"Scrooge can also duck"

Hm... so, what are your thoughts on Wayforward's remake of this game? I feel like in some ways. It actually fixed some of the issues mentioned. In the normal difficulty settings, the Pogo Jump is one button press. The story is actually explained in game. Via voice acted cutscenes. With a majority of the original voice actors. The levels large size has meaning. In the original, you could wonder through Transylvania for a LONG time. Or, beat it very quickly depending on the path taken. The remake however throws things needed to progress through all of the level areas. So, there's actually a reason to go and explore the whole level. Boss patterns are much more complex. ESPECIALLY the final boss.... It's a completely different boss honestly. The only thing that's the same is how you damage him. And finally, the ending doesn't change based on money for... a somewhat spoilery reason. Meaning there's no tedious side questing. And finally, the final level is NOT Transylvania like in the original. But, an all new level.

being a kid when this came out, i dont remember it being the shining classic that it's regarded as today - it was just another game

I do feel that this game is FAR from overrated. It's definitely a masterpiece. I never had any issues with the pogo stick attack though.

Great video as always! DT was, and still is, one of my favorites of all time. I've owned it since 1990, and my phone's ringtone is the Moon Stage intro :D

Maybe it was just me, my brothers and sister but when we watched the cartoon we didn't think "can't wait for the game to come out so we can play as old Uncle Scrooge". The game woulda been much better if you play as Huey, Dewey, Louie or Webby

So whenever an action is more difficult than you think it should be the game is "unpolished." I get the gripe about ducking on a moving platform but, c'mon.

Huey and Louie’s shirts are only the same color due to computer memory limitations. The system could only draw a certain amount of colors onscreen at one time. That’s why in earlier Nintendo video games the sprites usually only have 2 or 3 colors (and why Luigi’s mustache and hair are green in Super Mario Bros.) Companies eventually found ways to work around that “3 colors per sprite” limitation by creating characters composed of 2 separate sprites (Mega Man’s face and body are separate sprites for instance, creating the effect of a full sprite with 5 colors. This may become obvious in earlier installments where sprite flickering is more prominent. Mega Man’s face may seem to flicker off-sync with his body)

I agree with this review. Those spider enemies are the bane of my existence. When it comes to DuckTales, it's probably my least favorite of the DuckTales games. The Remaster however, fixes several issues with the original in addition to adding new meaningful content, and while the cutscenes aren't everyone's cup of tea, I'll take long cutscenes over glitches. I still like the game quite a bit, though, but I prefer the very underrated sequel.

It speaks to the quality of your videos that I can disagree on almost all of your conclusions and still thoroughly enjoy watching. Thanks for the perspectives

Great perspective. I understand the frustrations with the pogo jump and it has cost me lots of lives. I still love this game regardless. I'm a big fan of exploration in side scrollers or any type of action/adventure game.

Great video with spot on analysis. Was just playing the game and noticed how annoyed I got with the pogo mechanics. Will try to finish it, but i'm not nearly enjoying it as others seem to. Thank you for sharing your views.

Am I only one slightly bothered by the fact he's wearing red all game, but in the cartoon and even the box art, he's wearing blue? I guess I understand that a blue coat, in front blue back grounds might not be the best, although megaman got away with it.

Did you ever get to the part where you say whether or not the game is overrated? I watched like 40000 minutes of basic game-play and level descriptions before I got too bored and I guess if it was in there it just slipped by. Maybe add a link in the description box to where you get to any sort of point, TIA!

Yeah I think Ducktales NES is a little overrated. It’s a good NES game, but I think it gets a bit too much attention and praise. Little Nemo NES is an underrated Capcom game.

Goddamn those are some pretty graphics. The game just oozes quality right from the outset.

