Editing Duck Hunt (SSBU)

'''Duck Hunt''' ({{ja|ダックハント|Dakkuhanto}}, ''Duckhunt''), known in PAL versions as '''Duck Hunt Duo''', are playable fighters in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]''. They were officially revealed on [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L93H7YC-83o June 12th, 2018] alongside {{SSBU|Dr. Mario}}, {{SSBU|R.O.B.}}, and the rest of the returning roster. Although they are a team, Duck Hunt are collectively classified as [[Fighter number|Fighter #59]].

Duck Hunt retain their realistic dog barks and duck quacks, using a combination of recycled voice clips from ''[[Super Smash Bros. 4]]'' along with additional new ones.

 

Duck Hunt are ranked 65th out of 82 on the current [[tier list]], placing them at the end of the C- tier. This is a considerable drop from their 30th out of 54 placement in ''SSB4''.

*Clear {{SSBU|Classic Mode}} with {{SSBU|Donkey Kong}} or any character in his unlock tree, being the last character unlocked after {{SSBU|Diddy Kong}}.

Duck Hunt must then be defeated on {{b|Duck Hunt|stage}} (the [[Ω form]] is used in World of Light).

Due to having three unique projectiles for special moves, Duck Hunt excel in zoning and stage control with an emphasis on setups. [[Trick Shot]] generates a tin can that explodes on contact, and the fact that it can be maneuvered by the player with a press of the special button makes it a key component of Duck Hunt's pressure, setups, and stage control. Additionally, the fact that the can is generated on frame 1 gives it utility as a combo breaker. [[Clay Shooting]] involves throwing a clay pigeon that can be detonated with a press of the special button. It not only has use as a zoning tool, but it also functions as Duck Hunt's most potent combo starter, as the fact that they can act out of the move before it detonates allows them to chain the move into itself, aerials, or a combination of the two. [[Wild Gunman]] summons a gunman that shoots from their respective gun after a delay. This further supplements their zoning and setup-centered playstyle, since they can act out of the move before the gunshot. In addition, the gunmen possess their own hurtboxes, giving it occasional use for blocking attacks.

Duck Hunt's air game also has decent utility courtesy of their good air speed. Back aerial is a fast and powerful finisher that comes out at frame 7 and KOs middleweights as early as 120% from the edge of Final Destination, making it even deadlier in the context of [[edgeguarding]]. Neutral aerial also compliments their edgeguarding abilities, as it comes out fast at frame 6 and has lingering hitboxes that make it useful for gimps while the strong hit also functions as a passable KO move, KOing middleweights at 135% from the edge of Final Destination. Finally, up air is a good vertical finisher that starts KOing middleweights at around 135% near the blast zone, plus it comes out fast at frame 6 and has a decent amount of active frames.

Unfortunately, Duck Hunt's main weakness is that, outside of some of their aerials, the aspects of their kit that don't revolve around their versatile projectiles are rather lackluster. For example, while their aerials are undeniably the best parts of their kit outside of their special moveset, some aren't without their flaws. Although forward aerial is fairly fast at frame 7 and has decent [[range]], it has atrocious KO power; even with the sweetspot, the move doesn't start KOing middleweights until around 180% from the edge of Final Destination, and the fact that the move has sourspots adds a layer of inconsistency to its already poor KO power. In addition, down aerial has some inconsistencies of its own, as while it is a decent spike on paper, the two hits don't always connect into each other. Duck Hunt's endurance also leaves more to be desired due to their low weight and exploitable [[recovery]]; while [[Duck Jump]] covers good horizontal and vertical distance, its unremarkable speed and lack of protection make it prone to edge guards. While their recovery fares better than in ''SSB4'' due to it being able to be canceled into attacks and air dodges, the fact that Duck Hunt can only cancel their recovery 50 frames later still makes it fairly exploitable.

