DuckTales Remastered

8.0 Overall Score
Gameplay: 8/10
Graphics: 9/10
Sound: 9/10

Looks just like an episode of the show | Old-school platforming done right | Original voice cast

Short initial length | Old-school game constraints | Dragging cut-scenes

Game Info

GAME NAME: DuckTales Remastered

DEVELOPER(S): WayForward

PUBLISHER(S): Capcom

PLATFORM(S): PSN, Wii U, XBLA, PC

GENRE(S): Action Platformer

RELEASE DATE(S): August 13, 2013 (XBLA September 11, 2013)

When news broke that classic NES platformer Ducktales was going to be remade, I was instantly transported back to the early 90s when the Disney Afternoon was appointment television after school. It also may or may not have caused me to use my child as an excuse to buy the DVD set of the show. Suffice it to say, I was excited. Capcom made some of my favorite platforms back in the day, and with news that WayForward would be developing DuckTales Remastered, expectations were high.

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From the moment you start the game, you can tell a lot of love went into making this as close to the original cartoon as possible. The backgrounds were painted by artists from the show, so everything looks very authentic. They even were able to reunite all the surviving members of the voice cast to record new dialog to flesh out the story. While the first time you hear these familiar voices is a treat, I quickly found myself skipping the cut-scenes all together. The writing is spot-on with what the cartoon did, but they seem to drag quite a bit, especially when in the middle of a level and all you want to do is just continue on to the treasure. I understand that these extra story bits are needed for the crowd that is unfamiliar with the original cartoon, but I would have preferred them just be left out. The process to skip these is a little clumsier than it needs to be, but at least it’s there.

But you’re not playing DuckTales Remastered for the story, you came for the pogo-bouncing, treasure-hunting gameplay. And that is where this title shines. This is classic old-school platforming done right. Jumps are precise and tight. Movement is fluid. Attacking enemies consists of a simple pogo bounce on their head or smacking an environmental object at them with your cane. I did experience (along with others, according to message boards) a small bug in the PS3 version where sometimes my pogo jump wouldn’t deploy when I pressed the appropriate button, but it seems to only happen at certain spots in the map, so it doesn’t hinder anything to badly. This little quirk aside, playing the game is fun. Bouncing off of enemy’s heads just as enjoyable as it was back then. The Wii U version suffered an odd bug. When playing through certain levels, if you pause the game occasionally the music would freeze in a small loop and when you un-paused the game the music loop overlapped the current track making it very frustrating. The only way to fix this was to die a couple times resetting the music. This only occurred on the Wii U version and will hopefully be patched soon. Exploring the map for hidden treasures helps make the mostly linear levels feel larger. Each level can be played in any order you want, similar to Mega Man, though no special powers are gained. The game is on the short side, but there are multiple difficulties and a money bin full of game & concept art to unlock.

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Speaking of difficulty, it’s par-for-the-course if you are going by 1989 standards.  Translating the same curve today can be frustrating for some gamers.  I was able to beat the NES game when I originally played it, but I will admit I had trouble on the medium level in Remastered.  People are so accustomed to unlimited re-spawns at a boss checkpoint, it can be a tough pill to swallow when you only get three shots total before you have to go all the way back to the beginning of the stage.  The platforming and enemies aren’t really that troublesome, but having to replay a stage all over again (except on easy) can really drive up the challenge.

Graphically, the game has obviously taken a huge step up from the 8-bit days. When looking at the character models, it’s hard to tell if this is a game or an actual cartoon. The animation is perfect when moving through stages and the background style matches wonderfully with the sprites. It truly plays and looks like an interactive version of the show. If I’m picking nits, the characters mouths don’t move during the dialog scenes, but since you’ll probably be skipping these most of the time, it’s not too big of a deal.

The original chiptune soundtrack to the NES DuckTales is one of the most loved soundtracks from that era, so fans of it should love the new revamped tunes found here. When you hear the theme song in bleeps and bloops, it’s amazing. When it morphs into a more modern sound, you can’t help but smile. All the stages are similar in that they take the original theme and expand upon it to make another great listen. You won’t be muting the TV for your own tunes on this one.

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THE RECOMMENDATION

DuckTales Remastered is a great call back to the glory days of platforming. For those that are just now hearing about these weird talking pantsless ducks, it’s a solid enough play that provides a few hours of enjoyment. For those of us who recall the cartoon and/or game fondly, this is a must buy that will be returned to many times over. I fall firmly into the later.

**Review Based on Wii U Version

 

 

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Author: Shaun Zimmerman View all posts by
Still waiting for the Commodore 128... Find me on Twitter @Zimm108