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[BocoDragon]

DuckTales is actually one of the easier NES classics.

Anyone stating the difficulty is too much must surely be far from any recent familiarity with classic platformers. Its certainly easier than any of the Mega Man games*, and who would dare criticize the difficulty of those, lest they be denounced by fans?

*DuckTales is probably about as difficult as Mega Man 5.. the easiest entry.

 

[oti]

How big is the game? In terms of MB.

I think it was about 800 MB on Wii U.

 

[Eusis]

Its kind of fair enough.

Its not the 80's. A lot of games didn't have checkpoints purely out of technical limits, not by design.

I SWEAR DuckTales actually had checkpoints, though maybe not as many as more modern games. Just... hey, you got half way through the stage, continue from there!

I do think there's a middle ground that's sometimes ignored (or badly managed in the case of Mario) though, I actually didn't think it was that bad in something like Bionic Commando Rearmed because the very last stage aside most were really quick to get through and you could take running out of lives as the game telling you to step back and take a break before trying again. I know I've been MORE frustrated when retrying one really tough spot than redoing some of the game again, even in the case of multiple stages! Though in that case it was Mega Man 9 and because some items I didn't have were REALLY useful against the final bosses.

At any rate I kinda want to try tracking how much time you can possibly lose in some of these games, I wouldn't be surprised if something like Halo actually had a similar amount of TIME lost, it just doesn't feel that way because you covered more ground relative to the rest of the game. I do know some of those skirmishes could last quite awhile in Halo anyway.

 

[Tizoc]

Hm. Times have changed, I think some of you need to accept it and move on.

Its part of the reason I won't go back and play Sonic as much as I want to.

Umm Sonic games have checkpoints, and they're not that hard IMO >_>.

 

[Lord British]

That Polygon video review is horrendous!

 

[Aaron]

Umm Sonic games have checkpoints, and they're not that hard IMO >_>.

Ducktales wasn't a hard game either. Pretty sure the original didn't have checkpoints either.

I think the reviewer mentality is you need to get through a game to get done on time. So instead of adapting to the game's pacing, you rush, and then you get pissed when you have to replay a section because it's delaying you from finishing the game by your deadline. The whole approach is different from how most people will play these games.

 

[petran79]

is the game length the same as the NES version (skipping cut scenes)?

I'll wait for a discount to buy this. EU version is more expensive (18.65 $).
though I liked the show, the NES version never won me over. Preferred the better looking and sounding Amiga version.

If they remake Rescue Rangers, I'll definitely buy it.

 

[Satchel]

Umm Sonic games have checkpoints, and they're not that hard IMO >_>.

Sorry, I should have been clearer. I meant between stages for Sonic.

 

[Lord British]

Yeah, Ducktales isn't tough. I remember the Castle of Illusion remake walkthrough had guys saying the original was famous for being difficult. Not all classic games are hard, and thats fine!

 

[Petrae]

I'm not sure what Tom McShea was expecting. It reads to me like he never liked the original source material. I don't care that his bio says that he "loves platformers"; if he didn't like the original game and considers the platforming "dull"... then he really shouldn't be covering this game. There's inherent bias there from the start, hoping for something that was never really intended.

Guess what? If you didn't like DuckTales, you're not gonna like Remastered. Big surprise!

 

[BocoDragon]

Sorry, I should have been clearer. I meant between stages for Sonic.

Are you sure you mean "checkpoints" and not "saving in-between levels"?

 

[Hermii]

Ducktales wasn't a hard game either. Pretty sure the original didn't have checkpoints either.

I think the reviewer mentality is you need to get through a game to get done on time. So instead of adapting to the game's pacing, you rush, and then you get pissed when you have to replay a section because it's delaying you from finishing the game by your deadline. The whole approach is different from how most people will play these games.

Ducktales the original didnt have checkpoints, but the levels were laid out differently. In the originals you could go straight to the boss without exploring most of the level if you knew what you were doing. The remake forces you to play the whole thing.