Random note about the Pogo controls, Duck Tales Remastered had the option to "easy pogo" making it a simple button

i'm 40, nostalgic, so i can't judge this game because he reminds me some wonderful moment with my family and friend

Great video and even though I agree with your nitpicks of the pogo being awkward to activate and that sometimes your butt will cancel out a jump I still think the game is incredibly fun. Isn’t that the main reason to play a game? Having fun and trying to finish it. I didn’t even know there were 3 endings to this game when I was first playing it and I didn’t play it until 15+ years after the game came out so I didn’t have nostalgia for the game and still found it to be a lot of fun. Most games can be nit picked and flaws can be shown and this game isn’t perfect but would I recommend it? Yes. Would I play it again? Yes. So I wouldn’t say it’s over rated and there is a reason why it’s still played and talked about today.

It's not a flawless game by any means but by NES platformer standards it's one of the better examples.

I always liked this game too, but for some reason fell victim to the many frustrating things like the pogo jump not working. This made the part when you are chased by the ball unnecessarily hard. I never did find a pattern for the spiders as they seemed unpredictable and triggering them did little. I always had to find way to get hit in a way to land safely. There are a few parts with bad enemy placement. That damn bee after using launch pad to cross a large gap. You don't know if you have to press down, jump, or a combination of the two to get off the rope. The bee just hits me. Also the space ducks that infinitely respond on the moon. 1 always gets stuck under a spike and you have to wait for him to bounce through. Jumping out of a mine cart ate inputs too, so it made me nervous whether or not it would actually jump before falling into the pit. It's an undeniably great game, but could have used a LITTLE more polish. Great review. Well said. You nailed it.

One of the first games I ever played when I was a small child. It will always have a special place in my heart.

As a kid I beat this on the first day (luckily we borrowed the game from a friend or class mate instead of buying it for 50 bucks). It was OK, at the time I thought the Amiga Duck Tales game (The Quest for Gold) was a lot more interesting. The Mega Man games, Darkwing Duck, Little Nemo. I would pick those game over DuckTales any day. And for a quickie I even prefer Adventures in the Magic Kingdom.

I always thought the pogo jump was better executed on the Gameboy version.

Boulders? I always thought they where lettuce heads... Now you can't unsee it.

I'll have to respectfully disagree on this one. While yeah, some things of the game could be better, for what it's worth, I think it's good. Now granted, do I think it's worthy of a top 5 in best NES games? Nah. I think DuckTales is good and just that. But to me, it's not overrated. Although then again, i'm not usually a big fan of that word for the most part since it seems like a cop out response that could be replaced I feel. That, and most of my experience with people using that word, lets just say some people can be douches about it.

I doubt even AVGN would call this game overrated. It's awesome for its time.

The birth of a new series! I was wondering, how will you decide whether a game review should be an episode of "Is It Still Good?" or "Is It Overrated?" I imagine games that are in the "Overrated" series would be the super famous ones like Ducktales, while the ones in "Is It Still Good" are the ones that got good reviews but don't get brought up all the time, like Scaler or Darkwatch.

(Comment chain ) Life is like a hurricane (EDIT:Why is everyone acting like the chain is over we’re doing the extended version )

You can hold down & b and continually pogo. It's not hard to execute.

The game is okay, but I don't understand how people love it so much, especially when games like Little Nemo are rarely ever talked about.

I love this game, but one thing that always felt kind of cheap is how they make you go back to Transylvania twice. When the game is only five levels long to begin with, recycling levels feels a bit rushed and unimaginative.

Please review Blinx: The Time Sweeper for the Microsoft Xbox.

I tried to play it once and I felt it off for Scrooge's pogo jump and other mechanics, it was after I played the Remastered remake that I feel them more comfortable.

The colors are based on the comics. Scrooge wears red instead of blue and Dewey is wearing yellow.

This game is not over rated. Its great especially for a licensed game.Not perfect. Not a top five but definitely in the top 25 for the NES.

As a kid I always liked DuckTales 2 and Chip N Dale 2 more than the originals.

It's funny, I never played this game until the disney afternoon special came out on steam. Instead, I played Ducktales 2 when I was young. Although I might be somewhat biased towards the second game, I does fixes a lot of the problems that you mention in this review. Most importantly, you can pogo by just holding b

This is still one of my favorite NES games, I can still pick it up and play it. I liked how the pogo jump was engaged, as a kid you felt 1337 somehow. I also didn't know about the alternate ending or spending money for more health. I really don't think this game is overrated, it is one of the best NES games released.

