Tales of Eternia Remastered, Ratatan and Toy Story: Retro Roundup! review roundup

October 15 and 16 brought three smaller releases with a lot of history behind them. Tales of Eternia Remastered brings back the third Tales game, which North America hasn't had since the original PlayStation. Ratatan, the rhythm roguelite from Patapon creator Hiroyuki Kotani, left Early Access. And Toy Story: Retro Roundup! collects Pixar games from the late 1990s and early 2000s, mostly made by Traveller's Tales. All three are reviewing in the mid-to-high 70s.

The splits are very different. Tales of Eternia is a well-loved RPG wrapped in a remaster some critics think was done badly. Ratatan is addictive but chaotic, and critics disagree on how long it holds up. Toy Story is a good collection of uneven games, carried by one standout.

Scores below were taken at the time of writing and are still moving.

Tales of Eternia Remastered, Ratatan and Toy Story at a glance

Tales of Eternia Remastered review scores: 77 on Metacritic

Tales of Eternia came out on PlayStation in Japan in 2000 and reached North America in 2001 as Tales of Destiny II. This remaster, by TOSE, adds a new English script and dub, the original Japanese voices, objective markers, toggles for encounter rate and experience gain, and a switch between remastered and original visuals and sound effects.

Metacritic lists it at 77 on PS5 from 23 critics (17 positive, six mixed, none negative) and 75 on Switch 2. OpenCritic has a Top Critic Average of 76 from 32 reviews, with 63% of critics recommending it.

What critics love about Tales of Eternia Remastered

The cast, and the restored content that gives them room. Hardcore Gamer's Ivanir Ignacchitti notes this is "the first official English release of the game to include the camping skits," the optional party conversations cut from the original North American version. DualShockers' Murillo Zerbinatto says the skits are "fantastic at diving deep into everyone's personality and quirkiness," and Push Square's George Yang praises the "much better English voice acting." RPGFan's Audra Bowling calls it "the definitive way to play a heartfelt PS1 classic."

COGconnected's Stephan Adamus likes the combat, which "almost feels like playing a fighting game, and totally holds up by modern standards." CGMagazine's Zubi Khan says the new options make it "a much more accessible and modern-feeling release."

Where Tales of Eternia Remastered reviews split

The remaster itself. Shacknews's Lucas White (5/10) calls it "just another annoying disappointment, and perhaps the most egregious one yet." He says the upscaled anime intro "looks awful" and the new visual filter is "the usual ugly smearing filter," and that the game seems to be based on the zoomed-in PSP port. COGconnected agrees the smoothed look may be "a bit worse than the original," though Hardcore Gamer thinks it's one of the better filters of its kind. You can switch it off either way.

The other complaint is age. PlayStation Universe's Thea Severance says the "combat still feels dated," and Push Square calls it inflexible, with environments that "still look dated, especially the plain world map." COGconnected says "the third quarter drags quite a bit," and RPGFan warns of backtracking, with "no fast travel or teleport option" and an airship upgrade that comes "far too late in the game."

Ratatan review scores: 75 on Metacritic

Ratatan is a crowdfunded spiritual successor to Patapon. You move a Ratatan freely across side-scrolling stages and command an army of small creatures called Cobun by tapping out rhythms, with roguelite runs, card-based modifiers and upgrades between attempts. It had been in Early Access on PC since September 2025. The 1.0 release adds chapters 3 and 4 and launches on consoles. Online co-op supports four players; there's no local co-op.

Metacritic lists it at 75 on Switch 2 from 14 critics (nine positive, five mixed, none negative), 71 on PS5 and 70 on PC. OpenCritic has a Top Critic Average of 74 from 30 reviews, with 47% of critics recommending it.

What critics love about Ratatan

Nintendo Life's Ken Talbot says that to anyone new to Patapon it will feel like "something distinctly new," and calls it "an addictive musical strategy title." CGMagazine's Jordan Biordi says mixing rhythm with random buffs "makes each run incredibly engaging," and Hardcore Gamer calls it "an addictive experience that can keep players coming for more." It suits Switch 2, too: Talbot calls it a comfortable fit in handheld mode and says it has been "flawlessly performant" on Nintendo's machine.

