DuckTales Remastered (Wii U) Review

In DuckTales: Remastered, players take control of Scrooge McDuck, who has had yet another run in with the Beagle Boys in an effort to steal all of his fortunes. Upon averting the attempted robbery, Scrooge and his great-nephews come across a map which houses the location of numerous priceless artefacts. To get to this treasure, Scrooge must travel through exotic locations such as The Amazon, Transylvania and even The Moon! However, finding these treasures does not prove to be an easy task for Scrooge and the boys, as they must overcome many obstacles and challenges along the way.

The game features full voice acting, including some of the original cast members from the animated series. Alan Young reprises his role as Scrooge McDuck and sounds as fantastic as ever, throwing pieces of hilarious dialogue to and from characters. Sadly, due to some of the original cast passing away, their characters are voiced by fresh new voice actors. With that being said, though, the new cast brings life to the characters in the same way that the original cast did, resulting in the success to bring back the classic DuckTales light-hearted humour.

In many ways, DuckTales: Remastered is incredibly identical to that of its NES predecessor, but WayForward has slowed down the overall pace of the game, fitting in various cut-scenes whenever appropriate. Fans of the original game will immediately notice similarities between the two, as all of the hidden treasure locations and passages come flooding back to them. Whilst this new, slower process of getting through the game may put some fans off, the introduction of story elements and conversations between characters will appeal to a younger audience and even some fans who loved the animated show. Even if these cut-scenes are not to the player's taste, they can easily be skipped by pressing Start, followed by the A button.

The game also features a recreated soundtrack, which uses the same arrangements as the original title but gives it a more modern feel. The great aspect about the music in DuckTales: Remastered is that once the game has been beaten, the option to freely switch between the modern and original soundtracks is unlocked.

Like the version on the NES, players can choose to play any of the five levels in their preferred order. The lack of linearity doesn't stop there, though, as different paths to navigate through each level can also be taken. However, unlike the original game, players are forced to collect items in order to progress further in the level. For example, in The Amazon, Scrooge must collect and insert eight coins into a statue in order to bypass it. It's hard to say whether this drastic change is a good thing or a bad thing, as it also slows down the progress of the game; especially for players who keep losing their lives, forcing them to start the level as if they had never visited before.

WayForward definitely got one thing right when recreating the DuckTales experience, and that's the unforgiving difficulty contained in earlier NES games. Sometimes the game feels kind of cheap; for instance, when trying to pogo over obstacles, Scrooge won't always get his cane out and he'll just land straight into the trap he is trying to avoid, instead. Most of the time, the controls are flawless, but on other occasions, Scrooge just won't respond to the button presses.

On the positive side of things, DuckTales: Remastered as a whole is a love letter to fans of the animated series and the original game. It is a level-for-level recreation of the retro title, with plenty of content available to purchase using the in-game currency collected by Scrooge. Although it can be unforgiving at times and it may not be perfect, WayForward has done a good job at sticking to the original's gameplay, if not a great one.