I played the Amstrad version of this for hours for a book I was writing. It's effectively the same code ported badly - it's slower and Duckula bumps his head on the top of the screen, making certain jumps literally impossible. GREAT JOB GUYS
Yeah, you can't even clear the 2nd screen without calling the helper, then you get stuck a few screens after that too. Would have taken a minute to test. Amiga version has screens like that too, so it's not even just the 8-bits they didn't care about.
How is it that watching gaming channels, that only now have I found this channel? Minimalistic in presentation, but brilliant and so enjoyable. Can't wait to watch more
American here. I remember being a kid in the 80s watching this, Danger Mouse and Banana Man! I had no idea there were video games based on Count Duckula. And now I wish I still didn't know there were video games based on Count Duckula.
63% lastability. Because we buried it in a landfill for six months and it was still there a year later when we dug it up. Just in case we could record over it.
"Last time, you killed three chambermaids and a footman!" "Ooh, they was only part-time, sir. And the little blond one never dusted the picture rails!" I loved the show as a kid. So sad to see it massacred like this.
I'm a Yank who watched Count Duckula as a kid! Blame Nickelodeon buying and showing a bunch of foreign cartoons back before they became the big juggernaut they are now. That specific "I'LL GET IT" still lives in my head rent free.
@@RoseTintedSpectrumyeah my earliest memories of Nickelodeon was of Duckula. (Prob 1990) we had the comic too. It was understood that it was more popular in the UK and was just repackaged for the US
I forgot about this cartoon. Used to love it as a kid! I remember watching it on the US army channel while we were stationed in Germany. Also discovered Red Dwarf while there. Thanks AFN!
I'm rather frustrated because I can't watch the Czech version, called Hrabě Káčula, in the UK because it's blocked, yet I can watch the English version while I'm in the Czech Republic! What's especially frustrating is that searching for it, in Czech, still pulls the English results. Very odd. A shame, because they got an excellent sound-alike for Hard Luck Hotel in both languages...
I was a big fan of the cartoon but thankfully this game passed me by. If I had known of its existence at the time I would of bought it adding to my list of life's regrets.
Great video, as always! I only ever played the first one, and while it is undeniably bland it did leave me one memorable moment; if you die enough times Igor gets annoyed with you and turns you into a milkshake.
That sound issue got me back in the school days with Batman the Movie, I had it on 48k, and played it like a mad thing, then one day talking to another kid at school, who couldnt complete the first level, I told him how to do it, left, and up basically, so next day he says "that was great, I did it, and when you knock Jack off the top the music stops" I was totally flabbered, I never imagined Batman the ultimate platformer movie tie-in also had music, so then it was my mission to get a 128k speccy, and when I finally got a +2a I was so happy to have not only music in Game, but no longer a sodding multi load. what a time to be alive.
In fairness to that 35 for sound, I think it's worth awarding points for _not_ torturing your ears with the kind of sound you'd imagine a game of this quality having.
Danger Mouse was a bigger part of my childhood than I ever dared to admit Also: kina like the new style. Think i need to get used to it a biy, would love a mix of the old and new but hey, im a creature of habit so keep the new ideas coming.
I may not want to play this game, but I AM going to listen to the theme tune once again. And Danger Mouse And Victor and Hugo And . . . did they do Dream Stone too?
My only memories of Count Duckula, other than David Jason, are the Count Duckula "toffee" bars. They were black, they made your tongue black... and the toilet, upon their exit 🫣
I do take issue with use of the phrase 'cheaply animated.' Initially, perhaps, but Cosgrove-Hall definitely got more lavish over time. By the time of Duckula, the animation was very fluid, most notably the episodes co-produced with Alfonso Productions. Weird how the Your Sinclair reviewer said something similar. Also, Nanny's a hen not a duck....and Goosewing's not a Baron, he's a Doctor. 9:26 - OK, to be fair that is completely on-brand for Igor! "I cannot even bear to look at you today milord..." 12:21 - That's a cereal box. They used them for the tokens, in-episode. Actually, the illustrations here are by Vin James, who draw these originally for a tie-in story book as well as storyboarding some of the show. Guess they decided to repurpose them for the game cover. It is kind of on-brand for the character to have a terrible game though, he never did have the best of luck. I really do wish they'd make a decent survival horror based on the property though. Perhaps you could play as Goosewing, dealing with actual evil vampires, or as Duckula himself trying to avoid being slain. A bonus as Igor might be good too - where you have to try and turn your master into the kind of Count he was meant to be. I did have the first game, but never saw this one. By all accounts, I don't seem to have missed much! They could have at least taken the full episode as a basis for the game and included different levels based on other scenes. An encounter with asteroids in the space-ship/turret, Tremendous Terence vs The Oids. It wouldn't have been too hard to get a middling space shooter out of that concept would it? Duckula's favourite food was broccoli, so yes they could have used the green.
