Atari's Toy Story: Retro Roundup! and Toy Story 3: Complete Edition Bring Nostalgic Video Games Back the Right Way

Video game fans are in for a real treat as Toy Story: Retro Roundup! and Toy Story 3: Complete Edition arrive for fans around the world. 

One of the hardest parts about being a gamer is being able to relive your favorite video games from consoles past. While we’ve seen some amazing remakes and remasters over the years, there’s always a missing level of nostalgia that can’t quite replicate what it was like playing your favorite NES, Sega Genesis, or PlayStation game on a curved CRT television. That gets even more complicated when you add in handhelds. 

Enter Atari, with a vision to bring classic Toy Story-inspired video games back to fans in the most authentic way possible with Toy Story: Retro Roundup! While we had a chance to check out the game at this year’s D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, this was my first time getting to sit down and check out the long list of games available on the collection. 

Releasing today, October 15th, Toy Story: Retro Roundup! features games from across Pixar’s early video game history, including Toy Story (1995) for Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo, and Game Boy; Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue! (1999) for PlayStation; Toy Story 2 (1999) for Game Boy Color; Buzz Lightyear of Star Command (2000) for PlayStation and Game Boy Color; and Toy Story Racer (2001) for PlayStation and Game Boy Color, with A Bug’s Life (1998) for PlayStation and Game Boy Color included as a bonus title. You’ll be grabbing 11 different throwback titles celebrating 30 years of Toy Story and Pixar memories.

What I personally find so endearing about this collection is how much Atari went the extra mile to bring these games back to life. TV’s were square in the 90s and early 2000s, and instead of just throwing up a boring set of black borders, Retro Roundup! includes themed backdrops that help make you feel like you're back in the primetime of the original PlayStation. Even the handheld versions include matching themed frames. 

The games are also designed to replicate the look of the screens they were intended to be played on. All of these can be turned off, but it feels nice, like Atari took the extra time to make these feel as nostalgic as possible. 

As for the games, it is crazy seeing the major differences between the same title on different consoles. A great example of this is the Sega Genesis vs. the NES version of Toy Story, while the same story and level concepts, played like entirely different games. It's also a surprisingly rewarding journey through the evolution of gaming from 1995-2001. 

Then that brings us to Toy Story 3: Complete Edition, which is a re-release of one of the best movie-inspired video games ever released by Disney. While still being a classic platformer, and one of the last movie to video game releases, Toy Story 3 also had one of my favorite video game modes: Toy Box Mode. 

Giving players the freedom to take on the role of Sheriff, you get to create your own town full of toys inspired by the western world of Woody’s Roundup. It is an incredibly fun twist on the IP-themed video game, and still stands the test of time by being a fun and engaging game mode. 

Overall, Atari knocked it out of the park. Best of all, if you get the bundle with both games, you can purchase a physical copy of the game on Nintendo Switch, Switch 2, PS4, and PS5! The releases are also available on Xbox and Steam. The Toy Story: Retro Rewind! and Toy Story 3: Complete Edition bundle runs for $39.99 and is available now!

Learn more on the official Atari website.