Ducktales Remastered Review, A Remake Worth Your Time and Then Some

in #games6 years ago (edited)

Before I start this review, I want to say, this is how remakes should be handled. The original Ducktales game was an 8-Bit Nintendo Entertainment System game that was a dear classic to almost everyone that played it. Capcom handled the NES version while Disney have handed the reigns to Wayforward for the remake. This was a wise decision as Wayforward are on top of their game nearly all the time – a breath of fresh air in this modern world of “release and patch later”. Ducktales on Android has become a 2.5D side scrolling adventure that will have you humming the television theme song as you play.

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The remake of Ducktales features all five legendary levels fans loved. From the Himalayas to the Amazon, Transylvania, and the African mines to the Moon – your quest for money knows no bounds. Scrooge’s money bin must be filled to the brim.

The first level, the prologue if you will, sets the story up quite well. The Beagle Boys and Magica De Spell have teamed up and kidnapped almost everyone that Scrooge loves, or has a use for. Your job is to help Scrooge get them back, starting with breaking into your own money bin and gaining access to your navigation computer – apparently Expedia doesn’t exist in the Disney-verse.

The classic pogo stick jump is still alive and well in this remake so use it as much as you see fit (which is nearly ALL the time). Wayforward obviously spent a lot of time with the Capcom original while working on this remake. All the levels are here, completely redone in 2.5D modern graphics style. The Moon level is one that shows off this effect quite well. While in the alien ship you can walk past passageways that veer off into the ship. As you pass these they scroll by smoothly, slowly revealing unseen areas in the distance. The effect is great at giving the game depth. Everything line scrolls beautifully to the point that Street Fighter II’s floor looks like 8-Bit effects in comparison.

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Original Ducktales on Nintendo Entertainment System.

As you smash things with your cane they will sometimes fly into the screen – like the effect that we saw in the Super Nintendo version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time. For those that never played TMNT IV, sometimes you could throw enemies at the screen, in fact this tactic became integral later in the game. While the effect is lessened in Ducktales, it is still a nice touch that adds just a bit more of depth to the game.

Scrooge’s quest for more money lives on

Wayforward added in many tasteful screen transitions that make sense or accentuate something you need to see. Like accessing Scrooge’s navigation computer turns the game world around showing on the 3D engine that is powering this remake. When saving non-playable characters, the screen will sometimes zoom in and focus on the character or major event trigger you just discovered.

Ah, the sound and voice acting in Ducktales Remastered is exactly as I could have hoped it would be. I believe these voices are by the original actors but I could easily be wrong on that one. If they are not the original actors then they are very good facsimiles. Seriously, kudos on an excellent job with the voice work here, it helps me feel like this is an episode, or companion, to the show.

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Animation is another point where Ducktales Remastered stands out. This is good because animation is what Disney is known for – Wayforward did them great justice in this game. The little 3D touches are just right and never detracted from the game itself. Take for instance Scrooge himself. Let him stand still for a few seconds and watch the various stances he takes and watch the superb animation contained within. It is just amazing.

I played Ducktales using the GPD XD which features hardware controls. This helped make Ducktales feel a lot more like a console game on the go – which it literally is. Some of the action comes fast and heavy which means having the full screen available is key to avoiding unnecessary hits from unseen enemies.

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There are no real hiccups or anything to complain about, at least using the GPD XD. No screen tearing, no polygons out of place, none of that stuff. Ducktales Remastered is a quality piece of work through and through – what else would you expect from companies like Disney and Wayforward? Even going back through gaming history, Disney’s licensed games are often some of the best games for whatever platform, at the very least they are quality releases. Ducktales Remastered is no different.

If you don’t own an Android device, there are plenty on eBay, but you can grab Ducktales Remastered on Windows 10 (Universal App) and iPhone. Please note, Ducktales Remastered on Android is also compatible with Android TV so you can connect a supported wireless controller and play in style on your television.

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Grab Ducktales Remastered on these platforms:
Windows (Windows Store/Windows Phone or Steam)
iPhone
Android
Xbox
Playstation

Other posts by Triverse:
Duck Hunt turns 32
Resident Evil vs Robowarrior for Survival Horror supremacy
Cuphead review
New NES, Sega Genesis, SNES, and Game Boy games
Intrepid Izzy launches on Kickstarter, coming to Sega Dreamcast
Cave Story review

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WayForward generally makes some incredibly polished games, I've found. (At least with their original properties. They do a heck ton of licensed work, too.) Very talented developer - I quite enjoyed Mighty Switch Force.

Yeah, they are definitely a quality developer worth keeping up with.

try the disney afternoon collection.
all disney nes classics in one game. no ad^^
http://store.steampowered.com/app/525040/The_Disney_Afternoon_Collection/

I plan on it. Thank you for the reminder. I was a fan of at least a couple of those games (never played Talespin personally).

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