DuckTales is a legendary game. The beloved NES adaptation of the Disney cartoon of the same name, DuckTales is regarded as a foundational cornerstone of the platformer genre, and remains a favorite of old-school gamers everywhere.
It comes as a surprise to many, then, that secrets surrounding the titles' development are surfacing over 30 years later. A recently discovered NES prototype of DuckTales revealed an unused song, called "Map," but the tune wasn't the only bit of content scrapped from the title's final version.
As it turns out, there were other additional elements removed from Capcom's acclaimed platformer than initially realized. Detailed in a recent interview with Kotaku on DuckTales' development, producer Darcene Lacey revealed further info about cut content, explaining that players could originally choose more than one ending upon completing the game.
Lacey says that there was originally an option for Scrooge McDuck to give up his fortune, but due to it seeming "out of character," the option was scrapped. Had the option been taken, Scrooge would've told his nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie, "There really is more important treasure than this. That is . . . Dream and Friends." The earnest and dramatic line was ultimately replaced with the more on-brand, "Right, lads! I couldn't have done it without you, I really am the richest duck in the world."
Lacey did feel the scrapped line was the "better" one, and is relishing in fans' discovery about the alternate ending. Another developer featured in the interview, David Mullich, discusses what it was like to work with Disney. At the time, Disney was just entering the video game market, but its licensing agreement with Capcom meant the developer was limited on what it could depict. As Mullich explains, Scrooge's famous pogo jump move was born out of avoidance of having overt violence in the game. Disney is a staunch censor of any remotely "adult" content, going so far as to use CGI to censor Splash, a film that (very briefly) shows extremely mild nudity.
While DuckTales is the most recent retro game to have unknown details arise, it's just one of several titles to recently have info revealed. In addition to leaked footage of a canceled GoldenEye Xbox Live Arcade remaster, a recently discovered prototype F-Zero X cartridge holds an early build of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. The early build of the classic N64 title reveals many cut dungeon areas and other features, one of which allowed Link to turn into Navi.
The legacy of the DuckTales game lives on today, both in its original form and as 2013's DuckTales Remastered. Although the recent reboot of the TV series was unfortunately canceled, its universe will live on thanks to the upcoming Darkwing Duck revival.
DuckTales is available for the NES.
Source: Nintendo Life