In the North American versions of the game, all Donald Duck references are absent and the protagonist is instead referred to as "Maui Mallard," as, according to composer Patrick Collins, the marketing team felt Donald Duck wasn't cool in the United States.

The player begins the game as Maui, whose only means of self-defence is an insect-launching pistol that can launch several forms of bugs, some of them combined for greater effect.

However, once the player reaches the second level, Maui transforms into Cold Shadow, his ninja alter ego, who defends himself with short-range attacks using a bo staff.

After the second level, the player can switch back and forth between Maui and Cold Shadow at will, provided he has enough ninja tokens for the transformation.

Inspirations for Maui Mallard included the television shows Hawaii 5-0 and Magnum P.I., martial arts films, and the games Earthworm Jim, Gunstar Heroes, and Vectorman.

[10] Because of this, Nintendo (which owned the factory where Super NES cartridges were made and thus could manufacture them more cheaply than third parties could[11]) licensed the game from Disney Interactive [10] and published it in North America and Europe.

Shawn Smith wrote in Electronic Gaming Monthly that it "has all the qualities of a great side-scroller",[13] Mark East of GameSpot hailed it as "quite possibly the best low-tech title to come out this year",[14] and GamePro's Bonehead deemed it "well-crafted entertainment for novice and veteran gamers who are looking for great run-n-gun action".

[15] Critics praised the large, non-linear levels[13][15] and detailed graphics,[13][14][15][16] and said that the ability to change between detective and ninja personas makes the gameplay both deeper and more fun.

[13][14][15] Critics found problems with the controls[13][14][15] and East said the Windows version is too choppy in full screen mode.

[16] There were plans for a sequel titled Maui Mallard and the Lost City of Dread for the PlayStation but it was ultimately cancelled.