|
|
|
DUCKTALES: THE QUEST FOR GOLD
review | PC
|
Publisher: Walt Disney Computer Software.
Developer: Incredible Technologies. Released: 1990. Genre: Adventure. Other versions: ST; AMI; C64. Posted 6th August 2025. By Tom Clare © 2025 |
|
For a generation of gamers, DuckTales is synonymous with fond memories, due to a combination of the TV series and Capcom’s celebrated NES platformer. Many will be surprised to learn the license was back in the gaming sphere mere months later, with an unrelated title releasing across computer systems. Disney itself handled publishing duties for this PC offering during a period when Microsoft’s MS-DOS platform was still finding its feet, relative to the dedicated 16-bit home computers of the Amiga and Atari ST.
Those hoping for another dose of the classy platformer will be disappointed with this disjointed effort. The Quest for Gold is an odd game, a little bit of a lot of different ideas. It has an interesting premise, but little cohesive quality and almost no depth whatsoever. Initially framed as management-lite, Scrooge McDuck finds his office stormed by rival Flintheart Glomgold, who furiously claims that he will be Dime magazine’s richest duck by the end of the month. Your job is to earn more cash over the following 30 days, and money is earned via two distinct avenues. The first is buying and selling shares on a stock exchange, with players afforded simple hints as pointers towards those likely to trend upwards. The other is through adventuring, and specifically a sequence of short mini-games that encompass platforming, photography, flying and, er, caving.
DuckTales features several different approaches to adventuring, though they are typically dull and underdeveloped
It’s a brave attempt to do something unusual with a children’s license, and includes appearances from Ace Pilot Launchpad McQuack, Webby Vanderquack on photography duty, and Huey, Dewey and Louie teaming up for the platforming sequences. There’s even an option to dive into Scrooge’s famed money pit, in homage to the iconic cartoon sequence. This represents some lovely fan service, but the trouble is, it’s little more than garnish. Occasional visual flourishes aren’t enough to cover for a generally anaemic, underwhelming gameplay experience.
After choosing a location from a map of the world, each mini-adventure begins with a brief flying segment, normally 15 to 20 seconds long. These feel shallow and unfinished, taking place against a lurid, block-colour cyan sky, as players pass occasional thunderclouds and Beagle Boys dropping blasting fireworks or dropping heavy objects from air balloons. These sequences finish successfully when you reach a landing hangar, but feature no scoring, shooting or power-ups. Crash too many times, and you’ll be penalised a chunk of your treasure.
After choosing a location from a map of the world, each mini-adventure begins with a brief flying segment, normally 15 to 20 seconds long. These feel shallow and unfinished, taking place against a lurid, block-colour cyan sky, as players pass occasional thunderclouds and Beagle Boys dropping blasting fireworks or dropping heavy objects from air balloons. These sequences finish successfully when you reach a landing hangar, but feature no scoring, shooting or power-ups. Crash too many times, and you’ll be penalised a chunk of your treasure.
FOCAL POINT: 16-BIT VERSIONS 101
|
|
DuckTales: The Quest for Gold (1990, Amiga)
A serviceable theme tune aside, the MS-DOS version struggles against the Amiga edition in the presentation stakes. Sharp, painful, 8-bit blarts hit a bum note, whilst its cartoon animations similarly suffer in comparison to the lush, warmer Amiga tones. That being said, there was some encouragement to be found for PC owners, evidence of a narrowing of the technological gap to its rivals at the turn of the nineties. The admittedly gaudily coloured PC version isn’t far behind that of the Atari ST, which by contrast, looks a touch muted. With slight variances in loading times and scrolling slowdown, all three versions are alike.
The platforming isn’t much better. The grey mountain ascents look horrible and sorely lack variety, as Scrooge’s grand-nephews attempt to reach treasure stowed away on the uppermost ledge. These sections are incredibly crude, with dodgy climbing mechanics and a hit-and-miss rappel system needed to make more significant progress. You can enter caves for some shortcuts, but you must be wary of lurking bears and falling boulders. In a nice touch, loitering too long will see one of the Beagle Boys emerge on a winch, before dropping an anvil on the player. This fun cameo aside, the levels feel desperately formulaic and dated. A complete lack of excitement quickly renders them a chore.
