You'd be hard-pressed to convince me that I didn't develop in a golden chronilogical age of cartoons, as there was always animation inspired by game titles, movies, comics, and figures found. Shows like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Super Mario Bros., Batman: The Animated Series, Spider-Man, GI Joe, Transformers, and more would function as constant imagination fuel, but often only in half-hour increments at any given time. Because of this, there is a clear king from the animated landscape: the Disney Afternoon block. Not just was the animation and antics top-notch, but we also got shows for two solid hours. Four different cartoons crammed back-to-back, and we did not have to hold back until Saturday morning for it-we first got it daily. Since lots of animation at the time took inspiration using their company media, it ought to come as no real surprise that the osmosis worked for both, also it wasn't well before Capcom was working with Disney to crank out games based on the Afternoon shows. Those days of my childhood are gone, and those cartoons can't be found on television. However the games-the games are back.
The Disney Afternoon Collection takes six of the most beloved NES-era side-scrolling game titles inspired by the Disney Afternoon block, polishes them up real nice, and presents them to us in one package. DuckTales, DuckTales 2, Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers, Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers 2, TaleSpin, and Darkwing Duck all make triumphant returns on modern day consoles by having an range of bells and whistles, including an HD coat of paint or the option to stick an old-school CRT TV grain filter over everything.
Each one of the six games is basically a side-scroller with minor variations thrown in. For instance, DuckTales is primarily a platformer and TaleSpin a shooter, while Darkwing Duck is both. In any case may be, I always consider myself a bit of a savant when it comes to these old-school games, so if you feel much like me, you will be thrilled to understand that all the task and difficulty these titles were known for back in the day remains largely intact. Enemies will respawn whenever you walk off screen and then back, collapsing platforms still only provide you with the narrowest windows for success, and health recovery items are as hard to find as health bar extenders. But, if you are like me, you're big enough to confess when you are a little rusty, and everything may not be exactly within the same spot mentally because it was nearly 30 years ago.
Luckily, in case you've never played these games before, or else you only need that gentle nudge in the right direction until your timing comes back, there is a completely new “rewind” feature. By tapping a bumper button, you can reverse time and save from a perilous pitfall, sharp spikes, or bouncing baddie that simply won't get free from your way. Each game also offers a single save state, so you can save mid-playthrough if you need to turn the sport off for whatever reason. Obviously, these two remove a lot of the original challenge, thereby shortening each of the six games for an under two-hour experience in the event you resort to using those options. And I will say, removing the challenge of these games is like sucking the life out of the games themselves, since it's not exactly as if you had a lot of story back in the days from the NES. The choice of the way you play is entirely your decision, though, and that is always appreciated.
If you want your initial playthrough to become about re-learning the games without the temptation of utilizing these tools, Time Attack mode removes all potential assists. Here, all that's changed is the addition of a clock, pushing you and your reflexes to the 80s and taunting you with leaderboards to determine just how skilled you are. If replaying the whole game seems like a time sink, there's then your Boss Rush mode, that also removes assists and touts leaderboards while catapulting you directly into (arguably) the wedding parts of each level. It's still so satisfying beating that damn Moon Rat in DuckTales.
There are several other disadvantages in the rewind feature beyond the lessening from the challenge, however. Sometimes, if you don't hold it down for long enough, or if you utilize it in short bursts in quick succession, the whole game you're playing will decelerate (because it's attempting to catch up towards the changes you're making, but they're making them too quickly). I personally had Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers 2 completely freeze up on me while rewinding throughout the final boss against Robot Fat Cat, since i was micromanaging the battle in preparation for my Boss Rush run (which I was going to do afterwards while the boss fights were fresh in my mind). So, that is most certainly something to keep an eye out for.
If you are at all a Disney nerd, the largest addition The Disney Afternoon Collection might bring isn't even just in any of the six games. Instead, it is the Museum mode, where design documents, box art, never-before-seen concept art, and all sorts of music for every game can be obtained for you to check out anytime you like. Seeing the access Capcom had to the Disney vault, and today finally having the ability to share in some of that, is really something.
Whatever served as imagination fuel for you like a kid tends to turn to nostalgia fuel as an adult-kind of like how dinosaur bones become oil. It's clear that a huge part of the appeal of The Disney Afternoon Collection for a gamer for example myself is that I recieve the opportunity to relive most of my gaming childhood with this particular assortment of games, as well as reach play some of them the very first time (I missed out on the sequels originally because I had already switched to the SNES at that time). Besides several hiccups with the rewind feature and also the occasional crash, this is a great way to relive the past or to use it being an introduction to a brand new generation of Disney fans-as long as they can appreciate the 8-bit “vintage” look.
