edition, it has some great "extras" 👍
Great to see this one featured Colin, as it's one of my all time favourite Beeb games - I'd probably have it in my personal top 10, maybe even top 5 (hence my typical essay thoughts on it!!); even nowadays is one of my go-to games when I feel like a 20 minute blast of some old BBC gaming fun. It was also one of the first BBC games (and as such, any computer games) that I ever played. On the fabled "first two compilation disks my Dad borrowed from work"; it was the third game he ever loaded up to show me (after 'Frogger' clone 'The Frog', and 'Killer Gorilla'). Additionally to that, probably some months later, it was the first game that I got anywhere with, when young me managed to complete the first level ... Which I actually did partly by accident. There's actually a shortcut (you probably know this already) at the end of L1 where you can walk down the bottom part of the 'K' (by the way, young me never immediately noticed the level spells out 'Frak!') and just keep walking; just as you're about to fall to your death, Trogg's nose will clip the final key, completing the level. I wonder if Nick Pelling put this in deliberately or is just a fun little accident of design.
It is a terrific looking game, so colourful and bold, I'd actually say one of the best looking on the Beeb, especially for such a relatively early-ish release. Considering it only actually features four colours on each level, the way it employs those colours is amazing. In many ways, 'Frak!' doesn't even look like a BBC-only game at all in terms of style of graphics. I have to say, I never encountered it in schools (except when I'd take my own copy in for a sneaky lunchtime play!), but it is such a unique game that any Speccy or Commodore owning, non-BBC friends that ever game 'round for a computer session would always ask we play it, it seemed to be one that anyone who ever played it really liked. I always hold 'Frak!' up as a great example as a BBC original, non-arcade clone game that demonstrates what a good gaming machine the Beeb actually could be.
I always found it a funny, interesting game element how you'd play in the dark after the time ran out. I'd have to sort-of-disagree with you about the pixel perfect collision, though - it always struck myself, and friends playing it, how it would vary. Sometimes a balloon or knife would almost clip you but let you off, other times it clearly wouldn't be within contact range but it was yellow-balloon 'Frak!' time. However, Trogg himself does handle well, and I've always liked the way he can grab onto a ladder mid-jump to prevent himself falling too far to his doom.
The game is hard, at least very tricky. If I lost a life on the first level, I'd usually restart, as Levels 2 and 3 are so HARD that you'd need all lives intact just for a remote chance to complete it. Did I ever get to the end? No. Occasionally I'd get through Level 2 onto the insanity of Level 3 (where, gotta say, the route you're meant to follow isn't the clearest), would once in a blue moon ALMOST complete it, but never quite. My Dad was always telling me that "A man at work finished it, and when you have, the whole thing then plays upside down", which eventually was confirmed to be true, the game does. (BTW 'Frak!' was seemingly a particular favourite at my Dad's workplace, great use of the MOD's resources there!!!; and even today, 'Frak!', like 'Frogger', is a typical generic term my father will use when referring to computer games). There was always the rumour of various 'naughty' hacked versions, the most common cited being where Trogg's yo-yo is replaced by something that definitely isn't a yo-yo, but back in the day never actually encountered any of these (I know there's a couple of versions on-line). I did however, later have a hacked version where you could choose extra (infinite?) lives, level select, and various other options (which is where I finally got to see the "upside down play"). However, the hack was quite buggy and after a game over or two, would have all sorts of weird side effects on gameplay (which themselves were fun to play, but unpredictable).
I was always a bit miffed when I found that the Electron version, despite only being monochrome, had more levels; always longed for - and was a bit surprised, given the game's success- an expanded BBC equivalent version with these additional levels. Also, I wasn't aware until recent years that the jaunty rendition of 'Captain Pugwash' that plays over the instructions is actually, supposedly copy protection (Pugwash being a pirate!), supposedly triggered when the game is copied - how true this is I don't know, but that original disk version of mine was indeed a (ahem) backup copy and used to blare it out. I do have an original cassette version I later acquired but not sure I even loaded it up so don't know if the whole thing is true or not. The in-game music is indeed great; for some reason even to this day I often find myself whistling the theme to Level 2.
It's a shame that Pelling's planned 'Frak 2' never saw the light of day. I saw the new Steam version was available; ordinarily I'm not much one for modern remakes or "in the style of classics" games so much (dunno why, if it ain't original era it just doesn't really hook me in), but think I'm gonna download the new expanded version to lose myself in a bit over the festive period.
I always enjoy your recollections, thank you for sharing! Frak is a firm favourite with many Beeb gamers, I'm glad to hear it's one of yours 😀 Do have a go at the Steam version, it's definitely worth it and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how faithful it is to the original game 👍
Put you on the spot here Pj, what would be your #1 Beeb game?
@@MrLondonGo Probably already mentioned it on a number of the Top 85 Beeb games comments. :) 'Repton 3' ('Life of Repton' is my personal favourite, so comes under the same banner). 'Citadel' is an extremely close second.
@@pjgathergood6987 halcyon days! cheers
@@MrLondonGo Indeed - though those days never ended, still play 'em even now! :) What's yours?
What a fantastic game! It's as entertaining as ever - almost like watching a slow motion train wreck 😅 Great review 👍
Thank you! Yes, there is a comical "slo-mo of doom" between knowing you've failed and seeing Trogg meet his inevitable fate 😁
Running out of time proves far more than a minor visual impediment 😂
When a level switches to "night time", Trogg's yo-yo no longer removes daggers and balloons from play!
Yikes! Mr Pelling takes no prisoners 😅
Its starting to look a lot like Christmas! look forward to watching this one.
You may be surprised to discover that I'm not *completely* terrible at this one 😄
th-cam.com/video/bD2Vxu2_LHk/w-d-xo.html
That visible area seems huge compared to what we had on Commodore 64. I still own the original game though no longer working 64.
Sorry to hear your C64 isn't working anymore 🤒 If you fancy a game of Frak! you can always try the Steam version 😉
Great video, thank you! I'll be honest now and I had Frak but I didn't like it. (most probably because I found it really hard to play, mainly the jumping which I found incredibly tough). If I remember rightly, if you break into the loader it plays the Captain Pugwash theme?
It is tough, no doubt about that! Yes, there is a Captain Pugwash theme poke, you're absolutely right - no doubt in homage to all the pirated copies of Frak! 😄
Such an absurd game: top marks for silliest concept. I recall one gets more points for level 1 by doing it in a fast time, rather than collecting the gems and shooting all the baddies.
Ah, is that right? I'll have to see if I can do a "Frak speed run" like those people who manage to complete Super Mario Brothers on the NES in just a few minutes! 😄
You say pixel perfect hit detection ...
If anything the problem arises in the other direction, whith daggers killing you even when they didn't hit you ...
I assume this is because of troggs hit box
Perhaps it depends on which way Trogg is facing? I know his nose is extra sensitive, hence being possible to use it as a collection device 😄 The daggers generally cause trouble, though, I agree...
Yes, daggers flying over the back of his head definitely do not play fair!
The collision detection is WAY off.
That's not the original loading screens. I think that must be the hacked versions. In the original there was no music for loading and the captain pugwash theme only played if you ran hidden code in the loader that didn't normally run! Captain pugwash was a pirate see :-)
Haha that makes sense 😄
Wasn't level 4 upside down? Or was that a cracked version?
Well remembered - yes, if you completed the original 3 levels, it looped around and flipped them upside down!