However, the flaws of other aspects of Duck Hunt's kit are most apparent in their ground game, as their grounded normals are mediocre at best and well below average at worst. While their rapid jab is a good damage racking option, neither it nor the standard jab start KOing middleweights until 190%. Forward tilt, while being disjointed and having passable startup at frame 8, lacks range in comparison to other disjoints and doesn't start KOing middleweights until 150%. Up tilt, while in theory being a frame 7 combo starter into neutral and up aerial at low and mid percentages, isn't that consistent in practice due to the fact that its narrow hitbox struggles to hit grounded opponents even at point blank range. Even down tilt, which is among their best grounded moves due to being their fastest grounded poke (at frame 6) and being capable of starting tech chases, suffers from being an even worse disjoint than forward tilt in terms of both range and KO power.

While the aforementioned moves are simply mediocre, the same cannot be said for their dash attack, a move that is genuinely below average; it has slow startup at frame 10 while also having abysmal KO power, as it is unable to KO middleweights past 200%. On top of having slow startup, Duck Hunt's poor initial dash further hinders its use as a burst option, a role that dash attacks are generally meant to fulfill. Duck Hunt's smash attacks don't do their ground game many favors either, as while they have good KO power and are disjointed for utilizing the NES Zapper, their startup is rather subpar and they have awkward hitboxes that prevent all the hits from connecting at times. Their grab game is also a contributor to their less than stellar strength on the ground; their standing and pivot grabs have deceptively good range, but the reward they get from a grab leaves more to be desired due to none of their throws leading to consistent combos or KOing at reasonable percentages.

Duck Hunt have received a mix of buffs and nerfs in the transition to ''Ultimate''. While objectively buffed significantly, many of the nerfs the duo have received, though of lower quantity than their buffs, are further pronounced by the significant changes to gameplay mechanics. Overall, despite their plethora of buffs, Duck Hunt have been nerfed overall in the transition to ''Ultimate''.

Duck Hunt's notoriously inconsistent KO potential has been improved in many ways; their infamously unreliable smash attacks now connect much more reliably (though there are rare instances where their final hits may still fail to connect), while their forward tilt is now a situational KO option thanks to its much higher base knockback. [[Trick Shot]], whose cans were already a powerful, versatile projectile, also KOs much earlier, and all [[Wild Gunman|Wild Gunmen]] deal more damage with no knockback compensation and now possess some degree of KO potential, especially the leader and the sombrero gunman. Aside from their buffs to power, the duo's special moves have all seen miscellaneous improvements; Trick Shot's cans travel further, the move has less endlag, and cans can now be hit in midair, all of which improve its utility. [[Clay Shooting]] has less ending lag and the pigeons now explode into shrapnel that deals damage in many directions, increasing its effective range and forcing opponents to stay in place if they get hit, which make it an excellent combo tool. [[Duck Jump]] now allows the duo to act out of it after at least 50 frames with any action; when coupled with the reintroduction of directional air dodges, these changes somewhat improve the safety of their vulnerable recovery. Finally, Wild Gunman has less ending lag, all gunmen fire faster, and the defeated gunmen each maintain a hurtbox that allow Duck Hunt to use them to block incoming attacks.

While receiving predominantly more buffs, Duck Hunt is not without a few noticeable nerfs. Most prominently, the duo is lighter, which further worsens their already poor endurance. Some of their aerials have also been worsened; clean neutral aerial's deals less knockback, which while improving its combo potential, noticeably reduces its KO power. Forward aerial has a slightly shorter duration, and down aerial no longer auto-cancels with a short hop. The shrapnel left by Clay Shooting's pigeons can now damage Duck Hunt if it's destroyed by the opponent, and its tweaked properties make it harder to destroy, causing it to lose some of its setups into Trick Shot; as well, Trick Shot's higher power, while making it a more reliable projectile, make it a far riskier option to escape pressure. The dog's grabs also have less range, making it harder for them to grab opponents despite their standing and dash grabs' faster startup.

