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Duck Hunt

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Revision as of 17:39, 25 June 2007 by 75.117.51.131 (talk) (→Wii Play)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) This is about the video game. For the sport, see Duck hunting 1984 video game
Duck Hunt
Developer(s)Nintendo R&D1
Publisher(s)Nintendo
Platform(s)Famicom, NES, Arcade, Virtual Console
Release April 21, 1984
October 18, 1985
August 15, 1987
Genre(s)Arcade/Light Gun Shooter
Mode(s)Single player

Duck Hunt is a video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) game console system in which players use the NES Zapper to shoot ducks on screen for points. The game was developed and published by Nintendo, and was released in 1984 in Japan. The ducks appear one or two at a time, and the player is given three shots to shoot them down.

Duck Hunt was one of the two original pack-in titles for the first release of the game system (the other was Gyromite). The game was not often reviewed critically, but given positive reviews from players of the game. Prior to the NES version, Nintendo also made a Duck Hunt game based on Laser Clay Shooting System released in 1976.

Gameplay

In Duck Hunt, players utilize the Nintendo Zapper Light Gun that must be plugged into their NES consoles, and attempt to shoot down either ducks or clay pigeons in mid-flight. Duck Hunt was also released as an arcade game in 1984, and is included in the PlayChoice-10 arcade console.

The game has three modes: one and two-duck variations on the above formula, and a third mode called "clay pigeon shooting". The clay pigeons are much smaller sprites than the ducks, and, in later rounds, require faster reaction time to shoot down than in comparably numbered duck modes. In Vs. Duck Hunt, Clay Shooting mode appears as the second round with the first round being the two duck variation (the arcade version never had one duck). Also, in the arcade version of Duck Hunt, the dog appears in the clay shooting round when players miss the clay pigeons. In the NES version, the dog only appears in the duck shooting modes.

Players are allowed three bullets to shoot down a duck.

Throughout the game, the player is accompanied by a nameless dog that laughs at the player if no duck is hit, and congratulates the player if a duck is hit. Since then, the nameless dog has passed into video gaming folklore. A popular urban legend within the video game community claims that players have found a way to shoot the dog. While this is impossible in Duck Hunt's console release, it was made possible in a bonus round of the game's arcade version, Vs. Duck Hunt. However, players will get no bonus points if they do. There is also a fan-made Adobe Flash remake of the game that features the ability to shoot the dog. The nameless dog makes a cameo appearance in the NES game Barker Bill's Trick Shooting (another Zapper game) and he can be shot.

While Duck Hunt does not have a traditional multiplayer mode, the manual states that a second player may plug in a standard NES controller in the other controller port and control the duck that appears. This option was only possible in the one duck mode, and could not be done with the clay pigeons.

Ending

Like other early video games, Duck Hunt has no proper ending. After level 99, the player advances to level "00". On level "00", no ducks emerge, but the sound of wings persists. After ten non-duck appearances, the game ends. A different version of this shows the dog laughing at the beginning of round "0" (rather than level "00"). The ducks then start appearing randomly in the background instead of flying in the normal manner; this happens 3 times. After that the dog keeps laughing until the words "game over" appear.

Development

Little is known about the development of Duck Hunt, but Nintendo Research & Development 1 created the game. They also developed the Light Gun used in Duck Hunt. The game was supervised by Takehiro Izushi, and was produced by Gunpei Yokoi.

Packaging and music

Duck Hunt has been placed in several combination cartridges. In the original Action Set configuration of the NES in the late 1980s, Duck Hunt was included with Super Mario Bros.. This particular cartridge is found quite often in the United States, due to it being included with the purchase of a NES. If one had purchased the NES system in a bundle with the Power Pad, then Duck Hunt was included on a 3-in-1 cartridge that also included World Class Track Meet and Super Mario Bros.

Audio

The original music was composed by Hirokazu "Hip" Tanaka, who did music for several other Nintendo games at the time. While the sound effects have been described as "pretty much what you'd expect for a game from the early 1980s - that is, awful by today's standards..." , the game's music was represented in the classic games medley on the Video Games Live concert tour. The music has also been used in the form of rock ballads incorporating the original Duck Hunt theme into the song.

Reception and legacy

Clay Shooting releases two clay pigeons at once.