 

[KiNeSiS]

I usually hate these remakes & why can't Capcom make their own damned games anymore? Capcom used to be one of the best devs in the world clover/platinum games exodus really fucked them up.
I really disliked this devs their Double Dragon Neon. It was fun at first but didn't feel as deep as the original DD1 no grapples in a Double Dragon game fuck outta here! Awesome soundtrack though.


Please include the original DuckTales as an unlockable. Original versions included would have even saved a turd like TMNT TiT remake.
Please include Ducktales nes Capcom!

 

[Eusis]

Also wasn't SOME progress retained in DuckTales whether or not it had checkpoints, so you could beeline through a stage faster and not basically redo it entirely? It's not like it's very forgiving relative to many more recent games, but relative to a lot of 8-bit games it really wasn't a big deal, stuff like the Silver Surfer is widely regarded as practically impossible as I recall, then we have games like TMNT.

 

[Recall]

I feel its lost its magic, there was nothing wrong with the original game and now it all just feels lacking with this HD version.

Reminds me of Turtles in Time, classic and enjoyable original and the update just feels flat. *shrug*

 

[Sadist]

Gamespot complaining about difficulty? Gee what a surprise. Isn't the first time. They schould stick with easy games.

 

[KiNeSiS]

I feel its lost its magic, there was nothing wrong with the original game and now it all just feels lacking with this HD version.

Bingo it's that wayforward touch.

Wayfoward is no NextLevel Games. Now those motherfuckers know how to do a remake.

 

[Eusis]

I feel its lost its magic, there was nothing wrong with the original game and now it all just feels lacking with this HD version.

Reminds me of Turtles in Time, classic and enjoyable original and the update just feels flat. *shrug*

That IS always inevitable to some extent and it's why it's always disappointing if we ONLY get a remake and not the original game, but I get the impression this would probably hold up a bit better than Turtles in Time did.

But then I'm not really a big brawler fan, and this is sticking to roughly the art style of the original cartoon rather than going with more modern redesigns that completely throw out the nostalgia we had for the original cartoon.

 

[Aaron]

Ducktales the original didnt have checkpoints, but the levels were laid out differently. In the originals you could go straight to the boss without exploring most of the level if you knew what you were doing. The remake forces you to play the whole thing.

That's a really stupid change. Don't know why they remade it that way.

 

[Satchel]

Are you sure you mean "checkpoints" and not "saving in-between levels"?

I meant checkpoints in relation to Ducktales, but stages with Sonic.

I fucked up.

sorry.

 

[Lee Chaolan]

I'd love Quackshot with Donald Duck next

 

[Eusis]

That's a really stupid change. Don't know why they remade it that way.

Ah, yeah, that'd actually be a case of marrying the worst of both new school and old school: modern sensibility of making sure you don't miss most of a stage (or at least too much of it), old school sensibility of redoing the whole thing from the start.

 

[Shancake]

I want to make something CRYSTAL clear.

The game does have check points when playing on Easy so you can't actually use the game not having checkpoints as a negative. Playing on Easy gives checkpoints...

 

[Eusis]

Huh. Does Easy unlock 8-bit mode? I'd imagine that'd let you beeline to bosses if you want, thus you can have the best of both worlds.

 

[Yoshi]

Also wasn't SOME progress retained in DuckTales whether or not it had checkpoints, so you could beeline through a stage faster and not basically redo it entirely? It's not like it's very forgiving relative to many more recent games, but relative to a lot of 8-bit games it really wasn't a big deal, stuff like the Silver Surfer is widely regarded as practically impossible as I recall, then we have games like TMNT.

I don't know for Ducktales 1 because I beat it on my first try when I played it last year. However, Ducktales 2 on Game Boy was my first game and if you go Game Over there, you just return to the title screen, no progress retained whatsoever.

 

[Tizoc]

I'd love Quackshot with Donald Duck next

iSN't that a SEGA game though? If the Mickey Mouse game sells well I hope it gets remade or re-released as well =)

 

[Shancake]

Huh. Does Easy unlock 8-bit mode? I'd imagine that'd let you beeline to bosses if you want, thus you can have the best of both worlds.

Easy ensures that you'll never have to start the level from the start. It is still challenging though as it makes you do those difficult jumps required to collect artefacts and boss battles are still challenging.

