It's a rare condition this day and age to find a remake of a classic video game that captures the quality of the original. Especially when it's one of the most beloved games of its era. But when out of seemingly nowhere in 2013 Capcom and Wayforward announced that they would be giving us a HD remake of DuckTales, one of the most influential platformers of the Nintendo Entertainment System, you bet it brought excitement from old school gaming fans the world over. But was the excitement worth it when the game finally arrived?
DuckTales was released in 1989 for the NES. It was the first of the Capcom/Disney era which brought out many classic games throughout the console's life span. As lovable billionaire Scrooge McDuck, players would travel around the world and even to the moon collecting treasure, bouncing on your cane, and defeating many of the show's most infamous enemies. It's a game that despite being rather easy to beat, it holds up in terms of perfect platforming, great graphics, and an amazing soundtrack. Seriously, look up any best video game music lists, and you'll almost assuredly find the moon theme in there.
When Wayforward brought the game back for a remake, they weren't just intent on just gussying up the graphics and moving on. Instead, they went the extra mile in terms of presentation. In game sprites look more like something from the cartoon. The game has more of a story to it than the original game did. But the most amazing thing about DuckTales Remastered in my eyes is that they actually reunited the surviving cast of the cartoon.Including Alan Young as Scrooge, who for a man in his mid-90's hasn't skipped a beat in voicing the lovable rich waterfowl.
The story sees Scrooge once again stop the Beagle Boys from robbing his money bin. After fighting them off, he finds a treasure map which leads to several rare treasures around the world. From the Amazon to the Himalayas. From Transylvania to the Moon. But could this treasure hunt really be nothing more than a trap set up by Scrooge's old enemies Flintheart Glomgold and Magicka DeSpell?
The story itself is nothing incredible, but does still stick to the tone of the cartoon. While it's amazing to have the cast back, and some of the dialogue is quite funny, it does feel like it intrudes a bit into the basic gameplay. You can skip cut scenes through the pause menu, though it would have been better to just allow to do it without pausing in my opinion.
So hows does the gameplay fare? In essence, it's a solid recreation of the original game, albeit with a lot of noticeable differences. Scrooge can still jump and pogo cane for his basic attacks, as well as use his cane like a golf club to find hidden items. Levels themselves are for the most part similar to their past incarnations, but do feel lengthened. No longer can you just breeze through a stage at your own leisure. You have to go through each level finding certain items to advance. In the Amazon it's coins, while in Transylvania, you have to find pieces of a spell. It's a decent way to ensure that players get the most out of the game experience.
While gameplay is for the most part decent, I can't defend some control issues I had with the game. Sometimes platforming and jumping feels a bit slippery. Noticeably when trying to jump from rope to rope, or when jumping off a mine cart. If your timing isn't perfect, you'll end up falling to your death. And since you only have a minute number of lives, and can only earn one per level through finding Mrs. Beakley, this can lead to a lot of frustration and unfair game overs. Especially in the finale of the game in the new Mount Vesuvius level, which only feels hard because the platforming feels loose.
As for the new levels, neither are all that great. The opening money bin stage is just a basic tutorial, which feels kind of pointless since the game really isn't one that needs a tutorial to get the hang of. As for the final level in Mount Vesuvius, it's definitely better than just ending the game in Transylvania again, but the annoying platforming areas do kill an otherwise okay at best final stage.
The game does only offer one basic ending unlike the original, which changed its ending depending on how wealthy you became in game (there's even a hidden bad ending in the NES version which is hard to get). Instead, money earned through levels can be used to buy concept art and other unlockable stuff. While I appreciate it, I'd have preferred they had gone with an inventory system much like DuckTales 2, which could earn you more lives, or health restoring items like cakes or ice cream cones.
Overall, DuckTales remastered is a great game. While it suffers from some annoying issues like sloppy control at times, you have to give credit to Wayforward for what is essentially a love letter not only to fans of 2D platformers, but also fans of one of the most beloved cartoons of all time. It won't replace the NES version as the superior game, but I don't think that was ever the plan to begin with. This was just a remaster of a classic done by fans of the game and the show. Hopefully the game has done well that maybe down the line we'll see perhaps a Chip N' Dale Rescue Rangers Remastered, or what I'd prefer, a Darkwing Duck Remastered. Come on Capcom, you have that power. Let's get dangerous!