Play Ducktales Online Free for Nintendo Entertainment System.

The Story Behind Ducktales

This version features the same gameplay, music and levels of the original console release, though the layout of each level was changed to accommodate the handheld's lower resolution screen. Despite the changes, images of the unfinished beta version could be seen in the 1990 books Consumer Guide: Hot Tips for the Coolest Nintendo Games and the NES Game Atlas by Nintendo. DuckTales was later ported to the Game Boy in late 1990.

The story involves Scrooge McDuck traveling around the globe collecting treasure and outwitting his rival Flintheart Glomgold to become the world's richest duck. Revisions to the game included the removal of crosses from the coffins in the Transylvania stage, replacing them with the letters "RIP", replacing hamburgers as power-ups with ice cream, and the omission of an option for Scrooge to give his money up, an action deemed too "un-Scrooge-like". A leaked prototype cartridge from a private collector reveals several differences between the original, unfinished version and the final release, such as different level names, unused music for the Transylvania stage, slower tempo on the music for the Moon stage, unused or altered text, and the character Gizmoduck going by his Japanese name "RoboDuck".

How Ducktales Plays

When all five main treasures are collected, the player returns to Transylvania for a final boss fight against Dracula Duck. Each destination's treasure is protected by a boss that Scrooge must defeat to retrieve. Upon completing the game, players can receive one of three endings based on their performance: a regular ending for simply clearing the game, a great ending for clearing the game with at least $10,000,000, and a bad ending for clearing the game with $0.

However, The African Mines and Transylvania must be revisited to acquire certain essential items. The game features five levels: African Mines, The Amazon, The Himalayas, Transylvania, and the Moon. This also allows him to reach higher areas as well as bounce across hazardous areas.

Why Players Still Load It Up

Nintendo Power later called the Game Boy port "a faithful translation from the NES version". DuckTales was a commercial success, with the NES and Game Boy versions selling approximately 1.67 million and 1.43 million copies worldwide respectively, each becoming Capcom's highest-selling titles for their respective platforms. The "Moon Theme" appears in the 2017 animated series reboot during scenes set on the moon, most prominently as the basis for a lullaby that Della Duck sings in the second-season episode "What Ever Happened to Della Duck?!"

It was released to generally positive reviews, with Electronic Gaming Monthly praising the NES version for its gameplay and colorful graphics, calling it "a prime example of very good game design". Creative director of DuckTales Remastered, Matt Bozon, called the music of DuckTales "some of the best 8-bit music [he's] ever heard", with his developer team citing themes as that of the Transylvania and Himalayas stages as memorable. A second reviewer said what they liked most about the game was the characters, specifically highlighting the expressions the characters sprites made.

Ducktales — Frequently Asked Questions