Darkwing Duck | |
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NES boxart |
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Developer(s) | Capcom |
Publisher(s) | Capcom |
Designer(s) | Producer Tokuro Fujiwara |
Composer(s) | Yasuaki Fujita |
Platform(s) | NES Game Boy |
Release date(s) | NES Game Boy
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Genre(s) | Action |
Mode(s) | Single player |
Media/distribution | cartridge |
Darkwing Duck is a platformer video game based on the Disney television series Darkwing Duck. The game was developed by Capcom for the NES in 1992[1] and was ported to the Game Boy in 1993.[2] The Game Boy version is essentially a slightly stripped-down version of the game.
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A mysterious crime wave has hit St. Canard and S.H.U.S.H. requires 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 havok 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.
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 a slightly tweaked Mega Man 5 engine. (In fact, there was a pirated hack of this game changing only a little of the game to look like the Japanese version of Mega Man 5, Rockman 5.)
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.
For the most part the beta version of this game is pretty consistent with the final version. But a few details are different, especially in later levels of the game. 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 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 is 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.
The game has been considered an example of the quality Disney games produced by Capcom.[3] It has been noted that the game was intended for children, but became popular with older teens.[4] Author Andy Slaven used it as an example of a game that, while made for children, appealed to teenagers more.[5]
The game was unofficially ported to the GameKing handheld under the title "Duck Man".