DuckTales: Remastered (PS3)

Back in 1989, Capcom released the NES game DuckTales, a highly-acclaimed platformer based on the 1987 animated series of the same name. Although I had no nostalgia for the game, or the series for that matter, I figured that WayForward’s 2013 remake of the game, DuckTales: Remastered, could help enlighten me on why people liked it so much. However, I waited for a disc-based physical copy of the game, as opposed to a retail copy with a download code and pin, before actually playing it. While I played this back in 2013, I didn’t review it then, so I recently went back a replayed it for review purposes and still liked it, despite its rather short length.

DuckTales: Remastered retains the simple premise from the NES game, where Scrooge scours the globe for five hidden treasures. However, this version greatly expands on the story and plot, including the motivations behind each of the five treasures and explaining certain details, which notably includes how Scrooge can breathe on the moon. Owing to the wide generational gap between systems, the story advances through a number of animated in-engine cutscenes that feature all of the then-surviving members of the voice cast from the 1987 cartoon, including Alan Young, June Foray, Russi Taylor and Terry McGovern.

Though the cutscenes gave me some idea of what the original cartoon was like, and I enjoyed hearing some legendary voice talent in a video game, they admittedly drag a little long in places and go on a little longer than necessary. It doesn’t help that when the player accomplishes certain goals within a level, another quick cutscene will play of Scrooge acknowledging the feat and adding his own commentary. Fortunately, there’s an option to skip cinematics in the pause menu and another to automatically skip all cinematics entirely, though only after beating the game once.

Owing to the game’s NES roots, the controls are rather simple, with only movement and jumping to worry about. Scrooge can also pogo jump with his cane, which lets him reach higher places and more easily dispatch enemies. Pogo jumps are also useful for traversing otherwise harmful areas, especially those filled with spikes of some kind, though players should keep in mind that the hitbox for this move exists on just the tip of the cane and doesn’t extend to the width of Scrooge’s body, so players will still need some level of precision. Though the game sticks closely to old-school game design, I’m aware that it does modernize it a bit. For example, levels no longer have a time limit and players can leave a level early through the pause menu. I’m aware of other changes as well, but they didn’t affect the experience too negatively.

The Pogo Jump is very versatile.

Scrooge’s journey takes him across seven levels, including the original game’s five levels and two specifically designed for this version, consisting of a tutorial and a proper climax. After the first level, players can approach the original five levels in any order they desire. Once the player completes the game, they can then go back and freely play all seven levels. On top of the objectives already present in each level, Scrooge can also find hidden gems for additional money and heart containers that increase his maximum health. Outside of the levels, players can also swim in Scrooge’s famous Money Bin and spend their hard-earned fortunes on unlockable artwork, both from the game and the show, and music.

Compared to the original game, DuckTales: Remastered has four difficulty levels: Easy, Medium, Hard and Extreme. The chosen difficulty mainly affects damage values, map visibility and number of checkpoints while Easy also grants infinite lives. Once you choose a difficulty, however, you can’t change it without starting a new game. Perhaps for this reason, the game also features a built-in New Game+ where money and unlockables are transferred between play sessions.

No matter how you approach the game, however, it’s actually pretty short, clocking in at about three to three-and-a-half hours. The only replay value comes from tackling the game again on higher difficulties or trying to purchase all of the unlockables, though at that point it can feel a bit grindy for what you get. Even then, hardcore completionists or those who really like the game may not mind this as much.

The updated graphics give the game a 2.5D art style that still looks pretty good and features animated sprites that accurately translate the character designs from the 1987 TV series. The animations can look limited at times, like a lack of mouth movements, but the expressive motions help make up for this. Since I played on a CRT, I noticed that aside from the subtitles’ slow speed and odd centering, the letter at the bottom of the screen looked slightly cut off. It didn’t affect their readability, but it still bothered me that it would happen at all.

The graphics and 2D sprites still hold up well.

Aside from the surviving original 1987 voice cast, DuckTales: Remastered also features newly recorded remixes of the original game’s music, courtesy of Jake Kaufman and Hiroshige Tonomura. These remixes help give the game its own personality while staying true to the original game, including the famous Moon theme that would have its own thematic significance in the 2017 DuckTales cartoon. For those who prefer the original music, however, the game lets players switch to the original NES music after unlocking it with a classic Capcom code.

Whether you’re a fan of the original DuckTales or just want to see what the fuss is about, DuckTales: Remastered is worth checking out. It may be rough around the edges, but has enough charm to keep players engaged throughout.