The handheld version of Disney's Donald Duck: Goin' Quackers features many of the same locales and basic objectives of its 3D sibling but is presented in a traditional side-scrolling format. The evil wizard Merlock has abducted Daisy, so Donald must traverse the following four regions before rescuing her: Duckie Mountain, Duckburg, Magica de Spell's Manor, and Merlock's Temple. Ninety different enemies populate the four worlds and an assortment of environmental hazards must be avoided in order to advance.
The foul-tempered fowl can jump, crawl, and bounce on most enemies to defeat them as well as blast through wooden doors and platforms after obtaining the "hyper" power-up. Each world consists of five levels, with the last being a battle with one of four boss characters: a bear, a Beagle Brother, Magica de Spell, and Merlock. Yet in order to come face to face with Daisy's captor, players will need to collect one blueprint scroll on each main level. Progress during the adventure can be resumed using a password provided at the end of a stage.