Developer: Traveller’s Tale Publisher: Disney Interactive Release: 12/95 Genre: Platformer
Everyone knew that Toy Story would be special. As the first fully CGI animated films it would help usher in a new age of computer animation and spark innovations in graphics technology that continues to this day. Disney knew they had something and timed the release of the tie-in video games with the film’s release. It was a brilliant strategy that worked and the games were humongous hits. The Genesis version in particular was a notable release for the platform as there were few games featuring SGI graphics for the system. On the SNES it has staunch competition that it unfortunately comes up short against for a variety of reasons.
Toy Story follows the plot of the movie faithfully and expands certain scenes to make a well-rounded package. Both versions of the game use still frames during cutscenes to advance the story. However the SNES game has notably less than its Sega counterpart. That is but one of the few major differences between the games. The Sega game was the lead platform and it shows. Both technically and gameplay wise it runs circles around its Nintendo counterpart. It is obvious this version needed more time in the oven.
Mechanically Toy Story is simple. Woody can jump and attack with his whip. The whip does not kill enemies; it wraps them up and freezes them temporarily. Woody can also swing from hooks which comes in to play heavily later in the game. Despite its simplicity Toy Story is not just a straight platformer. The game spans multiple genres, from platforming to racing and even a first person maze like Doom. Even the traditional levels are not as simple as finding the exit in most cases. Many levels have specific objectives with a time limit. They do a lot with very little.
The game is certainly ambitious. But it would benefit from more focus. The controls are where the game stumbles the most. Woody’s jump is gangly and unwieldy. It barely has height and the later levels are heavily platforming focused. You will fall through platforms and miss jumps constantly. The swing mechanic is also suspect. Half the time you will question if the whip will latch on. When you auto swing it feels great. But when you must do it manually in late levels like Battle of the Mutant Toys you will absolutely hate it, especially in this version. I will get to that. The RC racing stages are frustrating as the stupid car spins out if you graze a wall, forcing you to waste time reorienting yourself. I don’t care about your impressive animation when it gets in the way of gameplay. This version has a bigger problem however.
The hit detection in the SNES version of Toy Story is absolutely awful and ruins the game. To be fair the whip was an issue in the Sega game. But here it is egregiously bad. Attacks miss consistently, to the point you might as well avoid enemies altogether. It is especially noticeable during boss battles. The first encounter with Buzz is fine although you will question if your hits are registering. But the second fight is bad and I feel like I won by luck rather than skill. The claw machine is so busted I legit thought the game was broken. I spent well over thirty minutes trying to complete this damn encounter, not to see the rest of the game but to prove it was possible. It is embarrassing that the game was released in this state.
Toy Story was a difficult game on its own. But with the dodgy hit detection in this version it is even worse. I hate Woody’s stupid jump and dread the platforming. The game relies on gotcha mechanics to its detriment. Many of its auto-scrolling levels focus on sudden enemy spawns with no warning and I do not like it. There is nothing wrong with memorization but to this level is ridiculous. The field of view in this version is smaller which makes it worse. Some of the levels like really inside the claw machine are shorter here but that is little consolation. This game needed another pass as well as a password feature.
You would expect the SNES version to look better than its Sega counterpart due to the larger color palette. Surprisingly it is the opposite. While the overall color range is larger the palette choices on certain stages in the other game look better in my opinion. The animation is missing frames and there are load times between levels. Layers of parallax scrolling are missing and some special effects are also gone. I know Traveller’s Tale prioritized the Sega versions of their games but this one is embarrassing. It looks especially bad next to Killer Instinct and Donkey Kong Country 2 which were also released the same year.
In Closing
The SNES version of Toy Story is disappointing. There is no getting around it. What should be an easy slam dunk is instead a frustrating experience that is less than it should be. There is a lot of decent content here but the awful hit detection ruins the game. On the Genesis Toy is a solid but flawed title. On the SNES it aggravating and not worth your time. What a damn shame.
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Author: 360 Technology Group
