Darkwing Duck is a 2D platformer video game based on the Disney television series of the same name. The game was developed by Capcom for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1992 and was ported to the Game Boy in 1993. The Game Boy version is essentially an extremely stripped-down version of the game.
Plot[]
A mysterious crime wave has hit St. Canard and S.H.U.S.H. require the services of the caped crime fighter Darkwing Duck to stop it as it appears that F.O.W.L. and their valued operative Steelbeak is behind the uprising. They have hired six of Darkwing's greatest foes to wreak havoc in different areas throughout St. Canard. Darkwing must go and one-by-one stop these criminals in order to find Steelbeak and save the city.
Gameplay[]
Like DuckTales before it, the game plays very much like Capcom's Mega Man video game series, with lots of jumping and shooting and the ability to change weapons via a subscreen. The game is actually running on an extremely tweaked Mega Man 5 engine.
Darkwing starts out with a standard gas gun, but can collect special adapters that alter its function. Darkwing can also deflect certain enemy projectiles by using his cape.
Darkwing may get certain things to help him out such as 1-ups (which are Darkwing dolls) and things that can refill parts of Darkwing's heart level. There are two ways, the first one is a thin can that gives Darkwing 1/4 of a heart while a box with a heart on it that fills up Darkwing's heart completely. The player can also collect cans for Darkwing's special shooters, such as the lightning gun, as they are somewhat similar in shape like the heart cans. A thin can gives Darkwing two points of shots for the gun while a thick can gives Darkwing ten points for shots for the gun. The maximum amount of shot points a player can accumulate is 99 and every time Darkwing shoots, each shot is worth two points.
Development[]
For the most part, the beta version of this game is pretty consistent with the final version, with a few different details, especially in later levels. At the tower level boss battle, Moliarty lacks a stationary sprite, plus all three flamethrower machines are fully operational when the battle begins. The warehouse wharf level had platforms with spikes under them. At the wharf's boss battle, Megavolt moves much faster and the running spark at the bottom of the screen is not present. The woods level featured owls instead of hawks. In the final boss battle, the pulsating lights over Steelbeak's balcony window are missing. The continue screen features Darkwing standing in the center with his arms crossed. He leaps off-screen when the player chooses to continue instead of the Thunderquack flying by. When a boss is defeated, Darkwing will leap off-screen in tradition to Mega Man teleporting off screen after a battle. In the bonus games, J. Gander states that F.O.W.L. is behind the burglaries. The designs of both bonus games are drastically different. Part one features the entrance to an underground cavern instead of a city rooftop. Part two takes place outside and shows what appears to be a Ferris wheel instead of taking place underground. After the player defeats Steelbeak, Steelbeak doesn't appear on the computer monitor having the last word. The game's final scene in which Darkwing rides into the night is depicted with darker colors.
Roles[]
- Darkwing Duck - player
- Launchpad McQuack - gives information to Darkwing on every mission the player wants to go through.
- Gosalyn Mallard - helps Darkwing collect stuff in the first bonus round.
- J. Gander Hooter - gives information to Darkwing about the mission in general at the beginning of the game, before playing the bonus rounds, and at the end of the game to congratulate Darkwing.
- Quackerjack - boss
- Wolfduck - boss
- Liquidator - boss
- Bushroot - boss
- Megavolt - boss
- Professor Moliarty - boss
- Steelbeak - boss
- Eggmen - appear in some of the levels in attempts to harm Darkwing
Levels[]
| Stage | Boss |
|---|---|
| Bridge | Quackerjack |
| City Center | Wolfduck |
| Sewers | Liquidator |
| Woods | Bushroot |
| Warehouse | Megavolt |
| Tower | Moliarty |
| Floating Fort | Steelbeak |
Reception[]
The game has considered an example of the quality Disney games produced by Capcom. It has been noted that the game was intended for children, but became popular with older teens. Author Andy Slaven used it as an example of a game that, while made for children, appealed to teenagers more. On Amazon, the game has a 4.8/5 rating with 9 reviews, while the Game Boy version has two 5-star reviews.
Unlicensed Port[]
The game was unofficially ported to the GameKing handheld under the title Duck Man.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Wolfduck is the only boss that was an original character in this game in which he doesn't appear in any media or in any of the episodes of Darkwing Duck. He did eventually reappear in "Orange is the New Purple", the opening story arc for the Darkwing Duck comic book by Joe Books; he was intended to make more appearances there, but Disney cancelled the comic before any more stories with him could be written.
- According to Gander, all of the villains were working for F.O.W.L. But Megavolt, Bushroot, Liquidator, Quackerjack, and Moliarty are not actually agents of that organization in the TV series. There's a possibility that Wolfduck may be part of F.O.W.L. since he was a new character made for this video game.
- In 2018, a remake of the game was put into development by Headcannon (co-developers of Sonic Mania), which would've included newly-animated sprites drawn by James Silvani and a new story by Aaron Sparrow (both of whom had worked on the series' revival comics). Unfortunately, Capcom rejected the pitch.
External links[]
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This page uses content from the English Wikipedia page Darkwing Duck (Capcom). The list of authors can be seen in the page history. Text from Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. |
