The Disney Afternoon Collection has finally arrived on Nintendo hardware…and it only took nine years since its 2017 debut! Thanks to publisher Atari, these six Capcom NES games have returned home as it were, bringing two SNES games along with them. So, to quote the cartoon block jingle, “step right up and come on in, here’s where the fun begins.” 

The most popular games in this collection are DuckTales and Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers, as evidenced by both being million-plus sellers and both spawning sequels. Both are platformers, with selectable levels rather than a strictly linear approach. Stage designs are large and inspired by the classic cartoons in many ways, with most of the major characters making an appearance. With innovative controls, colorful and well-animated graphics, and brilliant music, these NES gems succeed in a big way from an audio-visual perspective, as well as gameplay. DuckTales has three difficulty selections to satisfy gamers of any skill level, while Rescue Rangers has an extremely fun (unless you play like a jerk) two-player co-op mode that shouldn’t be missed.

The sequels arrived a couple of years too late, making little commercial impact on the aging NES hardware, and thus are insanely expensive cartridges in the second-hand market. This collection makes them accessible, but raises this question: was it worth the wait? In the case of DuckTales 2, the answer is a definitive yes. It’s a superior sequel in several ways, with even better (and expanded) control and more replayability. Only two things prevent it from surpassing the greatness of the original. The music is pretty good, but the gap between these tracks and the great originals is big. Also, the dialogue is slightly off. While the story is fine, having everyone refer to our protagonist as Uncle Scrooge (even Launchpad and Gyro) rings false to the cartoon. Still, I’m thrilled to finally play a hidden gem and discover a new favorite.

Unfortunately, Rescue Rangers 2 is a sizable step back as a sequel. It’s a more linear experience (no overworld map), with levels that feel more sparsely populated and whose once imaginative backgrounds now lack personality and graphical pop. While its predecessor felt like playing the cartoon with lots of recognizable enemies, this is a subpar reflection of the Disney source material. Arguably, the only improvement is having bosses with more challenge, but even this is suspect. While they are tougher, a lot of it stems from gimmicks (wind, scrolling screens, etc.) rather than the boss patterns themselves. Thus, you have slower and ultimately less memorable battles.

Rounding out the NES games are Darkwing Duck and TaleSpin. The former is also a pricey cart, so I’m glad to have the option to finally play it legit without overspending. It’s very much in the Mega Man mold, which is good, although it’s closer to the fourth entry than the second or third, which isn’t as good. Still, I can certainly see myself embracing the challenge to eventually master it. TaleSpin is a unique and underrated NES game, partly overlooked due to its time of release and limited marketing. Think of it as an airplane shooter with platformer action DNA at its core. It has a real learning curve, demanding accuracy and timing with a small margin for error. But it’s a grower, and once you get a handle on it, you’ll be dodging, earning power-ups, and finding bonus stages left and right. For those tempted to abuse rewind and save states, even Purely Trev managed to beat this one as an NES cartridge.

Moving on to the pair of SNES games new to this collection, we have Goof Troop and Bonkers. The latter is a pretty fun game, a unique top-down adventure puzzler that I’ve been enjoying in co-op with my wife, à la the original Rescue Rangers. You can play it solo, too, but it seems tailor-made for cooperative play with a buddy. Meanwhile, Bonkers is…okay. Honestly, without knowing the source material, it comes off feeling a bit like a generic SNES platformer. I suppose my real issue is the sluggishness compared to most of the other games in this collection. I can see why it needs a dash move. Everything seems a touch too slow, with even general movements feeling delayed due to the animations. 

Bonuses include a boss rush mode for the NES games, which I’ve dabbled with a bit to get my name on the leaderboards. There’s also a time attack mode, which is wasted on me. It takes willpower to pass up treasures in the Duck Tales games that I don’t have. Still, speed runners should enjoy this, even though these games weren’t built with that in mind. A gallery and music player are simpler, as far as gaming collections go, but keep in mind, The Disney Afternoon Collection is an older Digital Eclipse offering.

While there’s no excuse for this collection taking nine years to arrive on Nintendo hardware, it’s undeniable that this package represents five years of classic 8-bit (and now 16-bit) games that hold up in sheer fun. For an NES kid like me, this is a 10 out of 10 package for the pair of DuckTales games alone, never mind the underrated TaleSpin and the original Rescue Rangers in co-op. I recognize that those without nostalgia might lean closer to the 8 range. After all, the challenge is higher (especially without an NES controller), the bonus content is on the lighter side, and there aren’t any Game Boy versions. So, I’ll reluctantly split the difference and, with my gaming acumen engaged, award The Disney Afternoon Collection a 9 out of 10.