Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue is a platform game based on Pixar's computer animated movie Toy Story 2 and is the sequel to the first Toy Story video game. It was released for the Nintendo Ultra 64, PlayStation, Dreamcast, and PC in 1999 and 2000. A different version of the game, titled Toy Story 2, was released for the Game Boy Color. A sequel to the game was released 11 years later based on the third film.
Plot[]
The game's plot is relative to the Toy Story 2 film, and begins at Andy's house as Al McWhiggin steals Woody from the family's yard sale. Buzz Lightyear, Hamm, Rex,Slinky and Mr. Potato Head head out to find and rescue Woody. After leaving Andy's house the toys enter the neighborhood in which Andy lives, then proceed to Al's Toy Barn, the penthouse where Al lives and finally the airport terminal and tarmac where the movie ends. At the end of the game, Buzz has a final battle with Stinky Pete (aka the Prospector) and two of his in-game henchmen. Contrary to the movie, defeating Stinky Pete is the end of the game.
Gameplay[]
Console and PC version[]
Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue is a standard platform game controlled from a third-person perspective. The player controls the protagonist, Buzz Lightyear, in a three-dimensional world categorized by levels based on the movie that include Andy's house, Al's Toy Barn, Al's penthouse and the airport at the end of the film. The game also features many of the film's characters such as Hamm, Rex, Slinky Dog and Mr. Potato Head as NPCs that give Buzz different tasks to complete. Upon completing these tasks, Buzz is rewarded with a Pizza Planet token that allows him to progress to more difficult levels.
Most of the enemies in the game are not seen in the movie (excluding some bosses) and are placed throughout the levels. Some enemies have different abilities than others which include jumping, flying, firing projectiles, and blocking. Most enemies, if not all, do damage to Buzz on contact. Enemy health is not displayed, aside from boss battles.
Buzz is equipped with a few different attacks and powers to defeat enemies and progress through levels and the challenges they bring. Buzz has a basic laser attack that fires a single projectile from his arm that damages the enemy. This attack can be charged up by holding the attack button to deal greater damage. Buzz also has a spinning attack that hits enemies with his pop-out wings and can also be used to deflect some enemy projectiles. Similar to the laser attack, the spin attack can be charged to spin for a longer duration, although the charged spin attack leaves Buzz vulnerable by being stunned momentarily after the spinning. This move will be needed in later levels, as some enemies and bosses do not take damage from the laser. Another one of Buzz's abilities is a groundpound and being able to jump and double-jump.
In the first level of every zone, Mr. Potato Head will appear with one of his body parts missing. If the player finds that body part, Buzz will be rewarded with a power-up that is permanently unlocked and can be used in other levels that have that power-up available. A total of five power-ups can be unlocked throughout the game. These power-ups can help Buzz progress through the game in different ways by making some obstacles, tasks and challenges easier or possible. Power-ups include the Cosmic Shield, which protects Buzz from damage and hazardous materials; the Disc Launcher, which is used to defeat tough enemies; and the Rocket Boots, which make Buzz move really fast to complete daunting tasks. A Grappling Hook and Hover Boots can be used to reach high places.
There are fifteen levels in the game. These levels are grouped into five zones (three levels per zone) that consist of two levels that require tasks to be completed and one level that has a boss to be defeated. At first, only one level is available but the player can unlock more levels by collecting Pizza Planet tokens. Each level starts with a FMV scene taken from the movie (except from the Nintendo 64 version—its low-capacity cartridge system meant that these movies were replaced with comic-strip type, cut-scenes). In each level, there are five Pizza Planet tokens that the player can collect. The player must collect at least one token to unlock the subsequent level.
The tasks that Buzz needs to perform to gain a Pizza Planet token are:
- Collecting 50 coins for Hamm;
- Finding five "lost" items (e.g. Bo Peep's sheep);
- Competing in a race against RC Car or completing a time trial event by Slinky Dog;
- Solving a puzzle (e.g. mixing a Primary color to create a Secondary color) or reaching a certain, usually hard-to-reach location;
- Defeating a mini boss.
These tasks get more difficult and complicated as the player progress through the game. Rex appears in every level of the game, with the exception of the five boss stages. He will give the player tips on where to find Pizza Planet tokens.
In the last level of every zone, the player has to fight a boss to proceed to the next level. A certain number of tokens is required in order to access these levels. When the player completes one of these levels, a bonus movie can be unlocked which can be viewed at any time (excluding the Nintendo Ultra 64 version). In the last boss level the player will face three mini bosses from previous levels all at once. This is the final level and the only level that includes multiple bosses. Level 15 includes the Gunslinger from Al's Penthouse, the Blacksmith from Tarmac Trouble, and the Prospector from Airport Infiltration.
Game Boy Color version[]
A Game Boy Color version of the game, titled Toy Story 2, was released in November 1999. The game is played across eight levels and is a side-scrolling platformer, and utilizes a password feature. Buzz can run and shoot his laser at enemies. Special levels can be accessed if the player collects all the coins located in certain levels.[1][2]
Reception[]
Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue was met with mixed to positive reviews. Aggregating review website GameRankings and Metacritic gave the PlayStation version 75% and 75/100,[3][8] the Nintendo Ultra 64 version 62% and 58/100,[4][9] the Dreamcast version 59% and 57/100,[5][10] the Game Boy Color version 57%[6] and the PC version 55%.[7]
