Duck Tales review - Nintendo Entertainment System

When Scrooge McDuck sets out to have an adventure, he certainly knows how to go about it. This game is set all over the world, as Scrooge travels between exotic locations looking for his nephews Hewie, Dewie, Lewie.

Duck Tales is a platform game with a total of five levels, which can be tackled in any order. However, they ascend in difficulty, so it's usually a good idea to take them in sequence. Finding keys and other objects gives access to parts of other levels, forcing the order of gameplay to a certain extent.

Scrooge runs, jumps and ducks (no pun intended!) his way through the game, and has a very useful walking cane. This provides a stick with which to bat obstacles out of the way and so they collide with baddies. The other use is that of a pogo stick - McDuck bounces around the screen, zapping the nasties through judicious use of the directional pad. Various chests and boulders litter the landscape, and when bounced upon reveal gems and food for bonus points and energy.

What the Mean Machines staff thought

Duck Tales contains some of the most exciting graphics I've seen on the Nintendo. The main sprite has some hilarious movements and reactions, especially when he's caught in the snow of the fourth level! The action is pitched just about right, and the three difficulty levels add a great deal of playability to the game. My only gripe is that when Scrooge dies, you are sent right back to the beginning of the level - no matter how close to the end you are. Still, this is only a minor point, and doesn't distract from the overall excellence of the game. The control can be a little on the awkward side, especially when trying to get Scrooge to bounce. However I recommend this game highly - it's well worth purchasing.

Duck Tales is a fine arcade adventure and features some exceptional graphics and some very tough and challenging gameplay. I like the idea of being able to tackle every level, which means you don't have to play early levels over and over again. But even though you can practice, it requires plenty of skill to get all the way through the game in one go. With its many neat touches, and beautifully balanced difficulty level, Duck Tales provides laughs and addiction in equal doses. You'd be "quackers" to miss it (har har).