''DuckTales'' is a
platform game developed and published by
Capcom
is a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher. It has created a number of List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil' ...
and based on the
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
animated
TV series of the same name. It was first released in North America for the
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in America ...
in 1989 and was later ported to the
Game Boy
The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same ...
in 1990. The story involves
Scrooge McDuck
Scrooge McDuck is a cartoon character created in 1947 by Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company. Appearing in Disney comics, Scrooge is a Scottish-American anthropomorphic Pekin duck. Like his nephew Donald Duck, he has a yellow-orange bil ...
traveling around the globe collecting treasure and outwitting his rival
Flintheart Glomgold to become the world's richest duck.
Produced by key personnel from the ''
Mega Man
''Mega Man'', known as in Japan, is a Japanese science fiction video game franchise created by Capcom, starring a series of robot characters each known by the moniker "Mega Man (character), Mega Man". Mega Man (video game), The original game w ...
'' series, ''DuckTales'' sold over a million copies worldwide on each system, becoming Capcom's best-selling title for both platforms. The game was praised for its tight control, unique and non-linear gameplay and bright presentation, and is often regarded as one of the best titles for the NES, appearing on numerous "Best of" lists.
''DuckTales'' was followed by a sequel, ''
DuckTales 2
''DuckTales 2'' is a platform video game developed by Make Software and published by Capcom. It is a sequel to the original ''DuckTales'' based on the Disney animated series of the same name. It was released on the Nintendo Entertainment Syst ...
'', in 1993. A
remastered
Remaster refers to changing the quality of the sound or of the image, or both, of previously created recordings, either audiophonic, cinematic, or videographic. The terms digital remastering and digitally remastered are also used.
Mastering
A ...
version of ''DuckTales'' developed by
WayForward Technologies, featuring high resolution graphics and performances by the surviving members of the show's voice cast, named ''
DuckTales: Remastered'', was released in 2013 for
PC,
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
,
PlayStation 3
The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
, and
Wii U
The Wii U ( ) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. Released in late 2012, it is the first eighth-generation video game console and competed with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4.
The W ...
. The original 8-bit version of the game was also included in ''
The Disney Afternoon Collection
''The Disney Afternoon Collection'' is a compilation video game developed by Digital Eclipse and published by Capcom. It features six video games originally developed by Capcom and released for the Nintendo Entertainment System, all based on anim ...
'' compilation for PC,
PlayStation 4
The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
, and
Xbox One
The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
.
Gameplay
Players control
Scrooge McDuck
Scrooge McDuck is a cartoon character created in 1947 by Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company. Appearing in Disney comics, Scrooge is a Scottish-American anthropomorphic Pekin duck. Like his nephew Donald Duck, he has a yellow-orange bil ...
as he travels around the world and outer space in search of five treasures to further increase his fortune. Scrooge is able to attack enemies and get around using his cane. On the ground, Scrooge can swing his cane to attack enemies and to break open or throw certain objects. While jumping, Scrooge can bounce on his cane similarly to a
pogo stick and attack enemies from above. This also allows him to reach higher areas as well as bounce across hazardous areas that hurt his palmate. Along the way, Scrooge can find various diamonds, hidden inside treasure chests or appearing in certain areas, to increase his fortune and ice cream that can restore his health. Scrooge will also encounter various
characters from the series who have a variety of roles, such as providing hints, offering useful items, opening access to new areas, or attempting to stop Scrooge's progress. Hidden in the game is a secret life-restoring cheat, accessed by pressing the select button while standing still, that will refill Scrooge's
heart points for $3,000,000.
The game features five
level
Level or levels may refer to:
Engineering
*Level (instrument), a device used to measure true horizontal or relative heights
*Spirit level, an instrument designed to indicate whether a surface is horizontal or vertical
*Canal pound or level
*Regr ...
s:
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
n mines,
The Amazon,
The Himalayas
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...
,
Transylvania
Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...
, and
the Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the List of natural satellites, fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth ( ...
