A lot of old gamers remember and cherish not only the original TV show, but also the 23 year old NES game that this DuckTales: Remastered version has promised to faithfully reproduce. It was at one time but a dream, likely to never happen. But thankfully Wayforward and Capcom worked together to bring this game back in the gaming public’s eye once more. Did they succeed? I’ll bet you my lucky dime it did.

DuckTales: Remastered is a remake of the NES and Gameboy title Ducktales, based on the popular 80’s TV show. Wayforward has rebuilt it from the ground up to replicate the gameplay from the classic platformer, while refreshing it with a more modern veneer. HD sprites that almost look like cell animations from the show move across the levels, which have been given a complete makeover. There is much more going on in the background, and the foreground being replicated with polygons with simple, but effective textures. The game now also features voice acted cut-scenes to expand the plot so that Scrooge McDuck now has a reason other than ‘go here and collect money’ Now there are interactions with the other character’s from the show. This makes the game’s world seem more alive and adds an extra layer of charm that accompanies the gameplay.

The gameplay is a 2d platformer where Scrooge McDuck has to go through 5 levels to collect treasures and gems along the way, all to get richer and fill up his money bin. The levels have a mostly rigid structure, but sometimes there are paths splits that eventually lead to the same place. Scrooge gets through the levels with his cane that acts like a pogo stick. The pogo cane can be used to jump higher and to defeat enemies, either by whacking them with objects or jumping on them directly. There are also hidden areas and gems or chests that you can find for additional bonuses. It should be noted that the control for the pogo stick has changed to just pressing one of two face buttons, but you can switch back to the older scheme if you want. Also new to this remake is the addition of a map. You can now track your position of a level, as well as goal areas, which are marked by glowing spots. The game’s layout is pretty much the same as the original, but there were tweaks to it that remove areas like the statue that you have to pay to get to the boss in the Amazon. There were also additions like the minecart ride in Transylvania. There is also a new introductory level that serves as a tutorial, and the final level is new as well. Previously you went back to Transylvania, but it is now a new level, all with new music from Jake Kauffman. The bosses also have a few new twists to them to keep things interesting. The game has the original difficulty settings. Easy and Medium have been toned down a bit, and now the big chests in the levels contain up to 5 health extensions rather than extra lives and gems. Hard Mode plays more like the original game, with no extra health extensions beyond the first two. There is also an Extreme difficulty that you need to unlock for additional challenge. The money earned in the game is now used to buy various artwork and music from the Gallery.

The music in this game has been remixed by Virt and it has his own style while preserving the original tunes faithfully. All of the original show’s voice cast present and accounted for, and they reprise their roles admirably. The added cut-scenes and new levels make the runtime for around 2 hours. This is compared to the NES and Gameboy version’s 30-40 minutes. There were some bugs that were encountered though, and they may not be console specific. I had times where the preset audio quips were playing despite being the scene ending and a new one starting. There is also a tendency for Scrooge to stop pogoing when at the very edge of a ledge. The invincibility time for bosses feels a bit long as well. These issues are benign to a big one I encountered though. It happened during a scene transition after dying, where even though Scrooge was not present on screen, I could still move around and jump. I could hear the sound effects from and using the pogo stick. This prevented me from reloading as the game still lacks a reload checkpoint or self-destruct feature. I was forced to quit the level, and start over from the beginning. I’m sure all of these issues will be fixed before long.

In conclusion, DuckTales: Remastered is a fun and cute little platformer that’s every bit as good as the original, but its simple gameplay might not be enough for some of today’s gaming audience. But sometimes simple is good, even for $14.99. Life is like a hurricane, after all.

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