After a thousand years, April 2020 is finally coming to an end. It was an absolutely miserable month for a very specific reason, but there were some good times sprinkled in here and there. For one, April Fools’ day is always a good time in video games. But while it’s usually fun laughs and goofs, one joke in particular, a HD Quackshot remake from FDG Entertainment, felt especially cruel. This is because we’ve had a serious lack of Disney duck-adjacent games in recent years. And seriously, 2020 is the perfect time for a new DuckTales game.
I mean, give me a break. We’ve revisited DuckTales , Capcom’s classic platformer, twice now in the past generation or so. WayForward did it first with its DuckTales Remastered , a massive expansion of the original Nintendo game. It was delisted for a little while, but then Capcom presumably fought to get the license back and restore the game to digital storefronts. Capcom also released the Disney Afternoon Collection , which sold like garbage and frankly that’s because the community failed us all.
But DuckTales as a brand has made a significant comeback. Starring the likes of David Tennant, aka the most popular Doctor Who lead, a new cartoon started in 2017 and was renewed for a third season in 2020. This show is great, and has easily breathed new life into the series. And with Disney Plus doing its thing as a streaming service, the original show is readily available as well. So with the video game adaptation rights floating around out there in the video game aether, surely there’s room in the Disney coffers for a new gaming venture with Scrooge McDuck? And I’m not just talking about cameos in mobile games and Kingdom Hearts .
If nothing else, the FDG Quackshot gag (which was based on a real pitch, by the way) showed us how great the modern Disney animation aesthetic can look in video game form. Quackshot was a classic Sega Genesis platformer that we may never see a renewed version of, but a brand new DuckTales in a similar fashion could be amazing. Especially if Capcom and Disney got back together for it, utilizing Japanese talents currently in the company to make something special.
Disney is still dipping its toes in this space; after all despite the Afternoon Collection being damned to digital bargain bins, the Aladdin and Lion King set came out, which was also a Digital Eclipse restoration project. And like, “ Aladdin ” and “ Lion King ” are much more searchable keywords than “Afternoon Collection.” So, frankly, a new game with the actual name of the current, popular property attached would be a much more fruitful prospect. And presumably, a quality game project would lead to sustained interest. Get Tennant and the rest of the show’s cast in to do some VO, and boom, instant budget-friendly hit. Or at least put the WayForward and Afternoon Collection games on the Switch, for goodness’ sake!
Look, I get that this is definitely on the ranting and raving side of things. Especially for me. But the new DuckTales show straight up took the “Moon” theme from the Capcom game, and made it into a song with lyrics. Real ones, not the goofy Brentalfloss ones. And it was freakin’ brilliant, and it’s a crime we haven’t had a true Disney game revival on contemporary game platforms. With all the retro compilations and classic comebacks ( Streets of Rage 4 !), there’s no reason a quality-oriented DuckTales sequel based on the new show wouldn’t be awesome. Let’s make it happen.