DuckTales is a legendary game and one of the greatest games of all time. At a time when licensed games were routinely horrible Capcom showed that if you handled it with care a license could be used to create a masterpiece. Interestingly for a company who wasn’t ashamed to whore out sequels none of their Disney games received any. That is until the end of the Nintendo’s lifespan. Like Rescue Rangers 2 DuckTales 2 was released so late most probably weren’t aware of its existence. The original was a tough act to follow and while it doesn’t reach that lofty height DuckTales 2 is still excellent.
It’s a mystery as to why Capcom released DuckTales 2 on the NES. By 1993 the 16-bit platforms had completely taken over and whatever NES market was left wasn’t very active. Capcom themselves had already begun releasing their Disney games for the SNES like Magical Quest and Aladdin. DuckTales 2 is a bit obscure due to its late release and isn’t spoken of often as a result. Not that the game is a bad; far from it. It’s just hard to find and really expensive. Can you imagine what a Super DuckTales would have looked like?
Scrooge’s tool set remains largely unchanged with a few additions. The cane is still your all-purpose tool, able to bounce off enemies and spikes. You can also knock around blocks and other objects with a good thwack. New to the game is the ability to push and pull certain objects. Switches can be pulled to activate platforms and cannons while you can drag blocks to create makeshift platforms. The game also makes use of physics in spots to propel boats and such. The controls for some of Scrooge’s moves have also been simplified; you no longer need to hold down to pogo. All in all the additions are very smart and used effectively throughout the entire game.
DuckTales 2 follows the same nonlinear setup of the first game. Scrooge has a whole new set of countries to visit, this time in search of not just treasure but pieces of a map. The levels are significantly larger with much more to do. There aren’t as many random hidden gems but there are more treasures that give a significant boost in cash. Finding them presents a nice challenge as there are mini puzzles to solve first. In addition Gyro will provide Scrooge with three upgrades to his cane that grant access to previously unreachable areas. For those that want to min/max their gold these upgrades provide reasons to go back to prior levels.
Cash plays a bigger role for a variety of reasons. Between levels you have the option of buying items and upgrades. Some of these are handy such as extensions to your life bar and continues. You can also buy a cake that functions like an energy tank in Mega Man. Others are convenient. The safe allows you to keep all of you money if you die. This time around you lose all cash gained if you die and gems do not respawn. You also need to buy a new safe for every level. It sounds like a heavy penalty but it only affects those trying to accrue as much money as possible. Despite being cheap I still question why it was even added.
DuckTales was notoriously easy and the sequel is notably more difficult. Unless you are willing to part with your cash you’ll have to make do with the default life bar. The levels are more heavily populated due to their size making it easier to slip up. Life restoring food isn’t as common although with a modicum of exploration you can build up extra lives. The boss battles are clear step up from the simplicity of the first game. They require more hits and have more erratic patterns. Overall DuckTales 2 is slightly longer than its predecessor but still short. If you can find all six pieces of the map there is one hidden level but it could have used more.
While DuckTales 2 looks great it is still only a marginable improvement over the first game. By 1993 the NES was pretty much tapped out. In this case the game looks better due to more varied art direction. The adventure covers real world locations such as Egypt, Scotland, and the Bermuda Triangle. There is more background animation and interesting enemy designs but it is clearly using the engine from the original. Sadly the music is lacking which is inexcusable; DuckTales had a brilliant score and this game’s soundtrack is completely forgettable.
In Closing
It’s a damn shame DuckTales 2 was released late as it is truly great. It was impossible for DuckTales 2 to have the same impact as its predecessor but that doesn’t stop it from being a great time killer. For the longest time the only other option to get it was the Gameboy port. However it is now available as part of the Disney Afternoon Collection, a great bargain for a suite of cool games.
