Ducktales (NES, 1989)

It is a generally accepted fact that licensed games will turn out poorly.  A game based on a TV show or movie already comes with an audience, so the idea is to make a cheap product and sell it for maximum profit.  Film companies looking to expand into the video game market would hire a game studio to develop their merchandise, relationships often being fair but producing low quality product.  Lucky for the Walt Disney Company, they had a solid relationship with Capcom, makers of the Mega Man games.  In the days of the NES and SNES, the two produced games based on properties owned by the Disney company which were not just good.  Some of them, like Ducktales (1989) were some of the finest titles for the NES.
Ducktales is based, of course, off of the Disney cartoon where Scrooge McDuck, uncle of Donald and richest duck in the world, goes on adventures around the world in search of treasure.  You play as Scrooge, travelling between five different locations to find a treasure on each.  You go to the Amazon, Himalayas, African Mines, Transylvania, even the Moon in the never-ending search for more money.  You may play the stages in any order you choose (not unlike Mega Man).
There being only five stages, you might think this game is terribly short.  The limited number of levels is made up for by the large size of all of them, and the non-linear approach to their design.  Every area in the game is packed with secret areas and hidden treasure, which ensures that you will not find everything in your first playthrough.  You will need to carefully examine every inch of the world if you want to get the most treasure.
Level design complements the control of the game, which is flawless.  Scrooge reacts precisely to every tap of the button, and attacking enemies is a breeze.  You have two means of attack, pogo-bouncing on toughies with your cane, or hitting stuff with the cane.  The latter is used mostly to break blocks out of the way or break things open to look for treasure.  You will make most attacks by bouncing onto enemies' heads, which you can also use to get to high-up platforms.  The game is very difficult, but never frustrating.  If you die, you have no one to blame but yourself.
Naturally, you will have the help of all of Scrooge's friends and relatives.  The nephews Huey, Duey, and Louie appear to give you helpful hints.  Launchpad McQuack will give you a ride back to your mansion with his helicopter (and true to character, refers to you as "Mr. McD").  Even Mrs. Beakley shows up to give you some food for healing, and extra lives.  Also in the game are some of Scrooge's rivals, like Flintheart Glomgold and Magica De Spell (you fight her in Transylvania).
Capcom is responsible for some of the most iconic and impressive visuals and music on the NES, some of the best of which is found in Ducktales.  The Moon theme is so recognizable that some gamers may not even know it is from this game.  The graphics are bright and colorful, and sprites are drawn and animated to represent perfectly their cartoon counterparts.  This would be the beginnings of a great line of Disney/Capcom games, which would later include Chip n' Dale Rescue Rangers, The Little Mermaid, and Goof Troop (none of which will be appearing in the Great Video Games, but are fun, original pieces of software regardless).  There would be a Ducktales 2, but it did not reach the same level of greatness that this first game did.