As someone who doesn’t really have nostalgia for DuckTales or the original game, DuckTales Remastered is definitely one of the better licensed games out there.
Honestly I’m pretty lukewarm when it comes to the Shantae series, but Shantae at the very least tends to have very fluid animation and well-drawn characters. WayForward brings that same skill and enthusiasm to DuckTales Remastered, perfectly translating the character designs from the original game and TV show to work in a modern video game.
For the actual game itself, it can feel the tiniest bit stiff but it’s a big improvement over the original. The levels are visually easier to navigate and all the secrets remain intact. As a whole, you can complete it in about an hour or two. If you found the original game too difficult, Remastered has difficulty modes. Easy mode has no lives and the hardest difficulty, Extreme, has to be completed in one sitting. All other settings in between introduce lives and remove health upgrades along the way.
As for presentation, Remastered has a lot of great aspects. First and foremost, Shovel Knight composer Jake Kauffman did the original soundtrack justice, as each and every track is on-par with the original. Additionally, every cutscene is fully voice acted with most of the original TV show actors reprising their roles, which adds a nice touch. For the visuals, the style is almost indirectly reminiscent of Paper Mario, with paper-thin characters traversing a 3D-rendered environment. Outside of the main gameplay, you can use the money you collect to purchase concept art from both the game and even the TV production. They have artwork for every character in the game, all enemies included. The gallery even contains the original spritework and music for direct comparison, which I really appreciate.
Overall, DuckTales Remastered is a really nice remake. It won’t blow your mind, but it does a good job of bringing a classic NES game to the modern era and remains one of the few remakes I’ll gladly play over the original.
Honestly I’m pretty lukewarm when it comes to the Shantae series, but Shantae at the very least tends to have very fluid animation and well-drawn characters. WayForward brings that same skill and enthusiasm to DuckTales Remastered, perfectly translating the character designs from the original game and TV show to work in a modern video game.
For the actual game itself, it can feel the tiniest bit stiff but it’s a big improvement over the original. The levels are visually easier to navigate and all the secrets remain intact. As a whole, you can complete it in about an hour or two. If you found the original game too difficult, Remastered has difficulty modes. Easy mode has no lives and the hardest difficulty, Extreme, has to be completed in one sitting. All other settings in between introduce lives and remove health upgrades along the way.
As for presentation, Remastered has a lot of great aspects. First and foremost, Shovel Knight composer Jake Kauffman did the original soundtrack justice, as each and every track is on-par with the original. Additionally, every cutscene is fully voice acted with most of the original TV show actors reprising their roles, which adds a nice touch. For the visuals, the style is almost indirectly reminiscent of Paper Mario, with paper-thin characters traversing a 3D-rendered environment. Outside of the main gameplay, you can use the money you collect to purchase concept art from both the game and even the TV production. They have artwork for every character in the game, all enemies included. The gallery even contains the original spritework and music for direct comparison, which I really appreciate.
Overall, DuckTales Remastered is a really nice remake. It won’t blow your mind, but it does a good job of bringing a classic NES game to the modern era and remains one of the few remakes I’ll gladly play over the original.