Duck Hunt - Definition and Overview

Duck Hunt's gameplay is well-remembered by NES veterans.

Duck Hunt was a hugely popular Nintendo Entertainment System, or NES arcade video-game title. It was a launch title. In Duck Hunt, players had a special gun apparatus, the Nintendo Zapper Gun that they plugged into the NES console, and attempted to shoot down ducks or clay pigeons in mid-flight. Duck Hunt was originally released as an arcade game in 1984 and was also included in the PlayChoice 10 arcade console. Like many early video games, Duck Hunt has no ending.

The infamous dog can be shot in Vs. Duck Hunt.

The player is also accompanied by a nameless dog which laughs whenever a duck is missed. The dog has passed into video gaming folklore, alongside All your base are belong to us and the various vocal messages from Gauntlet. Additionally, one of the more popular urban legends within the video game community claims that some players have found a way to shoot the dog. This is actually impossible for several gameplay reasons and limitations, although it is possible to shoot the dog in the bonus round of the arcade version of the game, Vs. Duck Hunt (possibly the origin of the urban legend). There is also a flash remake (http://www.cyberiapc.com/flashgames/duckhunt2.swf) of the game that features dog-shooting.

The game was placed on the same cart as Super Mario Bros. as a pack-in (a game that is sold with the console it's on) for the NES Action set. It is the most common NES cart in the United States, and sells for around 50 cents (or less) used.

The music was composed by Hirokazu 'Hip' Tanaka.

Reference: Digital Press "Classic" Guide

Related links

• List of Famicom games
• List of NES games

External links

• Duck Hunt (http://www.nesfiles.com/NES/Duckhunt/Duckhunt.asp) at The NES Files