Where Ratatan reviews split: chaos and staying power

The screen gets busy. Talbot says "the biggest challenge is finding a visual anchor in the chaos of battle," and Hardcore Gamer lists "visual pollution" that makes dodging hard, plus room transitions that "surprisingly freeze on Switch 2." MonsterVine's Spencer Legacy disagrees, saying the attack effects "never feel too busy."

Depth is the other question. DualShockers' Shane Limbaugh (7.5) says you can "roll credits the first time around five hours in," and that it's "limited by a rhythm system that feels too strict for the genre." Talbot says it "stops showing you new things after a while." Steam users have also cooled: recent reviews are Mixed, against Very Positive overall.

Toy Story: Retro Roundup! review scores: 78 on Metacritic

Toy Story: Retro Roundup! is Digital Eclipse's collection of five games, mostly by Traveller's Tales, across 11 console and handheld versions: Toy Story (1995), both 1999 versions of Toy Story 2, A Bug's Life, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command and Toy Story Racer. It adds rewind, save states, cheats, art and interviews. A remaster of 2010's Toy Story 3 came out alongside it as a separate $24.99 release.

Metacritic lists it at 78 on PS5 from nine critics, 77 on PC and 70 on Switch 2. OpenCritic has a Top Critic Average of 74 from 32 reviews, with 53% of critics recommending it.

What critics love, and where they split

Toy Story 2 is the reason to buy it. Nintendo World Report's Willem Hilhorst calls it "one of the greatest 3D action platformers of all time," and Push Square's John Hansen says it's "one of the best 3D platformers of the 90s." The rewind and cheats make the punishing 1995 game far easier to finish.

The rest is uneven. GamingBolt's Daniel Boyd sums it up: "nostalgic fun and handy extras, though uneven games and rough presentation hold it back." Hansen calls Buzz Lightyear of Star Command "easily the worst game in this collection" and suggests skipping the Game Boy versions. Hilhorst, despite his 9, found the extras "slightly more held back" than in Digital Eclipse's earlier collections.

Which one to play

Tales of Eternia Remastered is for JRPG fans who never played it, or only played the cut-down North American release. It's the most complete version yet, as long as you can live with 2D, older-style combat. If presentation matters to you, read Shacknews first.

Ratatan is for anyone who loved Patapon or wants a rhythm game built for short runs. It's best on Switch 2 or with friends online. If you need a clean, readable screen, check Nintendo Life's review first.

Toy Story: Retro Roundup! is worth it for Toy Story 2 alone, especially if you grew up with it. Just don't expect every game to hold up.

Two of these are old games sold again, and why that keeps happening is the subject of our piece on why there are so many video game remakes. Tales of Eternia and Toy Story both have separate Switch and Switch 2 versions, so our guide on which version of a game to buy is worth a look before you pick a store.

Sources

• Metacritic: Tales of Eternia Remastered
• OpenCritic: Tales of Eternia Remastered
• RPG Site: Tales of Eternia Remastered release date and features
• Nintendo eShop: Tales of Eternia Remastered
• Steam: Tales of Eternia Remastered
• Wikipedia: Tales of Eternia
• Tales of Eternia Remastered reviews: RPGFan, NoobFeed, Hardcore Gamer, DualShockers, PlayStation Universe, COGconnected, CGMagazine, Digital Chumps, Video Chums, Push Square, PSX Brasil, Shacknews
• Metacritic: Ratatan
• OpenCritic: Ratatan
• FullCleared: Ratatan 1.0 moves to October 15
• Final Weapon: Ratatan is now available
• Steam: Ratatan
• Ratatan reviews: CGMagazine, Nintendo Life, Hardcore Gamer, MonsterVine, Comunidad Xbox, The Games Machine, DualShockers, Digital Chumps, GameCynic
• Metacritic: Toy Story: Retro Roundup!
• OpenCritic: Toy Story: Retro Roundup!
• FullCleared: Atari reveals a Toy Story double pack
• Steam: Toy Story: Retro Roundup!
• Steam: Toy Story 3 Complete Edition
• Toy Story: Retro Roundup! reviews: Nintendo World Report, Lords of Gaming, CBR, Console Creatures, Loot Level Chill, PSX Brasil, Everyeye, Push Square, TechRaptor, GamingBolt, SECTOR, Switchaboo