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QuackShot

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For the 1954 Merrie Melodies cartoon, see Quack Shot.

QuackShot Starring Donald Duck
European Mega Drive cover art
DeveloperSega
PublisherSega
DirectorEmiko Yamamoto
ProgrammersHiroshi Momota
Masato Omori
Keiichi Yamamoto
ArtistTakashi Yuda
ComposerShigenori Kamiya
PlatformsSega Genesis, Sega Saturn
ReleaseGenesis
  • EU: December 1991[1][2]
  • NA: December 19, 1991
  • JP: December 20, 1991
Saturn
  • JP: October 15, 1998
GenresPlatform, metroidvania[3]
ModeSingle-player

QuackShot Starring Donald Duck, known in Japan as I Love Donald Duck: The Treasure of King Garuzia,[a][b] is a 1991 platform game developed and published by Sega for the Sega Genesis. The player controls Donald Duck as he, alongside his three nephews, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, attempt to track down a lost artifact which was treasured by King Garuzia. The game was influenced by the Indiana Jones film series.

QuackShot was released with a positive response from video game publications. The game was universally lauded for its graphics, with magazines like Sega Pro describing them as "some of the best graphics around", and the game was also praised for its music and puzzles. However, the game was criticized for its overall difficulty and the controls in certain situations. Retrospectively, QuackShot was also criticized for its lack of speech samples by IGN.

Gameplay

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Donald traverses platforms in a level modeled after Mexico. The player's health is signified by the number of hearts in the lower-left corner.

The player, as Donald, ventures through a variety of side-scrolling levels. Generally, each level is divided into an overland part and a dungeon, such as the Maharajah's palace or the temple in which the Great Duck Treasure resides.[7] Although the player may choose any order to play the overland sections, various obstacles prevent the player from entering the dungeons outside a specific order. In addition to this, some levels provide the player with vital clues which solve puzzles needed to progress in later sections. Once Donald has completed the overland section of an area, he may leave by calling his nephews' biplane, and will return to the dungeon entrance of that area if the player chooses to return.[8]

Donald is armed with a special gun that can shoot plungers, popcorn or bubble gum.[9] Donald has unlimited plungers which can temporarily stun enemies (though bosses can still be damaged with plungers), and can collect popcorn and gum along the way or get the latter from Gyro Gearloose. Later in the game, the plunger is upgraded to act as a temporary platform to climb walls with and, when stuck to a passing bird, allows Donald to traverse longer distances.[10][9] In the overland sections of Duckburg, India, and Egypt, Donald can also pick up spicy jalapeños which increase his temper, eventually temporarily activating a "quack attack" mode that allows him to become invincible, automatically run forward and knock out enemies in his path.[9]

Plot

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While Donald Duck is combing through his uncle's library, an incomplete map falls out of a book relating to the treasure of King Garuzia, the ruler of a kingdom from ancient times. The map leads to the location of the king's most prized possession, which was hidden away shortly before his death. Donald, thinking this could lead to riches, teams up with his nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie, in order to search for the treasure; completely disregarding his girlfriend Daisy's concerns. However, Donald's rival, Pete, overhears about the mission and sets out with his own team to obtain the treasure for himself.

Donald follows the incomplete map's directions until arriving in Transylvania, where he obtains the complete map from Count Dracula's castle. Now with the complete map, Donald continues on his journey until reaching a Viking ship, which supposedly contains an old diary containing the secret to locating the treasure's whereabouts. Upon contending with the undead Vikings on the ship, Donald learns that the diary is not within the ship but rather near the South Pole. He travels to the Pole and finds the diary, but upon obtaining it Donald's nephews are temporarily held for ransom by Pete for the book. Donald gives Pete the diary, then gives chase for Pete's hideout and manages to get the book back, defeating Pete in the process. After following the diary's writings, and subsequently the final directions of the map, Donald manages to find the treasure, which is revealed to be an ordinary stone statue. Disappointed, Donald returns home with the statue, however upon accidentally being broken by his nephews it is revealed that it holds a golden jeweled necklace. Donald gives the necklace to Daisy and the two walk away into the sunset together.

Development and release

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QuackShot was developed and published by Sega for the Sega Genesis. In May 1991, Sega presented the game at the Consumer Electronics Show.[11] The game was released in Europe in 1991, in North America on December 19, 1991 and in Japan the following day. QuackShot was released as part of a bundle called The Disney Collection for Genesis in 1996 alongside Castle of Illusion.[12] The game was also ported to the Sega Saturn and released exclusively in Japan alongside Castle of Illusion again as part of the Sega Ages series in 1998, entitled Sega Ages: I Love Mickey Mouse.[13]

Reception

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Contemporary

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In the United Kingdom, QuackShot was the top-selling Mega Drive game upon release.[20]

QuackShot received a positive response from critics upon release. Paul Rand of Computer and Video Games magazine praised the graphics and gameplay, but noted its slower pace compared to action games.[15] MegaTech magazine also praised the graphics and gameplay, but criticized the lack of difficulty.[17] Console XS magazine called it one of the "best games for the Mega Drive."[16] Damian Butt from Sega Pro gave it a 95% score, praising the graphics and puzzles, explaining that "[e]ven if the ideas are not original, the way they are strung together to accelerate the pace to overload is nothing short of breath-taking". However, he had several criticisms, including Donald's controls in certain situations, the difficulty of some levels and puzzles, and "the number of credits" that make the game seem easy with unlimited continues, but noted that the player will "still need considerable skill to reach the treasure island". Ultimately, he said that "[y]ounger players will instantly be enthralled by Donald's quest" and that "QuackShot is everything a cartoon game should be and more".[19]

