DuckTales Remastered Thoughts/Review

Blathering blatherskite! A high definition remake of one of my favorite childhood video games!

When I first heard that an HD remake of Ducktales for nes was in the works I could hardly believe it. But then again, ask any of us 30 something video game enthusiasts to name some of their 8-bit favorites and there's a high probability Ducktales will be mentioned. In a way, I'm surprised the game hasn't been remade before now, or at least included on some sort of collection.

That being said, let's take a dive in the money bin and talk about what's so great about this game, as well as some things that may not have stood the test of time.

Ducktales is your standard 2D platformer of the time, constructed in the Megaman engine by a lot of the same developers that worked on that series. The game even plays out a lot like a Megaman game in that you never have to follow a predetermined order of levels. At the start the player can choose from five destinations and tackle them in any order they choose. The remastered version takes a more Megaman X approach and throws you into an introductory stage to help you become acclimated to Scrooge's abilities and the nature of obstacles you'll encounter throughout the game, including a nice easy boss to show you how those fights play out.

What I particularly loved about Ducktales as a kid was how it captured the atmosphere of adventure and exploring. If you're running for speed you'll eventually learn the fastest way through each of the levels, but if you really want to rake in the treasure you're going to want to explore the multiple branching paths each stage has to offer. Unlike the original version, pausing the game reveals a map, including icons of interest to show you exactly where you want to go. While it's helpful if you get lost, I feel like it detracts from the size these levels held in the original game. Not a whole lot has changed in terms of the layouts themselves. All of the secret areas of old are in tact so you can experience a warm nostalgic pat on the back for remembering them as well as enough new changes sprinkled about to keep the experience fresh.

Scrooge himself handles nearly identically as in the original version. Overall the controls feel tight and Scrooge does what you intend for him to, well except for falling down a pit or into some spikes, but at least you'll know it was your own miss-timing to blame. Walking and jumping will feel exactly as you remember it, as well as the famous pogo cane made famous by the original game. For beginners, they simplified the pogo technique itself to allow you to focus more on what you're trying to achieve with it while you're learning. Now all you have to do to pogo is simply press and hold the square/X button. For veterans you can turn this off and return to the down+button input if you so wish.

The most notable difference you'll see between Remastered and the original game is of course the beautifully redrawn sprites and 3D backdrops. The sprites themselves look like they leaped right out of the cartoon. They're animated so well that it's still entertaining to take some damage just to see the extended animations play out, like when you're bitten by the giant venus fly traps in the Amazon, or when you smack your cane against a wall just to see the vibrations ring through Scrooge's body. The backgrounds themselves are 3D rendered, but still work on a 2D plane. Thanks to modern technology, the backgrounds now appear to have way more depth to them, which helps these characters appear as much more than cartoons moving through a paper world.

Fans of the original title will remember, or rather not remember, the story which was practically non existent other than the obvious quest for more money, a mainstay of the show itself. Remastered makes an effort to actually explain why you're doing what you're doing in each level. These cutscenes take place in game and are voiced by the original voice actors from the cartoon. Hats off to this crew, because they sound amazing, as if the show never ended. These scenes usually play out as lengthy banter between Scrooge and one of the other characters that accompanied you on your current adventure. They're entertaining the first go through, but really hurt the game's pacing after that. I'll cite the Amazon as one of the worst examples as you'll be stopped over 10 times to either hear Scrooge make a crack about the coins you're collecting or to remind Launch Pad of how terrible a pilot he is (though most of the time he proves it on his own). Fortunately you can pause and skip each of these mini cut-scenes at any time. It can be bothersome but at least the option is there. It would be nice if you could opt to turn them off all together.

The game can be unforgiving when it comes to dying.  There are no check points along the way and your lives are limited, which means when they run out it's back to Duckburg with you and all your progress in that level is gone. Depending on your skill level or when exactly you started gaming this could make for a grueling experience. You could argue that this kind of punishment for losing is archaic, but honestly that's just the way things were back then. To me a game's quality isn't reflective on how difficult it is. If I'm not good at a game, that doesn't mean it's a bad game, it means I either need to try harder to learn the game or move on to the next one. To me the lack of check points and unlimited lives is not a negative thing, but nor is it positive. I just wanted to mention that it's a factor a lot of players are having issues with.

In addition to the main game there is a vault load of development sketches, paintings, development art, music files, and even art from the original show.  In the original game, your money count acted as little more than your score, but this time around you can actually spend the dough you find to unlock the extras in the gallery. I feel like the prices are fair enough that you can unlock a ton of stuff from a regular play through without it feeling like you're grinding to unlock stuff.

In the end, if you really enjoy 2D platformers Ducktales I have no doubt you'll love Ducktales. It just seems to get all the fundamental elements right. But if you have difficulty with 2D gameplay or just don't care for the way games were designed in the late 80's/Early 90's then you'll probably want to pass this one up, because this is one throwback that clings very hard to its roots.

Pros:

-A faithful recreation of the classic game with enough extras and changes to make it a fresh experience.
-Solid controls with some customization available.
-New graphics and music are top notch. Get ready for the Moon theme to be stuck in your head again.
-Lots of unlockable extras increases replay value.
-Voice acting is fantastic. Feels like a faithful extension of the show.

Cons:

-Cutscenes are numerous and cause frequent stops in the action.
-(Debatable) Limited number of lives, no save states, and lack of check points could make the game a bit too difficult for younger players.