The series is a
Disney Afternoon staple:
If you were a kid, and
watched the Disney
Afternoon religiously
when it was on TV, you
were likely in one of
these three camps: the
DuckTales camp, the
Rescue Rangers camp, or
the Darkwing Duck camp.
That's not to dismiss
the quality of the other
series that debuted on
the Disney Afternoon,
like TaleSpin and Gummi
Bears. But the legacy of
the aforementioned
series is so strong that
when the Disney
Afternoon is mentioned,
one of those three will
likely pop-up (that, and
there is a good chance
their amazing theme
songs had something to
do with it). So if
WayFoward wants to
remaster another Disney
Afternoon game, Darkwing
Duck should be it.
Darkwing Duck is an
extremely imaginative
series: One of the
reasons I adored
Darkwing Duck as a kid
was because its stories
and characters were
extremely inventive and
imaginative. If
DuckTales was Disney's
Indiana Jones, Darkwing
Duck was Disney's
Batman. And with Disney
being one of the major
innovators when it comes
to concepts and
presentations, Darkwing
Duck took the idea of a
vigilante dark hero and
turned into something
that was both very
comedic and very cool.
Darkwing/Drake Mallard
is a great parody of the
classic Batman tropes,
presenting us with all
of the cool gadgets and
theatrics without all of
the drama. That would be
fantastic to see again
in a high definition
presentation. And
speaking of
presentation...
It would sound great:
DuckTales:
Remastered is a musical
and audio delight. The
music in the original
NES title was
magnificent as is, but
the remastered treatment
has made it even more
memorable. Darkwing Duck
on the NES didn't
exactly have music that
would stick to you till
the end of times, but a
remix of the tunes could
help it stand out better
than it originally did.
And speaking of audio,
DuckTales: Remastered's
greatest successes is
that the developers were
able to obtain the
original voice cast of
DuckTales, including
Alan Young as Scrooge.
The cutscenes, even if
cynics and die hard
gamers shrugged them off
as being too long and
too many in number,
helped many a gamer
reconnect with their
childhoods, and gave the
original missions a
reason of being in the
grand aspect of gameplay.
In other words, it
explained why certain
characters and
situations happened in
the original game.
Darkwing Duck:
Remastered could give
Jim Cummings the
opportunity to once
again spout the famous
cheesy catchphrases that
made Darkwing Duck so
endearing, as well as
give the game an
original story that pays
homage to the show and
serve a purpose in the
enjoyment of the game.
It would look great:
DuckTales:
Remastered, in addition
to being a delight to
the ears, it is also a
feast for the eyes. The
entire game features
hand drawn character
sprites that are mood,
expressive and filled
with life. The cute/chibi
style may have turned
off some fans, but the
look helps give the game
an aesthetic design that
is both unique to this
remake and true to the
visual fidelity of the
original game. Now
imagine that with
Darkwing Duck, which has
already been established
as being an imaginative
TV show. Darkwing would
animate beautifully, and
the boss battles with
the bad guys from the
show would look
spectacular.
The gameplay can
finally be polished:
All the kinks and issues
that plagued the
original release can
finally be gotten rid of
in a remastered version
of Darkwing Duck. While
the original DuckTales
on the NES hardly
presented any flaws, the
Remastered does manage
to further polish
everything from the
difficulty to how you
can control Scrooge's
pogo jump. The addition
of difficulty levels,
various control methods,
and a save feature made
DuckTales a game that is
more accessible to
everyone. A Darkwing
Duck: Remastered release
could finally bring an
end to those issues,
keep the challenge while
still giving us many
ways to play.
It could give people
the opportunity to
discover Darkwing Duck
for the first time:
When DuckTales:
Remastered was
announced, it was both
met with great
excitement, as well as
genuine confusion. Why
you ask? Because many
gamers felt that for all
its passion, DuckTales
was a game that didn't
need to get remade, and
in the most cynical way,
shrugged it off as being
a cheap nostalgia fueled
cash in. To an extent...
they are right! I won't
certainly agree to the
idea that this was a
cash in, but considering
how well polished and
well remembered the
original NES games, well
it is kind of redundant
to remake what was
already an excellent
game to begin with. With
Darkwing Duck:
Remastered, though,
there wouldn't be that
much cynicism involved,
because the original
game is almost obscure,
and barely remembered.
This would give the game
the opportunity to
re-introduce itself to
the gaming populace, and
do it in a better style
than before.
