Amphibia: The Telltale Series

Amphibia: The Telltale Series (also titled and marketed as Amphibia with The Telltale Series written in Amphibian text) is an episodic graphic adventure game based on the Disney Channel animated series of the same name. The game was developed by Avalanche Software, published by LCG Entertainment under Telltale Games, and distributed by Athlon Games. The game had 5 episodes released from November 2022 through April 2023. It received generally mixed reviews by critics and audiences, and was nominated for an award.

The game, which takes place around 10 years after the end of the series, but a week after the epilogue, the plot centers on now 23-year-old Anne Boonchuy returning to Amphibia with Sasha Waybright and Marcy Wu, after a new threat to the multiverse has been confirmed.

Gameplay
The game follows the same episodic format, like the original Telltale's previous games. The game should also serve as a sequel to the original series. Players assume the role of now 23-year-old Anne Boonchuy who lives in Los Angeles as she later finds out about a new enemy threatening the multiverse. She later regroups with her old friends, known as Amphibians, to assist her. The game is a fantasy comedy made with quick time events, dialogue trees, solving puzzles, and moving around in a free environment where the player could interact with objects and other characters. The game also has the "crowd play" feature, where fans can choose choices. This feature was first introduced in Batman: The Telltale Series.

Series synopses
"With King Andrias, the great ruler of Amphibia defeated, now 23-year-old fearless girl Anne Boonchuy has been acclaimed as the new hero of Amphibia. However, don't even think the adventure is not over just yet, as Anne discovers a ritual which says of a new enemy that could potentially destroy the multiverse. Together with her friend Sprig Plantar and others, they embark on a wild and crazy voyage across Amphibia and other worlds to stop the enemy from taking over."

-Disney TVA News

"The world of Amphibia and other universes have a fate worse than death, and your role as Anne Boonchuy will hold the balance between your friends and family. So all you gotta do is hop into the adventure and gotta ribbit, ribbit, jump on in it!"

-Telltale

Episode 1
10 years after the battle with the Core and last being in Amphibia, Anne Boonchuy works as a herpetologist at the Aquarium of the Pacific. She is then notified of strange behavior from a certain device. Reuniting with her friends Sasha Waybright and Marcy Wu to see this unknown behavior, through dangerous objects as they travel, they attempt to investigate within the Mt. San Antonio near Los Angeles, the mountain that is emitting the strange behavior. The strange behavior is originating from an entirely-new built Calamity Box, whom Anne thought was destroyed. She opens the box, which teleports the three back to Amphibia.

Episode 2
Arriving back in Newtopia, Anne reunites with Sprig Plantar, both of whom are later interrupted by a swarm of lizards attempting to overtake Newtopia. Remembering her actions during her first visit, Anne successfully defeats the swarm.

A few minutes later, Sprig receives a message from an "old friend", telling him to meet up in the dangerous forest of Amphibia. He accepts it, and Anne also comes with him. When they arrive, a Frilled Lizard attacks them, and they defeat it. The "old friend" from earlier walks up behind the two, surprising them both. She introduces herself as "Rue", an eastern newt to Anne. She brings them both to her village, which has been destroyed by a "supernatural entity". Feeling pity about her, Anne tries to help Rue, but she denies it. But Sprig offers an invite to stay at the Plantars' farm, to which Rue accepts. When they get back to Wartwood, everyone welcomes Anne back to Amphibia.

Episode 3
At a meeting hosted by Sasha and Marcy, the group later locates an ancient artifact hidden deep within a temple located in the dangerous parts of Amphibia, which they will leave next morning. When they get there, they are attacked by Elijah Thompson, who thought they were enemies, though he would choose to team up with them. The temple is filled with different traps and other dangerous things, even one where they would have to split up.

Near the end of the temple is the artifact named the "New World's Power". Before Anne tries to grab it, Rue unexpectedly grabs it before Anne, receiving the power from the artifact. Sprig is confused by this, and Rue reveals that it was a trick to get them into helping her rule the multiverse, something that King Andrias attempted to do. Rue then banishes Anne and Sprig to different dimensions.

Episode 4
In another dimension outside of Amphibia, Anne lands on some rocks in a cave. She walks down the cave, which leads to a mine. The mine leads to a large mining facility underground. Suddenly, an eerie sound creeps up behind them, prompting them to hide. It is a Frog-Bot, which is roaming wildly. Sprig prepares his slingshot, waiting to attack it. Both of them choose to pop out and attack the robot. It then opens a portal, which leads to another dimension.

