When you get right down to it, "DuckTales Remastered" is essentially the same game from almost 25(!) years ago, although WayForward has put much more emphasis on storytelling. The story pretty much plays out like a typical episode of the original TV show: Scrooge and his nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie discover a lead on some lost treasure and embark on a globe-trotting expedition to find it, encountering classic DuckTales villains like Magica De Spell and Flintheart Glomgold who are there to stop them at every turn. What really brings the story to life is the inclusion of the original voice actors from the cartoon, most notably Alan Young as Scrooge, who at 93 years old can still do the voice as if the show was still running today.
The only downside to the bigger emphasis on the story is that the game is constantly interrupted by cut scenes that are fun to watch your first time through, but you'll find yourself skipping them as you replay the levels. Every time you collect an important item, the game stops so Scrooge can talk about it. It's not a huge problem in most of the levels, but the Amazon level (my personal favorite stage) is plagued by several instances of this. It's not that big a problem, just be prepared to hit that Skip button a lot.
When bringing "DuckTales" to the current gaming generation, WayForward made the right choice in mixing 2D animated character sprites with 3D backgrounds. They blend seamlessly and on top of that, the animation on the sprites is wonderful. "DuckTales" has never looked better than it does here, and I'm going to say that "DuckTales Remastered" has set the standard on how to update the look of a classic game while staying true to the original.
Speaking of setting the standard on updating classics, the music is also incredible. If you thought the music of the show and original game was infectiously catchy, just wait until you hear what composer Jake Kaufman cooked up. Every track does its original counterpart justice, and in my opinion, actually improves on a lot of them. Rather than go the way of Nintendo and use full blown orchestrations, Kaufman kept it simple by updating the original tracks while retaining the charm of 8-bit sound. A nice addition is the option to play the game with the original 8-bit tracks after the first play-through.
Seriously, give this guy some kind of award or something. I could listen to this for days.
Level designs are also well thought out, considering that they're exact replicas of the original game. Even though hidden treasures that die-hard fans of the original loved collecting have been removed, there are still plenty of secret areas to discover, housing treasure chests full of diamonds to increase Scrooge's money intake. The game still plays exactly like the original as well. "DuckTales Remastered" only requires two buttons, a jump button and a button to control Scrooge's cane. The biggest change that has been implemented is that Scrooge's pogo jump is now performed by holding the cane button, instead of holding down on the D-pad in addition to the cane button, like in the original. Unfortunately, it's not always responsive, and was the cause of quite a few unwarranted and frustrating deaths. On the flip-side of the problem, there is an option to do the pogo jump the old way and it's much more responsive.
The most revamped aspect of the original game would be the boss battles. They're the same bosses, but they've been reworked to be more than just bouncing off their heads. You'll have to dodge crushing pillars of rock, fireballs, etc. These are nice additions, but they tend to get repetitive after you get the patterns down. The best fights are against Magica De Spell in the Transylvania stage and the final boss, Count Dracula Duck. A note about the final boss: there's an additional part of the level after you beat Dracula Duck, and it is very frustrating and borderline cheap. Remember those frustrating accidental deaths I mentioned before? Three guesses as to where most of them occurred, and on harder difficulties that use Game Overs, prepare for some good old-fashioned gamer rage. Bottom line, the game could have done without it.
So what do you do with all the money collected from the levels? You have two options: you can either spend it on concept art, character designs, even art from the TV show. WayForward left no stone unturned in showing players what went into the game's creation and fans should be pleasantly satisfied. Your other option is to swim around in it. Finally, you can recreate the now iconic shot of Scrooge diving headfirst into his money vault, bathing in his riches for as long as you want. It adds almost nothing to the actual game, but it's still fun just for the novelty of it. The game may be designed to be conquered in a few hours, but there's plenty to come back for.
Despite a few minor hindrances, "DuckTales Remastered" is a good old-fashioned blast from the past. The story is fun (while it lasts), the voice acting is outstanding, the gameplay and music faithful, and the art design is downright gorgeous. Simply put: if you have any nostalgia for "DuckTales", you owe it to yourself to give "Remastered" a spin. The game is available for download on Steam, PS3, and Wii U. For some reason, Xbox owners will have to wait until September 11 before the game comes to Xbox Live Arcade.
Rating: 8/10
