Darkwing Duck

"The Daring Duck of the Darkness Crushes the Computerized Criminals!.."

''I am the terror that flaps in the night!''

''I am the blinking screen in the game system of evil!''

''I am Darkwing Duck!''


If any of you watched the Disney Afternoon cartoon lineup in the early '90s, you're sure to be familiar with Darkwing Duck. You know, the duck with the purple suit and cape? And the cool gadgets, like the gas gun, duck-shaped plane, and motorcycle? And Launchpad from DuckTales as a sidekick? And who got into all sorts of goofy situations, but still got the bad guy in the end? Yeah, that's the one.

Anyway, his show was quite popular, though a bit short-running for my liking. Still, 91 episodes wasn't bad... And I still loved it. I watched it every day. (Still do, when I get a chance) I wrote lots of stories about it. I had a whole bunch of merchandise, like the action figures, the comics, the vehicles (for the figures), and this game.

This game was one in a long line of Capcom-produced Disney cartoon games. Others included DuckTales 1-2, Rescue Rangers 1-2, TaleSpin, etc. Heck, every Disney Afternoon show had at least one game. But you want to know about this one, right? Right. So then...

LET'S GET DANGEROUS!..


As you know, Darkwing Duck is a duck (no, really?) who at some unspecified date decided to be a crimefighter. When not fighting crime, he lives as Drake Mallard to raise his adopted daughter Gosalyn. Seeing as how he has no other job, it's anyone's guess how he managed to get the money for his superhero equipment...but that's another story.
After rising to prominence, Darkwing was called upon frequently by the top-secret agency SHUSH to fight against their evil rivals FOWL (Fiendish Organization for World Larceny) and their top agents. As is the case in this game.

So now Darkwing has to travel throughout the city, saving various areas of it from several different villains. Unfortunately, they managed to leave out some of the best enemies from the show, like Darkwing's evil double, Negaduck, who really deserved a place here. Meanwhile, they put in ''Wolfduck'' who, while being an interesting idea, was NOT IN THE SHOW!
And for some reason, all of the turtles, bats, and basketball-playing kangaroos (huh?) you encounter along the way hate you. Oh well.


So, Darkwing sets out to battle the evildoers. How? Well, certainly not by throwing his hat at them! He uses his gas gun, which can shoot special gas when picked up, in addition to the standard gas. This is what you'll be using to defeat...well... all of the villains.
But that's not all Darkwing can do! He can also hold up his cape to deflect (some) enemy attacks! Pretty good for a simple fabric cape. Or is it...?
He can also...uh...jump! Yeah! And hang onto things like ledges and chains! No other videogame character has such great...hanging power!


All right, I can see I'm running out of material there. Let's get to how the stages actually look. And it's not half bad. Darkwing is not too badly rendered, especially with the ''sneaking around'' look of his walking and the goofy expression on his face when he runs out of health. Most of the villains could've been done better, like Megavolt and Bushroot, who didn't look quite right.
The levels themselves aren't too bad either. The backgrounds of many of them give a great atmosphere to the gameplay. The darkened buildings in the distance on the Bridge and Tower, the dreary green walls of the Sewer... Of course, this couldn't be completely done without...


The music! To start off, not too bad rendition of the title theme. For a system like the NES, anyway. And like I mentioned above, the atmosphere it gives the levels. Like the Sewer theme, which really gives the feeling that you're descending into the deep, dark depths of the city... And the Tower theme is way too catchy.


On the challenge of this game, I'm really not sure. It took me forever to figure out how to beat Steelbeak, but I'm sure everyone else got it the first time through. Anyway, it's not too long a game, and isn't too bad to go through again. Plus, there are a few bonus stages hidden in each level you might want to find. Just a tip.


So here's the 30-second rundown:

Story: Story's not too special. Standard stuff, even for Darkwing. (4/10)

Gameplay: Again, pretty standard platformer material. Still, a very solid game. (6/10)

Graphics: Nice backgrounds, good character designs. Not too many flaws. (8/10)

Sound: Good atmospherics in some stages, falls flat in others. Meanwhile, the usual SFX end up sounding a bit odd in most places. (7/10)

Challenge: Depends on how good you are at games like this. Like I said, it took me forever to figure it out, but it probably wasn't too tough in reality. (6/10)

Replay: Again, it depends. It's not too long of a game, and I think it's pretty fun. Also, if you haven't found the bonuses yet, that gives you something to try for. (7/10)


So there you have it. If you're a DWD fan, I'd greatly recommend this game. Seeing as how we won't be seeing a Darkwing game on Gamecube or Playstation or anything (no matter how much I wish for one), this is pretty much the only DW gaming experience you can get.
...That is, unless you have a TurboGrafx 16, but that's another story.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 10/15/01, Updated 10/15/01