I have no nostalgia for the old NES game of the same name, but Ducktales Remastered embodies the two side of videogames, old and new, in a compelling package that was an amazing blast to play through, I would recommend it if you enjoy platformers or nostalgia or just like ducks.
Of course, nothing is perfect. There are a few little issues I have with DR. First and foremost, the unlockables lack meaning. It’s fun to have something to work towards, i.e. accumulating money during multiple playthroughs to buy something expensive, but if these things are concert art and music and images, it doesn’t feel like a goal worthy of being worked towards. Have features unlocked behind money gathering, make me work for a 8-bit mode, maybe, or a mode where you’re invulnerable, or something. I was compelled to gather as much money as possible in all stages, but it kinda was for nothing. Does the ending even change (ala Wario Land) to show you what kind of thing you can buy with the cash you’ve accumulated?
In easy mode, you take one half heart of damage per hit, you have infinite lives and there’s a map to show you where to go. In hard mode, you have a few lives and no map, losing all your lives makes you go back to the level select screen. It’s an interesting idea to lock lives behind ‘hard’ difficulties (why not add the time limit while you’re at it?), since at this point in videogames, lives are more or less busywork. The way money is collected in this game is weird, you walk forward and money appears behind you (like it does in the NES game), you also have to break chests with rocks - and sometimes the chests are invisible and you have to reveal them. In easy mode at least, it would be neat if the gems, chests and coins would already be visible, make it an unlockable or a ‘very easy’ option. Or a list of things you still have to find? That would require having worthy unlockables.
The bosses were re-made, from the new first boss (to teach you about hitting things with your cane) and after playing the old game, I’m surprised how much it’s similar while being different. The bosses are challenging and interesting, all requiring you to jump on them (or get them stunned so you can jump on them). Sometimes their attack patterns (while they’re invulnerable) lasts a bunch of time, with bosses that have multiple attacks you have to dodge before they become hittable again, maybe make them shorter but have more of them?
I want more games to be ‘remastered’, maybe SNES games are ripe for this, like the old mickey mouse games, what about Aladdin? Or goof troop! There are a bunch of good platformers that could get this very same treatment. And it’s not to say that they’ve dumbed down the game or anything, on hard difficulty, it gets pretty brutal, three hits you’re down, two lives down you restart the whole level. The game controls really well too, the pogo jump is satisfying to use, sometimes there’s a robot sometimes you duck on minecarts! I also found funny how enemies endlessly respawned. All things that came from the old game, and they left it in. Great on them.