This just seems unreasonably cack for something so late in the machine's lifecycle - if you'd said "my mate who was a bit weird about Duckula write this in BASIC on a rainy weekend" I'd find it more believable than "this was a commercial release from 1992, a world where ACTUAL POLYGONS had been discovered".
Ha! I remember buying No sax please We're Egyptian in 1989. It was the first game that I bought with my own money that I saved. I was quite disappointed as I loved the series. I don’t remember the second game at all though thank god 😂.
I found this wonderful channel a couple of months ago and have hoovered up all the content I could find here. A wonderful treasure trove of brilliance. All I can say right now is this, and I mean this most sincerely... Dave, I love you to bits, you daft sod. (*hugs*) (the game was complete shit)
Yeah, it seems the studio had a deal with Nickleodeon, so we got a few of your shows and you guys got Count Duckula and Dangermouse (potentially a couple others). Had no idea about that until looking into this trainwreck!
There are Spectrum games where silence would be preferable to the dissonant screeching noises that they make, so rating a silent game 35 for Sound seems fair. It just means the true ratings scale for Speccy sound is -35 to 65. Seems about right
@@RoseTintedSpectrum haha yes, first step is the art work, second step is the loading screen graphic and then you get to the game and think "oh...I see I was misled" lol
What can I say, I just like kisses. It did take ages, but I love editing so it's a bit of a bonus in the end, haha. I think it makes for a better video on the whole and it gives me so much more room to mess about with stuff - so it should result in a better end product AND keep me hooked on editing juice.
OK so weird story time: few years ago i came home super drunk and ended up chatting to god on the great white telephone for a good few hours, while (and lord knows why i did this, but when i got in from the club i youtubed a count duckula playlist) Im vomiting up more of my insides that i have, its like the tardis in there, theres way more matter than the volume allows and its rectifying that ... explosively. long story short, tonight, months if not years later i walk (stumble) in from the pub and look at the bog and suddenly im reminded of Count Duckula ( the trauma memories of passing out in front of the bog while it plays on triumphantly in the background not withstanding) So I youtube duckula (dw i ate a salad, ruffage AYO!) and what do i find? THIS VIDEO! only ive apparently watched it ALREADY?! One of two things happened, ive either discovered an international conspiracy surrounding count duckula and his bid for global control or I GOT REALLY REALLY drunk last weekened without any memory of it
Count Duckula...🤔 I seem to remember that being shown after (I _think_ it was after) ThunderCats on Thursday evenings - always remember going to the chip shop before coming back with them and watching these. Bad combination. 🤮 What was I thinking?? (You can say "nothing" quite rightly)
I had this! I seem to remember music on 128k version? But maybe my memory is borked.. EDIT : Oh, I really should wait until the end before commenting :D
I had this on the specy as a kid and all im gonna say is, saturday mornings began with 'in the heart of transylvania, in the vampire hall of fame yeah!' Also can my guys sharky and george get some luv?
Late to the party as always, surprised nobody has said that Duckula was a spin-off from Danger mouse where Duckula appeared a few times and was evil. Has bugger all to do with the game but what the hell.
It takes a brave person to admit their mistakes, it takes a braver person to play an abominably bad game twice in the interest of journalistic integrity/avoiding annoying comments from pedantic dickheads (delete as appropriate) #justice4Marc35
I sometimes wonder what Japanese game developers must have thought when they saw dross like this being produced in the West. My labrador could design a more interesting platformer.
I played the Amstrad version of this for hours for a book I was writing. It's effectively the same code ported badly - it's slower and Duckula bumps his head on the top of the screen, making certain jumps literally impossible. GREAT JOB GUYS
I see they also scrubbed the Asteroid section entirely from the Amstrad version... The Asteroid section which lasts approximately 30 seconds.
Fancy seeing you here. I wonder if there was any Duckula tat mass-produced and then promptly thrown in the trash?
