The Disney Afternoon Collection (Switch 2) Review – Still Afternoon Delight, Now With Goof Troop And Bonkers

A Second Shot At A Classic Collection

It took nearly a decade, but The Disney Afternoon Collection has finally turned up on Nintendo hardware, now in a refreshed package for Switch and Switch 2. What was once a six‑game NES compilation has quietly become an eight‑game time capsule thanks to the newly added SNES titles Goof Troop and Bonkers. For anyone who bounced off this compilation on other platforms or simply waited for a portable version, this Switch 2 release is the best way to play it, though how much you get out of it will depend heavily on your tolerance for late‑80s design and a couple of weaker links.

You still get the same core lineup: DuckTales, DuckTales 2, Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers, Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers 2, Darkwing Duck, and TaleSpin. On top of that, the Switch 2 release folds in Goof Troop and Bonkers from the SNES era, something the original 2017 package conspicuously lacked. The result is a stronger, more rounded sampling of Capcom’s Disney work, spread across both platforming and co‑op puzzling.

The SNES Additions: Goof Troop And Bonkers

The big question for returning players is whether Goof Troop and Bonkers meaningfully change the value proposition. They do, and in different ways.

Goof Troop is the obvious headliner. It holds up far better than you might expect, with a top‑down, almost Zelda‑lite structure built around environmental puzzles, sly enemy placement, and light cooperation. Two‑player co‑op is intact and feels fantastic on Switch 2, whether you split Joy‑Cons on the standard Switch or pair a couple of pads on the new hardware. There is a satisfying physicality to grabbing objects, tossing them into enemies, and coordinating with a partner that still feels snappy, and the new rewind and save options make its trickier late‑game rooms much less punishing than they were on original hardware.

Bonkers is more of a curiosity. It is historically interesting as a rarely seen SNES platformer that has never been re‑released before, and preservation‑minded players will appreciate finally having convenient access to it. In practice, though, it is clearly the filler of the package. The level design is scattershot, enemy placement feels haphazard, and the collision can be fussy in ways that stand out compared to the tighter DuckTales or Rescue Rangers games. It is still perfectly playable and emulated cleanly, but unless you are a hardcore Disney Afternoon historian, you will probably poke at it for an hour and drift back to the stronger titles.

The key point is that Goof Troop genuinely enriches the bundle, giving the collection a cooperative hook that was previously missing, while Bonkers is more of a bonus artifact than a must‑see.

Emulation Quality And Features

Digital Eclipse’s original work survives intact here, and the Switch 2 version is effectively a best‑case scenario for these kinds of ports. The emulation for both NES and SNES titles is clean and faithful, with no audio desync, obvious timing issues, or weird sprite glitches in either handheld or docked modes. Music is particularly important to these games and the iconic DuckTales and Darkwing Duck soundtracks come through with crisp, punchy chiptune clarity.

The same suite of display options returns: integer‑scaled pixels, a sharp, clean mode, or a softer CRT‑style filter, along with optional borders. The CRT option looks surprisingly good on a 4K TV through Switch 2’s dock, softening edges without turning everything into a blur. Purists will want to stick with the clean mode, and the emulator’s scaling is careful enough that you do not get the shimmering or uneven scrolling you still see in some cheaper retro bundles.

Rewind, quick save, and load are here for every game and are implemented with very little overhead. Rewind is mapped smartly so you can correct a mistimed jump or an unfair hit without diving into a clunky menu. These tools take the edge off some of the nastier moments in Darkwing Duck and TaleSpin in particular, making the collection significantly more palatable for modern players used to frequent checkpoints.

The museum content and challenge modes from the original release are also preserved. Concept art, box scans, and design documents are well presented and still feel like a love letter to the era rather than token extras. Time Attack style modes remain a niche bonus, but they are a nice way to revisit these games after you have finished a casual run.

Input Lag And Responsiveness

For a compilation built on tight, timing‑sensitive platformers, input response matters more than raw pixel fidelity. The good news is that Switch 2’s version is among the most responsive console releases of this collection yet.

In handheld mode on Switch 2, input latency feels extremely close to playing on original hardware through a quality LCD. DuckTales’ pogo mechanics and the box‑throwing in Rescue Rangers both demand precise jumps and mid‑air corrections, and they feel immediately natural here. There is no hint of the slightly mushier feel that plagued some earlier plug‑and‑play style retro devices.

Docked performance depends more on your television’s own latency, but with a modern low‑lag display the collection feels excellent. There is a hair more delay than in handheld, which is expected once you factor in the TV, but the emulator itself is not adding anything egregious. Actions trigger consistently and rhythm‑based patterns in boss fights, such as Darkwing Duck’s more demanding encounters, are easy to read and react to.

