Retro Reflecticus: DuckTales

Movie and TV Games Were Good Once- Take My Word for It

With the release of the digital epic Avatar from successful director/ writer/ all-around beast machine James Cameron , we at The Birdo’s Nest expected the Avatar game to show up around the film release, slowly waddling in the wake of its movie counterpart. For a film that bathes it’s viewers in digital brilliance and utilizes many techniques exemplified in video game cut scenes (for example, the shaky zoom-in style the Gears of War series or Resident Evil 4), an unlearned individual might assume that the Avatar game would be quite the delightful romp. Clearly, they are unaware of the Movie to Game Principle.

The Movie to Game Principle states that movies or televisions shows converted to video games must suck and they must suck hard. I know. If it were up to me, I’d change a thing or two about a thing or two, but the Movie to Game Principle is fact. But it got me to thinking. Was there ever an outlier to this rule? Not only a good game based on television or movie content, but a great game. For me, Aladdin and The Lion King games both come to mind, but none can really touch the DuckTales game for THE Nintendo Entertainment System.


For those who have never seen or heard of DuckTales, that’s oka—….Nope, I thought I could stay away from being condescending for a second but it just didn’t feel right. What is wrong with you? Watch the show or watch DuckTales: The Movie – Treasure of the Lost Lamp immediately. But the DuckTales game is an extraordinary feat of gaming spawned by the 90’s gaming juggernaut Capcom.

Right when the game opens, you have the choice as to which level to traverse. This presentation of the game allows for more control and a convenient replay ability through the game. If you feel like playing a certain level, you don’t have to wade through other parts of the game first. Amazingly enough, this level menu fits perfectly into the structure of the game.

The story follows Scrooge McDuck throughout the globe (and in one case, off the globe) collecting treasures on his journey to be the richest duck in the world. Recognizable characters like Launchpad, Webby and the Beagle Boys are interspersed throughout the game. Although the creative content was there, the writers of the game developed a completely different plot, which is interesting and different from the typical DuckTales episode but simultaneously enthralling. In most cases, the rigidity implied in the story of a movie or television show overwhelms the general gameplay of the game, but not in this case.

The gameplay of DuckTales feels incredibly original throughout the entire game. You play as Uncle Scrooge himself, wielding only an ever-useful cane to bludgeon your foes. You can bash object with it or bounce on it like a pogo stick to travel across a level or send an enemy flying. Certain deadly areas are untraversable without expert wielding of the pogo-ing ability. This interesting control scheme makes DuckTales that much more interesting. Scrooge’s unique skillset within the game, as opposed to the standard jump and throw combination, really makes DuckTales stand out above the rest of the movie and television games of the time period.

Even though the constant stream of enemies might appear repetitive, Capcom diversified the gaming experience by making each enemy move differently. For example, in Transylvania, mummy’s move slowly from left to right and periodically stop. However, on the Moon, aliens move up and down in varying rapid movements, making them difficult in their own right. Plus, with all of the diverse environments to choose from, DuckTales is always interesting to play.

Although the Avatar game is decent, it could learn a lot from a seasoned veteran movie game. The DuckTales game is the archetype for all creators to follow. It is original while utilizing the reticent creative content. It establishes its own niche, neither trying to break out of its borders by being recklessly original nor shrinking down to an evaporated version of the original content.


You would think that movie games and tv games would be great—characters are pre-established, actors are already in place and there is a buttload of content to build off of. Sure, you can see the pre-ordained aspects of creative content as restrictive if you want to, but they can also birth some incredible content. Classic poetic structure like villanelles and sonnets hone the creative process by forcing restriction and pushing limits onto the writer. The safety pin was invented under a restriction that the inventor could only use a single piece of wire. I can only be on the toilet for 30 minutes at a time, according to my doctor. Picture the Sistine Chapel, except more brown.

Restriction has always been a source of some of the greatest feats of creativity. Movie games need to be seen by creators as an opportunity to do edify as opposed to oppressive parameters. The DuckTales game accomplished exactly that.

-Micah