Since we heard the announcement, WallE and I have eagerly anticipated the release of Ducktales Remastered. We didn’t want to get our hopes up because we have seen HD versions of games screw it up, like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time. But with Capcom, we had a little more faith as they have shown us they can do retro right. Whether it was updates on retro titles or making retro styled games like the most recent Mega Man titles, Capcom had figured out the formula. Don’t change stuff. Just make it look better when possible.
Today after a war with a PSN ID, WallE purchased and downloaded Ducktales Remastered. And as fun as it was to see the new fully animated sprites in the 2.5 D world, I just don’t feel comfortable reviewing the game. Not because it is a bad game by any means but because I can’t tell how much of what I love about it is based off the game itself or just my memory of both the game and the franchise. The mechanics and challenge are still there but if I had not had the level of investment in Ducktales, would I care about Ducktales Remastered as much as I do?
The problem is you can’t ever unsee what has been put in front of you. Fond memories beget fonder nostalgia which leaves the possibility for two things. First, we never realized how bad something was in the first place and seeing it compared to today’s standards end up putting it in a worse light which can lead to us hating something we were originally so invested into. Conversely, if our memories are that fond it can overshadow something that is subpar and still make you think it is better than it really is. For us, Ducktales Remastered is awesome, but there’s no way I can say that for sure because of the level of investment I’ve already put into the franchise.
I also didn’t want to review the game because I wanted to be able to sit back and enjoy it at my leisure rather than rush it out to get a review up ASAP as I often have to during release windows. What I can say is we enjoyed the hell out of Ducktales Remastered so far. It is the kind of game I am going to recommend to a lot of people but giving them the caveat that it’s a game and franchise I was invested in about twenty five years ago as well… So why haven’t you downloaded it yet!?!?!