I would disagree on the game being overrated. Just finished it today. It has flaws, but so does Megaman or Mario. Considering that NES really lacks the games that aren't NES hard, Duck Tales truly is a shining classic of NES games. Great review though. Keep up with the great job! :)

Before I watched, I would say that you are crazy, but, after watching, I think you hit it right on the money.

Shovel Knight or Ducktales? Which is better?

Is sonic 3 and knuckles still good though?

I never realized how different the remake is. ALL of the bosses changed, did you ever realize that?

I'll still go back to it at least once a year to beat each level (which I always play from top to bottom). I thought the remaster was well-done with the additional story elements and voice acting, though I still prefer the original.

I've only played Ducktales 2, but I can't rate it less than 10/10. The gameplay is just so much fun and the animations are (dare I say it?) adorable.

Only real criticism I have is at 19:43. You can't claim "hit the enemy, still too damage". Your pogo-cane was nowhere near the enemy. Scrooge hit the enemy all right, with his face! You should have taken damage there, you missed the damn enemy. I see people making this complaint a lot with old games. Just because you're in an attack animation doesn't mean you touching the enemy should count as a win, You need to hit from the correct side of the hit box. So no, this complaint isn't valid.

No joke, I actually think Donald Duck going Quackers for the ps2 was quite a decent platformer. Challenging too.

FWIW, I was (and still am( far from the most skilled gamer, and I never had a problem with the gameplay mechanics even at the age of 5 or 6 when I was playing this game for the first time. In fact, I would contend the slight difficulty of the pogo jump is a crucial part of the difficulty curve of the game.

Duck Tales was one of the funnest games around back in the day and NOT overrated!

I never played DuckTales as a kid despite growing up with the show. I actually first played the original just a few weeks ago, I had only played the remake for 1 level at a friends house at least 3 years before. So safe to say it was a pretty fresh experience. I had zero issues with the pogo stick like jumping. I don't get what's so hard about holding B and Down when jumping. Sure it could have been set to one button, but it really isn't that hard, or complicated at all. Also didn't have many issues with the platforming on small squares either. Everything felt extremely polished game play wise. I don't think I ever ducked on moving platforms other than to randomly teabag which I like to do sometimes. So I never had any deaths because of it lol Also the lack of difficulty curve is kind of refreshing. You play enough NES games you'll notice a pattern with a good chunk of them. Generally a pretty simple and easy first couple of levels and then they just obliterate you with near unfair difficulty. It was also meant for kids as it was based off a kids cartoon. And I could certainly see it being challenging to a younger audience. It's harder than Kirby for example. Getting zero money as you pointed out was basically not meant to happen. As the game practically forces you to get money if you are playing it. I'm surprised they included it at all, so I see it more as an easter egg rather than a true bad end. Collecting enough money for the good ending is pretty neat. Maybe it's a little bit obnoxious to have to explore everywhere, but the game actively does try to get you to do just that. And it's such a small little bonus. This wasn't exactly a very story driven game. So much so that you showed all 3 endings in less than 30 seconds lol Most games at the time usually had a single page of text saying Congratularation you won! And that's, that. A typo on a single sentence. So I do not agree with most of your nitpicks on being significant enough to say that it's an overrated title. For the time and era it was certainly a top tier title, and deserves to be among some of the best on the system. Excellent sprite work, colorful backgrounds and characters. Great music, and tight controls. It was just a really solid title. Easily being able to make top 10-20 lists out of hundreds of titles. Is it the best game ever made, no of course not, even on the NES there are some titles that surpass it, I still wouldn't say it's overrated unless someone tried to argue that it was the best game on the system. But I think it deserves the recognition that it has.

How could duck tales hero hit king slime since he has a vault full of gold coins

The game is good, but it doesn't compete with other good platformers of the time (Castlevania, Mega Man, Ninja Gaiden, etc). The game is very short (and relatively easy) and the problem becomes more pronounced once you memorize the levels (and the shortcuts). The correct thing would be that no shortcuts had been added and that to go to the boss you had to search for objects just as you did in The Moon.