 

[BocoDragon]

I feel its lost its magic, there was nothing wrong with the original game and now it all just feels lacking with this HD version.

Reminds me of Turtles in Time, classic and enjoyable original and the update just feels flat. *shrug*

I don't know if Turtles in Time Re-shelled is the best analogy... because the gameplay, music and atmosphere was totally different. They didn't even try to get authentic with that one.

Of course even an authentic modern remake can lose its charm. Yes, you have a point. But Re-shelled was not just graphically modern... it also threw away half the original design and barely resembled the original game. An authentic TiT remake might have been very cool.

 

[Eusis]

I don't know for Ducktales 1 because I beat it on my first try when I played it last year. However, Ducktales 2 on Game Boy was my first game and if you go Game Over there, you just return to the title screen, no progress retained whatsoever.

Well, I was thinking of losing all lives but just if you lost one but you'd keep however much treasure you earned or whatever and thus could just ignore huge parts of the stage for being pointless now. It HAS been a long time since I seriously played.

Unless you mean Ducktales 2 GB had no lives, then what the hell.

Easy ensures that you'll never have to start the level from the start. It is still challenging though as it makes you do those difficult jumps required to collect artefacts and boss battles are still challenging.

Well, I'm still curious about 8-bit mode. It's good to know there's still a bite (similar to the easy mode on some older games come to think of it) but it'd be nice to not need to play on Normal to unlock that mode if the game's going to be sorta dumb in that regard.

 

[Lee Chaolan]

iSN't that a SEGA game though? If the Mickey Mouse game sells well I hope it gets remade or re-released as well =)

Yep. in the spirit of DuckTales, I'd love to see Donald get some love too.

I think this will sell pretty well though, and we'll get Chip'n'Dale next. Wouldn't mind both Aladdins later too.

 

[Scavenger]

Some of the music tracks of Ducktales Remastered have been uploaded to Youtube.

Money Bin Stage
Amazon Stage
Transylvania Stage
African Mines Stage
Himalayian Stage
Moon Stage
Mount Vesuvius

 

[Artorias]

Hm. Times have changed, I think some of you need to accept it and move on.

Its part of the reason I won't go back and play Sonic as much as I want to.

Yea, its pretty harsh that they would expect you to learn how to play the game properly and then try to test your skill a bit before allowing you to advance...

Wait, no. That's actually the reason many people play video games.

 

[Eusis]

Of course even an authentic modern remake can lose its charm. Yes, you have a point. But Re-shelled was not just graphically modern... it also threw away half the original design and barely resembled the original game. An authentic TiT remake might have been very cool.

It kind of is the problem with some of these licensed remakes, they want you to use whatever's the current design, or worse it isn't even a licensed property like TMNT or Mickey Mouse, yet they update the designs to look more "modern" anyway. Annoyed me with Star Ocean 2 going with a sort of moe-esque design rather than sticking with the original designs or at least touching them up in a way that they look like they were drawn today but were fundamentally the same otherwise.

 

[Recall]

I don't know if Turtles in Time Re-shelled is the best analogy... because the gameplay, music and atmosphere was totally different. They didn't even try to get authentic with that one.

Of course even an authentic modern remake can lose its charm. Yes, you have a point. But Re-shelled was not just graphically modern... it also threw away half the original design and barely resembled the original game. An authentic TiT remake might have been very cool.

I totally agree with that, ducktales does at least resemble the originals mechanics more faithfully but the charm just isn't there. Everyone wants everything in HD thinking it will be the best decision and best selling game ever but it rarely turns out that way.

Graphics don't make the game the original awesome gameplay needs to be fully retained. Maybe its a hard balance to achieve.

 

[Yoshi]

DuckTales is actually one of the easier NES classics.

Anyone stating the difficulty is too much must surely be far from any recent familiarity with classic platformers. Its certainly easier than any of the Mega Man games*, and who would dare criticize the difficulty of those, lest they be denounced by fans?

*DuckTales is probably about as difficult as Mega Man 5.. the easiest entry.

