DuckTales: Remastered is a Reminder of How Difficult Games Used to Be

CraveOnline writes: "Capcom and WayForward recently released their HD remake of DuckTales, and it’s taught some modern gamers a valuable lesson in classic gaming difficulty."

[Kingthrash360]

I used to run thru this game on gameboy .....now I cant pass the amazon! im wowed by my younger self! games were truly harder back then.....and we were better.

[NexGen]

I think it's the general lack of 2d platformers now, as compared to the mid to late 80's where everything was a 2d platformer. Those skills would carry over between games, but now we have nothing like that really.

I just played Megaman 2....I used to breeze through that game when I was 10-11 years old with perfection. Yeah, not now. Not even close lol.

[Kingthrash360]

agreed...I used beat megaman with relative ease...ha! now its like im afraid of it lol....what makes it bad is I pride myself on beating games on hard.....to go back and play games like strider....i feel like a noob..

[come_bom]

The main flaw with this game is it's gameplay... gameplay is clunky as hell and the levels, in spite being good looking, are poorly designed. Played a couple of levels and just gave up. Wasn't having any fun with it. I honestly don't understand how reviewers give this game 8's, 9's and 10's.

Rayman Origins is a much better game then this, with nicely designed levels and good gameplay. The latest Rayman Legends looks even better.

[sourav93]

If you don't mind me asking, how old are you? I'm not trolling or mocking. It's a serious question.

[BLAKHOODe]

DuckTales level designs are not bad at all. It's just a matter of mastering your pogo skills.

[come_bom]

I'm in my early 30's. Being gaming since early to mid 1990's.

I starting gaming with games like Sensible Soccer (and other Sensible Software games), Flashback, Another World, Syndicate, XCOM's, Civilization, Simcity, Lucas Arts adventures, among other games.

[sourav93]

Early 30s, huh? Then I'm surprised about your comment about the gameplay of Ducktales. Back then most 2D platformers had more or less the same gameplay. Yes, Ducktales might have been a tad clunky, but I always thought it was part of the game. The reason I asked for your age is because you mentioned Rayman Origins, which released only 2 years ago, so obviously the gameplay would be better in terms of smoothness, and the levels would be better designed.

[JsonHenry]

My kids play on the 360 a lot. I bought them one of those 8bit Duo machines that lets me play all my NES/SNES games. They thought it was cool... until they couldn't beat the first level in any of the games. And it makes me sad because I flew through those levels (with practice!!) as a child their age.

[monkey nuts]

I wouldn't say games of old used to be hard. More like games have got easier as time passed so the publishers could make more money from people who weren't used to getting their ass kicked by a game. Still any longtime gamer such as myself should know that if you get a new game you should always start the game with the difficulty on hard or higher unless you want to breeze through the thing.

[Kingthrash360]

yeah this^^^
flawless comment.

[dragon_rocks]

Original Duck Tales games were far from difficult. Neither was any of the Contra series as many people make it out to be. Battletoads was the only retro game which made me pull my hairs and to this date I have not finished the game.

[_QQ_]

That third level.

[JsonHenry]

3rd level is easy! Especially since it has a level warp near the last stretch. I think the hardest level was the underwater spike level. Now THAT was hard.

[Kingthrash360]

nes total recall...wasnt a blockbuster game but it was extremely difficult for even back then standards....I almost beat it....almost.
that was the hardest game I ever played....that and strider.

[_QQ_]

Third level wasn't easy for me, i was still 6...

[kingPoS]

Cheh... I remember that many nes games kicked everybody's butt.

Ninja Turtles from Ultra was so hard I couldn't get past the water level. lol Ducktales on the other hand was much more forgiving. It wasn't easy,... just more accessible.

Heck some people even have trouble with Super Mario Bro's 3. You had to aquire skills to beat that game. no joke

Edit: Plain n simple... the games of today have gradually become easier. Difficult titles like Demon Souls would've had a better reception in the 90's.