After a couple of portal-hopping, they spot Marcy and Sasha on a ledge in a cliff world. They manage to save the two, and look for the others. They later find Polly in a weapon-shop in Village Fond. Confused by what the place is, a civilian calls the leader, who is revealed to be Elijah. Anne convinces Elijah to go with them, but says he can't, as he has to protect the village.

Some time later, in another place outside of Village Fond, Anne, Sprig, Polly, Marcy, and Sasha arrive at a cavern, which appears to be filled with life. As they enter a boat-like leaf, Sprig then admits his old life to Anne, to which they make out. However, their conversation are interrupted when a stalagmite impales the leaf. The five manage to get out in time, though their luck are short-lived, as they fall off a waterfall and into a ravine, but water there breaks their fall. When they get aground, they see an open portal that leads back to Amphibia, only to see that the entire continent is in ruins.

Episode 5
After seeing the ruins of Amphibia, the Calamity Box is then used to teleport the group back to Earth. In success, when they get back to Los Angeles, they find Anne's parents. They all escape to a shop, where they'll then have to find some other relic to help defeat Rue. While looking around, Anne sees a special stone, which is the one used to place on the pedestal. With everything set up, Anne is now ready to fight Rue. But before she does so, she has to find the rest of the people she knows to keep them safe. After getting them all, she needs the Plantars, Sasha, Marcy, and Elijah to fight with her.

They were all able to make it to the ship via a rocket. When they get inside, they spot Rue’s new assistants, Chernobog and Lilitu. As they fought, they won and get deeper inside the ship, where they encounter Rue. When they get to her, she opens a door, which shows everyone that the Plantars knew, including Ivy, Maddie, Wally, Leopold, General Yunan, Lady Olivia, and many others. She opens a portal leading to another dimension, which the latter enters. They enter a mystery-like dimension, which includes every villain in the TV series, such as Captain Grime, Curator Ponds, and King Andrias. Rue can be seen in the distance, waiting for Anne and Sprig to approach her. As they start battling, Rue uses her powers to teleport her and Anne into a place where Rue can bring back the antagonists of the TV series back to life, such as Captain Grime and King Andrias.

After Anne finishes them off, she is teleported back to the mystery-like dimension, where Sprig, Polly, and Hop Pop is trying to hold off the creatures. Anne uses the spell to finish the first step of the key to defeating Rue. Then, she uses the special stone for the next step. And finally, she fights off with Rue. If all steps are done correctly, Rue will be stripped of her powers. She now has to choose whether or not she helps Rue or not. After the battle, the ship is destroyed, and Anne’s family and friends congratulate her, Polly, Hop Pop and Sprig for winning. If the player chose to help Rue, she would choose to head back to undo all the damage she's done, and say sorry to Anne and Sprig.

One week later, LA is being rebuilt, while Anne is sitting on a branch of a tree. She sees Elijah in his school uniform, saying that now he has to make up all his missing work, which would be a disappointment to him. Now with that over, everyone will say goodbye to each other. However, knowing she can’t have both entities in the same world, Anne now has to choose to either return to Amphibia or stay on Earth. If the player chooses to return to Amphibia, Anne will give her parents one last hug before entering the portal. If the player chooses to stay on Earth, Anne’s parents will say she’s earned herself a new story in the Boonchuy family. Either way, they walk away to the place they’re headed to, ending the episode and the series.

In a post-credits scene, a robot’s parts form to create Frog-Bot X, which foreshadows a possible sequel.