Entertainment Weekly gave the game an A and wrote: "What does this action game have in common with classic 1950s Disney cartoons? The completely deranged hero. During the Donald's 'quack attacks', the feathers practically fly off the screen and into your lap".[21]

Retrospective

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GameRankings, an aggregator for video game reviews, assigned the game a score of 77% based on 2 retrospective reviews from Sega-16 and IGN. Sega-16 scored it 8 out of 10.[14]

Levi Buchanan from IGN gave QuackShot a 7.3/10, lauding the graphics and animation as excellent, and saying the music was pleasing.[10] He criticized the controls, calling them "float-y" and noted the difficulty in executing precision jumps, explaining that "[i]t's far too easy to over- or under-shoot a narrow column and slip to your doom".[10] He was also disappointed with the lack of speech samples, explaining that it's "a bit of a drag with a character that is so defined by his voice".[10] Buchanan summed up the game as being a "good platformer tripped up by some questionable controls" and recommended the game as "a mildly enjoyable 16-bit platformer that would fit nicely in your Genesis collection".[10]

In 1992, Mega placed the game at #7 in their "Top Mega Drive Games of All Time" list.[22] In 2017, GamesRadar ranked the game 28th on its "Best Sega Genesis/Mega Drive Games of All Time".[23]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Japanese: アイラブドナルドダック グルジア王の秘宝, Hepburn: Ai Rabu Donarudo Dakku Gurujia-ō no Hihō
  2. ^ The game's Japanese title screen, box art, and instruction manual feature the English QuackShot title; the former as QuackShot: The Treasure of King Garuzia (Japanese: QuackShot グルジア王の秘宝, Hepburn: QuackShot Gurujia-ō no Hihō) and the latter two separately from the full title.[4] However, the game is commonly cited by Japanese third-party sources with the I Love Donald Duck wording of the title.[5][6]

References

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  1. ^ "The Release Schedule". Computer Trade Weekly. No. 365. United Kingdom. 2 December 1991. p. 23.
  2. ^ "QuackShot Starring Donald Duck". Sega Force. No. 1. United Kingdom: Europress Impact. January 1992. p. 26.
  3. ^ Minotti, Mike (April 19, 2013). "5 other retro Disney games that deserve remakes". VentureBeat. Retrieved July 20, 2016. The labyrinth-like dungeons and upgradable weapons also gave QuackShot a bit of a Metroid feel long before it was cool to make endless 'Metroidvania' clones.
  4. ^ I Love Donald Duck: The Treasure of King Garuzia Instruction Booklet (in Japanese). 1991.
  5. ^ "Donald Duck, It's Showtime!!". Famitsu (in Japanese). No. 157. December 19, 1991. p. 115.
  6. ^ a b "New Games Cross Review". Famitsu (in Japanese). No. 158. December 27, 1991. p. 41.
  7. ^ Disney Interactive Staff (December 19, 1991), QuackShot: Starring Donald Duck Instruction Manual, Sega, pp. 16–17
  8. ^ Disney Interactive Staff (December 19, 1991), QuackShot: Starring Donald Duck Instruction Manual, Sega, p. 12
  9. ^ a b c Disney Interactive Staff (December 19, 1991), QuackShot: Starring Donald Duck Instruction Manual, Sega, pp. 9–10
  10. ^ a b c d e f QuackShot Retro Review - IGN, IGN, 23 October 2008, archived from the original on 2014-06-13, retrieved 2014-06-13
  11. ^ "The Planet Disney enters the orbit of Sega" (PDF). Supergame. No. 2. August 1991. pp. 20–21.
  12. ^ "The Disney Collection for Genesis (1996) – Mobygames". Moby Games. Sciere. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
  13. ^ Miles, Nathan (March 15, 2012). "Review – QuackShot". Retro4Ever. Archived from the original on 4 November 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  14. ^ a b c Quackshot: Starring Donald Duck for Genesis - GameRankings, GameRankings, archived from the original on 2019-12-09, retrieved 2014-06-13
  15. ^ a b Paul Rand (January 1992). "Quackshot". Computer and Video Games (Review). No. 122. p. 52. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  16. ^ a b "Software A-Z: Mega Drive". Console XS. No. 1 (June/July 1992). United Kingdom: Paragon Publishing. 23 April 1992. pp. 126–37.
  17. ^ a b MegaTech rating, EMAP, issue 5, May 1992
  18. ^ "Game Index". MegaTech. No. 42 (June 1995). 31 May 1995. pp. 30–1.
  19. ^ a b Out-of-Print Archive • Mega Drive/Genesis reviews • Quackshot
  20. ^ "CVG Charts". Computer and Video Games. No. 122 (January 1992). 15 December 1991. pp. 87–9.
  21. ^ "The latest video games". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 2018-09-08. Retrieved 2018-09-07.
  22. ^ Mega magazine issue #1, page 76, Future Publishing, Oct 1992
  23. ^ GamesRadar Staff (2017-06-21). "Best Sega Genesis/Mega Drive games of all time". gamesradar. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
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