However, Duck Hunt's biggest hindrances come from the gameplay mechanic changes, which have hurt them more than most other characters. On one hand, the nerfs to rage don't affect the duo as much as other characters due to their move's higher consistency at connecting; the universally faster mobility has improved the duo's own, and the universally reduced landing lag on aerials combines well with this change, further improving their combo game. On the other hand, this same increase in mobility means many other veterans now sport much faster mobilities, which combined with the lower landing lag allows them to overcome Duck Hunt and take advantage of the duo's poor disadvantage state, despite Trick Shot's frame 1 generation making it a usable, yet risky escape option. The universal reduction to projectiles' damage further exacerbates the ease for opponents to endure the duo's options. The changes to air dodge mechanics are also mostly detrimental to Duck Hunt, as while the duo can use one to extend their recovery after Duck Jump, the limit to one air dodge per air time (unless hit) makes the duo much easier to read offstage and edgeguard accordingly, forcing them to mix their recovery up more often, which can be risky; they also don't noticeably benefit their own edgeguarding game due to their worsened neutral and forward aerials.   Lastly, the universal weakening of grabs further worsens Duck Hunt's grab game, with the increased ending lag on grabs making them even riskier to throw out and the slower startup on shield grabs out of [[shieldstun]] directly worsening their [[out of shield]] game, forcing Duck Hunt to rely on their aerials more.

All in all, Duck Hunt's playstyle has been improved to possess many more varied options, and their moveset's power makes closing out stocks less of a hassle as before. However, their tools can be more easily taken advantage of and their weaknesses are further defined, with their already unremarkable endurance and disadvantage state being harder to endure, and their out of shield game becoming less reliable due to their worsened nautral aerial and grabs. Of note is that the duo also still retain some of their other weaknesses from ''SSB4'', such as a reliance on setups to KO despite their improved KO potential, and a deficient close-quarters game. ''Ultimate''{{'}}s faster engine further weakens the efficacy of their zoning- and setup-centric playstyle, whose core is mostly intact from ''SSB4'', as the game favors quicker, more aggressive playstyles, making them easier to pressure; the benefits Duck Hunt have received from these gameplay changes also fail to compensate. This forces the duo to shift to a more aggressive playstyle, which while less polarized, is also less effective. Duck Hunt's unimpactful changes from game updates also fail to make up for the universal nerfs to projectiles brought by these updates. Because of these changes, Duck Hunt fares worse in ''Ultimate'' than in ''SSB4''.

Aside from glitch fixes, Duck Hunt have received a mix of buffs and nerfs from game updates. Version 2.0.0 made Trick Shot more safe to use, but also made Clay Shooting less safe, forcing players to prioritize Trick Shot in zoning. Version 3.0.0 impacted Duck Hunt more than a majority of the roster with its universal shield damage nerf to projectiles, though it also made it safer for Duck Hunt to shield its own Trick Shot can. Wild Gunman was also buffed to hit targets more effectively. Version 3.1.0 made up aerial more consistent, allowing easier kills off the top blast zone. Version 7.0.0 gave Duck Hunt the near-universal shield size increase and made neutral attack more consistent. Version 8.0.0 made teching slightly worse as a homogenization effort. Version 10.1.0 made forward smash connect more consistently, significantly increasing its KO potential.

 

Overall, Duck Hunt fares slightly worse than at launch. While its buffs were good quality-of-life adjustments, its nerfs were more impactful due to its playstyle relying on projectiles and traps. This caused the already small competitive base of Duck Hunt to struggle even more.

|neutralname=Scratch ({{ja|ひっかき|Hikkaki}}) / Headbutt ({{ja|頭突き|Zutsuki}}) / Double-Footed Kick ({{ja|両足蹴り|Ryōashi Geri}}) / Woodpecker Rush ({{ja|キツツキラッシュ|Kitsutsuki Rasshu}}) / Duck Finish ({{ja|ダックフィニッシュ|Dakku Finisshu}})

|ftiltname=Duck Attack ({{ja|ダックアタック|Dakku Atakku}})

|utiltname=Feather Attack ({{ja|羽根アタック|Hane Atakku}})

|dtiltname=Duck Leg Sweep ({{ja|ダック足ばらい|Dakku Ashibarai}})

|dashname=Dash Thrust ({{ja|ダッシュ突き|Dasshu Tsuki}})

