Disney Afternoon Collection review

Gaming has come a long way since I was a child, and I often find myself reminiscing about the "good old days" when things were simple, where I could spend an afternoon sitting on the floor in front of the television playing games on the Super Nintendo. Born in 1992, I wasn't a huge gamer growing up, but I vaguely remember playing a few games here and there in their 16-bit glory. The Disney Afternoon Collection brings back some of that 90s nostalgia and charm with a handful of games that make me feel like a kid again.

What are some Disney classics you remember from the 90s? For sure, DuckTales, Chip 'n Dale, and Goofy have to be towards the top of the list. The Disney Afternoon Collection is comprised of eight games from the NES and SNES, including Goof Troop (SNES), Bonkers (SNES), DuckTales and DuckTales 2 (both NES), Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers and Rescue Rangers 2 (both NES), TaleSpin (NES), and Darkwing Duck (NES). The only thing missing for me now are the classic controllers to play these games with, which I might have to snag off the Nintendo store to complete the experience.

Upon loading up the Collection, I was immediately met with some synth-wave tunes. The main menu presents a handful of options, including browsing the game selection, gallery, music, or options. The only option available to you is the language selection; otherwise, you can view the credits and button configuration in the Options menu. Navigation of each selection is straightforward, and each section has a slightly different modernized retro-toon palette that reminds me of the Memphis Design bowling alley carpet from back in the day. You know the type; the eccentric and colorful geometric shapes and squiggles that were also used on VHS cases (remember those?), afternoon cartoon programming, and sticker books. It was like I'd entered a wormhole to the past, but in high definition.

The games are laid out in a side-scrolling carousel. Selecting the game changes up the color palette but also launches that game's theme music to set the tone. Before actually heading into the game, the control configuration for that particular game can be viewed, and the six NES games also have options for Time Attack and Boss Rush, which are both speed-running modes with online leaderboards for those looking for an extra challenge and bragging rights. When a game is launched, the display goes from 16:9 to the 8:7 aspect ratio of the NES and SNES, with a black void around the outside.

Of course, each game is a ton of fun to relearn how to play. I'm a particularly big fan of Goof Troop, which is full of puzzles amidst a pirate adventure. I primarily played using the Joy-Cons, which do have to be used as a pair as there isn't a configuration to use them individually, which is all the more reason to grab the NES and SNES classic controller from Nintendo. The left stick can be used for movement as well as the directional buttons, though the buttons are a bit easier in my opinion. The games run as smooth as ever, with tight movements and crisp animations; they have been enhanced and fine-tuned to land perfectly on the Nintendo Switch 2 system. Rewind and Save abilities were also added, so players can now go back to fix mistakes and save their progress to be picked back up later.

After a good few hours of flipping between each game, I ventured into the gallery to take a look at the concept art and old packaging designs. In the gallery, there are a bunch of sketches and pictures dug up from old Capcom archives that show how these games came to life. Some of these images have likely never been seen before and provide a unique and fascinating look into the history of the games, going from an idea to a finished product on the shelf that will be appreciated by fans of the games and game development alike.

In the Music section, the soundtracks of each game can be played, including game over tracks, map themes, and more. Most tracks are very short, averaging around a minute to a minute and a half long. It's a fun addition if you just can't get enough of NES synth or SNES classical music, although I wish it was possible to select a particular game's theme to use as the menu theme while simply browsing.