Vimm's Lair: NES Reviews - Darkwing Duck

Nintendo
Darkwing Duck

Graphics:
Sound:
Gameplay:
Overall:
8.99
9.03
8.94
9.00
Votes: 69
Reviews: 3


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Reviewer: Abbywill Date: Apr 8, 2003
Darkwing Duck is one of the gems of the NES. Unlike many games based upon cartoons, it does not rely entirely on the cartoon’s popularity as its main selling feature. It is its integration of excellent graphics, sound, and gameplay that place it far above the average NES rom.

Graphics: 9
The graphics for this game truly beat the status quo for the NES. The characters in this game look more like they were designed for the SNES than the NES. The levels are bright, detailed, and interesting; but the backgrounds do not stand out so much as to be distracting. The crispness of all the graphics in this game is about as good as you can find for the NES. I give the graphics a 9.

Sound: 9
I love the sounds in this game. The effects always seem to fit. The musical themes never seem to get boring. Each level has its own theme, each of which is well written and well recorded. The themes seem to fit the game incredibly well. There are very few sound effects in this game, but they are of very high quality and are well designed. Although the sound for this game is fantastic, it could have been perfect if there were more sound effects. I give sound a 9.

Gameplay: 10
The gameplay for this game is probably its greatest virtue. A game based upon a cartoon has to be fun, and this game definitely reaches that goal. The game’s acrobatics, buffoonish enemies (and hero ^_^), and fast paced bonus stages make for a game that is as enjoyable as it is exciting. This game is also very challenging, though not overly challenging. It takes a good combination of offence and defense to complete this game. Each boss requires a deferent tactic as well, which adds to the challenge; however, I was a little disappointed that the final boss was so easy to defeat after I broke into his enclosure. The only true downside I see for the gameplay of Darkwing is that of the special weapons. None of them seemed very useful during the game. Although weapons are fairly important attributes of a platform game, I feel that the positive elements of the gameplay vastly outweigh this defect. I give gameplay a 9.

Overall: 10
Even though this game demonstrates diligent scrutiny in the three major aspects of video games, Darkwing Duck is not just the sum of its parts. The designers of this game took these aspects and brilliantly created a piece of artwork. This is truly one of the masterworks of the NES medium. I give this game 10 overall.

Darkwing Duck definitely illustrates what an exceptional game should be like. It creatively integrates graphics, sound, and gameplay into a game that is truly fun. It is one of my favorites, and I believe one of the standards by which other games should be judged.

 

Reviewer: TonberryKing Date: Apr 4, 2002
Folks, this was made back when licensed games didn't suck. This game has been a childhood favorite of mine for quite some time. The game is surprisingly solid, consisting of you, as Darkwing Duck, traversing through the city collecting powerups for your blaster, until you meet with a boss like Bushroot or Quackerjack. Every boss battle is different, and well designed. My only complaint: No Gosalyn. It could have been better if there was a bit more to the story than ""all the bad guys are attacking the city!"" All in all, a good game. It deserves a biscuit.

Graphics: 7
DW looks like DW. What more is there to worry about?

Sound: 7
The music is good, but it's on a short loop.

Gameplay: 8
Borrows from Megaman, but that may not necessarily be a bad thing.

Overall: 8
Nice game.

That's all. 'till next time, Vidheads.

TonberryKing

 

Reviewer: Brad Guerrie Date: Jun 30, 2001
"I am the terror that flaps in the night!" If you watched the animated TV show as a kid, you'll never forget that line. The game is actually not too bad, although at first it seems to borrow heavily from Mega Man, there are a few features that this game has that are hard to find anywhere else. All of the characters are straight from the show, and the gameplay is surprisingly user friendly, although jumping can be a bit of a hazard (The constant need to perform difficult jumps from one platform or one hook to another makes the gameplay center around solving the ""jump past complex moving objects"" rather than fighting tough opponents.) Either way, this one's worth a try once or twice as an alternative to Mega-Man, it has a few interesting features and a comic book or kid's TV show art style that you can't help but sit and laugh at. Overall, this is an above adverage game in the grand scheme of NES games.