| “ | Dr. Starkenstein is an evil genius, who loves to take living things apart and put them back together in strange ways! The main problem is he never seems to finish his creations correctly! He is the creator of Geeky Bill and Stinky Phil, and the gigantic Metal Chicken Ray. He is said to have aided other evil beings who wished to rule the Third Kingdom in the past. | „ |
| ~ Description from the "Collection" menu |
Dr. Starkenstein is a recurring antagonist in the Frogger series.
He was voiced by Dave Rivas.
Description[]
Dr. Starkenstein is a secondary antagonist in Frogger: The Great Quest and is present during the Dark Trail section of the game. Starkenstein is a mad scientist who lives in a formidable castle, which is appropriately named Castle Starkenstein, near the aforementioned trail. Dr. Starkenstein has his assistants, Geeky Bill and Stinky Phil, kidnap creatures that make it through the Dark Trail and bring them to his castle, where he harvests any desired body parts and/or organs from them to continue his experiments.
Official bios[]
Frogger: The Great Quest[]
- "This mad scientist conducts secret experiments in an old castle high on top of a hill. Rumor has it that he is only missing one ingredient to build a supremely powerful monster... could that ingredient be Frog Legs?"
Frogger Advance: The Great Quest[]
- "This evil doctor plans to experiment on Frogger, but first Dr. Starkenstein must send his creature to subdue Frogger. Frogger must avoid Starkenstein's monster and rattle the Doctor's cage until he makes a striking mistake."
Appearances[]
Frogger: The Great Quest[]
In the PlayStation 2 and PC versions of the game, Frogger first encounters Dr. Starkenstein after his assistants, Geeky Bill and Stinky Phil, kidnap Frogger when he is walking on the Dark Trail, and bring him to the guest room in his castle. When Frogger first meets Dr. Starkenstein, the scientist states that it's dangerous for Frogger to be out in the forest at night and then orders Geeky to take Frogger to the guest room (which they are already right in front of). Starkenstein, along with Stinky, returns to his lab, leaving Frogger alone with Geeky. After warning Frogger of the evil nature of his master, Geeky returns to Dr. Starkenstein's lab while Frogger tries to escape the castle.
After wandering through the castle and almost getting into a fight with Big Bertha, Frogger enters Dr. Starkenstein's lab, and while hiding behind a crate, witnesses the unveiling of Starkenstein's ultimate creation: the great Metal Chicken Ray. After Frogger reveals himself to Dr. Starkenstein, the mad scientist tells the amphibian protagonist of how his experiments require supplies, namely animal parts, and how he needs Frogger's legs. Starkenstein then orders Stinky and the Metal Chicken Ray to attack Frogger.
Frogger must then smash the bulbs on all of the nearby electrical generators in order to open the exit to the lab while avoiding the attacks of Stinky and the Great Metal Chicken Ray. Once Frogger succeeds in escaping the lab, he can reach the Catacombs and continue on his quest.
Frogger Advance: The Great Quest[]
In the Game Boy Advance version of the game, Dr. Starkenstein's main role as an antagonist is him imprisoning Princess Dar in one of his many castle towers. When Frogger enters Dr. Starkenstein's lab, Starkenstein expresses no interest in harvesting the amphibian's legs and is more concerned about the fact that Frogger is trespassing in his castle, and has a more neurotic and arrogant personality. Like in the PlayStation 2 and PC versions of the game, he sends the Giant Metal Chicken Ray to attack Frogger. What makes the Game Boy Advance version different is that the Starkenstein boss fight involves Frogger climbing up a series of vertical platforms while hitting Dr. Starkenstein, who is in an elevator, with tongue attacks and/or magic stones. After hitting Dr. Starkens6tein nine times, his elevator goes into an active Tesla coil, effectively defeating him.
Personality[]
Overall, Dr. Starkenstein is a rather quiet, scientific man whose main focus in life is his research. Upon first meeting Frogger, Starkenstein comes off as polite and altruistic in allowing Frogger to be his "guest" to keep the amphibian safe from harm, but in actuality, Dr. Starkenstein is a sociopathic scientist who expresses no hesitation or remorse in harvesting from creatures that happen to be in the area (whether he kills the creatures before harvesting their body parts/organs is unknown). From Geeky's warning to Frogger, it can be concluded that Dr. Starkenstein is cruel toward his own creations.
Quotes[]
- "Welcome to my castle!" (Dr. Starkenstein meeting Frogger in The Great Quest)
- "Ha, ha, ha! Well, whoever you are, you're staying right here! Come, Metal Chicken Ray!" (Dr. Starkenstein's pre-battle speech in Frogger Advance)
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Dr. Starkenstein's character is based on Dr. Victor Frankenstein. Both characters have similar names, live in large castles located in remote areas, have dim-witted assistants, and work on scientific experiments that utilize harvesting the body parts of other creatures.
- Dr. Starkenstein talks in a similar manner as Dr. Evil from the Austin Powers series of spy comedy films. This could be a reference, as the Austin Powers films were being released and were at the peak of their popularity around the time Frogger: The Great Quest was released, in the early 2000s.
- In Frogger Advance, Dr. Starkenstein actually has to be directly damaged during his boss fight, whereas in The Great Quest, only a series of electrical nodes have to be destroyed in order to open the door leading out of the lab.