Disney DuckTales: Remastered

This is a retro re-release at its finest. The game feels like its classic counterpart, but it has a number of improvements to make it more palatable to a modern gaming audience.

Issues with game length and difficulty aside, this is a brilliant and respectful update of one of the best platformers ever made, and one that gamers of all ages will enjoy, whether you’ve played the original or not.

I sat down and played this game from start to finish in one evening and didn’t skip a single cutscene (I didn’t even notice I wasn’t skipping them until near the end). The entire time I was engrossed in the game and having genuine fun and it went by quite quickly, a duck blur, if you will.

Without a doubt, the best thing about this remake is its presentation, which has been carefully crafted. We feel completely satisfied about the way the developer managed the difficulty of the game: the last level of the remake was more demanding than any of the original levels.

But despite that brevity of gameplay, DuckTales: Remastered is a fun flashback with modern flair for both those that quack-attacked in its 8-bit incarnation or those totally new to the duck tales of Scrooge McDuck.

In the end, DuckTales Remastered is a great modern take on the now-classic NES game.

There’s a lot of fun to be had with this and even if you didn’t grow up with the show’s theme song stuck in your head, I think it’s safe to say you’ll get its $15 asking price out of it easily if you love platformers.

The cutscenes are a bit too lengthy and tedious at times, but this is the only downside to DuckTales: Remastered. This is a remake that will go down well with old and new players alike, and gives you a feel-good vibe through carefully executed gameplay, stunning visuals and up-beat music. Getting a better score and unlocking new concept art will make sure you'll replay every segment over and over.

Loads of fun, a delightful trip back to an era where simply jumping in the right spot could reveal copious hidden goodies. Whether you’ve played the original or not, this remake is worth every Number-One Dime.

Though a bit short, DuckTales still holds up where it counts, with tight controls, fun levels, and a story like a vintage comic book. The game might be straightforward and feel a little dated, but bouncing through the Amazon, the Himalayas, the Moon, and more will have you singing the iconic theme song in your head.

Through its old-school gameplay, snappy soundtrack, authentic dialogue, and unlockable art, DuckTales: Remastered is a faithful tribute, and a remaster done right.

DuckTales Remastered is exactly what the fans of the original product would have dreamed of. Despite its age, the game proves to be still pretty damn fun to play. The price, though, is definitely a bit high.

An enjoyable trip down memory lane – but a lane that has had a few new architectural additions that have not all been sympathetically worked into the landscape.

DuckTales Remastered has the courage to be difficult, and proves itself both fun and respectful to the original. It's a very good remake and a sight to behold. Its difficulty is not for the faint of heart, but it will highly reward those who have the perseverance to keep playing. We couldn't ask much more from a remake.

A good remake of a classic platform game. The new graphics and the old school gameplay represents the perfect union of two different eras of videogames history.

DuckTales Remastered manages to give a classic game a new coat of paint but still bring back all those warm happy nostalgic feelings from the original classic.

Bouncing between goats in the Himalaya looking for spare plane parts feels exactly the way we remembered it, and we'll just come out and say it: Duck Tales has aged extremely well, making it a must have for newcomers as well. The dialogue tends to slow things down a bit though, which is never a good thing when you're looking for fast paced platforming action.

Thing is, my considerable enjoyment of this remake would probably still be the same if they had put much less of an effort into this. So, should I commend them for putting everything they had into this love letter to a really, really good, if imperfect platformer, or complain that they didn't use the budget to port 20 different Capcom classics in a more humble, functional manner? Maybe both, but probably a bit more of the former.

DuckTales Remastered makes some minor missteps in the attempt to revive one of the greatest NES games of all time, but then again, the latter is a pretty tough act to follow. Mechanically, the game holds up great, and I had a smile on my face nearly the entire time. So long as you can overlook a few fundamental issues, old and new fans alike shouldn't miss re-experiencing this lovingly crafted classic.

Laidback and enjoyable compared to the frantic and difficult nature of the original, DuckTales Remastered is a textbook example on how to pull off an HD remaster with love and care.

DuckTales: Remastered blends the cartoon and the NES game together beautifully. Fans of modern platformers can expect a simple lighthearted romp, but gamers who grew up in Duckburg are the ones who shouldn’t miss out on this endearing homage.

A game you'll love or hate. Great graphics and art style make it a very pretty platform game, but the high and unforgiving difficulty could scare away the ones approaching it just for the looks.

WayForward set out to revitalize the Capcom NES hit from nearly twenty-five years ago and I believe they succeeded. That doesn't mean Ducktales Remastered is the greatest platformer of all time or that it doesn't have it's own gripes, but for anyone that has fond memories of the TV show, original game, or 90s platforming, this is good buy.

A masterclass in classic platformer design, DuckTales: Remastered may be over quickly, but it's a nostalgic trip that will certainly inspire a few smiles. [Issue#104, p.83]

Wayforward Technologies has done an excellent job of taking an old classic and giving it a fresh update for a new generation.

DuckTales Remastered is a brilliant remake of a classic game. The levels are rebuilt and just like you remember them on the NES. DuckTales Remastered serves you a delicious nostalgic feeling, but I think this game would fit better on a handheld console.

DuckTales: Remastered is a renovated and revitalised golden child which when all is said and done shows its age regardless of the effort imparted to hide such truths.

DuckTales Remastered looks great, but WayForward's tinkering has led to a disappointing remake. What used to be a simple story about an adventurous duck has suddenly become the type of long-winded story Hideo Kojima would be proud of.

It's a faithful remake, but it dredges up a lot of what was wrong with the original game, and the fun lasts barely as long as it'll take you to hum the theme tune.

For its target audience - those late 20s, early 30s gamers who remember blowing on the NES cart's connectors when it wouldn't load - the impact of WayForward's high-purity dose of old-fashioned platforming has been diluted by the new wrapping. Even those new backgrounds, as lovely as they are, pull the eye away from the parts of the level that have actually been recreated. For the Pixar generation, meanwhile, there's just a quaint, old-school platformer here, starring a character of whom they've never heard.

Nostalgia does play a huge part in why this is somewhat successful - if you were part of that era, the memories that’ll come flooding back make it almost worth the purchase alone.

If anything, I'll blame DuckTales Remastered's shortcomings on the current state of digital pricing. It's unfortunate that a short but near-perfect game had to be weighed down with so much extraneous material, seemingly for the sake of padding out its length to justify a premium-priced digital release.

It all works, but the majority of additions detract from the original's charm. A shame. [Nov 2013, p.73]

Maybe it’s worth checking out for the average ’90s Gamer and a new generation but the original remains the primary experience.

A dream come true for fans of the original but there’s nothing here for anyone else, especially given the tiresome new story elements and obnoxious difficulty.

It’s easy to admire the developer’s evident love for the NES game – it’s clearly been handled with the kind of care only a genuine fan would provide – but after a few repetitive hours bouncing around DuckTales’ pretty but unremarkable worlds you’ll begin to realise that some treasures aren’t worth the effort of unearthing.

DuckTales: Remastered is full of miserably dull and frustrating mechanics behind its updated presentation — and no visual overhaul can hide that.