|fsmashname=Zapper ({{ja|ザッパー|Zappā}})

|usmashname=Anti-Air Zapper ({{ja|対空ザッパー|Taikū Zappā}})

|dsmashname=Defense Zapper ({{ja|防衛ザッパー|Bōei Zappā}})

|nairname=Bow-Wow Wheel ({{ja|ワンワン車輪|Wanwan Sharin}})

|fairname=Duck Shoot ({{ja|ダックシュート|Dakku Shūto}})

|bairname=Rear Duck Shoot ({{ja|後方ダックシュート|Kōhō Dakku Shūto}})

|uairname=Wild Duck ({{ja|暴れダック|Abare Dakku}})

|dairname=Cooperation Meteor ({{ja|協力メテオ|Kyūryoku Meteo}})

|dairdesc=The dog somersaults to perform a headbutt, followed by the duck immediately performing a somersaulting peck. The second hit can [[meteor smash]] aerial opponents.

|grabname=Grab ({{ja|つかみ|Tsukami}})

|grabdesc=The dog bites the opponent and holds them with his mouth. Has surprising range for Duck Hunt's size.

|pummelname=Grab Duck Headbutt ({{ja|つかみダック頭突き|Tsukami Dakku Zutsuki}})

|pummeldmg=1.3%

|pummeldesc=The duck headbutts the opponent. Average power and speed.

|fthrowname=Bow-Wow Throw ({{ja|ワンワン投げ|Wanwan Nage}})

|bthrowname=Back Bow-Wow Throw ({{ja|後ろワンワン投げ|Ushiro Wanwan Nage}})

|uthrowname=Double-Footed Bow-Wow Throw げ({{ja|両足ワンワン投|Ryuashi Wanwan Nage}})

|dthrowname=Bow-Wow Slam ({{ja|ワンワン叩きつけ|Wanwan Tatakitsuki}})

|dthrowdmg=5% (throw), 4% (collateral)

|dthrowdesc=The dog sways his head downward to slam the opponent onto the ground. It is Duck Hunt's least damaging throw, but can function as a set-up into any of their aerials at mid to high percents. Possesses a collateral hitbox that can only hit bystanders when the opponent hits the ground, which does 4% damage and weak horizontal knockback.

|nsdesc=The dog kicks away a tin can from the ''Hogan's Alley'' game mode of the same name. The can is explosive and subsequent neutral special button presses cause the NES Zapper to shoot the can forward. After 9 button presses, the can starts to emit smoke and will then explode. The can is also capable of being manipulated by the dog and duck's attacks, with its tilt attacks being especially useful in this regard. However, this also applies to the opponent's attacks. Overall, it is Duck Hunt's most versatile projectile, and their most useful edge-guarding option. It is active starting on frame 1, making it useful for interrupting combos, though the explosion can also damage Duck Hunt. Although its explosion has very high knockback growth, it lacks KO potential out of edge-guarding because of its average damage output and low base knockback.

*'''Side taunt''': The dog lays on his side and does his infamous laugh, while the duck flies next to him, quacking.

SSBUDuckHuntIdle1.gif|Duck Hunt's first idle pose.

SSBUDuckHuntIdle2.gif|Duck Hunt's second idle pose.

|{{NTSC}} [[File:Duck Hunt Cheer English NTSC SSB4 SSBU.ogg|center]] <br> {{PAL}} [[File:Duck Hunt Cheer English PAL SSB4 SSBU.ogg|center]]||[[File:Duck Hunt Cheer Japanese SSBU.ogg|center]]||[[File:Duck Hunt Cheer Italian SSB4 SSBU.ogg|center]]||[[File:Duck Hunt Cheer Dutch SSBU.ogg|center]]||{{NTSC}} [[File:Duck Hunt Cheer French NTSC SSBU.ogg|center]] <br> {{PAL}} [[File:Duck Hunt Cheer French PAL SSBU.ogg|center]]

|Duck - Hunt! {{NTSC}} <br> Duck - Hunt Duo! {{PAL}} || Duck Hun - to! || Duo - Duck - Hunt! || Duck! *clap* Hunt! *clap* || Duck - Hunt! {{NTSC}} <br> Duo - Duck - Hunt! {{PAL}}

