Toy Commander: Holiday Mission

Sega Dreamcast

No Cliché / Sega 

2000

Demo discs can be magical things, sometimes spinning the potential to form greater memories with the player than full games themselves. Such was the case for me with the Official Sega Dreamcast Magazine’s January 2001 Demo Disc. The tenth volume of the Dreamcast Magazine’s demo offerings is chock full of fun, loaded with playable tidbits of titles such as Speed Kings, Sega Marine Fishing (yes, I actually dig those fishing games…) as well as the now mysteriously elusive Kao the Kangaroo, among others. There are also trailers for what were two of the absolutely hottest games at the time, Grandia II and the phenomenon that was to become Phantasy Star Online. But all of that isn’t what made this specific demo disc so special for me. No, what really stood out to me was listed at the bottom of the disc’s playable samples: the Toy Commander: Holiday Mission. 

Being the Christmas fanatic that I am, I found the title of the demo naturally intriguing. Christmas themes are (somewhat surprisingly) rarely explored in video games, so I always jump at the chance to play anything even mildly relatable to the holiday. That said, I’d never been overly impressed with the full version of Toy Commander itself. The game was well received back when it launched for the Dreamcast in November of 1999, praised for it’s awesome visuals, free-roaming gameplay, and Toy Story-like premise (the main character in the game is even named Andy). One can see how the game would’ve been a hit for Sega’s ill-fated swansong console, but for me, Toy Commander presented too steep of a learning curve with regards to its slow, bulky controls (one of the game’s only criticisms upon release). At this point in my Dreamcast career, I was used to my games running at speeds comparable to Mach ten, thanks in no small part to snappy titles like Power Stone and Sonic Adventure. Call it the sage-like patience levels of a ten-year-old. Toy Commander was always a game that I wanted to enjoy, but just couldn’t quite jive with. That all changed, however, when I fell in love with the Holiday Mission. 

 

To be clear, Toy Commander: Holiday Mission (also known as Toy Commander: Christmas Surprise) was never part of the retail Toy Commander experience, and that’s partially what makes it so special. Long gone are the days of when demo discs held exclusive levels or content that you couldn’t access in full versions of the same games being previewed. Holiday Mission is an entirely Christmas themed level that remains exclusive to the Official Dreamcast Magazine’s January 2001 demo disc, making it essential to own if you want the complete Toy Commander experience. Flash forward to the year 2020, and it wouldn’t be at all strange for something like the level to be offered as downloadable content, which, in my opinion, only adds to the mission’s retro appeal. 

As Andy (otherwise known as the Toy Commander), it’s up to you to commandeer three toys as you attempt to locate and drop-off presents under your family’s Christmas tree. Gifts must be found from different spots within Andy’s house, including under the stairs and within the bowels of a toilet (gnarly…), with some of the packages being heavily guarded by rival toys. Fly or drive around the sandbox-like playscape in a toy vehicle or plane (both affixed with upgradable weapons), or as a toy version of Santa Claus himself, who floats around the level by way of jetpack. 

Speaking of Saint Nick, he’s the only toy of the three that has the capability of actually collecting each missing present in the demo, but he doesn’t have access to the arsenal of weapons that the other two selectable toys do in the mission (most likely due to his Elves forming that anti-rocket launcher union back in the late '80s), so clearing out the resistance presented by enemy toys with either the ground or air vehicles is highly recommended before swooping in to engage the missing gifts. I made the mistake of trying to finish the mission in a hurry by playing as Santa alone and I was blown to smithereens in no time. 

When all of the missing gifts are accounted for and nestled comfortably under the Christmas tree, the player is rewarded with a really awesome holiday greeting from the No Cliché development team. It’s worth completing the demo just to catch the ending as it hit me right in the heart with some righteous Christmas feels, courtesy of the year 2000. 

Nowadays, I’m a big fan of the full version of Toy Commander. The Holiday Mission is something I wished I had played before experiencing its retail brother as my bias towards Christmas and pining to explore everything to do with the season gave me the patience to really learn how the game worked, janky controls and all. Looking back, what I think was the intention for this demo (and all demos) worked perfectly. It gave me just enough of the Toy Commander experience (with a wink of Christmas charm) to develop a curiosity for more. What has since become one of my favourite demos of all time, add Toy Commander: Holiday Mission to your selection of Christmas gaming appetizers this year. It’s Santa recommended and 100% approved for the Nice version of the retro list.