Welcome to the first game I ever played. My memories of playing the Toy Story 2 video game on my home PC are locked in a distant corner of my brain. So, when it popped up on my PlayStation 5 store, I was immediately overwhelmed by some very fond memories. I decided that I had to buy it and return to where my love of gaming first began. In a world where our toys come alive.
Is This a Toy Story 2 Dream or Reality?
When I first loaded up the game, I felt like I had just stepped through one of Dr Strange’s portals. The onrushing chemical reaction in my brain made me feel like I had just returned home as a four-year-old. Collecting coins in Andy’s room as Buzz Lightyear is one of my earliest memories, and I was intrigued to find out how far into the game I had got as a child.
My recollection of this game is that it was really difficult, but then I was so young at the time. When I think of this era of gaming, I imagine hilarious graphics, holes in the story, and a lot of frustration where the gameplay is concerned. The difficulty would usually come from an unforgiving system where you had to restart the entire game if you lost all of your lives. So would Toy Story 2 prove my assumptions right? Or would I be pleasantly surprised?
“You are a sad, strange little man, and you have my pity”
Like with The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Toy Story 2 starts with a movie clip. This helps to immerse the player in the game, rather than making it feel like a different entity from the film. If the movie clip wasn’t enough, then the soundtrack would do it. After five minutes of playing, I decided that the intense music was disrupting my flow, so I turned it down to its lowest setting.
I then tackled the horrendous camera placement. Changing from Passive mode to Active mode was a godsend, as I finally felt like I could traverse the structures within each level without worrying about losing my vision.
Active mode wasn’t perfect, though, and jumping near walls and objects often led to frustration. It felt like Buzz had smothered himself in honey, getting stuck on anything he went near. Trying to collect the first coin was perplexing and required multiple jumps, but I got there in the end.
After I had successfully sorted my settings out, I set off on the adventure of saving Woody. It took me a few minutes to recognise that the buttons were created for a PlayStation One controller, not a PlayStation 5. Once that was understood, I headed up into the attic to fight the scary Robot.
When fighting certain bosses, I didn’t know where I was running due to the camera constantly switching focus between me and the enemy. I did get better at controlling it by facing in the direction I wanted to move and waiting for the camera to catch up. Every boss fight had unique challenges, so it was a constant learning curve. This was where I perfected my aim with the laser.
It All Came Flying Back to Me
While demonstrating some incredible movement to dodge the robot, I then shot it multiple times until it was just a scrap of metal on the floor. I had given Hamm his coins, Bo her sheep, and Potato Head his ear when I was ready to start the next level. The first level was fun, but the second level was what I remembered.
I ran out into Andy’s garden and set eyes on the majestic tree in the distance. Oh, how long it took me to climb that tree as a kid. So many attempts to get to the top of it ended with me falling flat on my face.
Thankfully, Buzz isn’t hurt by fall damage, or I would have lost all my lives on the second level. I’d like to say it was easier for me now, but after many pathetic attempts, and after I’d made the idiotic mistake of not pulling the rope down as a checkpoint, I did finally reach the tree’s summit to fight the angry Zurg kite.
I fell off the leaves a few times, but then I noticed something. I was having fun. Usually, if I keep falling or dying, I get ridiculously frustrated. Yet, when playing Toy Story 2, I found myself giggling every time I fell. I was getting painful Only Up flashbacks, but playing this game just felt enjoyable. I eventually defeated the kite, and I did it with a smile on my face.
To Infinity and Beyond!
Flying through the air as Buzz felt amazing. The collector in me wanted to find every coin, equipment and lost toy. I tried to race RC around the garden, but after he lapped me, I realised that I needed some rocket boots from Potato Head before I could compete. How a toy has that kind of technology, I don’t know. This required playing another level. So, after I had found every item I could find, I ended level 2, with level 3 firmly in my sights.
The structure of the levels was similar, but there were some exceptions in the form of Boss Levels. The first had me fighting an aggressive plane, which I found difficult to attack.
After quite a lot of health lost, I worked out that I could hit the plane with my laser without tracking it in Buzz’s helmet. If his breathing in the helmet wasn’t enough to put me off, then his constant dialogue of the same sentence had me gritting my teeth. Against all the adversity, I still managed to hit my enemy repeatedly, and the plane crumbled to the ground.
We Meet Again, For the Last Time
Along my journey, I fought a robot with metal tentacles, a blacksmith, an evil Buzz Lightyear, and Stinky Pete himself. But there was one enemy that I wasn’t ready to confront. The Slime Monster.
Until that level, I had a vague recollection of everything, and I definitely remember the slime monster. This is because it was the source of my nightmares for weeks as a kid. I was starting to wonder whether I had actually completed the game before, but that idea was very quickly abandoned. Instead, I remember giving up to the slime monster.
