Ever since it was revealed a few months back, I knew WayForward Technologies and Capcom had their DuckTales reboot all buttoned up like Scrooge McDuck’s custom-made spats, but after getting some hands-on time with the first level of the game, I can safely report that any adult who played this as a kid on the NES will feel as if they’ve lost a good 20 or so years when they get to play this one. The game brings the classic into 2013 with all-new HD visuals, excellent voice acting from members of the original cartoon’s cast and a fantastically redone score that takes those familiar tunes you remember and makes them even more memorable.

Like the original Nintendo game, those super cute Disney visuals hide a really challenging mix of platforming, combat and treasure grabbing as McDuck takes on the big, bad Beagle Boys and a few bosses in a massive haunted house and its surrounding area. Wayforward kept the basic level designs as is, but the richly colored backgrounds have a lot more depth and all the characters look as if they’re straight from the cartoon (but polished up to a HD shine) the have also added some nice secrets for those willing to explore outside what they remember of the original game.

Because I never sleep much before these press events, I played the demo on Easy mode just to be sure I’d complete it. That wussing out on my part still proved the game had its tricky moments thanks to the game requiring lightning fast switching between cane-bouncing enemies, double-jumping to higher platforms, avoiding ghosts impervious to damage and other hazards (often seemingly simultaneously). Mine cart sections, warp mirrors and plenty of gem and goodie grabbing were also part of the game plan before that evil boss went down for the count. She was pretty crafty even on Easy, warping into the background and back onto the foreground to shoot lightning from her hands, drop expanding flame pillars and a few other potential Scrooge-cooking tactics.

I can’t imagine how this will be on the hardest mode, but I do intend to find out soon enough, as will quite a few fans of the original and anyone who wants a platformer for the ages. Available on PSN, Xbox Live Arcade, and Nintendo’s eShop sometime this summer, I’m betting DuckTales will grab both hardcore and casual gamers by the short ones and keep them playing and replaying into the wee hours of the night and beyond. I don’t think I stopped smiling for a few hours after I left the event (well, every other game there was a stellar surprise), and I think the nostalgia meter on some of you will fly right off and stick to the ceiling once you give this reboot a buy.