CLASSIC GAMING
Duck Tales
Developer:  Capcom
Publisher:  Capcom
Genre:  Platformer
Year:  1989
System:  NES


Nostalgia is a beautiful thing to experience within any generation, as long as of course you were IN the generation you waft nostalgic about.  Those of the 1960s may dream of James Bond, the Beatles and Woodstock.  Those of the 1970s had Space Invaders, the rise of rock music and disco.  The 1980s brought with it not only a slew of well-known trendy movies and synth music, but also the significant rise, fall and rise again of videogames, one such game that became not so much a pinnacle, but rather a focal point of simplicity and nostalgia.

Story - Duck Tales, based on the successful Disney animation series of 1987, takes on the simple plot of the series itself, in which Scrooge McDuck, the most richest avian in the world, is determined to find even more precious artifacts to become even richer than he already probably is.  For fans of the show it was nothing but the minimum canonical interpretation of the show.  For non-fans, it was a plot that didn't need any heed taken of to enjoy the game, like most games at the time.


Gameplay - Because it was created by the same makers of Megaman (literally, right down to the producer), the game mimicked Megaman to a near-identical shine.  Scrooge McDuck had five levels to choose from.  The Amazon, African mines, Himalayas, Transylvania and The Moon.  Enemies vary from place to place with similar tactics of mainly running from right to left in their attempt to hit Scrooge, sometimes with throwing weapons too.  Scrooge can be able to defeat the enemies by using his cane to either smack certain rocks like golfballs, or by using his cane as a pogo stick to mightily bounce through the level and bop enemies from above.

Instead of points like in usual games, Scrooge obtains money for obtaining jewels and similar items in the level.  At the end of the level there is a boss that Scrooge must bop on the head of several times to defeat, so he can obtain the treasured artifact of the level.
Scrooge also has a health bar of three points that are initially red, but if all of them become orange (normally one goes orange after several hits or even one hit alone) then Scrooge loses a life.  Scrooge can recover health by obtaining ice cream cones, usually from Bentina Beakly, the maid of his mansion from the show who is normally within the levels somewhere.


As for allies, aside from the already mentioned Beakly, there are Huey, Dewey, Louie and Webby that offer a few tips on how to progress through the level.  Launchpad McQuack can offer to fly you back to Duckburg and out of the level in order to cash in the money you have obtained in the level already, or if you just want to try another level.  And lastly Gyro Gearloose appears to offer you a bonus level if you have the right tools.

Graphics - The graphics are classic Capcom stuff.  Since the game is made by the Megaman creators, the game even looks like a Megaman game in many respects by level layout, colours and physics.  The characters all look very like their animated counterparts faithfully so (although the nephews and Webby look a little bit too stunted), as well as the enemies of the levels looking somehow quite Disney-ish, from the thuggish Beagle Boy-like gorilla of the Amazon, to the Mummy-ducks of Transylvania.  Not only that, but the bosses (most of whom are major characters from the TV series) also look as they are from the series.


Music - One of the finite reasons for Duck Tales becoming memorable, is its unforgettable music.  Created by Yoshihiro Sakaguchi, its small soundtrack has become well known among gamers of the 80s and early 90s, particularly one classic piece (The Moon) which has since then been honoured with many a remix and remake in every style thought of, even to the present day.  The music is simplistic in its sound, repetitive in the pleasant sense without really being annoying (unless you hate 8-bit music of course), atmospheric enough to give you a good feel of what the level's all about (the Amazon's slightly rhythmic high-pitched beat and The Moon's ethereally wavy harmony) and manages to sound quite composed despite its limitations.  You'll find the tunes stuck in your head, even the level select theme, as well as the honourably reproduced DuckTales theme at starting up the game, which fans of the show will greatly smile at for being very exact in its remake.


In short, this is everything you want and expect from a NES game based off a good animation series.  It looks like it, sounds like it, and yes, feels like it too.  A slew of games were made based off the great animations of the 80s (some of which did badly and others did as good as this one).  But despite the others remembering Bucky O'Hare or Chip 'n' Dale more, Duck Tales on the NES stood as the frontier of simplistic excellence, giving fans EXACTLY what they hoped it would be, without any real disappointments.  Even now, someone can still play it and of course it will be short and outdated by today's standards.  But can you really say the same for the animation it was based on?
If you can't say that for the series, then you probably can't say the same for the game either.

Final's Final Rating - 7/10