DuckTales - In-depth NES Written Review with Pics
DuckTalesCapcom/Disney
1989
Nintendo Entertainment System
*Alphabetical list of writings
*Full soundtrack recorded from my NES
*Friend Gaming Jay's 1st look
Certain games can get stuck in your head in a similar way to a song. You see the game, maybe only a tiny portion of it, but you know almost instantaneously that you're not getting it out of your head for the next week. If you add into that game a number of songs that also inscribe themselves into your mind, and you'll have a game you'll both be thinking of playing as well as humming the songs of at all manor of inappropriate times. The blame for getting me to think about this game often enough that only reviewing it might help ease my troubled retro gaming mind, was a Gaming Jay video where he was trying it out for the first time.
DuckTales had that effect on me back in the day as well. Seeing the show might get that theme song on my mind, might get me to want to play the game that put me inside of that universe. Vice-versa playing the game might get me to thinking about popping our tape of the movie into the VCR. It's really the ideal licensed game. Separate mediums to experience the same universe, different, but the same. They co-exist together so the fans of one medium might give thought to trying out the other. Surely they are supposed to make money, but never at the expense of decreasing the quality of that universe. Licensed games at the time rarely had that ideal in mind, often designed to make a quick buck from name recognition. A great movie would often guarantee a terrible game. Here Disney entrusted their universe to Capcom, and they did not disappoint.
*Full soundtrack recorded from my NES
*Friend Gaming Jay's 1st look
Certain games can get stuck in your head in a similar way to a song. You see the game, maybe only a tiny portion of it, but you know almost instantaneously that you're not getting it out of your head for the next week. If you add into that game a number of songs that also inscribe themselves into your mind, and you'll have a game you'll both be thinking of playing as well as humming the songs of at all manor of inappropriate times. The blame for getting me to think about this game often enough that only reviewing it might help ease my troubled retro gaming mind, was a Gaming Jay video where he was trying it out for the first time.
DuckTales had that effect on me back in the day as well. Seeing the show might get that theme song on my mind, might get me to want to play the game that put me inside of that universe. Vice-versa playing the game might get me to thinking about popping our tape of the movie into the VCR. It's really the ideal licensed game. Separate mediums to experience the same universe, different, but the same. They co-exist together so the fans of one medium might give thought to trying out the other. Surely they are supposed to make money, but never at the expense of decreasing the quality of that universe. Licensed games at the time rarely had that ideal in mind, often designed to make a quick buck from name recognition. A great movie would often guarantee a terrible game. Here Disney entrusted their universe to Capcom, and they did not disappoint.
^On the non-linear side of platformers, any level can be completed in any order
Three difficulty levels can be chosen upon starting, and I'd actually recommend selecting the most difficult level, even if playing for your first time.While I know the game will indeed present some issues that new players will surely have issues contending with, I also know that I mastered this game before I was five years old. At that time I was surely playing it on easy. But now, having come to this game many times and looking at some thoughts from magazines back in the day, even seeing other people playing it for the first time in their 30's, I do consider it on the easier side of NES games.
NES games were often rather difficult. You'll still run into issues if playing it for the first time, but all of my being is screaming that I know all of you out there can do it. You wouldn't be devoting too much of your time into completing it, and unfortunately if a game is thought of as too easy, it can get a reputation of not being worth playing, similar to a game that's considered too difficult. Playing it on hard as an adult for the first time, may just put you in a similar placement as playing it on easy did as a kid. You're not going to beat it the first time, but neither did we. You just might even think perhaps I'm full of it, and the game truly is hard. I'm sure I threw out a curse or two when figuring this game out back then. This is the process by which the game was meant to be played and beaten. Placing the difficulty at its hardest in this game will most faithfully allow you the opportunity to go through that process yourself.
^Grave robbing, hints, powerup, illusionary wallsThe largest change in having a higher difficulty is that an entire heart will be taken out of your life bar when hit, where as easier difficulties will take multiple hits to drain that bar. Other changes are items contained in chests. Easier difficulties will have more health items, and even temporary invulnerability, where on the most difficult level there are fewer health items (but more money), and I don't believe a single chance for invulnerability. Bosses will also take more hits, but the rest of the gameplay remains largely unchanged.
^Bit of an in-game cutscene
Speaking of gameplay, we do have an NES game here, and by far the largest genre of game for that system would be side scrolling platformers. The key to making a game of that type stand out is all in the small touches to the gameplay, the actual characters themselves, story (if there is any), and believe it or not, even mechanics. Many games feature collectibles in the form of money, but mostly those are simple items for score that rarely lived on once you reset. The goal of this game IS the money, to collect as much as possible, and features three endings depending on the amount you have.