I had a Duckula video tape that played the theme when you pressed a button on the front of the case! 😎👍🆒
famously Amstrad Action gave it 3%.
Yeah, you can't even clear the 2nd screen without calling the helper, then you get stuck a few screens after that too. Would have taken a minute to test.
Amiga version has screens like that too, so it's not even just the 8-bits they didn't care about.
How is it that watching gaming channels, that only now have I found this channel? Minimalistic in presentation, but brilliant and so enjoyable. Can't wait to watch more
American here. I remember being a kid in the 80s watching this, Danger Mouse and Banana Man! I had no idea there were video games based on Count Duckula. And now I wish I still didn't know there were video games based on Count Duckula.
63% lastability. Because we buried it in a landfill for six months and it was still there a year later when we dug it up.
Just in case we could record over it.
"Last time, you killed three chambermaids and a footman!"
"Ooh, they was only part-time, sir. And the little blond one never dusted the picture rails!"
I loved the show as a kid. So sad to see it massacred like this.
I'm a Yank who watched Count Duckula as a kid! Blame Nickelodeon buying and showing a bunch of foreign cartoons back before they became the big juggernaut they are now. That specific "I'LL GET IT" still lives in my head rent free.
Yes! Looking into it afterwards, it seems Thames Television had a deal going with Nick, which means you also got Danger Mouse. Lucky!
It's funny that American cartoons aren't actually thought of as "foreign" in the UK. Weird, that is.
@@RoseTintedSpectrumyeah my earliest memories of Nickelodeon was of Duckula. (Prob 1990) we had the comic too. It was understood that it was more popular in the UK and was just repackaged for the US
I forgot about this cartoon. Used to love it as a kid! I remember watching it on the US army channel while we were stationed in Germany. Also discovered Red Dwarf while there. Thanks AFN!
"Igor, we almost hit that woman!" "I know Sir. I fear my aim is failing." Still makes me smile.
"Perhaps I could go back and have another go!"
I'm rather frustrated because I can't watch the Czech version, called Hrabě Káčula, in the UK because it's blocked, yet I can watch the English version while I'm in the Czech Republic!
What's especially frustrating is that searching for it, in Czech, still pulls the English results. Very odd. A shame, because they got an excellent sound-alike for Hard Luck Hotel in both languages...
I was a big fan of the cartoon but thankfully this game passed me by. If I had known of its existence at the time I would of bought it adding to my list of life's regrets.
It would be the best prank to pull on yourself if you ever get hold of a time machine though
I have an officially licensed Count Duckula egg holder. Looking at it for 3 hours is probably more fun than this "game".
So do I! I use it for paints.
Great video, as always! I only ever played the first one, and while it is undeniably bland it did leave me one memorable moment; if you die enough times Igor gets annoyed with you and turns you into a milkshake.
That sound issue got me back in the school days with Batman the Movie, I had it on 48k, and played it like a mad thing, then one day talking to another kid at school, who couldnt complete the first level, I told him how to do it, left, and up basically, so next day he says "that was great, I did it, and when you knock Jack off the top the music stops"
I was totally flabbered, I never imagined Batman the ultimate platformer movie tie-in also had music,
so then it was my mission to get a 128k speccy, and when I finally got a +2a I was so happy to have not only music in Game, but no longer a sodding multi load. what a time to be alive.
the SFX sample at the end was also the noise I made when you said this came out in 1992
In fairness to that 35 for sound, I think it's worth awarding points for _not_ torturing your ears with the kind of sound you'd imagine a game of this quality having.
The 35 for sound is surely for the inclusion of the theme tune on the tape? 😂
David Jason's greatest achievement!
HEY! Don't forget Avenger Penguins...
Danger Mouse was a bigger part of my childhood than I ever dared to admit
Also: kina like the new style. Think i need to get used to it a biy, would love a mix of the old and new but hey, im a creature of habit so keep the new ideas coming.
I used to watch Danger Mouse and Count Duckula on early Nickelodeon here in the states.
Duckula was obsessed with Broccoli not carrots.
I may not want to play this game, but I AM going to listen to the theme tune once again.
And Danger Mouse
And Victor and Hugo
And . . . did they do Dream Stone too?
I remember playing Darkwing Duck on the Gameboy. That was great
The NES game was great too (I wonder if it was a port?) - was essentially just Mega Man from what I remember.
Try the pc engine version, you'll love it!
