ducktales remastered
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Rebuilding Scrooge's money bin: WayForward dives into DuckTales Remastered
Fans of classic gaming tend to be a little overprotective of their favorites, so you can bet all of us obsessive weirdos breathed a sigh of relief when DuckTales Remastered landed in the best possible hands. And while I can't comment on the final product – or even a portion of it – there's no denying that the devs at WayForward know how to put together a solid platformer, with the same expressive, 2D graphics that drew so many of us to the medium back in the 8-bit days.Barring the impossible scenario of reuniting the original game's tiny team (none of whom still work at Capcom some 24 years later), it's hard to think of a more appropriate match than WayForward meets DuckTales.Still, when dealing with such a compact and complete package like Capcom's unassuming 1989 classic, the smallest tweak or change could result in a total upheaval of the experience that renewed hurtful Scottish stereotypes for a generation of Nintendo-addicted children. To assuage my fears, I recently spoke with three key members of the DuckTales Remastered team about reviving that special brand of Capcom/Disney magic for our modern world.
DuckTales Remastered runs on more than nostalgia
In a new weekly column, writer Bob Mackey will alternate between two of his passions: the Japanese RPG genre and classic games. This week Mackey discusses the recently revealed DuckTales revival. Game designer Warren Spector's preoccupation with Mickey Mouse ranks up there with some of the more notable wastes of time in recent memory. You can't say Spector didn't have his heart in the right place, though; while much of his love for Disney's mascot seems to be informed largely by his generation's exposure to the character as more than just a soulless corporate brand, both of Junction Point's Epic Mickey games carried forth the noble mission of teaching a new generation about Disney's often-overlooked catalog of animated shorts.I found myself on board after hearing the premise of Spector's original Epic Mickey, mostly because Disney held nearly all of their shorts hostage on a premium cable channel during my childhood. If I wanted to soak up knowledge about the studio's earlier works, why not do it in Spector-engineered video game form?According to critics and consumers, the experiment didn't turn out so well. Epic Mickey didn't aspire to greater heights than "competent N64 platformer," and gamers regarded the series as such. Tragically enough, Spector had been sitting on a much better – though not necessarily more popular – property while developing Epic Mickey: Disney's Uncle Scrooge comics, best known to children of the '80s as the animated adaptation DuckTales.Spector had written for the newly launched DuckTales comic between Epic Mickey installments, and during a PAX Prime 2012 interview, I managed to sneak in a few questions that confirmed his interest in making a game that starred Disney's crankiest curmudgeon. His vague, non-committal statements didn't exactly set the Internet on fire, but they at least gave us all a moment to pause and fantasize about what a modern DuckTales game would look like.
DuckTales Remastered will answer the big questions
WayForward will add context to the bizarre storyline in the DuckTales game, in its remake DuckTales Remastered. Capcom producer Rey Jimenez revealed to Siliconera that a new cutscene is among the material being added in the remake, explaining the setup for the whole game – why Huey, Dewey and Louie need rescuing.The famous Moon level also gets a bit of backstory. "In the NES version, you fight a big rat and it didn't explain why you're fighting a rat on the moon," Jimenez noted. "That's explained in here because there are rats they're experimenting on and you let them loose and that becomes the rat down there. Also, how does Scrooge McDuck breathe on the moon? We explain that as well."In other words, it's going to be less of a duckblur.
Capcom 'working' on confirming DuckTales Remastered for PC
A PC version of WayForward's DuckTales Remastered looks likelier than it did last weekend. The remake of the NES game was announced at PAX East for XBLA, PSN, and Wii U. Now, according to Capcom Senior VP Christian Svensson, a PC confirmation is in the works.When queried about a PC version in the Ask Capcom forum, Svensson said, "Working on it. When I can confirm it, I will do so but for now, hang tight." To us, that sounds very positive.And lo, did a chorus of PC owners woo-oo. We'll let you know if/when that confirmation comes in. Either way, DuckTales Remastered springs onto various screens this summer.
Original voice actors return for DuckTales Remastered
The full voice cast of the original DuckTales cartoon will reprise their respective roles for the newly announced nostalgiapocalypse DuckTales Remastered, Capcom senior vice-president Christian Svensson revealed in a Capcom Unity forum thread yesterday."We have ALL the original voice actors from the show," Svensson said, including Scrooge voice actor Alan Young, who "still came into the studio and did his thing like a pro. The voice work really adds a lot to the package.""Scrooge's voice actor," as a quick aside, is a man named Alan Young, who's been in the entertainment industry since the 1940s. Before he endeared himself to the hearts of millions as a penny-pinching old duck, Young's original claim to fame was as Wilbur Post, the star of Mister Ed. We wonder if Young knew at the time that talking animals would become a running theme for his 70-odd years in show business?Update: Joystiq has been contacted by a representative for Alan Young, who clarified the details of Mr. Young's entertainment career.
Capcom reveals DuckTales Remastered, developed by WayForward [update]
Capcom is bringing back DuckTales in a new game developed by WayForward Technologies. This is one of the two new games teased by Capcom ahead of the "World of Capcom" panel, along with Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara.The new DuckTales, of course, is inspired by the NES classic, a Mega Man-esque game in which Scrooge McDuck used his cane as both a golf club and a pogo stick. The new version has new hand-drawn sprites, and features original voice work. It's coming to Wii U, PSN, and XBLA for $15.Update: DuckTales Remastered is actually a full remake of the NES game, with new features including a museum and "A MONEY BIN YOU CAN ACTUALLY SWIM IN!" So we've now solved that mystery, and rewritten history to reflect it.
