Ducktales
Image: Disney

It's been quite the week for retro discoveries. Alongside GoldenEye 007's cancelled remake resurfacing online, DuckTales has been in the news after an unearthed prototype build made its way online, revealing a previously unreleased song called "Map".

As it turns out, additional elements were removed from Capcom's acclaimed NES platformer than we'd realised. Speaking with Kotaku for a recent feature on DuckTales' development, producer Darlene Lacey revealed further information about cut content, explaining:

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There was also originally an option for Scrooge to give up his fortune, but this seemed out of character, so we removed that. ...Scrooge told his nephews: ‘There really is more important treasure than this. That is . . . Dream and Friends.’ It seemed so earnest and dramatic, I was so tempted to leave it as is, but I knew I couldn’t. So, I changed it to the more polished, but forgettable ‘Right, lads! I couldn’t have done it without you. I really am the richest duck in the world.’ I love that fans found out about the original ending. It was the better line!

Joined by fellow producer David Mullich for this feature, both detailed what it was like working with Disney back in the late '80s, who were looking to enter the gaming market. Like many licenced games, that also brought about restrictions on what Capcom could do, and Lacey confirms they had to get creative.

It's how we ended up with Scrooge's pogo jump, explaining:

We also needed to make sure that the content met Disney standards. For example [in another title] one licensee had Donald Duck clubbing baby seals! It was also important that the Disney characters weren’t killing things. The Disney game designs had to be more creative than simple point and shoot games. That’s how elements such as Scrooge’s pogo jump with his cane in DuckTales came about.

We recommend reading the full feature when you can. It offers an interesting perspective on this classic platformer's development and, if you're like us, we're always fascinated to hear more of these stories.

Would you have preferred the original ending to DuckTales? Let us know in the comments.

[source kotaku.com]