|[[File:Duck Hunt Cheer German SSBU.ogg|center]]||{{NTSC}} [[File:Duck Hunt Cheer Spanish NTSC SSB4 SSBU.ogg|center]] <br> {{PAL}} [[File:Duck Hunt Cheer Spanish PAL SSBU.ogg|center]]||[[File:Duck Hunt Cheer Russian SSBU.ogg|center]]||[[File:Duck Hunt Cheer Korean SSBU.ogg|center]]

|Duck - Hunt - Duo! || Duck - Hunt! Rah - Rah - Rah! {{NTSC}} <br> Duo - Duck - Hunt! Duo - Duck - Hunt! {{PAL}} || Duet - Duck - Hunt! || Deok Heonteu Deok Heonteu Deok - Heon - teu!

*'''Up:''' Runs on screen and turns around to kick away a can from ''Hogan's Alley''. He then makes a cartoon running pose.

==In [[competitive play]]==

''See also:[[:Category:Duck Hunt players (SSBU)]]''

*{{Sm|Jagabata|Japan}} - Jagabata began competing offline in 2021. Since then Jagabata has built a reputation for upsetting top players, including defeating {{Sm|Yoshidora}} at {{Trn|Sumabato SP 24}}, {{Sm|Kaninabe}} at {{Trn|Sumabato SP 40}} and {{Sm|MuteAce}} at {{Trn|Maesuma TOP 12}}. As a result of their strong performances and wins, Jagabata became first Duck Hunt player since Raito to be on a full year global ranking, being ranked 146th on [[LumiRank 2023]].

*{{Sm|Raito|Japan}} - The best Duck Hunt player of all time, Raito has achieved far greater success at the national level then any other Duck Hunt player. His greatest success came in 2019 and 2020 when he regularly placed in the top 8 of some of the most notable events at the time, including 3rd at {{Trn|Umebura Japan Major 2019}} and 5th at {{Trn|EVO 2019}}. While they have been less successful in the post-pandemic metagame, he continues to achieve the occasional strong result, such as placing 9th at {{Trn|Kagaribi 5}} or 13th at {{Trn|KOWLOON 5}}. To date Raito is the highest ranking Duck Hunt player on a global ranking, being 17th on the [[Fall 2019 PGRU]].

===Tier placement and history===

Initially, most players believed Duck Hunt were worse than they were in ''SSB4'' due to ''Ultimate''{{'}}s game mechanics encouraging more aggressive gameplay, which contrasted Duck Hunt's more campy playstyle. However, Duck Hunt's overall perception remained somewhat positive thanks to {{Sm|Raito}}, who achieved a great deal of success throughout the early metgame, including winning the superregional {{Trn|Weds Night Fights x Orange County Spring 2019 2.6}} and placing top 8 at several majors, including 5th at both {{Trn|EVO 2019}} and {{Trn|EVO Japan 2020}}, two of the largest ''Ultimate'' events of all-time.  

 

Even with this success, Raito's performances remained noticeably more inconsistent when compared to his performances in ''[[Smash 4]]'', and following the early metagame his results gradually became worse. As such, as time went on Duck Hunt's relevance in the metagame also declined despite efforts from dedicated mains at a regional level such as {{Sm|embo_z}}, {{Sm|Sekai Doggo}}, and {{Sm|SkWiirrel}}. A few Duck Hunt players were able to put up impressive performances from time to time, including Sekai Doggo winning {{Trn|Ultra Hard}}, {{Sm|Jagabata}} defeating {{Sm|MuteAce}} at {{Trn|Maesuma TOP 12}}, and {{Sm|mzk}} placing 7th {{Trn|Maesuma'GRAND WARS}}, the latter performance making mzk the only other Duck Hunt player to place top 8 at a major. However, their overall performances still pale in comparison to Raito's peak, and as Duck Hunt's worst flaws --  their mediocre KO potential and below-average ground game -- remained mostly unaddressed, most players agree that the duo were outclassed by other characters of a similar archetype who have more flexibility in parts of their kits that don't revolve around their projectiles. This is reflected in their tier list placements, where the duo were ranked 67th in the C- tier as a low-mid tier character on the first list, then rose slightly to 65th on the second list, albeit remaining in the C- tier.

