The Disney Afternoon Collection Review
Capcom have brought a collection of classic 8 bit Disney Afternoon games to the Xbox One, PS4 and PC, featuring Chip & Dale Rescue Rangers 1 & 2, Ducktales 1 & 2, Talespin and Darkwing Duck.
Originally released back on the Nintendo Entertainment System in the late 1980’s & early 1990’s, this collection of retro classics instantly takes me back to those days, when I purchased my very first console game, Chip & Dale Rescue Rangers with my Christmas money and played Ducktales constantly at my cousins house, this was in the days where we all brought different games to swap since they cost so much.
One of the greatest additions to the collection is the “Rewind” option, simply taping one of the trigger buttons sends you back in time, giving you a chance to make the jump, dodge the enemy or retry for that cool bonus. For old school 8-bit games that were built around replaying the first few levels because you kept dying, this new option gives a player continuous ways of carrying on and getting much further or completing the game. It does however severely reduce how long these games will take to complete, but then again you don’t need to use the “rewind” feature.
Other new options include being able to jump straight into boss battles and do timed trials, with online leaderboards. There is also a option to watch how other players have done, though I’m not sure too many people will want to use this addition.
Both of these games are easily my personal highlights from this collection are worth the price of the collection alone. Chip & Dale Rescue Rangers is a fantastic side strolling game that still holds up now. Being able to throw objects at enemies and it’s catchy music, with great boss battles, that I really enjoyed playing again.
Ducktales is another classic that is so much fun to play, being able to play different levels from the start was rare in games of the era and the pogo stick gives Scrooge McDuck a unique style that is a joy to play.
The sequels to both of these games are technically both better than the original, they have more moves and options, but lack the same charm that the originals have. However it’s great to experience some new games I never experienced the first time round and offering a continuation of the fun from the originals.
Talespin sees Baloo in a plane and shooting at enemies, similar to other side strolling shooting games. This was a little gem that I wasn’t quite expecting to be as fun as it was, it also stood out as the gameplay style was different to the others in the collection.
Darkwing Duck was my least favourite of the collection, it got very frustrating as it’s pretty difficult, even with the added rewind feature. It’s also the slowest platformer from this collection, but for fans of the character, this will still be fun.
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Also included in the game is some classic archive artwork and a music player to listen to the classic tracks. While this is a nice addition, it’s very basic but I’m glad it’s here.
This collection offers very good value, they would certainly cost more had they been released individually on a Virtual Console or Store, and they are certainly cheaper than buying the physical NES carts, especially the rare sequels. It’s just a shame this wasn’t released on the Nintendo Switch, as they originally released on a Nintendo system but hopefully they will be released there too as I’m sure classic Nintendo fans will lap this up.
With Ducktales and Darkwing Duck returning to our screens soon, bringing back these classic games for fans new and old is a smart move. Hopefully we see some other games from the next era such as Aladdin or Lion King get a similar treatment.
The Disney Afternoon Collection is a fun experience, for old Disney game fans like me, it offers some great side strolling classics that hold up well. The package has been priced competitively and feels like a bargain. The added “Rewind” feature is another big selling point that I didn’t think would have been when it was announced, but seeing it in action quickly became second nature. Now if only I could get the tunes out of my head which I’ve been humming since this was released! This is the perfect collection for this Disney fans from this era, Capcom did a great job in restoring these classics.