3.5/5 ★ – bokonon764's review of Disney•Pixar Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue.

I don’t know who chose the name for this game, but the interminably titled Disney•Pixar Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear To The Rescue is better than it has any right to be. Also, what’s that weird dot between the words “Disney” and “Pixar”? These are the questions. I played a lot of these movie tie-in games when I was a kid, but I always held this one up as the best. And it still plays great all these years later. Although it’s not without its flaws or its dated aspects, this Toy Story game hits So you play as Buzz on his quest to rescue Woody and bring him back to Andy’s house. The levels mirror the film loosely, with a few of the ten levels (fifteen if you count main bosses) being added to fill the game out. Every level is structured the same; you get Pizza Planet tokens, the games big prize, for completing various challenges. Each level has five categories for five tokens: save five lost toys, collect 50 coins, defeat a hidden boss, win a race or time attack, and one hidden behind a puzzle or play forming challenge. It’s a simple game made for kids, so I burned through it, but what a hit of nostalgia this was. DPTS2BLTTR, as it is known colloquially amongst its dedicated fandom, has a strange checkpoint system, in that it has no checkpoint system. You just kinda respawn where you die with the enemy that killed you still all up on you. It’s hilarious. Besides that, the game’s mechanics are pretty fuckin sound for a game that’s over twenty years old. The only glaring thing I noticed is that the hang mechanic doesn’t always work, which is relatively common with older 3D platformers. The camera is pretty awful too, but that’s almost a given playing older games. It is a really old game though, and it has its shitty moments. The main bosses are pretty weak. Gauging depth perception when jumping is a nightmare, and the camera whips around so you can’t keep your jump straight. I used the PS5 emulator’s rewind feature during particularly tricky parts, or when I was just annoyed. I tried not to abuse it too much, and I didn’t need to; most of the time, everything plays smooth with a very light challenge. While I didn’t really like the main bosses, the sub bosses are one of my favorite parts of the game. Finding them in each level is always fun, and while the boss fights them self are nothin to write home about, much like the main bosses, the concepts are fun. It’s symptomatic of how fun the “living toys in human environments” can be in a platformer game. Even if it’s not Toy Story themed, I’d play more games like this. Games like this were made with a purpose: sell more shit. Movie tickets, merchandise, whatever, just as long as it sells. Because of that, most movie tie-in games that I’ve played are pretty weak, or they’re games from my childhood that just don’t really hold up. DPTS2BLTTR (heh) isn’t a masterpiece or anything, but Travellers Tales really put some effort into this one. The music is cool as fuck and you even get to watch some Toy Story 2 clips. Let’s be real, the roof for how good Disney•Pixar Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue (heh) can be is not super high, but it’s a great game. Also, Toy Story rules so hard, I fuckin love Toy Story. Definitely gonna rewatch the Toy Story series soon. Probably skip the fourth one.