Duck Hunt's opponents are animals, or in the case of the {{SSBU|Mii Fighter}}s, humans wearing animal costumes. All the stages are grass and nature-themed stages, except for round 6, which instead references Duck Hunt being a dog like the Nintendogs. Due to being an animal, [[Rathalos]] also fits this theme and is fought as the final boss of their route.

|1||{{CharHead|Donkey Kong|SSBU|hsize=20px}} and {{CharHead|Diddy Kong|SSBU|hsize=20px}}||[[Kongo Jungle]]||''{{SSBUMusicLink|Donkey Kong|Swinger Flinger}}''||

|5||{{CharHead|Mii Brawler|SSBU|hsize=20px}} (x2), {{CharHead|Mii Gunner|SSBU|hsize=20px}} (x2), and {{CharHead|Mii Swordfighter|SSBU|hsize=20px}}||[[Green Greens]]||''{{SSBUMusicLink|Kirby|Floral Fields}}''||Horde Battle (2 at a time).

*Mii Brawler costume combinations: Cat Hat and Cat Suit (x2)

*Mii Gunner costumes: Bear Hat and Bear Suit (x2)

*Mii Swordfighter costumes: Monkey Hat and Monkey Suit

|6||{{Head|Duck Hunt|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Black}}{{Head|Duck Hunt|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Black}}{{Head|Duck Hunt|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Blue}}{{Head|Duck Hunt|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Brown}}{{Head|Duck Hunt|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=White}}{{CharHead|Duck Hunt|SSBU|hsize=20px|color=Tan}} (x6)||[[Living Room]]||''{{SSBUMusicLink|Nintendo|Duck Hunt Medley (for 3DS / Wii U)}}''||Horde Battle (3 at a time).<br>If any of these costumes are being used by the player, the {{Head|Duck Hunt|g=SSBU|s=20px}} default Duck Hunt takes their place.

{{clr}}

Duck Hunt's fighter spirit can be obtained by completing {{SSBU|Classic Mode}} as Duck Hunt. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 300 Gold, but only after Duck Hunt has been unlocked. Unlocking Duck Hunt in World of Light allows the player to preview the spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a fighter spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. Their fighter spirit has an alternate version that replaces it with their artwork in ''Ultimate''.

==In Spirit Battles==

|{{SpiritTableName|DJ K.K.|size=64|customname=[[nookipedia:DJ KK|DJ K.K.]]}}

===As allies===

SSBUWebsiteDuckHunt1.jpg|[[Taunt]]ing on their [[Duck Hunt (stage)|titular stage]].

SSBUWebsiteDuckHunt2.jpg|[[Dash]]ing ahead of {{SSBU|Ike}} and toward a [[Smart Bomb]] on [[Spirit Train]].

SSBUWebsiteDuckHunt3.jpg|Hitting {{SSBU|Toon Link}} with their neutral infinite on [[The Great Cave Offensive]].

SSBUWebsiteDuckHunt4.jpg|[[Crouch]]ing alongside {{SSBU|Falco}} on [[Tortimer Island]].

SSBUWebsiteDuckHunt5.jpg|[[Sidestep]]ping on The Great Cave Offensive.

SSBUWebsite15.jpg|Taunting alongside the [[Nintendog]] on {{SSB|Dream Land}}.

SSBUWebsiteMrGame&Watch5.jpg|Idling alongside {{SSBU|Mr. Game & Watch}} on Tortimer Island.

SSBUWebsiteVillager5.jpg|Using [[Duck Jump]] alongside {{SSBU|Villager}}'s [[Balloon Trip]] on Mario Galaxy.

SSBUWebsiteChefKawasaki3.jpg|Alongside [[Chef Kawasaki]] on [[Mushroom Kingdom U]].

