At Capcom’s first ever PAX East panel, various tidbits concerning established franchises were covered, including Mega Man, Street Fighter and Monster Hunter. But at the very end was a genuinely surprising reveal: the return of DuckTales.
DuckTales Remastered is a HD revival of the Nintendo Entertainment System classic, with a number of modern flourishes. The core game is largely the same as it was before; you’re Scrooge McDuck, traveling the world, on the lookout for treasure, and using your trusty cane, which can be used as a weapon, tool, even a pogo stick. Though one key distinction that’s immediately apparent is the visuals.
As noted, everything is presented in high definition. Whereas the original game was done in pixels (as were all games for the NES), everyone this time around is hand drawn 2D sprites, and they closely resemble their cartoon counterparts. The best comparison would be to Nintendo’s “Paper Mario” series. Meanwhile, the backgrounds are rendered in 3D, via polygons. It was explained that artists who worked on the backgrounds of the original cartoon were brought in to help with the revamp.
PHOTO GALLERY: Cosplay photos from PAX East 2013
The same environments are back, but they’re much more expansive. For example, you get to explore a Transylvanian mansion like last time, dealing with mummified ducks plus going through magic mirrors to find and rescue a kidnapped Huey, but you also get to explore the outside and underground caverns. You also have some additions to the gameplay, in the form of mine cart racing, plus potentially more. The PAX East demo level featured a mini boss encounter (the original just had end bosses, thats it).
There also appears to be more of story this time around; the original had you just traveling the world of treasure, with no real narrative attatched. Whereas this time, the Beagle Boys play a huge role, as does Magica De Spell. Speaking of, the actress who provided her voice, the legendary June Foray, is back, as is the original voice of Scrooge McDuck himself, Alan Young.
DuckTales Remastered will feature a tutorial and a mode in which you get to swim around inside Scrooge’s money bin, just like the cartoon once again. It’s due later this summer as a downloadable game, for Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, and the Wii U eShop.