Gamespot must be filled to the brim with crybabies, I'm surprised their staff is even playing games willfully, because any kind of punishment in a video game seems to be too much for them. I'm still thinking about making a thread calling them out for the laughable Luigi's Mansion Dark Moon review, which is complaining about having to restart a boss battle (of 11 minutes) in case you fail. I have to add it's a rather easy boss battle I beat on my first try with three stars, I wouldn't even have guessed that anyone would complain about that. The Ducktales review being by McShae is just icing on the cake. I wonder what GameSpot-reviewers do if they play a really difficult game, I think, I'll look up their Monkey Ball Banana Splitz review ^^.

 

[Wolf Akela]

Yea, its pretty harsh that they would expect you to learn how to play the game properly and then try to test your skill a bit before allowing you to advance...

Wait, no. That's actually the reason many people play video games.

I think you have to realize NES games in general were intentionally difficult, not because it was good game design. Checkpoints were extremely sparse so you'd have to replay the game over and over until you beat it. You end up spending more time than you had to, so that you can say you got your money's worth.

Having less checkpoints doesn't introduce difficulty. It only adds inconvenience. If Dark Souls removed all but the Firelink Shrine bonfire, it ends up being a worse game. Having to repeat sections you already finished several times doesn't prove that you have skill.

Now, I have no idea how difficult DuckTales actually is. I've played the GameBoy version when I was young and I don't remember anything about it.

 

[Tizoc]

Some of the music tracks of Ducktales Remastered have been uploaded to Youtube.

Money Bin Stage
Amazon Stage
Transylvania Stage
African Mines Stage
Himalayian Stage
Moon Stage
Mount Vesuvius

Adding to first post, thanks!

 

[Lee Chaolan]

Some of the music tracks of Ducktales Remastered have been uploaded to Youtube.

Money Bin Stage
Amazon Stage
Transylvania Stage
African Mines Stage
Himalayian Stage
Moon Stage
Mount Vesuvius

So good. Dat Moon Stage.

 

[TheYanger]

I don't see how you can say no checkpoints as a negative anyway. Watching that Giantbomb quick look....Aside from some minor added stuff it looks EXACTLY like the old game. The polygon video was absolutely painful to watch, calling the original difficult? Acting like the controls are fucking him over when he's like walking straight into enemies and trying to make obvious errors?

Ducktales is a fantastic game and is NOTORIOUSLY easy. I haven't played remastered and I don't want to say it's impossible that it's poor controlling, but from all of the gameplay everyone else has produced...it sure didn't look that way? Even still, all of the examples of death in that video would have happened in the original as well: Playing flat out BADLY will be punished, holy crap what a concept.

I think you have to realize NES games in general were intentionally difficult, not because it was good game design. Checkpoints were extremely sparse so you'd have to replay the game over and over until you beat it. You end up spending more time than you had to, so that you can say you got your money's worth.

Having less checkpoints doesn't introduce difficulty. It only adds inconvenience.

If Dark Souls removed all but the Firelink Shrine bonfire, it ends up being a worse game. Having to repeat sections you already finished several times doesn't prove that you have skill.

Now, I have no idea how difficult DuckTales actually is. I've played the GameBoy version when I was young and I don't remember anything about it.

Ducktales is SUPER easy. It was one of the first games I ever beat as a child.

 

[Aaron]

Now, I have no idea how difficult DuckTales actually is. I've played the GameBoy version when I was young and I don't remember anything about it.

The original Ducktales worked as little areas where you had to collect things to unlock the boss. Once you collected the items though, even if you died you didn't have to get them again. You could also go straight to the boss once you had the items. That makes it pretty similar to Dark Souls in structure actually. I beat it in a day when I was 12. It's not a hard game.

 

[BocoDragon]

The original Ducktales worked as little areas where you had to collect things to unlock the boss. Once you collected the items though, even if you died you didn't have to get them again. You could also go straight to the boss once you had the items. That makes it pretty similar to Dark Souls in structure actually.

I just read DUCKTALES IS AS HARD AS DARK SOULS.

Spoiler

lol

 

[TheYanger]

I gotta add, the earlier Darkwing Duck comments and now reading these whiny reviews... I actually wonder what the reception would be if they remade THAT game. Ducktales was so god damn easy, Darkwing Duck is legitimately challenging in the Mega Man vein.

