Now to those of you who are not to familiar with Disney Afternoon, it was basically a 2 hour animation block on the Disney Channel shown as its name implies, in the afternoon. It featured a number of shows which to this day, have received cult followings and have been regarded as some of Disney's best work when it comes to television. Of course not every show was good especially towards its end, but you got some great shows in there like DuckTales, Darkwing Duck, TaleSpin, a show about the gummy bears (yes that was a thing) and many others. And with a great show comes the rare occasion of a great video game. So as with all compilations I review, I will be reviewing all the games in this one. Including DuckTales where I originally reviewed the remake, but also reviewed the original game without playing it and I hope to do it justice. So let's relive our childhoods and enjoy some Disney Afternoon video games:
By the way, all the ports are from the SNES version of the games in case any of you are curious.
DuckTales
So without going into too much detail as I have spoken about this game before, its a very good game. Many have regarded it as one of the best games to be released on the NES and I suspect that's led to the game's 2013 remake. As you'd come to expect, its all about Scrooge McDuck trying to increase in fortune by travelling the world in search for treasure. Like with most NES games, its a side-scrolling platformer with collectibles, lots of jumping and a lot of other things. Its a great game. Can't say any more than that. 9/10 (and this time, I have played it so my score is valid)
DuckTales 2
Similar to the previous game, Scrooge is on the hunt for treasure again. Only this time, its a race against the clock as he's searching for a particular piece of treasure and get his hands on it before his rival Flintheart Glomgold gets there first. The gameplay is largely the same as the previous game, but the jumping is now easier to control and players can come and go to levels as they please. The unfortunate thing about this game is that as good as it is, it initially came out towards the end of the lifespan of the NES and as such, is considered a rarity to come by. So I think it was a good move to have it ported to Game Boy so that players who missed out can get a chance to play it and likewise with its PC port. Its not a bad game per say, but as with every sequel, you should expect it to at least be different to the first game rather than copy and paste. But its still pretty good despite that. 7/10
TaleSpin
I don't think I will ever understand why or how Baloo from the Jungle Book got his own spin-off series where it has little to nothing to do with the film. But it was a hit so I guess some people enjoyed it for what it is. So Baloo is tasked with delivering cargo. But his old nemesis Shere Khan is keen to put Baloo's employer out of work and sends out hired mercenaries to do his dirty work. So interestingly, each version of the game is different, but most will agree that the NES game is the best one out there. But in a way, its nice to have a game where every version of it has some exclusivity to each console. Its like its tailoring to all consoles rather than be the same on every console. So I wouldn't go as far as calling it a great game. It's pretty generic with it largely being nothing but just a game with planes being used as both cargo planes and battle planes. But at least the bare necessities is in there somewhere. 8/10
Darkwing Duck
With a successful show like DuckTales comes a spin-off featuring one of its characters. Some can say that Darkwing Duck is the closest Disney can get to doing a superhero like Batman. But anyway, so a crime wave has hit the city of St. Canard and its up to our titular hero to stop it. Doesn't get any simpler of a plot than that. The gameplay is slightly similar to Capcom's Megaman as its a side-scrolling platformer and you can use a gun to take out the criminals. Like DuckTales, the player can choose which set of levels to start at and you also have a choice of gases to use in the gun which can either change when picked up as a collectible or by simply pressing whatever is considered the "select" button on your controller. So overall, it's a pretty decent game. It is similar to Mega Man 5 to the point where it feels like using that game's engine. But its a pretty decent game as I said, even if its similar to one of Capcom's biggest franchises. 8/10
Chip N Dale Rescue Rangers
So next up is a show featuring the chipmunks Chip N Dale. Its a side-scrolling platform video game again, but unlike the other games in this compilation, its also a co-op game. So the titular Rescue Rangers are on a mission to save a missing kitten, unaware that their enemy Fat Cat has plans for them. Like before, players can choose which levels to access via a map and the boys can do pretty much everything you'd expect them to do in a game like this. So while it feels like playing almost every other side-scrolling platform game out there, its got some charm to it and its fun and colourful at that. 9/10
Chip N Dale Rescue Rangers 2
So we've come to the last game of the compilation and to be honest, it does feel like playing the last game again. Only without the option to choose levels, characters are able to withstand more hits than in the previous game and you can pick up the other character to throw him to things. So the game begins with the Rescue Rangers catching a news report about a bomb that's set to go off at a local restaurant. Arriving in time to defuse it, the find the culprit responsible, a rabbit, who then explains that Fat Cat hired him to do his bidding and the team then set out to hunt him down and stop him once and for all. As the last game of this compilation, its decent enough to be good. But with it being similar to the first game, it doesn't really offer any challenge for the hardcore gamer, but would be a perfect fit for the casual gamer. So not the best game I played, but like its predecessor, its fun and colourful and just wish they worked on it more. 7/10
So that's the Disney Afternoon Collection and while not all the games are perfect, its enough to fill our nostalgia needs and those of you who didn't get Disney Afternoons on the Disney Channel, you might learn a thing or two by playing these games. Enjoy them. 8/10
No comments:
Post a Comment