Darkwing Duck is the title of a
video game developed by
Capcom for the
NES in 1991. Released at the height of DW's popularity, the game was a standard
platformer for its day and followed in the footsteps of other
Capcom games based on
Disney licenses, such as
Duck Tales and
Rescue Rangers. In fact, I would not be surprised if the engine from this game was reused for
Duck Tales 2. The game opens with a menu screen where
Launchpad McQuack briefs Darkwing on the various levels available. Three are available from the start of the game:
QuackerJack at the
bridge,
Liquidator in the
sewer, and
Wolfduck in the
city. Choosing a level flies DW in the
Thunderquack jet to his destination. After defeating
QuackerJack,
Liquidator, and
Wolfduck, the next three levels become available:
MegaVolt at the
dock,
Moliarty in the
tower, and
Bushroot in the forest. Defeating these three opens up the final level,
F.O.W.L headquarters where
Steelbeak awaits.
The controls are fairly basic: A button jumps, the B button fires a shot from the gas gun, the control pad moves Darkwing around (including Down for a ducking motion, no pun intended), while Up on the pad raises DW's cape to act as a shield. The gas gun can fire unlimited normal shots, but by collecting special gas canisters the gun can shoot special shots, such as two diagonal lightning bolts, an rock-type shot that fires in an arc, or an arrow that can act as a stepping stone (such as the Super Arrow item in Mega Man 5). Pressing Select swaps between the normal shot and the special shot. Each level has two hidden bonus rounds that are found by shooting a special place with a normal shot. Hitting this hidden target reveals a "GO" icon, and touching it whisks DW into the secret level. The items found in these levels include diamonds and gold bars (for points), gas canisters, health, and 1-ups. These items are obtained by opening up falling containers without falling into the pit in the center of the screen.
The graphics and audio are standard for an early-1990s NES Capcom game, although each character from the TV show has their special animations included, such as Darkwing's "I am the terror..." entrance into a level. Aside from the main theme song, no music from the cartoon has been included and the music is somewhat memorable but repetitive. Overall Darkwing Duck is an enjoyable yet by-the-numbers game. There are no surprises and the replay value is minimal. The game did spawn a Game Boy port in 1992, although today both are rare finds. Check your favorite local video game store or Internet auctions for a copy if you are so inclined.