My only memories of Count Duckula, other than David Jason, are the Count Duckula "toffee" bars.
They were black, they made your tongue black... and the toilet, upon their exit 🫣
The confession at the end had me chuckling 😂
I used to watch danger mouse and banana man when I was a kid. Only British cartoons we had. Good stuff.
It was very noble of you to acknowledge that 35 for sound was fair enough. Especially as you had to suffer the game again, I salute you, my good sir 🫡
I do take issue with use of the phrase 'cheaply animated.' Initially, perhaps, but Cosgrove-Hall definitely got more lavish over time. By the time of Duckula, the animation was very fluid, most notably the episodes co-produced with Alfonso Productions. Weird how the Your Sinclair reviewer said something similar. Also, Nanny's a hen not a duck....and Goosewing's not a Baron, he's a Doctor.
9:26 - OK, to be fair that is completely on-brand for Igor! "I cannot even bear to look at you today milord..."
12:21 - That's a cereal box. They used them for the tokens, in-episode. Actually, the illustrations here are by Vin James, who draw these originally for a tie-in story book as well as storyboarding some of the show. Guess they decided to repurpose them for the game cover.
It is kind of on-brand for the character to have a terrible game though, he never did have the best of luck. I really do wish they'd make a decent survival horror based on the property though. Perhaps you could play as Goosewing, dealing with actual evil vampires, or as Duckula himself trying to avoid being slain. A bonus as Igor might be good too - where you have to try and turn your master into the kind of Count he was meant to be.
I did have the first game, but never saw this one. By all accounts, I don't seem to have missed much! They could have at least taken the full episode as a basis for the game and included different levels based on other scenes. An encounter with asteroids in the space-ship/turret, Tremendous Terence vs The Oids. It wouldn't have been too hard to get a middling space shooter out of that concept would it?
Duckula's favourite food was broccoli, so yes they could have used the green.
"Conscription is cute......."
*Rishi Sunak liked this* 👍
Ha! Terence. That's my name, that's tremendous. Lovin' that new format ❤️
This just seems unreasonably cack for something so late in the machine's lifecycle - if you'd said "my mate who was a bit weird about Duckula write this in BASIC on a rainy weekend" I'd find it more believable than "this was a commercial release from 1992, a world where ACTUAL POLYGONS had been discovered".
Ha! I remember buying No sax please We're Egyptian in 1989. It was the first game that I bought with my own money that I saved. I was quite disappointed as I loved the series. I don’t remember the second game at all though thank god 😂.
Got to love spending your saved 50p a week pocket money at the market stall that does computer tapes (or wh smiths) to end up with this. ❤😂
You showed the cassette tape i had with the theme button! Haha awesome 😎💯
I LOVED Count Duckula!
I found this wonderful channel a couple of months ago and have hoovered up all the content I could find here. A wonderful treasure trove of brilliance. All I can say right now is this, and I mean this most sincerely...
Dave, I love you to bits, you daft sod. (*hugs*)
(the game was complete shit)
Loved the show always preferred it over Dangermouse. I even have the DVD set. I had the 1st game on the spectrum and couldnt figure out what to do
I grew up in Indiana.
We had danger mouse and count duckula. I think they were on Nickelodeon.
Yeah, it seems the studio had a deal with Nickleodeon, so we got a few of your shows and you guys got Count Duckula and Dangermouse (potentially a couple others). Had no idea about that until looking into this trainwreck!
You getting the new Duckula, Chorlton and Wind in The Willows DVD box sets coming out this month?
There are Spectrum games where silence would be preferable to the dissonant screeching noises that they make, so rating a silent game 35 for Sound seems fair. It just means the true ratings scale for Speccy sound is -35 to 65. Seems about right
I knew there must be some confusion. Sinclair User never gave a wrong review score!
0:31 awesome dub work ☺
Oh god, this game... THIS GAME...
Tremendous Terrance. 😂😂😂😂😂😂
I never knew about this game but I know that cover art for the box would have had my £3.99 if I'd seen it in the shop!
That's how they getcha!
@@RoseTintedSpectrum haha yes, first step is the art work, second step is the loading screen graphic and then you get to the game and think "oh...I see I was misled" lol
Great video - love the new format. Hated the game though; that indeed did suck (maybe there's a vampire pun there?)
Dont forget about your one dutch fan!!
Special 128k version? Now with dolby atmos silence?? Edit: Ah yes the CEO addressed this.
