1999 is widely considered one of the greatest years in video game history. While many enjoyed Final Fantasy VIII, Chrono Cross, Planescape: Torment, and Silent Hill, I was obsessed with two games. Pokémon Silver, which I still stand by, and Toy Story 2 for the PlayStation, which I still stand by. The former is easier to debate with people than the latter, but clearly, enough kids who are now adults loved these games too, which led to the release of Toy Story: Retro Roundup!. This latest collection from Atari is out October 15, so let’s dive into a review!

Toy Story: Retro Roundup! is a five-game collection featuring console and handheld versions of four early Toy Story titles, plus A Bug’s Life. Why throw in A Bug’s Life? Well, it rules, and I was obsessed with it as a kid, so I didn’t balk at including it. The folks at Digital Eclipse, masters of taking old games, freshening them up, and adding companion content to contextualize their creation, are on top of their game with this one. At this point, how can you even doubt them? Let’s talk about that content before we get to the games.

The game collection includes something many retro bundles offer now: behind-the-scenes videos. The featurettes include great insight from Jason Katz, Pixar’s Head of Story; Jim Hanks, who voices Woody for his brother Tom; and Jon Burton, founder of TT Games. With a virtual museum filled with rare design documents, vintage development photos, and more, this is a behind-the-scenes look at some games carved deep into my brain that I never knew I’d get to see.

As for the games, this one might be a generational divide. On the surface, it’s easy to look at these games and argue that better platformers existed at the time. You might not be wrong. What debates over retro games, especially those with movie, TV, or entertainment tie-ins, often miss is how many kids gravitate toward them. I never played Banjo-Kazooie, for example, or Donkey Kong 64. If you asked me the greatest platformer of the N64 generation, there’s a chance that 7-year-old-Taylor says it’s Bug’s Life. It’s not logical, but I loved it as a movie, and I got to experience it immersively.

I think Toy Story Racer holds up quite well, and I don’t think the Game Boy ports of the home console titles are half-bad. That said, other games might be more fun for folks without nostalgia for these experiences. These are tentpole games for people of a certain age, and I happen to be one of them. A great example of how your past with a game can shape your present experience is the bundled collection, Toy Story 3: Complete Edition. This game is arguably better than the others that came out a decade earlier, but I don’t have a history with it. It was a ton of fun to play through, offering depth many movie tie-in games don’t, but the others brought me more joy because I remembered them so well.

The good news is that no matter how much time you spend with either the Retro Roundup! titles or Toy Story 3: Complete Edition, there’s great content here. With 11 total game versions in Retro Roundup alone, you’ll be busy for a while if you want to play through them all. I think even 1995’s Toy Story game is a halfway decent side-scrolling platformer. Work your way up to Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, and you’ll see the care and thought put into these games. You’ll even hear about that care in the included special features.

Many Disney tie-in games from the 90s and 2000s loom large today because adults developed a passion for them as children. There’s a lot to say about Toy Story 5 releasing this year and still making $ 1.14 billion worldwide. These characters are immediately recognizable, and if kids today love the movies, they might be willing to try these retro games, too. They might be shocked by what we considered playable back then, but progress is cool to appreciate. If you’re like me, though, and have any history with these games, they’re a must-have in your library, and they played wonderfully on my Switch 2.

A Switch 2 review copy of Toy Story: Retro Roundup! & Toy Story 3 Complete Edition was provided by Digital Eclipse for this review.

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Toy Story: Retro Roundup! & Toy Story 3 Complete Edition Double Pack

39.99

7.5

Score

7.5/10

Pros

• 12 total games in the double pack; a great deal for that amount
• Fun looks back at TT Games and its history
• A few personal favorites from my childhood I loved revisiting

Cons

• Few upgrades to original experiences, but that's not the goal here
• These aren't the definitive games from the time, so nostalgia helps