Amazing review that answers the question in a shocking way to me. I see a potentially developing trend, did you get a NES RGB mod? Will we see a NES framemeister profile or have you changed the method of getting footage?

Couldn't agree with you more on this. As someone who didn't play it when it came out (I was playing Genesis way more at the time) I never really got the buzz around it. Many more entertaining platformers imo.

Despite the amount of positivity you're able to give for the review of this game, I completely disagree with "DuckTales" on the NES being overrated because it's an 8-bit platformer that is still enjoyable to this day, even if any of the flaws you mentioned were fixed in the remake "DuckTales: Remastered" that was released for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Nintendo Wii U. I also don't believe in "looking through the game with a nostalgic lens" because that sounds more like pessimistic nonsense when it comes to playing older video games that can still be enjoyed; Otherwise, I would be allowed to say the same thing towards people who enjoy games such as "GoldenEye 007" and "Final Fantasy VII" (both of which I am not a fan of, BTW).

You can spend your money to get the bad ending. Just have a multiple of 3,000,000 and spend it all right before/during the dracula duck fight

Totally agreed. The game isn't bad by any means, the production value and quality are there, it's just not very fun or engaging to play. There's nothing special about the style. As a kid I was thinking where are the weapons? Power ups? It's like Mega Man but with way less mechanics. Even compared to platformers like Wizards and Warriors DuckTales is technically more polished, but I'd much rather play Wizards and Warriors for the style alone.

As with many things and video games, today's young gamers are on a hyperventilation hype train all the time. Of course the moon theme is great. Duck Tales as such was and still is a very good platformer to pick up and play any time. On hardest difficulty it offers quite some challenge. Overrated? Possibly yes. But still a good classic.

The game is nice, but not one I would give a 9 or 10 out of 10. So I think it is over rated.

I love duck tales and im 39. One of my favorite games! I bought the android remake, excellent game!

Not overrated at all. It's def a "Top-10" NES game, for sure...I do hate the constantly-respawning enemies that respawn no-matter what, though it's a minor gripe.

So pressing down and a button is "too complicated" for the pogo jump....lmao. yeah it was so difficult 10 year old me beat it the first day I had it....sorry but anyone with even mediocre platforming skills can breeze through this game in less than 30 mins, and that's exploring everywhere....this game is a classic and a masterpiece, but difficult in any way it is not.

"Scrooge can also duck" Did anyone else find that funny?

17:15 "Scrooge looses fortune..."

Very solid, very cool game. Still love playing through this.

I know what you mean. Even if you limit the competition to other licensed NES platformers by Capcom, Little Nemo blows it out of the water. It's a good game, but just that.

Great and very objective review. There's basically no point of yours with which I don't agree with. I remember back when my dad bought it for us kids that I was so happy just to be dumbfounded shortly afterwards dying by jumping on the gorilla in the beginning of the Amazon level Mario-style. I have no recollection of the game's manual but for a child the pogo-jump mechanic is very difficult to grasp and master at first but then again that fact probably increased the play value I got out of Duck Tales... However I think some of the game's shortcomings which you have mentioned are alleviated by the game's relatively friendly difficulty and its somewhat short length. I always remembered the game very fondly, not sure if I ever considered it a classic but definitely a solid platformer worth playing if you're exploring the NES's library. It was only by the time when the remake released that I realized the game was generally held in such high esteem. I believe by getting the remake treatment the original game became overrated as I never thought it really deserved that sort of 'honor'.

Here's a good test... if you ever managed to get good enough with the pogo jump to find the secret treasures without knowing anything about them then you probably love the game; It's nothing to do with nostalgia, it's an in game reward feature. If you don't like pogo jump mechanics period... like cutting out of a pogo jump mid way to make a precarious landing... then you probably don't like the game.