Voice cast

 * Brenda Song as Anne Boonchuy, the playable main protagonist of the game.
 * Justin Felbinger as Sprig Plantar, the deuteragonist and best friend of Anne.
 * Ashly Burch as Rue, the hidden main antagonist of the game and is Sprig's "friend". She also wants to complete King Andrias' goal: "take over the multiverse."
 * Amanda Leighton as Polly Plantar.
 * Anna Akana as Sasha Waybright, one of Anne's best friends.
 * Haley Tju as Marcy Wu, another one of Anne's best friends.
 * Scott Porter as Elijah Thompson, an original character who teamed up with Anne.
 * Keith David as King Andrias, the king and a former main antagonist of Amphibia.
 * JB Blanc as Sam, another original character who is an older friend of Leopold.
 * Nolan North as Tad, a frog, and part of the "ARG".
 * Adam Harrington as Dart, a newt and is also part of the "ARG".
 * Fred Tatasciore as Archimedes, a toad and is also part of the "ARG".
 * These characters appear in episodes 1, 2 & 5.
 * Brian Maillard as Leopold Loggle, a carver.
 * Zehra Fazal as General Yunan, a warrior of Newtopia.
 * Michelle Dockery as Lady Olivia.
 * Alex Hirsch as Curator Ponds, an antagonist of "Wax Museum".
 * Troy Baker as Captain Grime.
 * TBD

In addition, Richard Epcar provides the voice role of the Narrator.

Episodes
The following episode synopses are taken from the episode selection screen.

Episode 1: Return to Amphibia
Anne Boonchuy settles into her new, peaceful life after the great battle with King Andrias, the ruler of Amphibia. But what she doesn’t know is that a new threat will take place between Earth and the entire multiverse itself.

Episode 2: New Discoveries
Back in the mysterious world of Amphibia once again, Anne recruits with her very own frog friend, Sprig. However, a very shocking discovery will be made in the central parts of Amphibia.

Episode 3: The Unknown Temple
With every known universe in trouble, the team discovers a hidden temple located deep within the dangerous parts of Amphibia. On the way, a mysterious relic can help the gang, but could it be enough to stop the enemy and save the multiverse?

Episode 4: Mystery Portal
Not only has the enemy revealed a very shocking truth, but the entire team will need to reunite with old allies before this enemy begins to get out of control. Time is running out as soon as they can find a true way to defeat the enemy.

Episode 5: Battle for the Multiverse
The final battle with Anne’s newest, strongest and greatest enemy will seal all worlds across the multiverse to an ultimately unknown, yet debatable fate for the entire population.

Development
Amphibia: The Telltale Series had begun development prior to the airing of the series finale of Amphibia, "The Hardest Thing". While writing a script for a video game, Telltale had approached Matt Braly, creator and executive producer of Amphibia, to offer a Telltale game based on one of his projects. Despite the fact he doubted of a Telltale game based on a Disney property, he still chose to accept the offer. One of the first projects by Telltale was Amphibia, with the best estimated release being sometime in late Fall 2022. The game is expected to use the fourth-generation of the Unreal Engine. However, unlike the previous Telltale development, all episodes will be developed at the same time rather than standalone development.

According to a developer, the team wanted to make the characters as 2D as they can, as it was the show's natural look. In some occasions, there are a couple of 3D characters, most of which aren't in the TV series.

Like Minecraft: Story Mode, the team chose to make Amphibia: The Telltale Series a family friendly title, though it is mostly aimed for older audiences. While being interviewed by IGN, Braly confirmed that it originally had a more dramatic story, and it would've received a more serious rating, like a T rating.

The voice cast of the TV show had reprised their roles in the game. Brenda Song confirmed that the game would have a much more serious impact on her character, Anne. Justin Felbinger also confirmed of new features that can't be seen on some of Telltale's games. New actors like Ashly Burch and Scott Porter were confirmed to be two of the voice actors for the game, though their roles weren't revealed at the time.

The game was first teased at San Diego Comic-Con 2021 as "Untitled Amphibia Game". The next year at SDCC 2022, the game was fully announced.

Release & Reception
During the reveal at San Diego Comic-Con 2022, the release date was revealed, in which the first episode would be released on November 22, 2022.

Reception
Amphibia: The Telltale Series received mixed reviews from critics and fans of the show, praising its voice acting, animation, action, and faithfulness to the TV series, but criticized the continuity of the TV show's storyline and the presence of many technical issues. The plot received mixed reviews as well, criticizing its similarity to the S3 plot, but praising its new elements.

Soundtrack
The soundtrack, Amphibia: The Telltale Series - Original Soundtrack, is a digital-exclusive soundtrack album released by Walt Disney Records on August 1, 2022, 2 months before the first episode of the game was released. The album contains songs played in the full game, including two new original songs named “A Frog’s Path” by Antimo & Welles and “A New Adventure” by Anadel, and a couple of songs that were used in Amphibia, such as “Rather Be” by Clean Bandit and “Lean on Me” by Bill Withers.

