DuckTales
System: NES
Release Date: September 1989
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Genre: Platformer
Fan favorite DuckTales is Capcom’s follow up to what I assume is going to be the game of 1989, Mega Man 2. You are Scrooge McDuck, greediest fowl this side of the Mighty Mississip. You’ve got a line on five great treasures with which to enhance your wealth. In order to get them, you’ll have to take a trip to the Amazon, Transylvania, the African Mines, the Himalayas, and even out to the Moon.
Scrooge’s main means of locomotion is bouncing on his cane. This is going to get you higher than a normal jump and also will kill most enemies you land on. There are also plenty of hazards on the ground that will hurt you if you step on them, but the pogo cane will neutralize them. The only other means of attack is by standing next to certain blocks and pressing the B Button to swing your cane. This can launch certain blocks to knock enemies out of the sky.
Scrooge likes money… a lot. So you want to collect all the diamonds you see. Small diamonds are only worth $2000, but the big ones net you $10,000, and the red ones are worth $50,000. As you collect the cash, you may run into Launchpad McQuack who will offer to fly you back to Duckburg. If you happen to have a 7 in the ten-thousands digit, you get dropped in a bonus level where Gyro drops diamonds for you to collect for extra cash. Then you start the level all over, but you can collect all the treasures again. You’ll also find ice cream and cake to replenish your life, and special coins that leave you invincible for a few moments.
My least favorite part of the game is the mine carts in Transylvania. I had more problems than I’d like to admit getting Scrooge to jump out in time. I think you can’t have the d-pad pressed at all and need to hold the A Button to jump out. In the Himalayas, your cane is nerfed, because hitting the ground with it causes you to get stuck in the snow. And don’t get me started on the ice slip physics, those didn’t work as expected. Luckily, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, as well as Webigail give you some hints on things you need to beat each level.
The end of each level pits you against a boss. These all need to be pogoed on five times in order to defeat them. Patience is the key here, because while some of the bosses are simple, Magica De Spell requires you to dodge and wait for her to fly at a level you can jump to. The very last level has you racing to the top of a pillar against Flintheart Glomgold, like the opening of the cartoon. You have to climb a rope as he is flown up by Magica. My memory was expecting a platforming test to get to the top, but it was a straight rope climb. Was it different on the difficult setting?
Graphics: 3.0
Everything looks very good. There are plenty of colors on screen, animations look good, there isn’t a lot of flickering.
Sound: 3.5
The music is top notch. The Moon is one of the most iconic themes on the system. The only thing that holds this back from a perfect grade is there are only about half as many songs as Mega Man 2.
Gameplay: 3.0
Scrooge controls well, but some enemies are positioned in just a way to be annoying more than anything else. The mine carts are terrible, though.
Difficulty: 3.0
It took me about 20 minutes to get back in ability to complete the game shape. There aren’t a on of levels to memorize and taking your time is all you need.
Fun Factor: 3.5
I had a lovely time playing through DuckTales.
Overall Grade: 3.2
DuckTales earns a B+. It’s a very good title to pick up and play. It doesn’t overstay its welcome and invites you to run though it more quickly or earn just a bit more money.