Daffy Duck: The Marvin Missions

Daffy Duck: The Marvin Missions
Box art (Super NES)
Developer(s)	ICOM Simulations, Inc.
Publisher(s)	Sunsoft
Producer(s)	Dave Marsh
Designer(s)	Brian Babendererde Michael Garber Karl Roelofs
Composer(s)	Super NES: Jim Hedges[1] Game Boy: Manami Matsumae[2]
Platform(s)	Super NES Game Boy
Release date(s)	Super NES: ‹See Tfd› NA: October 1993[3] EU: April 28, 1994 Game Boy: ‹See Tfd› JP: September 30, 1994[4] NA: January 1995 EU: 1995
Genre(s)	2D platform, action
Mode(s)	Single-player

Daffy Duck: The Marvin Missions is an action video game for the Super NES and Game Boy. The European Game Boy version is known as Daffy Duck, while the Japanese Game Boy version is known as Looney Tunes Series: Daffy Duck (ルーニー・テューンズシリーズ ダフィー・ダック).

The game involves Duck Dodgers in the 24th and a ½ Century, as told in the classic Looney Tunes stories created by Chuck Jones. When he is hit, Duck Dodgers says some of Daffy Duck's lines from 1950s cartoons like "Mother" and "You're despicable", voiced by voice actor Greg Burson.^[5]

Gameplay

In this boss fight, Duck Dodgers fights Marvin the Martian's army of Instant Martians to save the politician in distress.

The Super NES version of Daffy Duck: The Marvin Missions starts out in the outskirts of a Martian resort and progresses to the remaining 19 stages.^[6]

Shrinking rays and crushing platforms are commonly seen as the player tries to kill Martians that are standing in the way along with rock monsters and dragons. Lava won't instantly kill the player's character but falling into a bottomless pit will. In the end, Marvin the Martian must be destroyed in the final stage of the game.^[6]

Dodgers has infinite ammo for his starting gun and more guns with limited ammo can be found or bought throughout the game with the game's fictitious currency (which is depicted by the dollar sign). There are five types of guns: the regular gun, the three-shot gun, the electric gun, the bomb gun and the antimatter gun. Dodgers also has a jet pack so he can fly around to avoid danger on the ground and reach new locations, a shield to block incoming projectiles and a special attack called Nutty, which makes Duck Dodgers whirl around and destroy every enemy on the screen.^[7] However, Duck Dodgers has a tendency to bounce backwards whenever he fires a shot from any of his weapons.^[6]

In the Game Boy Color version, certain enemies were removed in the first and second levels. The Game Boy version includes a secret "hard" difficulty level. Losing in this difficulty level will simply reset the game instead of bringing up the game over screen.^[8]

Development

While being developed, its working title was Duck Rogers in the 24th Century.^[9] Most of the people who designed and developed this game would go on to make Bugs Bunny Rabbit Rampage.^[5]

Reception

Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the Super NES version a 7 out of 10, commenting that "The animations (just stand Daffy still) and voices are excellent, yet the control needs a bit of work - the jumps being particularly troublesome."^[10]

Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the Game Boy version a 4.75 out of 10, citing difficult jumps and repetitive boss fights, and further remarking that the Super Game Boy fails to significantly enhance the game.^[11] GamePro, however, called it "one of the best Game Boy carts of the season", applauding it for engaging design, excellent controls, impressive graphics, and "spacey" sound effects.^[12]

References