PAX East 2013: Ducktales impressions

ostalgia is a tricky beast when it comes to the realm of media. Fond memories are often blinded by rose-tinted glasses of grandeur that rest upon those who share this experience on a modern soapbox. Certain properties, however, are an exception to the rule; like the Carl Banks-inspired Disney cartoon DuckTales, which stars the richest duck in the world, Scrooge McDuck, and the misadventures he underwent to chase even bigger fortunes with his nephews in tow.

Unlike other contemporaries from its time, DuckTales has aged charmingly ,and with its legacy were the much lauded NES titles developed and published by Capcom—This weekend at PAX, the blue and yellow giants, in partnership with WayForward, have announced a remastered revival of the NES classic and after having some time with it my six year old inner child and I were able to nod our heads in approval together.

Despite the limitation that the NES had in terms of a color palate and design, DuckTales was able to emulate the design and whimsy of its characters faithfully. WayForward has upped the ante and delivered a near exact representation of the cartoon in visuals and animation while keeping the humble elements in the side scroller that manages to cater to everyone. Whether they’ve played the NES title in its time or not, it’s DuckTales in its prime. Alan Young and the rest of the cast have reprised their roles during the story sequences and being able to witness the build up and exchange of dialogue only kept the show’s motif in line even harder.

The level available for play was Transylvania, and Wayforward has gone on to explain that the quote unquote “Remastered” distinction goes beyond the presentation as it goes to modernize the entry for the current generation fundamentally in terms of mechanics and design. To clarify, the Pogo jump which not only acts as a means of movement but is Scrooge's most effective means of attack, is more seamless to pop in and out of which allows the controls to reonate in a much more fluid fashion. As I approached the mummified ducks and prepared to bounce my cane off of their feathered domes, I discovered that hit detection is much more forgiving in this iteration and the larger hit box made a significant difference. Scrooge also takes less damaged when attacked and is able to really stretch out his initial 3 hearts of health, along with each stage hosting a ton more ice cream to fill his hearts back up, he’s set.

Though it was mentioned that there would be additional content like new levels, the stages have also been enhanced with additional paths. For those who want a pure experience from when they first played the game on their NES, all of the aforementioned changes can be removed and the team has included even harder difficulties for those who love to hate themselves in true NES fashion.

Capcom has alluded that, depending on the success of DuckTales, they would consider giving the same revival treatment to their other NES classic like Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers and Darkwing Duck; and after witnessing firsthand the attention to care that Wayforward took in order to authentically revitalize the DuckTales property—I can safely predict that it will only be a matter of time.