 

[Eusis]

I think you have to realize NES games in general were intentionally difficult, not because it was good game design. Checkpoints were extremely sparse so you'd have to replay the game over and over until you beat it. You end up spending more time than you had to, so that you can say you got your money's worth.

Having less checkpoints doesn't introduce difficulty. It only adds inconvenience. If Dark Souls removed all but the Firelink Shrine bonfire, it ends up being a worse game. Having to repeat sections you already finished several times doesn't prove that you have skill.

Now, I have no idea how difficult DuckTales actually is. I've played the GameBoy version when I was young and I don't remember anything about it.

It's worth remembering just how short some of those older games were: the amount of progress you could lose in something like DuckTales really could be comparable to an early jaunt between bonfires in Dark Souls.

 

[fr4nz]

Edge review : http://www.edge-online.com/review/ducktales-remastered-review/

Spoiler

[5]

 

[Tizoc]

Man I don't care about difficulty I'ma get this game, jump on fools with goddamn cane, rack up scores and get nostolgia tears from the voice acting, DAMN YOU GRACE CHEN TIME!!!!!

 

[intheinbetween]

Edge review : http://www.edge-online.com/review/ducktales-remastered-review/

Spoiler

[5]

what a bummer

I guess I'll wait for a sale then

 

[BocoDragon]

I gotta add, the earlier Darkwing Duck comments and now reading these whiny reviews... I actually wonder what the reception would be if they remade THAT game. Ducktales was so god damn easy, Darkwing Duck is legitimately challenging in the Mega Man vein.

The only problem with that actually happening is that the game was magnitudes less important in its day.

DuckTales was released before the SNES and was actually one of the NES's mega-sellers. It was the 18th highest selling NES game of all time at 1.67 million copies (a decent amount even today!), and the number 2 highest selling licensed game after Ninja Turtles. There's a reason why this game, of all old licensed games, is coming back.

Darkwing Duck was released a couple years after the SNES launch, and is not a very common game today - which means it didn't sell anywhere near the same league as DuckTales.

Still... if this remake did VERY well, the natural successors would be DuckTales II, Rescue Rangers and Darkwing Duck.

 

[danielcw]

I love it that the Polygon review says that the game is way too difficult and jumps are impossible to land when the Gamespot says that it's so easy that it's boring lol. Logic?

There is no fail in logic here. Different reviewers have different standards, and maybe failed to get that point across in their writings.

Updating first post with reviews, but mainly reviews that aren't eyebrow raising based on the comments in this thread =P

Why don't you just include all reviews, and let readers see for themself.

The remake forces you to play the whole thing.

Really, that is a deal breaker for me. No way to circumvent it?

Having less checkpoints doesn't introduce difficulty. It only adds inconvenience.

That depends on a lot of factors.
On NES Ducktales you have a certain amount of hitpoints. And you have to manage with those hitpoints from checkpoint to checkpoint.
Having more checkpoints in between means you more hitpoints to spare, if you can afford loosing lives.

 

[Tizoc]

Why don't you just include all reviews, and let readers see for themself.

Actually I'm gonna test that soon.

 

[Artorias]

I think you have to realize NES games in general were intentionally difficult, not because it was good game design. Checkpoints were extremely sparse so you'd have to replay the game over and over until you beat it. You end up spending more time than you had to, so that you can say you got your money's worth.

Having less checkpoints doesn't introduce difficulty. It only adds inconvenience. If Dark Souls removed all but the Firelink Shrine bonfire, it ends up being a worse game. Having to repeat sections you already finished several times doesn't prove that you have skill.

Now, I have no idea how difficult DuckTales actually is. I've played the GameBoy version when I was young and I don't remember anything about it.

No bonfires in Dark Souls is pretty extreme compared to losing 3 minutes of progress in Duck Tales. Fortunately it's not that black and white.

I'm not saying all games should be Mega Man, but criticising a game for having the audacity to present any semblance of a challenge is ridiculous. If you haven't gotten good enough to advance, what makes you think the next area will be easy enough for you to button mash through?