Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue
Platform: Nintendo 64
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Genre: Platformer > Action > Adventure
Release Year: 1999
Developer: Traveller's Tales
Publisher: Activision
Players: 1
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Description

The Countdown to Adventure is On! As space hero Buzz Lightyear, you've got your hands full. Your best buddy, Woody, has been kidnapped by a greedy toy collector and it's going to be an all-out race against time to save him. It's all up to you... Buzz Lightyear to the rescue! Spin, spring, somersault and bounce through 15 colorful, action-packed levels. Unlock special toy accessories to complete your missions, like cool rocket jet boots! Enjoy fast and fun 3D gameplay with your favorite characters from the movie!

Gameplay and Plot

The player controls Buzz Lightyear as he tries to locate and rescue Woody after he is kidnapped by Al McWhiggin. He can execute a jump and a double jump, as well as two attacks: his wrist laser and his spin attack, both of which can be charged. In addition, there are 5 power-ups that can be unlocked to help Buzz complete certain tasks. Most of the voice cast from the film returned to voice their characters in the game with the exception of Tom Hanks, Don Rickles and Wallace Shawn, who did not reprise their roles as Woody, Mr. Potato Head, Rex, respectively (being voiced instead by Jim Hanks for Woody and Earl Boen for Rex and Kenneth Mars for Mr. Potato Head). The game starts out at Andy's house, as Al just kidnapped Woody. Buzz eventually leaves the house, then enters the neighborhood as he moves closer and closer to finding his friend, and once again needs to help his friends whilst achieving his goal to find Woody. Slinky, Hamm, Rex, and Mr. Potato Head are with you each level, to give you tips and bonuses. Other characters including Rocky Gibraltar, Bo Peep, Jessie, and Bullseye also will need your assistance.

Levels

There are fifteen levels in the game. The levels are grouped into five zones (3 levels per zone). Only the first level is available at first, but the player can unlock more levels by collecting Pizza Planet tokens. Each level starts with an 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 'cutscenes'). In each level, there are five Pizza Planet tokens that the player must collect. The player must collect at least one token to unlock the subsequent level.

In the first level of every zone, Mr. Potato Head is missing a body part that the player has to retrieve in order to unlock a specific power-up. The power-ups are the Cosmic Shield (Level 1), Disc Launcher (Level 4), Rocket Boots (Level 7), Grappling Gun (Level 10), and Hover Boots (Level 13). Some Pizza Planet tokens can only be collected with the use of a power-up, while others are merely easier to collect with the use of a power-up. Returning to previous levels is required to obtain Pizza Planet tokens that couldn't be retrieved earlier without a certain power-up.

The tasks that Buzz needs to perform to gain a Pizza Planet token are: Finding five lost items (i.e. Bo-peeps sheep); collecting 50 coins for Hamm; competing in a race (i.e. against RC); do a certain task at a certain point (move boxes on the shelf in a basement; bounce on a rubber ducky in a pool; mix paints together; etc.); and finally defeating a boss. These tasks get harder as the game progresses.

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 "boss levels." When the player completes a boss level, a bonus movie will be unlocked, which can be viewed at any time. In the last boss level, the player will face three mini-bosses from previous levels all at once: the Prospector (Airport Infiltration), the Gunslinger (Al's Penthouse) and the Blacksmith (Tarmac Trouble).

List of Levels

In the game are 15 levels available:

* Level 1: Andy's House (Boss: Tin Robot) (Mr Potato Head: Ear)
* Level 2: Andy's Neighborhood (Boss: Zurg Kite)
* Level 3: Bombs Away! (Boss Stage: Bombs Away Airplane)
* Level 4: Construction Yard (Boss: Jackhammer) (Mr Potato Head: Eye)
* Level 5: Alleys and Gullies (Boss: Clown Top)
* Level 6: Slime Time (Boss Stage: Slimy Trashcan Monster)
* Level 7: Al's Toy Barn (Boss: Toy Dinosaur) (Mr Potato Head: Arm)
* Level 8: Al's Space Land (Boss: Buzz Lightyear Buggy)
* Level 9: Toy Barn Encounter (Boss Stage: Giant Laser Bot with cages carrying minibosses)
* Level 10: Elevator Hop (Boss: Spider Gunro) (Mr Potato Head: Foot)
* Level 11: Al's Penthouse (Boss: Gunslinger)
* Level 12: The Evil Emperor Zurg (Boss Stage: Emperor Zurg)
* Level 13: Airport Infiltration (Boss: Stinky Pete) (Mr Potato Head: Mouth)
* Level 14: Tarmac Trouble (Boss: Blacksmith)
* Level 15: Prospector Showdown (Boss Stage: Stinky Pete, Gunslinger, Blacksmith)

Reception

Reception for the game has been positive. Metacritic based on 10 professional reviews, has rated the game a 8/10 for the N64 version, and 9.1/10 for the PS1 version. Most high points for the PlayStation is the fact the game contains FMV sequences, unlike the N64 version. Rotten Tomatoes rates the N64 version with a 78% "fresh" rating, while the PS1 has a 83% rating.