You're like the Richard Madeley of Spectrum game reviews, and I think you should be proud of that. x
Putting that on a plaque
DUCKULA! Count Duckula!!!!
Love the new editing, far better than the old zoom ins which looked like you were coming in for a kiss, but wow, that must have taken ages.
What can I say, I just like kisses.
It did take ages, but I love editing so it's a bit of a bonus in the end, haha. I think it makes for a better video on the whole and it gives me so much more room to mess about with stuff - so it should result in a better end product AND keep me hooked on editing juice.
@@RoseTintedSpectrumagree, it was awesome. Adds a real British flavour.
OK so weird story time: few years ago i came home super drunk and ended up chatting to god on the great white telephone for a good few hours, while (and lord knows why i did this, but when i got in from the club i youtubed a count duckula playlist) Im vomiting up more of my insides that i have, its like the tardis in there, theres way more matter than the volume allows and its rectifying that ... explosively.
long story short, tonight, months if not years later i walk (stumble) in from the pub and look at the bog and suddenly im reminded of Count Duckula ( the trauma memories of passing out in front of the bog while it plays on triumphantly in the background not withstanding) So I youtube duckula (dw i ate a salad, ruffage AYO!) and what do i find?
THIS VIDEO!
only ive apparently watched it ALREADY?! One of two things happened, ive either discovered an international conspiracy surrounding count duckula and his bid for global control or I GOT REALLY REALLY drunk last weekened without any memory of it
It's the perfect way to watch my videos to be fair
you are cool with your hood on dude
Count Duckula...🤔
I seem to remember that being shown after (I _think_ it was after) ThunderCats on Thursday evenings - always remember going to the chip shop before coming back with them and watching these.
Bad combination. 🤮
What was I thinking?? (You can say "nothing" quite rightly)
And the _Thundercats_ Speccy game was really good, with awesome music.
Fish n chips and Duckyboos - sounds alright to me!
called out !
I had this! I seem to remember music on 128k version? But maybe my memory is borked.. EDIT : Oh, I really should wait until the end before commenting :D
I'm here to successfully almost not cover all the bases.
Pah! Dangermouse. Duckula an also ran.
This definitely screams of being another game, but they just slapped duckula on it.
Yeah, this was my other thought - the lack of any authors listed definitely screams "Kick it out the door and tell no-one"
@@RoseTintedSpectrum yeah. "The kids will buy it, they love duckula!"
I had this on the specy as a kid and all im gonna say is, saturday mornings began with 'in the heart of transylvania, in the vampire hall of fame yeah!'
Also can my guys sharky and george get some luv?
The crime busters of the sea!
@@RoseTintedSpectrum MY DUDE!
0:28 unexpected latin american dub
"The series ran for a solid six years" then proceeds to state a time span of five years.
They released a day one patch for this....didn't you have your spectrum connected?
Who is this CEO guy? He looks like a sharp guy that is going places! Unlike that RoseTinted guy
35 out of 100 for sound 😅😂😂😂🤣😂😂🤣🤣🤣😂🤣
Edit: oh the other version did have sound 🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂🤣
Late to the party as always, surprised nobody has said that Duckula was a spin-off from Danger mouse where Duckula appeared a few times and was evil.
Has bugger all to do with the game but what the hell.
I actually only learnt that myself last week, haha
First. And David Jason...ahem....ahem..oh the bending down comment...
I did the composite mod today to my dad's Zx spectrum..not going to play this abomination 😂
Broccoli 🥦
This got the lowest ever score awarded by Your Sinclair
The CPC version is far worse, my god.
At least this moves at a decent-ish speed.
Timesheets!
Every time I see this I'm struck by how much it looks and plays like a really badly thought out electronic LCD game rather than a proper video game.
I've always been a big Cosgrove Hall fan, I'm glad i skipped the games!
hiiii I'm the one brazilian
There's ALWAYS one.
And it's you!
@@RoseTintedSpectrum Aww awesome!!! :D Great video btw, just finished watching
It takes a brave person to admit their mistakes, it takes a braver person to play an abominably bad game twice in the interest of journalistic integrity/avoiding annoying comments from pedantic dickheads (delete as appropriate) #justice4Marc35
Exactly, I salute his bravery for going back. I also weirdly wanted to see the asteroid section.
I sometimes wonder what Japanese game developers must have thought when they saw dross like this being produced in the West. My labrador could design a more interesting platformer.