SSBUWebsiteBanjo&Kazooie4.jpg|Crouching alongside {{SSBU|Banjo & Kazooie}} on [[Windy Hill Zone]].

*Duck Hunt are the only fighters who travel to [[Living Room]] in Classic Mode.

*If Duck Hunt are hit by [[Max Malicious Moonsault]], the duck's wings will be spread out in a [[t-pose]] fashion.

*Duck Hunt are the only characters who face all of the {{uv|Star Fox}} fighters in the same round in their route.

**They are also the only characters to face all of the {{uv|Donkey Kong}} fighters in their route, albeit in different Rounds.

*There's a graphical error with Duck Hunt's [[on-screen appearance]] when done facing the left. The smoke effects appear behind the 8-bit grass instead of in front of it.

*Duck Hunt's slowest walking speed animation has the dog walk close to the ground, and visibly sniff the ground. This is a reference to the animation that plays at the start of a round of Duck Hunt.

*Despite not being present in [[Team Battle]]s, Wild Gunman's appearance and firing sound effects can still be heard if Duck Hunt are the leading fighters of a winning team.

*In European Spanish, European French, German, and Italian, the name tag and voice clip from the [[Announcer]] on the victory screen is slightly different from the one used on the character select screen. Instead, a noticeable translation of "the" is featured ('''el''' Dúo Duck Hunt, '''le''' Duo Duck Hunt, '''das''' Duck Hunt Duo, '''il''' Duo Duck Hunt). This trait is shared with {{SSBU|Wii Fit Trainer}}, {{SSBU|Pokémon Trainer}}, {{SSBU|Villager}}, {{SSBU|Ice Climbers}}, {{SSBU|Inkling}}, {{SSBU|Hero}}, and the {{SSBU|Mii Fighter}}s. Additionally, Duck Hunt and {{SSBU|King Dedede}} are the only fighters to have this trait in the European versions, but not in the American version.

*Duck Hunt, the Ice Climbers, {{SSBU|Daisy}}, {{SSBU|Ken}}, {{SSBU|R.O.B.}} and {{SSBU|Cloud}} are the only non-DLC characters who do not appear in more than one spirit battle from their respective home universes. {{SSBU|Dr. Mario}} does not appear in any {{uv|Mario}} universe spirit battles at all. This is not counting Olimar, who appears only in Mockiwi spirit battle as himself, but is fought in other spirit battles with Alph taking his place.

**While the Mii Fighters technically represent the {{uv|Super Smash Bros.}} universe, they appear in most of the Mii-related spirit battles.

*If the player is only using VS. matches to unlock characters, like in ''SSB4'', the {{uv|Duck Hunt}} universe is the final one with playable representation to appear. Duck Hunt are the penultimate characters to unlock in ''Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS'' (with the final being Jigglypuff, whose universe already has unlocked playable representation in Pikachu, Charizard, Lucario, and Greninja), the final characters to unlock in ''Super Smash Bros. for Wii U'', and in ''Ultimate'', all other characters that follow Duck Hunt in the timed encounters are from universes that have already appeared.

*Unlike in ''SSB4'', the duck does not blink in any animations that the dog does. This is similar to a situation in ''SSB4'' where R.O.B. does not emote in the Wii U version's Versus Mode.

**While it does seems odd that the duck doesn't blink while the dog does, it's actually not an error because ducks in real life do not blink. Instead, their eyes stayed lubricated with their third eyelid, which is called the nictitating membrane.

**However, if Duck Hunt are trapped in a bind pose, the duck can be seen blinking.

*In almost all of their spirit battles, Duck Hunt is solely representing dog characters. Squawks' battle is the only one where Duck Hunt represents a bird character.

*Unlike other Sound Tests with multiple characters in them (such as Popo & Nana, Pikmin & Winged Pikmin, and Banjo & Kazooie), Duck Hunt's voice clips are not split between the dog and duck, nor are their clips given specific designations. The Sound Test first lists the dog's four barking clips, followed by the duck's two quacking clips, followed by the dog's star KO voice clip.