While here in the US, the Nintendo Switch Online service got three new Mario games this week (yes, Alley is a Mario game), the update for Japan including a bonus classic that you may not have heard of before. Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru (officially translated as The frog for whom the bell tolls) was a Japanese Game Boy release, co-developed by the renowned tag team of Nintendo R&D1 and Intelligent Systems, responsible for much of the Game Boy series. And while The frog for whom the bell tolls may not be a household name, if you’re a fan of it The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (and who doesn’t?) You should take the time to play it.
“Link’s awakening‘s development story is retold again and again, but what is almost always left out is that it is directly on top of (…) Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru”, details from Nintendo Life’s Jon Cartwright this excellent video. That really becomes clear when you see the game in motion. From the engine to the font and the transition from top-down to side-scrolling, The frog for whom the bell tolls should look familiar.
Something else should seem familiar to those of you who have played Link’s awakening. Prince Richard, the strange man with the frogs who lives in Pothole Field, asking you to help him find his five Golden Leaves? That character actually comes true The frog for whom the bell tolls, and even the music playing in his villa is a variation on that game’s theme. Here is a description of Marc Normandin’s fun RetroXP Newsletter:
Prince Richard is not actually the main character of For the Frog the Bell Tolls, but is instead his best friend. The main character is the Prince of Sable, named and controlled by you. The adventure begins with the two princes (oh no) finding out that a princess is in trouble and needs to be saved, leading to the two trying to race the other to the finish line.
Another familiar face to Smash Bros. fans is the aforementioned Prince Sable, who appears as an Assist Trophy and uses his frog and snake powers. Oh yeah, about that again of Normandy:
Prince Sable can turn into a frog or a snake, and ultimately he can basically do this at will. A witch turns Prince Richard and his men – who first arrived to rescue Princess Tiramisu of Delarin – into frogs, and later the Prince of Sable into a frog.
If you don’t live in Japan or don’t read Japanese, don’t worry! A English fan translation was created in 2011 and can be applied to a copy of the ROM. (Or, if you prefer, here is an updated version that changes the title of The bell rings for the Frog to Nintendo’s now “official” translation The frog for whom the bell tolls.) As for applying patches to ROM files, or dumping a cartridge to obtain a ROM file, I leave that up to you and your ability to search the Internet. From there, all you have to do is find a suitable emulator – and nowadays it does even iPhones are in the game.