Duck Hunt (character)

Duck Hunt (also referred to as the Duck Hunt Duo in Europe) is the name given to a pair of characters who appear as a fighting team in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, who are originally from the classic NES game Duck Hunt. One character is a hunting dog, and the other is one of the ducks who were hunted in the game.

Background

Within the original Duck Hunt, the two characters did not appear to be friends. The dog hid in the bushes while the player attempted to shoot down as many ducks as possible. The dog retrieved the fallen ducks, but he was also known for popping out of the bushes to chuckle at the player whenever they fail.

The dog also made an appearance in Barker Bill's Trick Shooting in the Balloon Saloon minigame, where the player had to shoot balloons while avoiding shooting the dog.

Super Smash Bros.

In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Duck Hunt could be unlocked as a playable fighter. Despite seeming to have been enemies in the past, the two are very friendly in these games and work together in battle. In the 3DS version, they are unlocked by playing 110 Vs Matches or by completing Classic Mode with 8 characters, while in the Wii U version they can be unlocked by playing 100 Vs Matches or by defeating at least one single fighter in Cruel Smash. In Ultimate, they could be unlocked as part of the game's variable-based system for unlocking characters or by awakening them within Adventure Mode.

In addition to their playable appearance, they were also represented in 8-bit form in the Duck Hunt stage (present in the Wii U game and Ultimate). The dog appeared from the bushes to chuckle and could be used as a platform, and the ducks will also take flight through the area, unaffected by whether or not any of the players are playing as Duck Hunt.

Trophies/Stickers/Spirits

Prior to their playable appearance, there was a trophy for the ducks from Duck Hunt in Super Smash Bros. Melee (with a description mentioning the dog's role) and a sticker of a duck in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. In the 3DS/Wii U game, there were two standard trophies for them in both versions along with a Wild Gunman trophy. The Wii U version also had trophies for their Final Smash, the 8-bit versions of the dog and duck and for the clay pigeon and can. In Ultimate. Duck Hunt had their own Fighter Spirit, and there was also an Advanced-rank Primary Spirit for the Wild Gunman as well as a Novice-rank Support Spirit for the Gangster, Lady & Policeman from Hogan's Alley.

Ultimate: Adventure and Classic Modes

In the Adventure Mode of Ultimate, "World of Light", Duck Hunt was seen during the opening cutscene, in which the game's fighters had assembled together to confront Galeem and his Master Hand army. When Galeem unleashed his beams of light upon anyone in the battlefield, the duck was seen desperately trying to fly away while carrying the dog, but the dog could not be lifted more than inches near the ground. They were near Villager and Wii Fit Trainer, and all three were overtaken by beams of light. They fell under Galeem's control, and Duck Hunt could later be found within the Light Realm's foggy forest. There, they could be awakened and recruited to the playable roster by defeating them in battle.

Their Classic Mode route was called "Dog, Duck, Zapper". The theme of their opponents was other characters who were animals, as well as a match against Mii Fighters in animal costumes. The last pre-boss battle of the route was against an alternate costume of Duck Hunt, and the route's boss was Rathalos.

Abilities

The dog and duck fight with a series of normal attacks, but there are also a variety of special moves that reference other NES games, and Duck Hunt's smash moves involves sending out the cursor for the hunter's Zapper, which will 'shoot' at anyone it hits.

• Standard Special Move: Trick Shot- Duck Hunt tosses an explosive version of the tin can from Hogan's Alley which will detonate after a short amount of time. Pressing the button again makes the hunter shoot at the can to send it further away.
• Side Special Move: Clay Shooting- The dog throws a clay pigeon at opponents, and the player can make the hunter shoot it down by pressing the button again.
• Up Special Move: Duck Jump- The duck takes off while airlifting the dog. The duck flies up to a considerable height before it is fatigued and drops the dog. The normal version of this move has no attack power and is simply used for recovery purposes.
• Down Special Move: Wild Gunman- They summons an 8-bit gunman from Wild Gunman, who will shoot at anyone in his range. This character can be easily defeated, however.
• Final Smash: NES Zapper Posse- Duck Hunt summons 8-bit ducks to entrap opponents. Anyone caught in it gets teleported into a field where these opponents will get caught in a gunfight between characters from Wild Gunman and Hogan's Alley

Other Appearances

Video Games

• In Super Mario Maker, Duck Hunt appears as one of the potential Mystery Mushroom costumes that Mario could transform into. It could be unlocked by completing a 100 Mario Challenge on Normal or higher, or by scanning an amiibo of Duck Hunt.
• A Yoshi design based on Duck Hunt could be unlocked in Yoshi's Woolly World by scanning their amiibo.

Trivia

• The dog became infamous over the years due to gamers' frustrations that they could not shoot the dog when he mocked them. It is possible to shoot the dog in the bonus game of the Vs. version as well as in Barker Bill's Trick Shooting, but in both cases there are penalties.
• Duck Hunt's alternate Smash Bros. costumes involve changing their breeds, including one that makes the dog into a dalmatian.