In bonus levels, the player can outrun a bear, the Beagle Boys' truck, a ghost hand and finally a statue head (in the PS2 and Gamecube versions, the ghost hand is last). The viewpoint of the levels can change between a 2D side-scrolling perspective and a 3D perspective. Replaying them to defeat Gladstone's time gives the player advantages.
The player has four lives that can increase by finding special items. Each life gives two opportunities for Donald to touch the enemy. The first time, he becomes angry and throws berserk to the enemies; the second, he loses a life. New outfits which alter cutscenes and idle animations (such as Donald taking photos of the place if he is dressed like a tourist) can be unlocked.
The machine is too weak to reach Merlock's lair; to do so, the player must plant antennas at certain locations to boost its power. Along the way, one can compete with Gladstone, reverse the spells that Merlock put on Huey, Dewey, and Louie's toys and defeat several bosses, including the Beagle Boys and Magica De Spell.
In the end, Donald locates Merlock, defeats him and rescues Daisy. The temple collapses as Gyro teleports them back to his lab, where Donald receives a kiss from Daisy.
Different Ubisoft studios developed different versions for multiple consoles. These versions differ with their own levels and music.
Ubi Soft Casablanca developed a version for Windows, Dreamcast and Nintendo 64 on an optimized Rayman 2 engine and includes music composed by Daniel Masson, while Ubi Soft Montreal developed the PlayStation 2 version, which was later released for the GameCube, and features music composed by Shawn K. Clement. Both versions also contain completely different levels.
The PlayStation version was developed by Ubi Soft Shanghai and includes extremely adapted levels from Ubi Soft Casablanca's version as well as custom ones.
A 2D platformer for the Gameboy Color that ditches the original 3D segments for a complete 2D approach to the game, not unlike Ubisoft's original Rayman game, was released by Ubi Soft Milan, developed on the same engine as Rayman 2's Gameboy Color version. This version later got remade with the title Donald Duck Advance for Game Boy Advance. This version was developed by Ubi Soft Shanghai, who were responsible for developing the PS1 version. It was released in 2001 (November 15 in North America and November 16 in the PAL region).
Ubi Soft Casablanca's versions are also characterized by the fact that it was developed in Casablanca (Morocco), making it the first console video game made on the African continent.
The Nintendo 64 version contains a midi-adapted version of the PC and Dreamcast version with fewer, different instruments as well as an extremely different style, slight melody differences, as well as some new songs. The music in this version is played incorrectly by the game and thus plays many instruments incorrectly or not at all. Among other things, the music is in a higher octave due to incorrect sample rates.
A repair patch from fans to fix the music was released in 2024.
IGN's Craig Harris lauded the Game Boy Color version's graphics, citing "stunning" character motions and "beautiful" backgrounds, although he also was dissatisfied with the length of the game.
Cory D. Lewis of IGN reviewed the Nintendo 64 version, commenting that the game is better suited for younger players and will bore older gamers. He also stated that despite the Nintendo 64 version reusing the optimized Rayman 2 engine, the visuals in Goin' Quackers couldn't compare to the same level of quality the engine provided a year ago. Moreover, he praised the "bright-colored" cartoon objects and animations.
The PlayStation version was reviewed by Adam Cleveland on IGN, who found the game to be "a lot of fun". He commented that the bosses were creative and fun, but that they were extremely simple and provided little challenge. He summed up the review by stating "Although it may be on the quick and easy side, it's got all the right stuff".
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https://www.tcrf.net/Disney's_Donald_Duck:_Goin'_Quackers_(Nintendo_64) Archived May 10, 2023, at the Wayback Machine Donald Duck: Goin' Quackers N64 version on The Cutting Room Floor] https://www.tcrf.net/Disney's_Donald_Duck:_Goin'_Quackers_(Nintendo_64)
https://www.tcrf.net/Disney's_Donald_Duck:_Goin'_Quackers_(Nintendo_64) Donald Duck: Goin' Quackers N64 version on The Cutting Room Floor] https://www.tcrf.net/Disney's_Donald_Duck:_Goin'_Quackers_(Nintendo_64)
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