Capcom and Disney just revealed at PAX East 2013 they are reviving the NES classic "Duck Tales" for the Wii U, Xbox 360 and PS3 online marketplaces, with a visual upgrade to boot. Producer Rey Jimenez told Polygon Capcom and Disney might be interested in making this a trend if "DuckTales: Remastered" does well, starting wth "Chip n' Dale: Rescue Rangers."
You know what that means folks. It's time for a list of pure speculation and nostalgic desire. Be informed, these are not all Disney-Capcom games. They're just amazing.
"Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse" (Sega Genesis) and "Disney's Magical Quest" (SNES)
Like everything else Disney, first on the list is Mickey Mouse. Two games really defined the Mouse's romp through video games back in the day, and in spite of their recent attempts with the "Epic Mickey" franchise, these are the two we want. DreamRift's "Epic Mickey Power of Illusion" even attempted to call back to "Castle of Illusion," but it turns out the game was fatally short and mostly underdeveloped. The team eschewed basic platforming goodness for Warren Spector's paint and thinner routine from the console Epic Mickey titles. It didn't work out so hot, and now all gamers want is to see "Castle of Illusion" and the "Disney's Magical Quest" series make a return in all its original glory. Keep it simple and Mickey could make a real return this time.
"The Lion King" (Sega Genesis) and "Disney's Aladdin" (Sega Genesis)
The Sega Genesis/Super Nintendo era was a good time for Disney video games. A great time in fact, with non-Mickey titles gaining just as much respect and love from the masses as from hardcore gamers. The top two were "The Lion King" and "Disney's Aladdin," which, like "Duck Tales," simply thrived in creative platforming and inspired level design. Things were just so simple back then. Simba's jumping on giraffe heads to that infectious music is a memory I won't soon forget.
"Goof Troop" (SNES)
"Goof Troop" gets its own section because "Goof Troop" was, unlike most other Disney classics, not a platformer. In fact, many recognize the unique "Goof Troop" gameplay as a precursor to the cooperative Zelda title "The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords." Two players made their way through top-down levels and boss fights by unlocking pathways for each other, various weapons and items as keys to the diverse set of puzzles. It should sound familiar if you've ever gone through a "Legend of Zelda," seeing as that series was coming into its own around the same time with "The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past." But "Goof Troop" was unique in its cooperative gameplay at the time, and players these days need to appreciate that. The Wii U's GamePad seems like an awfully good spot for some classic co-op play.
"Gain Ground" (Sega Genesis)
Another top-down cooperative game from this past era, "Gain Ground" offered a far more challenging and action-oriented kind of gameplay. One or two players took on individual, single-frame levels at a time, either defeating every enemy or making it to the exit without losing all your lives. Here's the twist - you didn't have lives, you had characters that you collected on the battlefield. Take a collected character to the exit and they are added to your roster, offering new abilities and attributes, but lose a character on the battlefield and they are lost for good. The gameplay was solid, requiring players to strategize how to use certain characters in whatever situation the level asked, however judging the height that your projectile flew form a top-down perspective was a little weird. Players were required to do this in order to hit enemies over barriers and such. There is one console today, however, that might offer a solution to that problem - the 3DS. You can thank me later for just blowing your mind.
"Out of this World"/"Another World" (PC, Sega Genesis)
This game is being ported all over the mobile place right now, but what if a developer dared to visually reimagine the classic that inspired many of today's top game developers? Some might be up in arms. Well, maybe a lot more than some, but what if it was a visual master like "Metal Gear Solid's" Hideo Kojima who got his hands on the title? He listed the title as one of the top five games that "mattered in his life," according to Kotaku. He might be able to do a remake justice, but the likelihood that he would mess with the game at all is probably pretty slim.
