Join Capcom and Disney back
in the 8-bit era and you were guaranteed some of the best value for your money. From Ducktales
to Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, Capcom pulled out all of the stops for
these classic platformers. Darkwing Duck initially seems criminally under appreciated in
the face of the other games mentioned, but the familiar gameplay from another Capcom
series is the likely culprit. A criminal organization named FOWL has decided to take over the city of St. Canard. Six of their most devious henchman have been sent out into the city to wreak havoc. Darkwing Duck is, of course, the only hope to save the city from complete disaster.
Re-arrange a few sprites, shift the level design a bit, and you'll quickly realize this game is running on the Mega Man engine... entirely. Most enemies are the same save for their looks, entire sections of the game are ripped right out of levels in the MM series, and the sound effects have also been borrowed. You can even choose your plan of attack instead of being forced to follow the usual linear path.
Coming along with all of this is, of course, the extreme difficulty level. Enemies are relentless to beat down the hero-in-purple anyway possible. Worse, once an enemy is shot, they become invincible to a second hit for a split second giving them the obvious advantage. Considering the target demographic for this title and the easy-play of the other titles in the Disney line, this is questionable. Still, patience and perseverance will prove to be the breaker to see the end of the games seventh stage.
Usual Capcom quality follows into the graphics department with
bright, colorful, and nicely animated sprites. Backgrounds are filled with small details
and the key characters from the series are brought to life the best they can be
considering the technology. Sound effects are sparse, but the music flows just fine with
the games cartoon nature.
If you've worn out the Mega Man series on the console, Darkwing Duck isn't a bad second choice. If you're just going for Disney titles, you'll probably do better with a different title. The frustration factor is high unlike the pick up and play Chip 'n Dale. If you enjoy games with a deep challenge factor however, then this is certainly a game that should be on a must-play list.
