The original Toy Story was the first movie I ever saw in a theater. I was six years old. I quite literally grew up with the Toy Story films, but I only ever got to play a couple of the games. I never owned a PS1, so what I could play was limited to time at a friend’s house or at demo stations in retail stores, but I still have fond memories of those games. Fortunately, it seems I’m not the only one, because Atari has decided that everyone needs a little Toy Story in their life. At SGF, I got to see a hands-off presentation of Atari’s two-part Toy Story revival, Toy Story Retro Roundup and Toy Story 3 Complete Edition, and I’ve gotta say, these games feel like they were made for me… and any other Toy Story fan who’d like to take a trip down memory lane, or didn’t get to experience them the first time.
In the last few years, Atari has quietly become one of the best in the business when it comes to bringing back the classics. Digital Eclipse is the studio behind these projects, and if they sound familiar, it’s because they’re got a long history of putting stuff like this together. They’re the studio behind Tetris Forever, Atari 50: The Anniversary Collection, Mortal Kombat Legacy Kollection and, my personal favorite, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection. They’ve proven that they know how to do this kind of work. The only question, as always, comes down to the execution.
Like the Mortal Kombat Legacy Kollection, Toy Story Retro Roundup will be a package that often includes multiple versions of the same game, back when that meant they were actually totally different games that shared the same title. That means multiple versions of 1995’s Toy Story – the Genesis, SNES, and Game Boy versions, to be precise. You’ve also got Toy Story 2 on the Game Boy Color, and Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue! (one of the ones I remember) on PS1, both from 1999. 2000’s Buzz Lightyear of Star Command on the PS1 and Game Boy Color is also included, as is Toy Story Racer (2001) on the same platforms. What a time. Finally, you’ve also got 1998’s A Bug’s Life on the PS1 and Game Boy Color as a nice little bonus.
As you’d expect, the collection adds a ton of quality of life features in addition to uprezzed visuals for the PlayStation games (though you can choose to use the original resolutions, too, if you like). You can create and load save states at any point in the game and rewind if you make a mistake. If you’re looking for a breezier experience, there are also cheats for invincibility, level unlocks, and unlimited lives as well as a practice mode with guided playthroughs that you can jump into at any time, along with updated instructions with modernized controls. All of this is cool, and makes sense. These games are old, and they’re not going to be what folks are used to. Everyone should be able to play them, especially kids, and these updates will make that easier for everyone.
But it’s not just quality of life changes. Digital Eclipse has a long history of adding archival materials and interviews to these packages, and Retro Roundup will be no different. In addition to new interviews, the collection will also include concept art, ad scans, and more. Pretty rad.
If that was all Atari was doing, that would be pretty cool. Butthey’re also remastering Toy Story 3 with Toy Story 3 Complete Edition. In addition to updated graphics (which look great) and 4K 60 FPS support, the Complete Edition will include all of the content from the original game, like Story and Toy Box mode, both of which can be played cooperatively. The real kicker here, though, is that the Complete Edition brings previously platform-exclusive content – like being able to play as Zurg in Toy Box mode, which was previously only in the PS3 release – to everybody, as well as four additional Theme Packs for your Toy Box. Not bad, all told.
Toy Story Retro Roundup and Toy Story 3 Complete Edition don’t strike me as the kinds of collections that people ask for when they come up with pie-in-the-sky “games to be remastered” wishlists, but licensed games are important, too, and folks should be able to play them. For me, this is a chance to really sit with some games I mostly only ever got glimpses of. But kids deserve to play with these toys, too, and it’s good that Atari is making sure they can.
Will Borger is an IGN freelancer. You can find him on Bluesky @edgarallanbro.
