“Few games are so rich with such a wealth of character and adventure.” – Doug TenNapel, Creator of Earthworm Jim
“This game taught me everything about genre…that launched my career.” – Cliff Bleszinski, Co-Creator of Gears of War
“Please stop e-mailing me for a quote.” – Tim Schafer, Creator of Psychonauts and Brutal Legend
To which game could these video game industry luminaries be referring? Well, the title of this post has killed all potential for suspense - it’s DuckTales!
What Is DuckTales?
Scrooge stars alongside his grandnephews on DuckTales. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
If upon hearing the phrase “DuckTales” you do not involuntarily sing, “Woo-oo,” ala the show’s call-and-reponse theme song then you might need some background.
An adaptation of the long-running comic book Uncle Scrooge (1952-2011), DuckTales is a Disney animated series which aired 100 episodes across 4 seasons from 1987 to 1990 and was followed up by a theatrical film. The show primarily involves the adventures of billionaire Scrooge McDuck and his three great-nephews, Huey, Dewey, and Louie. It is directly responsible for the subsequent production of similar Disney animated television shows Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers, Tale Spin, and Darkwing Duck, which were as omnipresent in a certain generation’s childhood cartoon viewing as Phineas and Ferb is to the current generation.
What’s All This About a Video Game?
In 1989, Capcom released a video game adaptation of the show for the original Nintendo Entertainment System. The story involved Scrooge McDuck traveling to five different locations in the world to procure more wealth. The dude literally swims in gold. His greed puts Donald Trump to shame. So, of course he’ll go to the end of the Earth to find more money.
The game was the rare example of an officially licensed video game that not only did not suck but was kind of awesome. You played as Scrooge and mostly used his cane as a pogo-stick to jump on top of the heads of enemies and/or propel yourself higher to reach a platform above you.
Don’t feel bad. That crab Scrooge is about to straight-up murder with his pogo-cane had it coming. He’s clearly evil. Why? Must there be a reason?
It was the type of game parents might buy for their youngest child and then later wonder why all of the kids were fighting over taking turns playing it since the other kids were supposedly too old for DuckTales. Is it completely obvious in that anecdote I was the little kid who had to fight siblings over who got to play the game next? The game was very well-received at the time, both with critics and the public, and has been consistently listed among the top all-time video games, specifically for the original Nintendo.
But You Said They’re Re-Making The Game
A high-definition remake of the game, officially titled DuckTales: Remastered, was just announced on March 22, i.e., over a week ago. Sorry it took us so long to notice. The story line and most of the levels will remain the same, but the graphics have been completely updated, resulting in gorgeous-looking visuals of 2D characters set in front of 3D backgrounds. Plus, there will be some new content added as well.
If you are unfamiliar with the current video game industry, you may be surprised to learn that it, too, is awash in remakes. Several classic games have been completely re-made as new games whereas many others have simply been upgraded to HD graphics but are otherwise the same. As such, this DuckTales game is completely with trend. However, that this specific game was being re-made does not appear to have been well-known until its official announcement. It will be available as a download-only title through the Wii U eShop, Xbox Live Arcade, and PlayStation Network this upcoming Summer.
Below is the launch trailer for the game. The gameplay footage starts at the 48 second mark, set to a sing-a-long version of the show’s theme song designed for maximum nostalgia.
I’m not crazy – that looks insanely fun, right? I would kill to be able to play it on my Android tablet or an iPad, but I’ll take it anyway I can get it.
In honor of this blast from the past, here are the theme songs you will definitely struggle to get out of your head the rest of the day:
Darkwing Duck
Tale Spin
This post has been brought to you by the letter “N” for “Nostalgia.” We don’t typically talk about video games on this site as it not an area of expertise for us, but we made an exception here since this is a game based on a TV show.
