Remember The Game #77 - DuckTales

**Game Talk starts at 10:50**

 

This is what 'Remember The Game?' is all about. Old cartoons, old video games, old video games about old cartoons. So much nostalgic goodness this week. (And the entire 8-bit version of the theme song makes this episode worth downloading on it's own!)

 

So many video games that are based on a popular franchise turn out to be hot garbage (exhibit A: Episode 70 of this show; Ghostbusters), but luckily for all of us 80's kids, Capcom decided to swim against the current and buck that trend. DuckTales isn't just a decent video game adaption of it's cartoon counterpart, it's a great one. 

 

This game is crazy fun, and while it has a challenge to it, it's not soul crushing like so many of it's NES brothers and sisters. You play the role of Scrooge McDuck, and the game sees you travel all over the planet solar-system in search of treasure. You can play the levels in (almost) any order, and there's a ton of exploration involved. It's not linear at all, and it pushes you to search every nook and cranny of each level if you want to go for a high score. Or worth, in this case. 

 

DuckTales also features cameos by so many great characters from the show, including Scrooge's nephews; Huey, Dewey, and Louie, Launchpad the pilot, that cranky old Scottish duck that raced Scrooge to the lamp in the intro, and the vampire lady duck. (I'm not caught up on my DuckTales characters). 

 

It also introduced the cane/pogo stick mechanic, which was so popular it still pops up in games today. Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze and the iconic Shovel Knight both borrow it with great success. 

 

Mark McCue and I gush about one of the best damned games the NES has to offer this week. Not ponytails or captain tales, no...DuckTales! Whoo-oo!