Crucially, the new SNES titles do not suffer from any additional lag compared to their NES peers. Goof Troop’s cooperative puzzle sequences rely on tight throws and quick hand‑offs, and they behave just as they should. Bonkers’ somewhat slippery feel comes from its original design rather than from any technical failings.

If you are the sort of player who cared enough about latency to notice and enjoy the crisp responsiveness of collections like Capcom Arcade Stadium or the Mega Man Legacy Collections, you will be happy here. This sits comfortably in that same tier of emulation quality.

Handheld Versus Docked Performance

The Switch 2 format arguably gives this collection its ideal home. In handheld mode, the compact pixel art absolutely sings. The NES titles in particular benefit from the high‑density screen, with sharp sprites and legible backgrounds that avoid the washed‑out look you sometimes get on large televisions. Goof Troop’s top‑down perspective is crystal clear on the smaller display, and Bonkers’ busy foreground elements are easier to parse.

Performance is rock solid in both handheld and docked use. These games are not exactly a stress test for Switch 2’s hardware and it shows. There are no dropped frames, audio hiccups, or loading quirks even when swapping rapidly between titles or spamming rewind. Suspend and resume work flawlessly, which is vital for a collection built around short, replayable stages that you might dip into for five or ten minutes at a time.

Docked, the added resolution lets the CRT filter breathe, and playing on a big screen does a lot to sell the Saturday‑morning‑cartoon ambiance. The upscale is clean enough that you can comfortably sit close without the image falling apart, and if you prefer razor‑sharp pixels the clean mode avoids heavy post‑processing or ugly blur.

There is one small catch in docked play. If your TV is not configured for low‑latency gaming modes, the cumulative input lag can make the trickiest platforming sections feel a touch stickier than they should. This is not unique to this collection, but it is worth flipping your TV to a game mode to get the most out of it.

How Do The Games Themselves Hold Up?

Capcom’s NES output has aged more gracefully than most, and that is still true here. DuckTales remains the star of the show, with expressive animation, cleverly interconnected levels, and that famous Moon theme which no amount of nostalgia discourse can overhype. DuckTales 2 is a bit more restrained but mechanically sharper, leaning on hidden treasures and light backtracking to add depth.

Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers is still pure co‑op chaos, where tossing boxes and enemies around the screen is as funny now as it was in 1990. Its sequel is historically notable and builds on the formula with more varied stages, though it does not quite reach the same highs as the first game. Darkwing Duck is essentially a compact, Disney‑flavored riff on Mega Man, with satisfying weapon variety and tightly tuned stages that feel vicious but fair once you learn their rhythms.

TaleSpin is the outlier. It attempts a more experimental shooter structure with a plane that can flip directions, but its stiff movement and occasionally unfair enemy placement were rough in the 90s and feel even more so today. Rewind goes a long way toward taking the sting out of its worst bits, yet it still feels like the game you will sample once and then mostly ignore.

The SNES additions underline this unevenness. Goof Troop effortlessly joins DuckTales and Rescue Rangers in the top tier of the package, while Bonkers sits alongside TaleSpin as something you check out for curiosity’s sake rather than genuine enjoyment.

Modern players used to air‑control heavy platformers and generous checkpointing may initially bounce off the older design sensibilities, but the accessibility options significantly smooth the curve. With rewind, save‑anywhere, and a more forgiving attitude toward failure, The Disney Afternoon Collection ends up feeling like a friendly introduction to NES difficulty rather than a museum exhibit you admire from afar.

Verdict: Should Modern Players Buy It On Switch 2?

Framed as a fresh Switch 2 release rather than a straight 2017 port, The Disney Afternoon Collection holds up very well. The addition of Goof Troop meaningfully strengthens the lineup, emulation and latency are on par with Capcom’s best retro bundles, and the handheld experience in particular feels tailor‑made for short sessions of nostalgic platforming.

If you loved packages like the Mega Man Legacy Collections or Capcom Arcade Stadium and somehow skipped this one, the Switch 2 version is absolutely the place to jump in. You are getting eight historically important, mostly well‑designed games with thoughtful quality‑of‑life upgrades, excellent portability, and snappy control. Not every title hits the same standard and Bonkers is mostly here to round out a bullet point, but the hit‑to‑miss ratio is still comfortably in the collection’s favor.

For players without any nostalgia for the cartoons or the NES originals, the recommendation is a bit more measured. You are still getting a solid value proposition and a polished suite of emulations, yet you will have to make peace with the fact that two of the eight games are more interesting than they are genuinely fun. Even so, as a curated slice of Capcom’s Disney output, this is one of the stronger retro bundles on the market.

Viewed through the lens of modern access to classic games, The Disney Afternoon Collection on Switch 2 is easy to recommend. It is not the most comprehensive or lavish compilation out there, but between Goof Troop’s co‑op brilliance, DuckTales’ timeless design, and the excellent handheld performance, it delivers exactly what a late‑afternoon nostalgia trip should.