It’s hard to believe that the original Disney Afternoon Collection came out nearly a decade ago. It’s equally hard to believe that the original Disney Afternoon run was three decades ago. Time really flies when you’re watching cartoons.
Now, the Afternoon Collection is back on Switch 1 and 2 with two exclusive games, and the question is: are they worth checking out?
Goof Troop & Bonkers Are The New Additions
The Former Is Fantastic
If you haven’t played the original Disney Afternoon Collection before, it’s a re-release crafted by famed port-master Digital Eclipse, and includes the following classic games, spanning the NES era:
- DuckTales (NES)
- DuckTales 2 (NES)
- Chip ‘N Dale Rescue Rangers (NES)
- Chip ‘N Dale Rescue Rangers 2 (NES)
- Talespin (NES)
- Darkwing Duck (NES)
That’s a decent collection of six NES games, but the Switch 1+2 port comes with two new SNES editions:
- Goof Troop (SNES)
- Bonkers (SNES)
If you’re willing to spend the cash to double-dip (or haven’t experienced the Disney Afternoon Collection before), you’ll want to try it just for Goof Troop. Developed in 1993 by Capcom, one of the designers was a young Shinji Mikami, the director of the first Resident Evil.
I can’t say enough good things about Goof Troop. It’s a brilliantly designed top-down action-puzzle game, where you’ll take control of either Goofy or his son Max, and try to free their friends Pete and PJ from pirates following a vacation gone wrong. While this could have been another rote IP tie-in, Mikami and his fellow developers really went the extra mile to add a ton of personality to the game, making it one of the most memorable co-op experiences on the SNES.
The key ingredient is restraint. Showing off some of the same “limited inventory space” mechanics that Mikami would later employ in the Resident Evil series, Goof Troop forces co-op players to carry one total item, which can be used to stave off enemies and solve puzzles. Bells can direct enemies away from you and distract them for a teammate, hook guns can create paths across water and stun enemies, and shovels can dig for buried treasure and keys for locked doors.
The idea of indirectly taking on enemies through throwing boxes and merely stunning them through tools fits the theme of Goof Troop, and the locales and soundtrack live rent-free in my head to this day. It doesn’t seem like it should work as well as it should, but it does. Any puzzle fan owes it to themselves to try this breezy game you can beat in a literal afternoon.
Having played a ton of SNES platformers over the years, Bonkers is kind of a mix between Disney’s Magical Quest (even using some of the same sound effects) and Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster Busts Loose. The titular Bonkers D. Bobcat, a toon cop, has a limited moveset that consists of jumping and dashing.
Your job is to trek through six levels (which last around 30 minutes in total, from the title screen to the credits) and take on Toon Patrol bosses at the end of each stage. It’s a very serviceable platformer and includes some cameos from the show, but it’s nothing remarkable. I had no real desire to revisit this game, having rented it once in my childhood, and playing through it now for this review, I feel the exact same way.
The Original Package Still Mostly Holds Up
With A Few Standouts
The pair of DuckTales games are classics, and incredibly tough to find on the legitimate NES cart market, so their inclusion really gives the most identity to the Afternoon Collection, as they’re two of the most famous games being offered.
The original Chip ‘N Dale Rescue Rangers is also a fantastic co-op adventure, and although the sequel pales in comparison (even going so far as to have a washed-out visual style), it still provides a decent platforming romp. Darkwing Duck and Talespin are tougher sells overall, but there’s still plenty of like about them, especially if you can get past the limitations of the NES.
If you already own the Disney Afternoon Collection, you may not want to pay full price to upgrade just for two games. With any luck, we’ll get DLC for existing versions that add Goof Troop, an essential missing piece of the Disney Afternoon puzzle.
- Released
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April 18, 2017
- ESRB
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E10+ For Everyone 10+ // Mild Fantasy Violence, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco
- Developer(s)
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Digital Eclipse
- Engine
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Eclipse Engine
- Goof Troop is a standout game in the collection.
- The rest of the collection isn’t too shabby either.
- Bonkers isn’t a package-seller.
- Goof Troop and Bonkers are currently stuck on Switch.