Duck Hunt Duo
The laughing dog and ducks from the classic light gun game.
Duck Hunt Duo refers to the non-playable hunting dog and the ducks from the 1984 Nintendo light gun shooter Duck Hunt. The dog is notorious for smugly laughing at the player for missing ducks, while the ducks serve as the primary targets. Together, they appear as a playable team in the Super Smash Bros. series, representing the commercial success of the original game.
Quick Facts
- Title
- Duck Hunt
- Developer
- Nintendo R&D1 / Intelligent Systems
- Publisher
- Nintendo
- Director
- Shigeru Miyamoto
- Producer
- Gunpei Yokoi
- Designer
- Shigeru Miyamoto / Hiroji Kiyotake
- Artist
- Hiroji Kiyotake
- Programmer
- Kenji Nakajima
- Composer
- Hirokazu Tanaka
- Platforms
- NES, arcade
- Released
- NES JP · April 21, 1984 · NA · October 18, 1985 · EU · August 15, 1987 Arcade (VS. Duck Hunt) NA · April 1984 · EU · 1987
- Genre
- Light gun shooter, sports, shooting gallery
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The Duck Hunt Duo originates from the 1984 NES light gun shooter Duck Hunt, developed and published by Nintendo. The dog is a non-playable character that appears after missed shots, laughing at the player. The ducks are the targets in Game A and Game B modes. According to Nintendo of America employee Jerry Momoda, the dog was made impossible to shoot on console releases to make the game more family-friendly. The dog makes a cameo in the NES Zapper game Hogan's Alley, where it can be shot.
Reader's Guide
The Duck Hunt Duo's significance lies in their role as iconic characters from one of the best-selling shooting games of all time, with over 28 million copies sold worldwide. The dog's mocking laugh became a memorable and often-annoying feature, earning it spots on lists of most annoying sidekicks and characters players wish they could kill. The duo's inclusion as a playable team in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, and later in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, was driven by the original game's commercial success. Masahiro Sakurai cited Duck Hunt as 'the most-sold shooting game in the world' as a primary reason for their inclusion. Their moveset draws from the light gun game, including throwing clay pigeons and summoning characters from Wild Gunman. The duo also appears in the 2015 film Pixels as an achievement trophy. Their legacy extends to inspiring the VR game Duck Season and fan games like Duck Hunt GB.
Did You Know?
- The dog appears on GamesRadar's list of 'the 12 most annoying sidekicks ever'.
- The Duck Hunt team appears as playable characters in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
- The dog cameos in the 2015 film Pixels as a brief cameo in the film itself.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Duck Hunt Duo?
The Duck Hunt Duo is the two-character team made up of the smug hunting dog and the target ducks from Nintendo's 1984 light gun title Duck Hunt. They appear together as a single playable unit in the Super Smash Bros. fighting series.
Why can't you shoot the Duck Hunt dog?
In the original NES and console versions of Duck Hunt, the dog was coded as an unshootable sprite, so no amount of aiming would register a hit on it. This design choice turned the dog into a purely taunting presence that mocked the player after every missed shot.
What role does Duck Hunt Duo play in Super Smash Bros.?
As a team fighter, the dog serves as the main body while the ducks function as detachable elements used for ranged attacks or support. Their kit is built around cooperative mechanics that echo the original game's shooting gameplay.
Why is Duck Hunt Duo in Smash in the first place?
Nintendo brought the duo into Smash as a tribute to Duck Hunt's status as one of the best-selling NES games of the 1980s. Their presence also lets the series play on the dog's iconic mocking laugh, which became a lasting piece of gaming culture.
What's the deal with the dog's laugh?
In the 1984 original, the dog would visibly shake its head and emit a derisive laugh whenever the player whiffed a shot at a duck. This small animation made the dog one of the most memorable and frequently referenced Nintendo characters of that era.
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