Again, it took me a while to work out how to weaken it. Each time I hit it with my laser enough to scare it back into its bin, it always came back out as a bigger, more terrifying pile of goo. I was sweating because I had to spam the square button to quickly shrink the monster before it healed. I even lost my first life to it.
After a lot of concentration, I worked out that boss fights are just about learning the timing of your opponent and then countering them. I did exactly that until the slime monster was just gunk on the floor. I had finally conquered the demon which had haunted my childhood.
What is Waiting on the Other Side of the Toy Barn?
Overcoming my nemesis meant that I was now heading into unknown territory. I had never made it this far into Toy Story 2, and I was worried about my prospects of completing the game. In the next level, I found myself in Al’s Toy Barn. Creepy place, creepy guy.
Different weapons can be acquired as the game progresses. You start with Buzz’s regular red laser, but you can also find a stronger green laser. In case that isn’t enough excitement, Potato Head also gives you a disc launcher. These weapons are useful because the enemies become more powerful with each level you complete. The main bosses have different stages, so you have to be careful about preserving your ammunition and your life. The robot boss even has toys spawning from his tentacles.
Video games from over a quarter of a century ago didn’t take so long to complete because there was a lot to do. They took so long to complete because they were so damn difficult. You’d often find yourself repeating the same mission over and over again.
I’m thinking here of the elevator mission where I had to find my way to the top of the building. I was very frustrated by the placement of one of the mice I had to find, which meant I kept falling all the way to the bottom of the level every time I jumped to catch it. At the top of the elevators, a spider was waiting for me. I don’t like spiders at the best of times, but when I have no lives, I like them even less.
A Disney Ending for Toy Story 2
The healing system is typical of a game so old. Thankfully, health was relatively easy to find, so I didn’t lose too many lives early on. Except when I kept accidentally jumping off the rising elevator while fighting Zurg. That was frustrating. When you do die, you respawn instantly with full health. This is an improvement on other games, where you have to restart from a checkpoint.
In the end, I did defeat Zurg. It was a bit unorthodox, and I was slightly dizzy, but spinning was the only way to harm him. And harm him I did. Sorry father.
In the final mission, you have to fight Stinky Pete and his buddies. I can dodge almost anything, but the gunslinger’s rapid-fire mixed with the others’ floor-tracking missiles made it impossible. Losing lives here was inevitable, so I decided to just attack them all as fast as I could. I had the lives to spare, and their health drained rapidly. Thanks to this tactic, I defeated the last enemy with a couple of lives left over, and it was a happy reunion.
I was wondering when Woody would show up in the game, but after I saw Jessie, I wasn’t in a rush to find him. She looked terrifying! Thankfully, when Woody did eventually show his face, he was very excited to see us.
I then went back to race RC around the garden, and thanks to Potato Head’s rocket boots, I won easily. I found all the remaining collectables lying about, and the game was completed.
Be More Specific
The graphics are hilarious, but oddly not terrible for their day. It’s amazing how easy it is to immerse yourself in this game, considering how dated the graphics are.
The way the sun shines in the windows is a clear demonstration of how early Toy Story 2 was in the evolution of gaming. Yet, I never once felt like it damaged my experience in any way.
There were a lot of fun activities, while some were educational. There was a paint-mixing activity, and a colour-matching one too. Some objects move, and there are always new areas to explore. Nothing beats the rush of finding a hidden doorway to a new area, although the zipline race through Al’s Toy Barn definitely matched it. It took me multiple attempts to pick up all of Slinky’s objects before the time ran out. Then there were the water missions, where one wrong move meant that you’d have to start all over again. In his frustration, though, we were treated to some of Buzz’s best quotes.
So, was Toy Story 2 worth playing again?
You better believe it. It’s a lot better than I thought it would be. The game has lived up to and even exceeded my expectations. I thought I’d be endlessly cursing the frequent glitches and bugs. Instead, it has been a joy to play. This may be due to it being a PS5 file, but the gameplay performs better than some modern games. The focus these days seems to be on maximising the visual output, and then filling games with repetitive tasks to make their duration longer.
Toy Story 2 proves that quality is still and will always remain more important than quantity.
Yes, I’m now twenty-eight years old, but I can’t tell you how happy playing Toy Story 2 has made me. This is the game that made me fall in love with gaming. The fact that I still remember the tree and the slime monster so clearly, even though I was so young, means that this game is clearly imprinted on my brain. I’m so glad I played it again, and it truly is very special.
Verdict
My Toy Story 2 video game rating is 9/10.
My gameplay video of the Toy Story 2 game is available on YouTube at https://youtu.be/ZRpiLhcUKcw
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