Ah man, you remember that part in Toy Story 2 where Rex plays the Buzz Lightyear video game? It's so fake looking back on it now, but seeing it as kids was exciting. Everyone wanted to play that game, myself included. I also vividly remember seeing advertisements for Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue and thinking this was the game shown in the movie. Unfortunately I then never got to actually play it until today. So did it live up to my childhood hype?
Roughly following the plot of the movie, Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue is a level-based 3D platformer. You play as Buzz Lightyear who, together with the rest of Andy's toys, has to rescue Woody from the evil toy collector Al.
Each level is a stage from the film, including locales such as Andy's house, Al's apartment, the toy shop, and even the elevator shaft. Traveller's Tales did an amazing job converting the movie's events into 3D platforming spaces. Though the game does take some liberty by injecting a few extra stages of its own and redesigns familiar places to suit its gameplay needs. I mean, I can't prove that Andy's basement doesn't have toxic sludge all over the floor in the movie, but I would suspect it'd be a plot point if it did.
The goal in each of these levels is to then complete objectives that reward you with tokens, which then unlock new stages. It's possible to miss a few, but you will need to gather most tokens across all the levels to unlock the final boss.
Though each stage has its own unique feel and challenges, their objectives remain largely consistent. You need to gather 50 coins for Hamm, find 5 missing toys, and defeat a mini-boss in each level. With other types of objectives being repeated from time to time as well. It's certainly no Banjo-Kazooie in terms of creativity, but for a movie-licensed game aimed at kids... it's fine. It's a functional formula that is easy to understand and there is enough variety to keep it interesting. Especially when they occasionally toss a clever puzzle or creative platforming challenge into the mix.
Those boss-fights also deserve special mention. Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue is a beefy game with over a dozen levels. There is a lot of content here, so if anything its the bosses where I expected corners to be cut. That's not the case though. Each level has its own villain and each one is creatively designed with its own unique moves, weaknesses, and strategies to them. It's a remarkable effort that makes it so that every levels feels like it has a capstone. Even when said level only covers a minor part of the movie that is being adapted here.
Despite the effort, Toy Story 2 does still feel like a movie tie-in game. A fate that is reflected most obviously in its controls and level of polish. Compared to the genre greats of the time, Buzz feels janky to control. You can use the D-pad or analog stick, but I mostly stuck to the D-pad. Analog controls make Buzz feel too unpredictable. Like the slightest nudge would send him dashing off in a new direction. Already in Andy's house it proved maddening to try and balance over narrow paths with this amount of sensitivity.
Jumping feels good enough. You got your regular jump that can chain into a double jump, which usually covers your basic platforming needs. Where it gets tricky is when Buzz has to grab ledges or swing from poles. You are given painfully little leeway when it comes to pulling these moves off. To the point where it often feels like you can't grab a ledge unless you hit it perfectly straight on, 180 degrees, with the camera at your back. I lost count of many times I had to repeat segments because Buzz wouldn't pull himself up a platform despite clearly touching it.
Your attacks also feel too wimpy. Buzz can do a spin attack with his wings or blast foes with his laser, both of which lack impact and precision. The auto-aim on the laser is straight up awful. It can't even reliably hit foes that are centimeters away from you, so have to aim manually almost every time. Doing so in a pinch is needlessly hard, as the sensitivity is much too high and your view narrow. The game also loves to turn you away from the foe you'd obviously want to look at when you enter first-person view, allowing them to get cheap hits in.
It's not a hard game when you get down to it, but all these little control issues do make it frustrating at times. A real shame too, because the actual design of the platforming challenges is solid and the enemies are otherwise fun to fight. If the controls had been just a little tighter, this game could have been a real classic of the 3D platforming golden age.
While it may be a bit rough for today's kids, nostalgic adults should absolutely take the time to revisit this game. It's a great adaptation of the movie and a remarkable 3D platformer. One which benefits from its fun objectives, creatively-designed levels, and ample amount of content. It sets an example that I wish other tie-in games would have followed.
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