. The player can visit any of the destinations to pursue the treasures in any order. However, The African mines and Transylvania must be revisited to acquire certain essential items. Two secret treasures are scattered between all five destinations. Each destination's treasure is protected by a boss that Scrooge must defeat to retrieve. When all five main treasures are collected, the player returns to Transylvania for a final boss fight against Dracula Duck. After defeating him, the player must contend with
Flintheart Glomgold and
Magica DeSpell for the final treasure.
Upon completing the game, the player can receive one of three endings based on his performance:
a regular ending for simply clearing the game, a great ending for clearing the game with at least $10,000,000, and a bad ending for clearing the game with $0.
As the player is given $1,000,000 for each level's treasure, the bad ending is only achievable by spending all accumulated money on the life-restore cheat before the player ends the game.
In order to do that, the player has to collect exactly $1,000,000 to get a total money of $6,000,000 because he gets a total of $5,000,000 from the bosses. Then, the player has to apply the life-restore cheat two times to end up with $0.
Development
Although Capcom had previously worked with Disney by publishing the
Hudson
Hudson may refer to:
People
* Hudson (given name)
* Hudson (surname)
* Henry Hudson, English explorer
* Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back
* Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudso ...
-produced ''
Mickey Mousecapade'' in North America in 1988, ''DuckTales'' became the first licensed game that the company developed,
and shared many key personnel with the original ''
Mega Man
''Mega Man'', known as in Japan, is a Japanese science fiction video game franchise created by Capcom, starring a series of robot characters each known by the moniker "Mega Man (character), Mega Man". Mega Man (video game), The original game w ...
'' series including producer
Tokuro Fujiwara
, sometimes credited as Professor F or Arthur King, is a Japanese video game designer, involved in the development of many classic Capcom video games. He directed early Capcom titles such as the run-and-gun shooter ''Commando'' (1985), the platf ...
, character designer
Keiji Inafune, and sound programmer Yoshihiro Sakaguchi.
Revisions to the game included the removal of crosses from the coffins in the Transylvania stage, replacing them with the letters "
RIP
Rest in peace (RIP), a phrase from the Latin (), is sometimes used in traditional Christian services and prayers, such as in the Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, and Methodist denominations, to wish the soul of a decedent eternal rest and peace.
...
", replacing hamburgers as power-ups with ice cream, and the omission of an option for Scrooge to give his money up, an action deemed too "un-Scrooge-like".
Scrooge McDuck's shirt sprite was changed from blue to red to make him stand out and pop more against the blue and dark backgrounds. A leaked prototype cartridge from a private collector reveals several differences between the original, unfinished version and the final release, such as different level names, unused music for the Transylvania stage, slower tempo on the music for the Moon stage, unused or altered text, and the character
Gizmoduck going by his Japanese name "RoboDuck".
Despite the changes, images of the unfinished
beta version could be seen in the 1990 books ''Consumer Guide: Hot Tips for the Coolest Nintendo Games'' and the ''NES Game Atlas'' by Nintendo.
''DuckTales'' was later ported to the
Game Boy
The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same ...
in late 1990. This version features the same gameplay, music and levels of the original console release, though the layout of each level was changed to accommodate the handheld's lower resolution screen.
Reception
''DuckTales'' was a commercial success, with the NES and Game Boy versions selling approximately 1.67 million and 1.43 million copies worldwide respectively, each becoming Capcom's highest-selling titles for their respective platforms.
It was released to generally positive reviews, with ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' praising the NES version for its gameplay and colorful graphics, calling it "a prime example of very good game design".
The magazine additionally commented that the title was probably made "with younger players in mind" due to its short length and relative lack of difficulty or complexity, declaring that "you'll probably enjoy this game but find it beaten after the first day of play".
Conversely, ''Mean Machines'' magazine called the game "very tough and challenging", elaborating that "it requires plenty of skill to get all the way through the game in one go".
''Nintendo Power'' later called the Game Boy port "a faithful translation from the NES version".
''Nintendo Power'' listed ''DuckTales'' as the 13th best Nintendo Entertainment System game in 2008, praising it as fun in spite of being a licensed product. The magazine later placed the game 44th in its list of the "285 Greatest Games of All Time" in 2012.
