Faster than a speeding bill-et.
PLAYERS: 1
PUBLISHER: Capcom
DEVELOPER: Capcom
GENRE: Platformer
RELEASE DATE: June 1992
“I am Darkwing Duck!” cries the Purple Fowl at the beginning of each stage. My hipster retort: “Really? Are you sure you’re not just Mega Man? Not that there’s anything wrong with that, I mean, the Mega Man series is one of my favorites for NES, it’s just… *deep sigh* you know, I kind of wanted something original.” All hipster aspirations aside (I could never be that cool… or uncool, I’m not sure which), Darkwing Duck is a purple coat of paint on a Mega Man game; not surprising given that both games are made by Capcom. For gamers who have never played a Mega Man game – I hope none exist, but still – Darkwing Duck is a side-scrolling shoot-em-up whose challenge lies in figuring out enemies’ weak points and exploiting them. Unlike other Disney/Capcom joints, it’s more challenging than it should be, thanks to the strange controls. When you push “up,” Darkwing Duck covers himself with his coat. This would be useful if his coat were to act as a shield, but no, it’s just for show. If you accidentally push “up” and another button like “A,” Darkwing will cover himself with his coat anyway. I guess to him, mystery is more important than actually getting the job done. I dunno: it’s an average game, and the controls shouldn’t be as frustrating as they are, given Capcom’s otherwise awesome track record. Still, there is a boss named Quacker Jack and I do love me some puns, duck-related or otherwise.
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5 replies on “#160 – Darkwing Duck”
There’s got to be a reason for covering himself with his cape though. I can’t think of a good one, but there has to be something.
Apparently, he can deflect daggers and basketballs, but despite how easy it was to use the move, I never successfully deflected anything.
I’m surprised this game didn’t get a higher score. I always thought Darkwing Duck was the Disney & Capcom crown jewel (I never did play Tale Spin, though). Being a Mega Man disciple, I always thought of this game as a gateway from the kiddy Disney games into the more “grown-up” world of side scrollers. The Mega Man similarities are very prevalent, however, I feel those are positive attributes. You can’t go wrong with 8-bit Mega Man no matter what color the paint on the outside is.
I wouldn’t mind trying DD again, but I just remember it not sitting well with me.
Today in “your past will haunt you”: The cape works for projectiles and i have found it easy to use. İ love this one, i didn’t have any knowlege of Megaman then. And sadly it’s only good Darkwing Duck game.