For many fans around the world, Toy Story has been a mainstay in our childhoods, and for gamers, the accompanying video games are equally as nostalgic. This October, a massive collection of Toy Story games will be brought back to consumers in the new Toy Story: Retro Roundup! and Toy Story 3: Complete Edition. Let’s talk about why this re-release is so important and what this means for keeping video games from being lost to time.
Earlier this month, D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event took over the Anaheim Convention Center for the biggest gathering of Disney fans from around the globe. Those in attendance had the incredible opportunities to experience showfloor exclusives, like merchandise, photo opportunities, and other activations. Atari was in attendance at this year’s celebration and invited Laughing Place out for a chance to try their upcoming release Toy Story: Retro Roundup!
Set to release on October 15th, the collection features games from across Pixar’s early video game history, including Toy Story (1995) for Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo, and Game Boy; Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue! (1999) for PlayStation; Toy Story 2 (1999) for Game Boy Color; Buzz Lightyear of Star Command (2000) for PlayStation and Game Boy Color; and Toy Story Racer (2001) for PlayStation and Game Boy Color, with A Bug’s Life (1998) for PlayStation and Game Boy Color included as a bonus title. That was a long list, but you’ll be grabbing 11 different throwback titles celebrating 30 years of Toy Storymemories.
For youngsters who don’t remember the glory days of video game movie tie-ins and console limitations, different variations of the same game would be available. This was especially true during the GameBoy Color era but was incredibly common through the Nintendo DS’s reign. How this would usually work would be like a mainline 3D platformer would be released on PlayStation 2 with the accompanying GameBoy Advanced version being in 2D. These variations were usually significantly different from each other, making this robust release a breath of fresh nostalgia.
Re-releases, re-makes, and re-masters have become common in the gaming world, but very seldom do we see handheld versions re-released. That’s what makes this collection so special. Toy Story: Retro Roundup! is curated for fans no matter which at-home or handheld console they had access to. It even builds off its gaming offerings with behind-the-scenes looks at the creation of these games.
Gaming has evolved drastically over the past 30 years. I mean we could talk about the death of the platformer for hours. Even Nintendo, who have always ruled the handheld console market, have rebranded handhelds as flexible gaming power-houses with the Switch 2. The 90s and 2000s were a unique era for gaming, which required tons of creativity in both design and gameplay. Beyond emulation, many of these games are unplayable without an original console, but hopefully Atari kicks off the trend of bringing back more nostalgia titles to multi-platform releases.
Beyond Retro Roundup!, Atari is also releasing Toy Story 3: Complete Edition, which will bring back the series’ last video game release to players on modern consoles and PC. Currently, the game is playable on PlayStation 4 and 5, however, it is bizarrely the PlayStation Portable version of the game.
Another win from Atari, is both games will be available as a bundle in physical copies, so if you aren’t a fan of digital media, this is a great way to purchase these games and actually own them.
Check out the official Atari website for more info!
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