Duck Hunt (stage)

Duck Hunt
Duck Hunt in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Universe	Duck Hunt
Appears in	SSB4 Ultimate
Availability	Unlockable (Wii U) Downloadable (3DS) Starter (Ultimate)
Unlock criteria	KO one opponent in Cruel Smash.
Crate type	Normal
Maximum players	4 (3DS) 8 (Wii U and Ultimate)
Tracks available	3DS version: Duck Hunt Medley Wrecking Crew Retro Medley (Alternate) Wii U version: Duck Hunt Medley Balloon Trip The Mysterious Murasame Castle Medley Clu Clu Land Famicom Medley Title Theme (NES Remix 2) Swan Lesson
Tournament legality Smash 4 Singles: Banned Doubles: Banned
Article on Wikipedia	Duck Hunt

Duck Hunt (ダックハント, Duckhunt) is a stage that appears in Super Smash Bros. 4 and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, based directly on the NES game Duck Hunt. It was unlockable in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U at launch, and was added to Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS with free availibility in the 1.1.1 update.

In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Ultimate, Duck Hunt is fought here in their unlocking battle.

Stage overview

The main body of the stage is a large dirt platform covered by grass, whose sides can be wall jumped off of. The bush on the right and the foliage of the tree on the left act as soft platforms. Occasionally, a patch of grass may pop up in front of the main field of grass, which hides characters and items behind it due to the stage's 2D effect. The look of the stage is based on the game's native 4:3 aspect ratio, with the side blast lines being located beyond the pillar-boxes on either side of the main platform.

The HUD displayed on the screen during play shows the round number, the quantity of ammo left, a duck meter, a gauge below the duck meter indicating the minimum amount of ducks to knock down, and the current score. The HUD in the standard version of the stage in Super Smash Bros. for 3DS moves with the camera.

During the match, one or two ducks appear at a time. They plunge into the grass when hit by an attack, increasing the score and occasionally dropping items. The 8-bit dog then appears to collect the fallen ducks or laugh if no ducks were hit, concurrently acting as a temporary platform. If players knock down the minimum number of ducks to move on to the next round after ten ducks appear, then the next round begins. Green ducks give 500 points, blue ducks give 1,000, and red ducks give 1,500. If all ten ducks are knocked down, a "Perfect" sign is displayed in the center of the stage just as in the original Duck Hunt, adding 10,000 points to the total. If the minimum quota is not met, it will restart from the first round. There are 10 rounds in total, with a maximum potential score of 158,000, before the score resets to zero and it resets to the first round. In 8-Player Smash, no ducks or dog appear at all.

Ω forms and Battlefield form

In Super Smash Bros. 4, the Ω form removes the bush, the ducks, the dog, the tree, and the patches of grass the player can hide in. Additionally the platform is shortened slightly to match that of Final Destination. However, the HUD remains fixed and does not move with the camera.

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the Ω form and Battlefield form are similar to SSB4's Ω form; however, the main platform does not extend below the blast line and is resized and reshaped to match Final Destination and Battlefield, respectively. The three soft platforms of the Battlefield form resemble the texture of the ground and are unique to this form.

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  Ω form in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

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  Ω form in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

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  Ω form in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Battlefield form in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Origin

The stage is based on the original Duck Hunt game for the NES. In the game, players use the NES Zapper light gun accessory to shoot their targets down. Players must choose to play either Game A, B, or C. One duck appears at a time in Game A, and two ducks appear at a time in Game B. In Game C, players are tasked with shooting clay pigeons which are tossed from the foreground to the background. This stage combines both Game A and B, as either one or two ducks will appear at a time.

The stage as it originally appeared in Duck Hunt.

Tournament legality

Prior to 2017, this stage was legal in most tournaments, however, the 2017 recommended ruleset has made this stage banned in tournaments. Several reasons behind this ban was due to the singular tree which promoted camping against characters with poor vertical movement (most notoriously Little Mac), the low distance relative to the stage and the bottom/side blast lines, and infamously the Duck Hunt dog itself who would occasionally interrupt gameplay (or even save a player from a punish).

However, arguments against the stage's ban included the relative neutrality of the main platform and advantages offered by the tree, allowing it to be used as a counterpick stage for characters with otherwise weak vertical finishers. Additionally, the ducks could be used as a technical advantage due to their ability to refresh stale moves, similar to hitting balloons on Smashville. Overall, this decision has been met with mixed reception, with one notable example of opposition being from ESAM, who has made a video addressing his feelings on the subject.

Gallery

Super Smash Bros. 4

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  Duck Hunt in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

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  Duck Hunt in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

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  Duck Hunt taunting on its eponymous stage in Ultimate.

Trivia

• Star KOs and screen KOs occur in the 3DS version, but not in the Wii U version. This is also the case with the 3DS version of Super Mario Maker, though without the Screen KOs.
• Although the fighters are 2D, the ground, tree, bush, and moving grass sections have raised 3D parts.
• In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS's All-Star Mode and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U's Duck Hunt unlock battle, the stage's dog and ducks do not appear.
• This is the only shared stage in Super Smash Bros. 4 to have an alternate track on the 3DS version that does not appear on the same stage on the Wii U.
• Certain fighters benefit from the lack of a Z-axis for hitboxes in this stage, for example Charizard, who has a much easier time landing the sweetspot on his forward tilt as a result.
• Even if Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS is updated to 1.1.1 or higher, Duck Hunt will still be fought on Battlefield for their unlocking battle instead of here.
• Duck Hunt is the only stage which has been a starter stage, a DLC stage, and an unlockable stage, as it was each in Smash 3DS, Smash Wii U, and Ultimate, respectively.