Video game soundtrack

 * 1) Jakeneutron - No Big Deal (S3 Remix)
 * 2) Clean Bandit - Rather Be
 * 3) Antimo & Welles - A Frog's Path
 * 4) Antimo & Welles - In Circles
 * 5) Anadel - Cosmic Creatures
 * 6) Anadel - A New Adventure
 * 7) Bill Withers - Lean on Me

Score
The score of Amphibia: The Telltale Series, which has been composed by Antimo & Welles had been released on YouTube Music, Spotify and Apple Music in pairs, with the first part being released a day after Episode 1 had been released. This would go on for the rest of the parts.

Episode 1 Score

 * New Day, New Beginnings
 * Work Route (101 Credits)
 * Aquarium of the West
 * The New Attack
 * Sasha's House
 * Midnight Ruins
 * Investigation Blues
 * Underground Light
 * Back in Amphibia
 * Red Mantis Attack
 * City in the Distance
 * Newtopia Freewalk
 * Reunited
 * Sprig's Note
 * Hostile Attack

Episode 2 Score

 * The Great Fight
 * From Robots to Frogs
 * Rebuilding (102 Credits)
 * The Forest
 * Frilled Lizard
 * Rue's Introduction
 * Abandoned Town
 * Back to Newtopia
 * Old Exploration
 * River Runaway
 * Date Night
 * Planning

Episode 3 Score

 * Dawn of a New Day
 * Preparation
 * Farewells
 * The Voyage Begins (103 Credits)
 * Break Time
 * Hostile Toads
 * The Temple
 * Second Fight
 * Elijah's Introduction
 * Mysterious Runes
 * Split-Up
 * The Test
 * Flipwart
 * Lilypads
 * Break-out
 * The Relic
 * Betrayed

Episode 4 Score

 * The Mystery World
 * Cave Walk
 * The Open Mine
 * Disc Track
 * Stealth Mode
 * Portal Hopping (104 Credits)
 * Cliff World
 * The Hunt
 * Village Fond
 * The Leader of Village Fond
 * The Key
 * Nature Cave
 * Spranne Against the World
 * The Portal
 * Amphibia in Ruins
 * Newtopia Ruin
 * Charged Stone
 * Back to Earth

Episode 5 Score

 * Silent Footsteps (105 Credits)
 * Earth Invasion
 * Saving the Parents
 * Thrift Hideout
 * Hunt for Friends
 * Rocket to the Ship
 * Confronting Rue
 * The Story
 * The Other Dimension
 * Fighting Rue
 * Toad Tower
 * Newtopia Castle
 * No Big Deal (fight remix)
 * Escape the Dimension
 * Normal Life Again

Episode 1 achievements/trophies

 * A New Beginning - Complete Chapter 1 of Episode 1
 * Work Time - Complete Chapter 2 of Episode 1
 * The New Threat - Complete Chapter 3 of Episode 1
 * Encounter the Box - Complete Chapter 4 of Episode 1
 * Welcome to Amphibia - Complete Chapter 5 of Episode 1
 * Best Fronds - Complete Chapter 6 of Episode 1

Episode 2 achievements/trophies

 * The Second Newtopian War - Complete Chapter 1 of Episode 2
 * An Old Friend - Complete Chapter 2 of Episode 2
 * Return to Wartwood - Complete Chapter 3 of Episode 2
 * Unanswered Mysteries - Complete Chapter 4 of Episode 2
 * Dating Season - Complete Chapter 5 of Episode 2
 * Road Trip - Complete Chapter 6 of Episode 2

Episode 3 achievements/trophies

 * See Ya Later - Complete Chapter 1 of Episode 3
 * Safe for Now - Complete Chapter 2 of Episode 3
 * A Friend or Foe - Complete Chapter 3 of Episode 3
 * Inside the Temple - Complete Chapter 4 of Episode 3
 * Real Desperation - Complete Chapter 5 of Episode 3
 * The Real Truth - Complete Chapter 6 of Episode 3

Episode 4 achievements/trophies

 * The Underground - Complete Chapter 1 of Episode 4
 * All the Worlds - Complete Chapter 2 of Episode 4
 * The Gang's Back Together - Complete Chapter 3 of Episode 4
 * The Confession - Complete Chapter 4 of Episode 4
 * Is It Too Late - Complete Chapter 5 of Episode 4
 * No Time to Lose - Complete Chapter 6 of Episode 4

