The Disney Afternoon Collection (Switch 2)

If it ain't broke, don't fix it! When we reviewed The Disney Afternoon Collection back in 2017, we highly recommended it. We thought it was both affordable and offered several decent quality-of-life improvements for those who want to experience these classics from Capcom. That being said, we felt that a challenge mode and a few additional games were needed to raise the rating even further. Fast forward to 2026 and now the collection is finally arriving on both Switch and Switch 2, where in addition to the six NES games that were in the 2017 collection, the SNES classics Goof Troop and Bonkers have also been added.

Of all these wonderful Disney classics that Capcom produced in the 80s and 90s, I have the most experience with Goof Troop and Bonkers. My parents held out as long as possible before buying a game console because they advocated creativity and outdoor play. But when they finally realised that we were going to our friends' houses to play anyway, they realised that we might as well play at home. By then, Super Nintendo was the game console of choice and we never owned either of the two SNES games, since we rented them from our local video and game store and played them over and over again. As for the NES games, our cousins had DuckTales and Chip 'n' Dale and we played TaleSpin at our childminder's house. As you can imagine, this collection brings back many fond memories of playing games with friends and family in the 90s.

In 2017, I had my first son and completely missed the release of The Disney Afternoon Collection that year. If you've been following along this far, you know that I've played five of the games but they've added even more to make for the following collection: Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers, Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers 2, DuckTales, DuckTales 2, Darkwing Duck, TaleSpin, Goof Troop, and Bonkers. By adding two more games, developer Digital Eclipse has captured nostalgia for those of us who began our video game journey during the transition phase between the NES and SNES. As our reviewer described in 2017, the developer has chosen to retain the choppy frame rate and graphical glitches, and I share our previous reviewer's opinion that this enhances the experience and authenticity as I now get to relive my childhood video game memories.

The collection includes features such as a save system, the ability to rewind time, Boss Rush mode, Time Attack, and a museum with concept art and a music player. Unfortunately, both Time Attack and Boss Rush modes are missing from both SNES games, which is something that bothers me, as I have the most experience with Disney games on SNES. At least the games have been included in the collection's museum with concept art that you can look at. Here we find everything from hand-drawn sketches to other artwork from the games. It's also great to listen to all the songs from the games via an audio player, where my personal favourites are the soundtracks to Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers, DuckTales, and Goof Troop. The song Sea Robber from Goof Troop brought back memories of when I originally completed the game with my brothers.

For someone like me who experienced Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers 2, DuckTales 2, and Darkwing Duck for the first time here, both the save function and the ability to rewind time are invaluable. I willingly admit that I haven't completely made my way through Darkwing Duck due to the difficulty level and the many games in the collection. With two young children, it's easy to get distracted for a second, and as this is the case, it's worth its weight in gold to be able to reclaim those "lost" seconds. When I showed the games to my 8-year-old and 6-year-old, they were mainly interested in Goof Troop and Chip 'n' Dale. It was entertaining to see that the games still work for a generation of children two or three decades after they were originally released.

It's easy to see that this is a solid mix of games that feel both challenging and entertaining without being one-dimensional. For me, it was a surprise how much Chip 'n' Dale 2 differed from its predecessor. As someone who loves to grind through Goof Troop's bosses, it was the game whose Boss Rush mode I missed the most, and it feels a bit sloppy that The Disney Afternoon Collection has been honoured with two new games without them receiving the same treatment as the NES titles. When the collection also includes two SNES titles, it's easy to look for the titles that weren't included, as after Goof Troop, The Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse is the game I played the most on the 90s console.

The Disney Afternoon Collection has given us a proper Disney collection that we can carry with us on our Switch 1 and 2. If we had got a few more SNES titles and they had been given the same love as the NES titles, I would probably have been willing to raise the rating on this collection even more. But as we mentioned in our former review, you get eight game titles at a low price that is far below what the original titles cost individually. If, like me, you have beloved childhood memories of several of the games and also have missed a few of the other titles, this is a safe purchase. If you have a little extra patience, the title will also be released in physical format for both Switch 1 and 2 later this spring.