In 2009, website
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
ranked the title 10th on its list of the 100 greatest NES games, remarking that "out of all of the games built on Capcom's famous ''
Mega Man
''Mega Man'', known as in Japan, is a Japanese science fiction video game franchise created by Capcom, starring a series of robot characters each known by the moniker "Mega Man (character), Mega Man". Mega Man (video game), The original game w ...
'' architecture (but wasn't an actual ''Mega Man'' game), Duck Tales is perhaps the best of the bunch". ''
Official Nintendo Magazine'' also included the game at number 85 on their own list of the "100 Best Nintendo Games" that same year, and 9th in its "Top Ten Best NES Games" list in 2013. It also placed 9th on
1UP.com
''1Up.com'' was an American entertainment website that focused on video games. Launched in 2003, ''1Up.com'' provided its own original features, news stories, game reviews, and video interviews, and also featured comprehensive PC-focused conten ...
's "Top 25 NES Games" feature in 2010, 2nd in
GamesRadar
''GamesRadar+'' (formerly ''GamesRadar'') is an entertainment website for video game-related news, previews, and reviews. It is owned by Future plc. In late 2014, Future Publishing-owned sites ''Total Film'', '' SFX'', ''Edge'' and '' Computer ...
's own "Top 7 Disney Games" list in 2009, and 12th in GamesRadar's "Best NES Games of All Time" list in 2012.
Creative director of ''DuckTales Remastered'', Matt Bozon, called the music of ''DuckTales'' "some of the best 8-bit music
e's
is a Japanese shōnen manga series written and drawn by Satoru Yuiga. It was originally serialized in ''Monthly GFantasy'' from 1997 through 2005, and later published in 16 ''tankōbon'' volumes by Square Enix from March 18, 2003 to Februa ...
ever heard", with his developer team citing themes as that of the Transylvania and Himalayas stages as memorable. ''
Polygon
In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure that is described by a finite number of straight line segments connected to form a closed ''polygonal chain'' (or ''polygonal circuit''). The bounded plane region, the bounding circuit, or the two toge ...
'' cites the "Moon Theme" as the most famous piece of music from the title, with Geekparty calling it "the most perfect piece of
8-bit music
Chiptune, also known as chip music or 8-bit music, is a style of synthesized electronic music made using the programmable sound generator (PSG) sound chips or synthesizers in vintage arcade machines, computers and video game consoles.
The ...
ever written". The "Moon Theme" appears in the
2017 animated series reboot during scenes set on the moon, most prominently as the basis for a lullaby that
Della Duck sings in the second season episode, "What Ever Happened To Della Duck?!"
''DuckTales: Remastered''
A
remake
A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same ...
of the game, titled ''DuckTales: Remastered'', was released in 2013 for
PC,
PlayStation 3
The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
,
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
,
Wii U
The Wii U ( ) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. Released in late 2012, it is the first eighth-generation video game console and competed with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4.
The W ...
and in 2015 for
iOS
iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...
,
Android
Android may refer to:
Science and technology
* Android (robot), a humanoid robot or synthetic organism designed to imitate a human
* Android (operating system), Google's mobile operating system
** Bugdroid, a Google mascot sometimes referred to ...
and
Windows Phone
Windows Phone (WP) is a discontinued family of mobile operating systems developed by Microsoft for smartphones as the replacement successor to Windows Mobile and Zune. Windows Phone featured a new user interface derived from the Metro design la ...
. Developed by
WayForward Technologies, ''Remastered'' features updated graphics and music, expanded story content, and full voice-acting for the characters, including the surviving members of the animated series' cast. The original game's levels are included, but expanded with new areas and new boss patterns, along with two new levels exclusive to ''Remastered''.
See also
*
List of Disney video games
This is a list of video games featuring various Disney properties.
Classic animated shorts
Following lists are based around various characters from various Disney animated shorts.
Mickey Mouse games
Mickey Mouse is the figurehead of the Walt Di ...
Notes
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ducktales (Video Game)
1989 video games
Disney games by Capcom
Game Boy games
Nintendo Entertainment System games
Platform games
Video games based on DuckTales
Video games developed in Japan
Video games set in Africa
Video games set on the Moon
Video games set in South America
Video games set in Romania
Video games with alternate endings
Single-player video games