Duck Hunt

For fighter info, see Duck Hunt (SSB4). For other uses, see Duck Hunt (disambiguation).

Duck Hunt
In-game sprite of the dog and a duck as they appear in Duck Hunt.
Universe	Duck Hunt
Debut	Duck Hunt (1984)
Smash Bros. appearances	Melee (Duck only) Brawl (Duck only) SSB4 Ultimate
Most recent non-Smash appearance	WarioWare: D.I.Y. Showcase (2010)
Console/platform of origin	Nintendo Entertainment System
Species	Dog (dog) Duck (duck) Human (hunter)
Gender	Male (dog) Unknown (duck) Varies (hunter)
Place of origin	Earth
Designed by	Hiroji Kiyotake
Article on Wikipedia	Duck Hunt

Duck Hunt (ダックハント, Duckhunt), known in PAL regions as Duck Hunt Duo, is the name of a playable trio composed of the dog, a duck, and the off-screen hunter from the NES light gun game, Duck Hunt.

Origin

Throughout Duck Hunt, the goal is to shoot all of the ducks with a limited amount of bullets and time. By plugging a controller into the player 2 slot in the NES, a duck can be controlled to a limited extent by another player.

The hunter is the playable character in all versions of Duck Hunt and is supposed to represent the player. Accompanying the player is a non-playable scent hound, who flushes out the ducks for the hunter to shoot and picks up any ducks that are shot down by the player. If the player fails to shoot down any ducks, the dog infamously laughs at the player's misfortune before slinking back down into the grass. While the home console version does not allow players to shoot the dog, the arcade version, Vs. Duck Hunt, allows players to shoot the dog in the bonus rounds. However, successfully shooting the dog immediately ends the bonus round and yields no points.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee

The Ducks trophy in Melee.

Super Smash Bros. Melee marks the debut of the Duck Hunt universe within the Super Smash Bros. series. The Duck Hunt universe is represented by a collectible trophy that consists of two ducks, and its description references both the hunter and the dog from Duck Hunt.

A concept similar to Assist Trophies was considered for Melee, with one example being the ducks from Duck Hunt flying around the stage and interfering with characters. However, the idea was scrapped due to developmental circumstances.

Ducks
These friendly fowl are the targets in the game Duck Hunt, which utilizes the Nintendo Zapper Light Gun. They appear and randomly fly about trying to escape after your faithful (if slightly clamorous) hunting dog flushes them out. Once you drop the ducks, your dog dutifully fetches them by the napes of their necks and grins at you.

• Duck Hunt, 10/85 (NES)

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Super Smash Bros. Brawl marks the second appearance of the Duck Hunt universe. Instead of a trophy, the Duck Hunt universe is represented with a sticker of a duck. Fittingly, the sticker can only be applied to the Ice Climbers, Mr. Game & Watch, Pit and R.O.B., all of whom are retro characters like the ducks and dog.

Stickers

Name	Game	Effect	Characters
Duck	Duck Hunt	SpecialLaunchResistance+020 +20	Ice Climbers Mr. Game & Watch Pit R.O.B.

Duck (Duck Hunt)

In Super Smash Bros. 4

Duck Hunt as they appear in Super Smash Bros. 4.

Super Smash Bros. 4 marks both the third appearance of the Duck Hunt universe and the debut of unlockable representatives for said universe. Masahiro Sakurai stated that the inclusion of playable Duck Hunt representatives was influenced by that respective game's worldwide sales numbers, and his feeling that the Duck Hunt universe had not been viable for such representation until SSB4.

Much like the Ice Climber universe being represented by its titular characters functioning as a playable tag team in Melee and Brawl, the Duck Hunt universe's playable representatives function as a team that is referred to by their home game's name. However, instead of consisting of a duo like the Ice Climbers, Duck Hunt consists of a trio: the hunting dog and a duck fight together, while an off-screen hunter aids them by firing shots with the NES Zapper. Three of their special moves also reference other "Light Gun Series" games contemporary to Duck Hunt: their neutral special involves a tin can from the "Trick Shot" game mode from Hogan's Alley, their down special involves the gunmen from the NES game Wild Gunman, and their Final Smash collectively involves a flock of ducks from Duck Hunt, the cardboard cutouts from the Hogan's Alley and the gunmen from Wild Gunmen. Duck Hunt were the final newcomers to be officially revealed.

Duck Hunt are currently ranked 30th out of 55 on the tier list, placing them in the D tier. Their projectile special moves make them capable at stage control and zoning, with Trick Shot being the most useful due to its remote controllable property. They also have a good air game, as their sweetspotted neutral aerial, up aerial and sweetspotted back aerial are capable KOing options, while their forward aerial is useful for edge-guarding and spacing. However, their KO potential is very inconsistent, due to having a very small number of KOing options and because of their smash attacks' very awkward hitbox placements making them liable to fail at landing all of their hits. Their recovery move, Duck Jump, grants decent vertical distance, but minimal horizontal distance. It is also slow and unprotected, which leaves them wide open to edge-guarding and forces them to use the dog's wall jump more often than not. Their reliance on projectiles is also highly ineffective against characters who can counteract them, such as those with reflectors and especially against Rosalina & Luma, who can completely nullify their projectiles with Gravitational Pull.

Despite their weaknesses, Duck Hunt have managed to attain average tournament representation, and have achieved decent results at regional and national tournaments.

Trophies

Duck Hunt

You could call these two the stars of the NES 1985 launch title Duck Hunt. The goofy dog would chase down any ducks hit by the Zapper. In Smash Bros., these two work as a team to fight. When a can or a clay pigeon is in play, hit the button again to fire at it. Show your foes how the ducks felt!

Back in 1987, when Duck Hunt came out, these two might not have had the best relationship. That all seems to have changed now, and this unlikely pair are here to fight together. After throwing a can or a clay pigeon, press the button again to have a little helper fire the NES Zapper for extra damage!

: Duck Hunt (10/1985)

Duck Hunt (Alt.)

Duck Jump, an up special, has the charming twosome float up in an adorable fashion. It also makes getting back to the stage much easier. Their side smash can hit up to three times at close range, depending on your shooting skills. By charging up the attack, you can increase the range even further!

Duck Jump Duo, an up special, has the charming twosome float up in an adorable fashion. It also makes getting back to the stage much easier. Their side smash can hit up to three times at close range, depending on your shooting skills, and by charging up the attack, you can increase the range even further!

: Duck Hunt (10/1985)

Dog

In the NES game Duck Hunt, the dog is your trusty hunting partner. He scares the ducks and then picks up the ones you hit. If you don't hit any, though, he'll laugh at you. So much for man's best friend... In the Duck Hunt stage in this game, he'll occasionally pop up in his 8-bit glory and let you use him as a platform!

: Duck Hunt (10/1985)

Duck

In the classic NES game Duck Hunt, you hunt, er...ducks. The dog flushes them into the air, and then you aim and fire. Taking down ducks gets you points in the Duck Hunt stage in this game too. It has no effect on the battle, but the alternative Duck Hunt action might be a refreshing change from constantly punching your friends in the face.

: Duck Hunt (10/1985)

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  Classic (3DS)

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  Classic (Wii U)

• DuckHuntAllStarTrophy3DS.png

  Alt. (3DS)

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  Alt. (Wii U)

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  Dog

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  Duck

Trivia

• The dog, Palutena, Ridley and Wii Fit Trainer are the only playable characters in the Super Smash Bros. series that do not have a playable appearance in any other video game.