The jungle platforming levels add at least a splash of colour to proceedings, and though in truth no single element of the game shines, these at least provide a little more engagement. Huey, Dewey and Louie must hop across the river utilising springy branches and rope swings, passing carefully by sleeping panthers and coiled snakes, avoiding the flight paths of parrots and, as a last resort, hopping across the backs of hippos passing along the river. These sections are far less drab than the mountains, but suffer from a similarly chronic lack of variety, as well as significant slowdown during screen scrolling.
The jungle platforming levels add at least a splash of colour to proceedings, and though in truth no single element of the game shines, these at least provide a little more engagement. Huey, Dewey and Louie must hop across the river utilising springy branches and rope swings, passing carefully by sleeping panthers and coiled snakes, avoiding the flight paths of parrots and, as a last resort, hopping across the backs of hippos passing along the river. These sections are far less drab than the mountains, but suffer from a similarly chronic lack of variety, as well as significant slowdown during screen scrolling.
|
|
The photography and jungle platforming bits are the best, but a severe lack of variety means the entertainment is short-lived
For those finding their feet, the photography sections aren’t a bad place to start, as this is by far the easiest means of earning currency. It essentially boils down to a test of reactions. As you have probably guessed by now, it’s simplistic stuff: the player points Webby forwards, left or right, before hitting the space bar when a rare or noteworthy animal rears their head. She has a limited number of snaps at her disposal and around a minute to pick her shots. It often pays to be patient, as you never know when a pink elephant might make an appearance. Inoffensive stuff, but again, a couple of runs and you’ll have seen everything it has to offer.
Lastly, there’s cave exploration. These chequerboard formations see the gang making a sequence of diagonal directional choices, with occasional cave-ins blocking routes and green slime indicating nearby pitfalls. The cave sections conclude when you’re caught by a prowling mummy or pick the wrong path and blunder down a pit. The enormous, detailed sprite design is the main attraction here and perhaps the one good thing that can be said for the caves, which are an absolute snooze to play.
Lastly, there’s cave exploration. These chequerboard formations see the gang making a sequence of diagonal directional choices, with occasional cave-ins blocking routes and green slime indicating nearby pitfalls. The cave sections conclude when you’re caught by a prowling mummy or pick the wrong path and blunder down a pit. The enormous, detailed sprite design is the main attraction here and perhaps the one good thing that can be said for the caves, which are an absolute snooze to play.
|
|
The Quest for Gold is blighted by erratic control responses. The flying and mountain platform sections require a feather touch due to their hyper-sensitive nature; aligning sprites to ledges proves an exercise in frustration as clumsy characters frequently take unintended double steps. By contrast, the cave sections feel agonisingly sluggish, perhaps owing to the enormous sprites, whilst the photography feels similarly tardy, with directional inputs tending to stick.
It should take players two or three runs to get the better of Flintheart, and by extension, the game. For those looking for a sterner challenge, there are three difficulties to choose from, though the hardest renders the game almost unplayable, cramming every conceivable obstacle into the flying sections, seemingly without thought, and exposing awful collision physics. Unfortunately, there’s little fun to be found amid any of the pursuits, and with an utter lack of variety, the gameplay becomes repetitive in no time at all. DuckTales: The Quest for Gold deserves some credit for taking the license in an unexpected direction. However, this is a Disney title that has largely been forgotten, and with good reason. What could have been a grand adventure ends up as a fool’s errand.
It should take players two or three runs to get the better of Flintheart, and by extension, the game. For those looking for a sterner challenge, there are three difficulties to choose from, though the hardest renders the game almost unplayable, cramming every conceivable obstacle into the flying sections, seemingly without thought, and exposing awful collision physics. Unfortunately, there’s little fun to be found amid any of the pursuits, and with an utter lack of variety, the gameplay becomes repetitive in no time at all. DuckTales: The Quest for Gold deserves some credit for taking the license in an unexpected direction. However, this is a Disney title that has largely been forgotten, and with good reason. What could have been a grand adventure ends up as a fool’s errand.
|
VERDICT"The Quest for Gold sports some nice visual flourishes and there's no shortage of cool fan service here. Sadly, the gameplay is as dull as it is basic, and most will have tired of the game within a couple of hours." OVERALL: 3/10 |
BETTER GAMES FEATURING DUCKS REVIEWED
World of Illusion (1992, Mega Drive)
|
Deep Duck Trouble (1994, Master System)
|