Since this is licensed property with history, we've already maxed it out in terms of the game's characters. Most of the shows characters will appear in some form in this game, occasionally with short dialogue. While blasphemy is sure to be called out from people who lack skill in gaming (and don't like to be reminded of it), changes to actual mechanics also help cement a side scroller as something special.
^Tribute to fallen nephews, this mine level requires backtracking to TransylvaniaI recall returning to this game around ten years ago, having not played it since the early 1990's, and despite that history of having mastered it all back then, I had a few issues because of that long gap. Attacking enemies involves getting the knack of a special jump involving Scrooge's cane. Separate from the basic jump, the cane acts more like a pogo stick, jumping higher, and when landing on an enemies head, killing them. Getting from many areas to another require mastering this mechanic, which involves a combination of buttons. While learning, you'll get a few deaths before you figure that all out, but you'll also be a better gamer for it. This change in how you think a game should work vs how it actually works, is indeed one of the many things that often times finds DuckTales listed amongst the finest games in the NES library.
^Hope you remembered how a normal jump works when confronted with snowIndeed, even inside of the very same game, the great side scrollers have no issues messing with the mechanics. It's called a change of pace, a welcome refresh from what you were doing before. I mean, that's what skillful gamers see when they come to a Mario swimming level, or when they come to this games level set in the Himalayas. That whole pogostick thing you figured out by doing the button combination and then just holding B so Scrooge would continue to do that jump? You're going to be forced to use the normal jump in this level, or else be stuck in the snow! But there will also be enemies headed your way, so now it's time to learn the temporary pogo jump so you can attack, but also land on your feet. All of these mechanics conveniently listed in your local game manual (PSA to those who think it should all be intuitive).
^Quite a bit of backtracking involved in this unforgettable level set on the MoonThe graphics found in this NES game are top notch for the system. From great facial expressions to some levels featuring extremely colorful backgrounds, others having less but makeing up for it in how moody and atmospheric they are. The settings themselves are so incredibly different compared to many games of that time, taking part in several parts of the world. This little detail was actually forced out of the later remastered version from 2013, for it might be a bit hard to explain why the richest duck alive is going around the Amazon killing natives, or stealing treasures from a king in the African Mines. The game is not exactly on the politically correct side of things, but I can't say it's something I had even pondered until looking at the newer version, which went out of its way to be PC, thus contrasting it in my mind.
Besides the level select screen giving this game a bit of a non-linear feel, levels themselves can feature a bit of this here and there. The African Mines cannot be entered until you go to Transylvania and find a key. Levels can feature quite a few hidden areas, usually containing normal treasures, but sometimes these areas are critical to find, as perhaps the boss battle is hidden inside them. Unfair you cry?! I'm not sure why some feel gamers should not know how to read, but these areas are mentioned in the manual as well as in-game, and apparently I had no issues as a kid, having found them all on my own. On the surface of the Moon, as well as inside of a UFO, you'll be forced to backtrack the level itself, as you find several items to progress to another area.
^The games best ending, all 3 are featured in my video reviewTo get the game's best ending will involve finding two hidden treasures, as well as utilizing the levels that feature Launchpad. Using him to give you a lift back to Duckburg, you can then stash all of the cash you made up to that point, and then start the level all over again, with all the treasures restored. This is required to gain the necessary ten million dollars for that ending. The standard ending you'll get by playing the game normally, getting anything from a dollar to just below ten million. The worst ending, claimed by some to be the hardest to achieve, is from finishing the game with zero dollars. I actually managed to find all three endings as a kid. The reason some claim this to be the hardest ending is because in order to "guarantee" you'll get it involves precise actions. Not collecting any treasure throughout the levels, not finishing the level until less than ten seconds remain, collecting a single special secret treasure, and then using the select button on the final boss twice so the money you could not avoid collecting will be removed.
"Involved" for sure, and by no means did I achieve that ending as a kid by following that walkthrough. That's how you guarantee that ending. But as a kid I surely knew that pressing the select button fully restored your health at the expense of taking away three million dollars. As a kid I surely had issues on that final boss and would have pressed that button as much as possible, so I wouldn't be forced to die. And as a kid, sooner or later it was indeed an ending I experienced first hand. But still, even following the guaranteed route was simply time consuming, not difficult. I still feel the best ending is a bit harder to achieve.
^Still looking and playing great!
From great visuals on a classic console, utterly fantastic music you won't get out of your head for weeks, levels you'll be forced to explore and enjoy, and quite unique mechanics that will forever be just for this game, DuckTales has always been a favorite of mine. You may or may not know the characters featured in this game, but you'll love playing as them. A tad on the easier side, so make it a bit more challenging on yourself by putting the game on hard and experiencing all three endings. Hope you'll check out my video review where I show off all three of those endings, as well as the games manual, along with a couple reviews from magazines back in the day. Also check out Gaming Jay's video where he tries it out for the first time, offering a fresh perspective.
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