Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

The first stretch puts you in the right mood for a licensed cartoon game: you are not simply marching Duckula toward an exit, but searching a pyramid for the Sax while his rivals interfere. Exploration, platforming, and item puzzles are tied together cleanly enough that each new screen carries the question of whether it hides progress, danger, or something you will need later.

The three-item limit is the game’s strongest idea and its most persistent irritation. You cannot mindlessly vacuum up every object, because taking one may block something more useful later; if you want to leave an item behind, Duckula has to jump over it. That turns ordinary movement into inventory management, which gives the pyramid some welcome puzzle-game bite. It also means an accidental pickup can feel like an unnecessary nuisance rather than a clever challenge.

Hazards keep the pressure on. Contact with mummies, falling rocks, or the Crow Brothers freezes Duckula and advances the clock by one hour. The consequence is easy to understand, but it makes experimentation costly, especially when you are trying to work out an item solution. If you enjoy old-school games that expect careful movement and a bit of trial-and-error, the tension has its charm. If you want forgiving platforming, the repeated time penalties will wear thin.

What starts to click is the need to treat every room as part of a route rather than a separate obstacle. You watch your footing, consider your item slots, and try not to blunder into a wandering enemy while carrying the wrong things. It is modest, deliberate fun when you are making progress, though it never entirely escapes the stiffness of a puzzle platformer built around restricting mistakes.

Graphics

The game uses a side-on, fixed- or flip-screen view, moving Duckula through pyramid rooms and the burning desert. Mummies, crows, falling rocks, and the familiar Duckula cast give the Egyptian setting a suitably cartoonish assortment of threats, while the room-by-room layout keeps the immediate platforming space easy to parse.

Story

The setup is wonderfully on-brand: Count Duckula and his servants arrive in ancient Egypt with their European castle, only to become wrapped up in a hunt for an enchanted Egyptian saxophone. A magical instrument hidden in the tomb of the pharaoh Upanatem is exactly the sort of cheerfully silly objective this license can carry.

The Crow Brothers add a useful bit of rivalry. They have inadvertently followed Duckula through time and mount their own expedition to stop him, which gives the hostile crows a purpose beyond being another obstacle in the pyramid. It is a simple chase for the same treasure, but the game benefits from having a recognizable comic adversary instead of relying only on anonymous monsters.

Do not expect the narrative to take over from the action. The story chiefly gives shape to the search: get through the desert and pyramid, evade the opposition, solve the object problems, and reach the Sax. For a game of this scale, that is enough; the lighthearted premise makes the repeated searching more pleasant than it would be in a generic tomb raid.

Overall Experience

Count Duckula in No Sax Please – We’re Egyptian is a decent fit for gamers with affection for British cartoon licenses and the compact, exacting puzzle-platformers of the late 1980s. Its best moments come when a previously awkward object suddenly has an obvious use and you navigate a stretch of pyramid without sacrificing another hour to a mummy or falling rock.

Its weaker side is equally clear: limited inventory space and time-loss hazards can turn learning into friction. The game asks for patience before it earns satisfaction, and not every failed attempt feels like a lesson. You need to be comfortable with cautious play and the possibility that the right route depends on leaving or carrying a particular item.

That makes this a middling but likable licensed adventure rather than a must-play platformer. Duckula’s Egyptian quest has enough personality and puzzle structure to reward a focused session, especially if you enjoy mapping out old flip-screen games. Just go in ready to manage your pockets as carefully as your jumps.

Retro Replay Score

6.2/10