Friday Oldies | Donald: Operation Duck

How do you download Donald Duck: Operation Duck? We have been bombed in the last few days from meme about this video game. And to think that it all started from a page created in 2011. We take this opportunity to talk about this almost forgotten platform, but in which we will surely have come across in our videogame childhood, starring the most famous duck in the world.

A collaboration between Ubisoft and Disney

The game was developed by Ubisoft Montreal in collaboration with Disney Interactive and was released in 2000 for PlayStation 1, PlayStation 2, Gameboy Color, Nintendo 64, pc and Dreamcast, in 2001 for Gameboy Advance and in 2002 for Gamecube. Each version is quite different from the others, especially those of different videogame generations. She was also released a PC demo in 1999 in collaboration with Motta ice creams.

Let's go save Daisy Duck!

In this adventure Donald Duck will have to save his consort Daisy, kidnapped by the evil sorcerer Merlock (famous cartoon character Duck Tales). The only way to reach the temple of him is by using the space-time door created by Archimedes. The machine however, requires a certain amount of energy than the protagonist will have to recover in the various levels of the game.

The most popular version is the one for the first PlayStation

We will examine the most widespread version, that is, the one for PlayStation 1 which uses the same graphics engine as the excellent Rayman 2. The title looks like a platform very similar to the Ubisoft title itself but which also takes many mechanics from the Crash Bandicoot series , especially the second and third chapters. Just like in the marsupial games, the action happens in a three dimensional world, however, on several occasions, we switch to a sidescrolling view in 2D perspective.

Each level is accessible by climbing on the platforms of Archimedes' laboratory, in a very similar way to what happens in Crash Bandicoot (yes, in this article we will make many parallels with Naughty Dog's games). In every framework we will have to recover of energy globes jumping on various platforms and avoiding enemies. Donald can be hit twice: the first time he will lose his temper and be furious. This status allows him to punch enemies for a short period of time. By being hit the second time, we will lose one of the initial five lives. We can easily recover a life by collecting 100 stars or simply the icon with the face of Donald Duck. Then there is a glass of milkshake that allows us to "cure ourselves" in case we have already been hit once or it will give us a period of invincibility.

The game action extends for four different areas: Monte Papero, the famous Duckburg, the manor of Amelia and the final world: The Temple of Merlock. Each area presents four normal levels and three other “special” levels. One of them is the boss, the other two are the “pursuit” level and the bonus level. The chase level is unlockable by retrieving all the toys from Here, Quo, and Qua in that area. Donald is being chased by an enemy in these levels, much like the rolling rock levels of Crash. The only aim is to reach the end safe and sound, without losing lives.

Completing the chase level will unlock time trials for each level in which Gastone's record must be beaten. They are similar to the relics of the marsupial game. Once all are completed, we will finally unlock the bonus level. In short, it is a game that certainly makes the completists happy levels to unlock and items to collect even if for complete it 100% you will not take more than two, maximum three evenings.

A duck released on many platforms

As already mentioned, Donald Duck: Operation Duck was released in different versions, between "old" and "new" gen and fixed and portable consoles. Although the story is always the same, on PlayStation 2, Gamecube and PC the graphics are noticeably better thanks to the more powerful hardware. In the Nintendo 64 version, although it has better graphics than the PS1 version, there are no cutscenes due to the limited space of the cartridge. The game was also released on Gameboy Color and Gameboy Advance, in particular the version for Gameboy Color was created by our local Ubisoft Milan studio.

A good title, but very simple, especially suitable for younger people

In general at the time, the title got good votesi in the various reviews. The level design, the animations and the excellent cutscenes between levels were much appreciated. Some, however, considered the "old gen" versions technically not up to Rayman 2, a title released the previous year. It was also recommended above all to a young audience, not so much for the cartoonish graphics but for the level of difficulty not particularly high. In any case, caught by the nostalgia aroused by the memes of these days, we gladly rebuilt a game of this title and if you have the opportunity, we advise you to do the same. Obviously without illegally downloading it, but recovering it in the PlayStation 3 version (this is the port of the PS2 version) available on the PlayStation Store.