Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue Review

Many consider Toy Story 2 one of the best sequels of all time. The series is my favorite Pixar series, and it was constantly on my TV screen as a child in the 90s. I saw the first and second movies in theaters and rented the Genesis game more times than I’d like to admit. On Christmas Day 1998, I received my PlayStation console and a handful of games. One of those games was Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue. After spending the bulk of the day with family, I went home, hooked up my PS1 for the first time, and played Toy Story 2 for the first time. Over 25 years later, I revisited the game to see how it holds up today. 

Story

Toy Story 2 closely follows the events of the movie. The toys are on an adventure to save Woody from a collector who has kidnapped him due to his newfound status as a collector’s item. You play the role of Buzz in this game, and the rest of the gang (Ham, RC, Mr. Potato Head, Rex, Slinky, etc.) are also represented on your journey. The story is told through short cutscenes from the movie between levels. If you haven’t seen the film, it may be a bit of a struggle to follow the story due to the slight lack of detail. It might have been a limitation of the PS1 at the time, but I felt there could have been more context outside the cutscenes. 

True-to-Film

How well they captured the movie’s spirit in many of the game’s levels amazes me. Toy Story 2 begins in Andy’s Room, and I remember being mesmerized as a child by the possibility of running around and exploring this room. It was a pretty ambitious title for the area you cover in each level. You cover the whole house in the first one alone.  There are 15 levels in all and many different places to explore. One of the standout areas for me was the construction yard that led Buzz up an unfinished building to fight a boss. Another was Al’s Toy Barn, where you had to jump around the store. Friendly characters can be found in each level, giving you different quests, such as acquiring coins for Ham or racing RC for power-ups. 

Abilities

Buzz has a few abilities, like the laser on his wrist. You can even go into first-person mode to aim at flying enemies. Seeing his reflection in his helmet was so cool in first-person mode. It’s not fun to use, though. You’ll end up getting hit more often than hitting someone due to the clunky controls. Sometimes, Buzz needs to hit things like latches, so you must use it even if you don’t want to. You can even charge the laser for a more powerful shot. He also has a spin that he can use to defeat enemies, which can be charged up. Buzz can use a stomp that allows him to hit switches as well. There are traversal power-ups, such as rocket boots and a grappling hook, that you’ll require in certain levels. These can only be found at certain points in the game after completing a specific task for each one. Before unlocking some of these necessary power-ups, you must progress further in the game and backtrack to complete earlier quests. Young Dean didn’t understand this when he first played the game. 

Enemies

Enemies can generally be defeated with a few shots. There is a lot of pop-in in Toy Story 2, making it hard to see some enemies until you take a hit. I don’t knock the game too much for that or the tearing that you sometimes see. It’s a relatively ambitious title for its time in terms of graphics and level design. There are a few different types of enemies, and they change slightly as you progress in the game. Some enemies will try to jump at you, others will go back and forth in a line, and others will shoot projectiles. 

Camera Woes

My worst enemy in Toy Story 2 was the camera. I don’t know how I played games with terrible camera angles back then. The game offers both active and passive options, but neither seemed to improve the experience. It wouldn’t be such an issue if precise climbing and jumping weren’t the primary focus. I can’t tell you how many times I missed a jump by an inch because the camera wouldn’t cooperate. This is where the modern digital version on PS4/PS5 is helpful, as it features a rewind function. The original versions don’t have that, and it’s a slog to get back up to a platform you fell off of. Luckily, Buzz has a double jump, which can alleviate some of those issues.

Collectibles

Your objective in each level is to find Pizza Planet tokens. There are five in each level; you can obtain them by completing different tasks at your leisure. Friendly NPCs award some tokens, while others are hidden. I had to find Mr. Potato Head’s ear and arm for a couple of tokens, get 50 coins for Ham, or even find critters for Jessie. The game tailors the missions to the characters, and it’s always fun to see what it comes up with, even if the framework of these missions is essentially the same. Each level allows you to complete multiple missions without returning to the menu.  

Boss Battles

Boss battles break up the gameplay with memorable tussles against various enemies. There are enemies from the movie, such as Prospector Pete and Emperor Zurg, as well as random enemies, including a toy plane and a slime monster. I liked these little diversions, but after halfway through the game, the gameplay loop started to wear a little bit thin. It’s rinse-and-repeat gameplay, and the camera begins to wear on you in the later levels of the game, like the Elevator Hop and Airport Infiltration. 

Final Thoughts

Toy Story 2 holds up well today and is still worth a look. If you can get past the wonky camera and some frustrating platforming, it’s a decent game for an afternoon or two. I think it’s a bit generic compared to other platformers of the time. If you can get past that, you’ll still enjoy your time with it for a playthrough.