I adored this game as a kid used to try n fake illness to stay off school to play it

Did this dude really just say the pogo jump is too complicated because you have to push down and B?

Dude, I was gonna make this EXACT same video! You beat me to it. That being said, it's obvious how I feel about it. It's good, but not nearly as great as its reputation would lead one to believe. I will say the music is exceptional, especially the Transylvania stage. But speaking of Transylvania, my biggest gripe of the game, which you didn't mention, is that the final stage is just Transylvania AGAIN! Even the route to the boss is the same. They could've "remixed" the stage. That feels extremely cheap to me. And the game is waaaay too short. By 1989, NES games had a lot more to them than just this. And I have felt this way about DuckTales ever since the game came out when I was eleven. My thoughts on it have never changed. Great video, man!

I think the complaints in this video are reaching.

Great game amazing soundtrack very fun. Not overrated at all

Honestly, I think this game is similar to most other NES games - if you want the best experience, play on emulator with save states.

Loved it and thought it was a great game, not sure I'd give it 10/10, but sure isn't lower than an 8

this comment section is completely bonkers. you answer "is it overrated" perfectly reasonably - of course it is. this game is far from perfect. for perspective: i'm a Duck Tales speedrunner and regularly beat the game in about 7m30s. you're right on about the pogo controls being pretty wack and the hitboxes being nonsense. the fact that i or others are able to compensate for it and master it does not make it "ok" by any means. even at my level, it's still not entirely predictable and the pogo stick sometimes just doesn't deploy. i can't for the life of me figure out why this is a two-button move - deploying it while moving forward is a pain in the ass i love the game to death, but it's absolutely overrated. returning to Transylvania three times and following the same route to the boss two of those times is especially half-baked. there's no reason for it to play out this way aside from "gotta ship the game" it's an absolute charmer of a game but to call it a masterpiece and a 5/5 or 10/10 is missing the mark in a big way and is a perfect case of letting your enjoyment override legitimate criticisms. is it so hard for people to admit that it might be a 4/5 or 8/10? lord knows that's still better than the vast majority of the NES/Famicom library.

Ducktales is never overrated on the NES. it's a masterpiece.

This game is a source of some of the fondest memories for me. Is it overrated? I`m going to vote no :)

I guess all of the NES library that is considered great is overrated. The best thing about this game is anyone can play it for fun or a challenge. To master it or to just pass it.

a duck can duck. GENIUS

Not overrated. Have always loved this game.

Great review Kris! I played the HD remake and it was pretty good as well Also.. “Scrooge can also duck”. Get it?

It is a good game but one thing that really annoys me about it are the horrible, unnecessarily complicated pogo controls. Turned off the game more than once because of that.

My favourite nes that I owned.

And then we ask…is Ducktales 2 underrated?

The Little Mermaid and Darkwing Duck are a hell of a lot better and much more challenging, and should be getting a lot more praise than this overrated turd.

I don't like the word "overrated" because every person experience and rate the games in a different way, there is no correct way to do it and the word "overrated" seems to suggest that there is a correct way and people is evaluating the game in the wrong way. Still I think you have a point, but usually it's possible to find better words to describe it. In this case I think a better word would be "idealized" or longer but most clear "remembered better than it was".

I could bounce on my cane all day

No. It is not. Laser like precision, I beat this in elementary school.

The thumbnail got me. I had to come here just to say no. DuckTales is awesome.

3:50: HA! Duck...

Yes

Ducktales 2 has always been the strongest game between the two, it just so happens that most kids never got around to play it, which doomed the game to be forgotten. Much like Megaman 2, it improves upon the original in every way.

No. DuckTales is a great fucking game and the music is amazing.

We all like it due to the moon song.

It is overrated! Pogo jumping isnt really that fun. And you die and lose all your money might as well reset the game and start over.

Duck tails is rad

Probably a bit overrated. Great graphics and music, but a little wonky gameplay here and there with the pogoing and hit detection. Also its too short and too easy. The remake by Wayforward is really nice, save for the ridiculously hard end segment of the game.

Cutscenes did not make this game better that was the worst part of the remaster.