QuackShot Starring Donald Duck

QuackShot Starring Donald Duck

Genesis - USA - 2nd edition.

Developer Sega Publisher Sega Published 1991-12-19 Platforms Genesis, Saturn Genres Licensed, Platform shooter, Platformer Themes Adventure, Cartoon Series DuckTales Distribution Commercial

QuackShot Starring Donald Duck is a platform shooter developed and published by Sega for the Genesis on 1991-12-19. An emulated version was published on the Saturn several years later in a Sega Ages dual cart. The game is part of the DuckTales franchise.

In the game, you play as Donald Duck who stumbles upon a treasure map. Eager to become richer than his Uncle Scrooge, Donald travels around the globe seeking the treasure, but Pete's gang of crooks keeps getting in the way. The game's look borrows heavily from Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Personal

Own?	No.
Won?	Yes. Genesis.
Finished	2023-09-23.

Being a Nintendo kid, I never heard of this game growing up. As an adult, I was eager to explore more of the Genesis's catalog, but I didn't want to waste my time on an insanely difficult games, so, I searched online for easy Genesis titles, and this was the first in the list. The post claimed it was Sega's response to DuckTales, and there are plenty of obvious similarities. However, although the game starts easy, it becomes pretty difficult half-way through. If it wasn't for the infinite continues, I certainly would have given up on it.

Review

5	5	8	7	4

Best Version: Genesis

— This section contains spoilers! —

Good

• The game's art is fantastic. The backgrounds are vibrant and varied, the character sprites are detailed and well-animated, and the large bosses look great.
• Although there weren't any songs that I loved, the music, composed by Shigenori Kamiya, has a fitting tune for each region and the soundtrack as a whole functions as a coherent score. The sound effects are also effective.
• The game mercifully gives infinite continues.
• The levels are quite varied, not just in appearance, but also in the techniques you need to learn to get through them.
• The game has a sound test and lets you customize the controls.

Bad

• A lot of the levels feel pretty empty. I would have preferred more frequent minor enemies to deal with.
• The chili peppers increasing Donald's temper and causing him to briefly turn invincible is an enjoyable mechanic, and fits with the cartoon character, but it's only used in the first couple levels. In the more difficult second half of the game, when you need them the most, they're entirely absent.
• A minor thing, but I wish the plunger gun would actually knock enemies off the screen instead of just stunning them.
• Nearly all of the items are simply lock and key mechanics.
• The game is clearly derivative of DuckTales for the NES. Sure, you play as Donald instead of Scrooge, and, yes, you have a gun instead of a cane, but you're still flying around the planet collecting ancient treasures.

Ugly

• The difficulty ramps up sharply when you enter the temple in Egypt and goes from being a game children could beat, to a frustrating precision platformer with a lot of tricky jumps. Pete's hideout and Treasure Island are also very frustrating and all the traps and complex bosses means there is a lot of trial and death.

Media

Box Art

• 

  Mega Drive - Japan. Wonderful cartoon art. I love the look on Louie's face.

• 

  Genesis - USA. Also well-painted. This art was used in all other regions.

Documentation

• 

  Manual - Australia.

• 

  Manual - Brazil.

• 

  Manual - Europe.

• 

  Manual - Japan.

• 

  Manual - USA.

Maps

• vgmaps.com/Atlas/Genesis/index.htm#QuackShotStarringDonaldDuck

Videos

Longplay - Genesis.

Longplay - Mega Drive - Japan.

Play Online

Genesis

Representation

Strong female character?	Fail	Daisy is almost assertive until you realize she's easily swayed by jewelry and serves as a reward.
Bechdel test?	Fail	There are only two minor women, and they never speak to each other.
Strong person of color character?	Fail	There are no human characters.
Queer character?	Fail	There are no queer characters.

Titles

Language	Native	Transliteration	Translation
English	QuackShot Starring Donald Duck
Japanese	QuackShot アイラブドナルドダック グルジア王の秘宝	QuackShot Ai Rabu Donarudo Dakku ~Gurujia-o no Hiho~	QuackShot I Love Donald Duck: The Treasure of the King Garuzia
Portuguese	QuackShot Estrelando Pato Donald	QuackShot Starring Pato Duck

Link