It is no secret that Capcom’s Duck Tales for the Nintendo Entertainment System is a genuine classic, especially in the realm of video game music. But being an NES game, it only has about a dozen fast tracks to enjoy. An initial prototype that is currently circulating, however, expands the final soundtrack with another song by the (presumed) original composer Hiroshige Tonomura.
This one Duck Tales build, which according to The Cutting Room Floor is from February 5, 1989, is the first look we had at the development process of the iconic platform game. (The final game was released around September 15, 1989.) As such, several key elements are missing (such as red diamonds, treasure values, HP refills and names of the final levels). You can read all about these things on the TCRF wiki; I am especially excited about the new song on the stage selection screen:
It definitely has a different feel than original map theme. Where the track that arrived at the official Duck Tales the launch is more mysterious and repetitive, the prototype music is upbeat and adventurous in the way you would expect from a game based on children’s cartoons. I really love the subtle bass line that drives the whole thing too.
Although, to be honest, the song is not as instantly iconic as the track that plays during the moon phase, it’s always good to know a little more about how a video game was made, especially one as dependent on music as Duck Tales. There is no way to say why the developers preferred the final arrangement to this newly discovered treasure, but I am happy that there are people like TCRF out there cataloging these discoveries.