Episode 5 achievements/trophies

 * Earth’s Invasion - Complete Chapter 1 of Episode 5
 * Keep Them Safe - Complete Chapter 2 of Episode 5
 * Special Ops - Complete Chapter 3 of Episode 5
 * Where is Here - Complete Chapter 4 of Episode 5
 * True Colors - Complete Chapter 5 of Episode 5
 * History Repeats Itself - Complete Chapter 6 of Episode 5
 * No Big Deal - Completed Amphibia (PlayStation 4 & 5 Exclusive)

Possible sequel
Alex Hirsch had not confirmed of a sequel to be in development, although he said he'd like to do another Telltale game aimed for general audiences, possibly based on Gravity Falls.

On May 5, 2023, in a tweet, Matt Braly had mentioned a possibility of a sequel to Amphibia: The Telltale Series. He said that if the game was considered to have a sequel, he said he'd like the game to be about robots and other AI in Amphibia, thus making him come up with the title "Amphibia: The AI Trouble".

Trivia

 * Anne uses her very own S3 outfit for the events of this game. Although the outfit is identical, the only difference is that there is a blue vest over her shirt.
 * Mr. and Mrs. Boonchuy themselves appear in the game as minor characters.
 * Anne is also the second playable character in all of Telltale's games to have parents, the first being Peter Quill in Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series.
 * However, that was a flashback. If the flashbacks do not count, Anne is the first playable character to have parents.
 * Matt Braly had confirmed of many new original characters such as Rue, Sam, Chernobog, Lilitu and Elijah at the time of its first reveal.
 * Since the game is similar to the 2015-2017 video game Minecraft: Story Mode, another game made by Telltale:
 * There are many references to characters from that game.
 * There can be mild depictions of violence shown.
 * This is the second game from Telltale to be rated E10+ and PEGI 7.
 * The "Your story is changing." popup may appear when a major choice has changed a player's story.
 * TBD
 * Some mild language like "heck" could be heard throughout the game, but not real swear words like "damn" or "hell".
 * Like in the TV series, the word "frog" is used in many explicit sentences as censors.
 * Alex Hirsch confirmed to lend his voice in the game, but like Ashly Burch and Scott Porter, his role wasn't revealed yet at the time of his confirmation.
 * The main menu itself was entirely animated by Jenn Strickland.
 * The main menu was originally going to include the song "Lean on Me" by Bill Withers, but this was switched to "Rather Be" by Clean Bandit, then to a score composed by Antimo & Welles until the final decision was made to change the song to the S3 remix of "No Big Deal" by Jakeneutron.
 * However, despite being scrapped, "Rather Be" was used as the first episode's end credits, while "Lean on Me" was used as the final episode's end credits.
 * Antimo & Welles composed the game's soundtrack, remastering some of TJ Hill's work.
 * In "The Unknown Temple", if the player chooses to look at a ritual, the ritual will say that what Amphibia was once was, with one of them being the continent originally called "Amphibiland". This is a second nod reference to the pilot of the show, with its first reference being in "The New Normal".
 * The ending to "Battle for the Multiverse" was changed many times to fit into a normal ending.
 * Additionally, when the game was in early development, Sprig and Marcy were going to have determinant fates at the end of the episode, but this was scrapped because they thought the fans themselves did not want to see them "dying" again.
 * Frog-Bot X is rumored to be the successor to the Cloak-Bot.
 * This is the first Telltale game since The Walking Dead: Michonne to not include the text "The Telltale Series", but the Amphibian text underneath the logo translates to "The Telltale Series".
 * However, the rest of LCG's games are subtitled A Telltale Series, making this the first game so far to not include the subtitle.
 * The first episode includes a prologue where it includes a recap of the events of the entire TV show itself.
 * A three-episodic pack, titled The World of Amphibia, taking place between the first and second seasons, was planned for the game, but was canceled due to budget cuts. However, elements from the pack might be saved for later projects.
 * In some episodes, you can play as Anne while she is still 13-years-old.
 * In addition, Anne was still considered to be 13-years-old for the entirety of the game. This was later scrapped, as it would completely ruin the entire plot.