Because of its release in the mid-80's, Duck Hunt received few reviews. Even today, most critics have not reviewed Duck Hunt. However, All Game Guide called the game an "attractive but repetitive target shooter" and "utterly mindless ... the game is fun for a short time, but gets old after a few rounds of play." Video Game Critic, another online site, gave the game a negative review in 2004, scoring the game a "D" and stating "there's really not much substance to it ... overall Duck Hunt is pretty lame, and only worth playing for a trip down memory lane." Despite the lack of formal reviews, several user groups have rated the game positively. IGN users gave it an 8.7 out of 10, and the Gamespot community gave the Mario-Duck Hunt package a 9.1 out of 10.

Duck Hunt, and the characters in it, have made appearances in video games since its release in 1980's. The dog in Duck Hunt has appeared in Barker Bill's Trick Shooting and can be shot in the "Balloon Saloon" game. In Super Smash Bros. Melee, a trophy can be unlocked displaying the ducks from Duck Hunt. Also, games in the WarioWare, Inc. series feature microgames based on Duck Hunt. Duck Hunt is also the Level 19 theme in Tetris DS.

References in popular culture

Duck Hunt has appeared several times in popular culture, and spans across several types of media. In film, Duck Hunt has appeared in the academy award nominated Boyz N the Hood, being played on a TV during the movie. A short film called "Duck Hunted", involving a person being transported into the video game world of Duck Hunt, was featured at the 2005 Newport Beach Film Festival. On February 14, 2006, the game was again used as "digital simulation" of Vice President Dick Cheney's accidental shooting of Harry Whittington on both Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann. Finally, on the Drawn Together episode "N.R.A.y RAY", footage from Duck Hunt was used to represent Captain Hero's attempts at hunting, with Wooldoor Sockbat taking the place of the dog, in full costume. There is also a hardcore band named after the game.

Wii Play

One of the minigames in Wii Play for the Wii console is Shooting, a game similar in style to Duck Hunt. The game replaces the light gun used in the NES game with the Wii controller, it features a target reticle like most Wii games, unlike Duck Hunt which did not have one. The new game features different enemies, including UFOs and targets in addition to ducks similar to those found in Duck Hunt. It also includes a two player mode. Duck Hunt will be released on Wii's Virtual Console on July 2, 2007.

See also

References

  1. "Gyromite". Gamespot. Retrieved 2006-12-10.
  2. Nintendo Duck Hunt (1976)
  3. Nintendo Duck Hunt (1976) video
  4. Duck Hunt at Arcade Vault Retrieved November 21, 2006.
  5. "PlayChoice History". Playchoice. Retrieved 2006-11-21.
  6. ^ "Duck Hunt". Duck Hunt Trivia. Arcade History. Retrieved 2006-12-10.
  7. "Vs. Duck Hunt". Nintendo Database. Retrieved 2006-11-21.
  8. "Adobe Flash Game". Retrieved 2006-09-20. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help); Unknown parameter |Format= ignored (|format= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ "Video Game Cameos & References". Video Game Cameos & References Database. Retrieved 2006-11-21.
  10. "Duck Hunt Cheats". IGN. Retrieved 2006-11-21.
  11. "Duck Hunt". Sage Reviews. Retrieved 2006-12-11.
  12. "Pioneers of the Renaissance". N-Sider. Retrieved 2006-12-11.
  13. ^ "Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt". Console Classix. Retrieved 2006-11-25.
  14. "3 in 1 Cartridge". Amazon. Retrieved 2006-11-25.
  15. "Hirokazu Tanaka Musical Credits in Games". Retrieved 2006-12-10. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |Publisher= ignored (|publisher= suggested) (help)
  16. "Duck Hunt". 80's Music Lyrics. Retrieved 2006-11-25.
  17. "The Ground Breaking Video Games Live Hits UK Shores". Video Games Live. Retrieved 2006-12-12.
  18. "Duck Hunt Music Video". Retrieved 2006-11-25. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  19. ^ "Duck Hunt". IGN. Retrieved 2006-11-20.
  20. "Duck Hunt Overview". All Game Guide. Retrieved 2006-11-20.
  21. "Duck Hunt". The Video Game Critic. Retrieved 2006-11-22.
  22. "Duck Hunt". Gamespot. Retrieved 2006-11-20.
  23. "Super Smash Bros. Melee Trophies". Detstar. Retrieved 2006-11-21.
  24. "Warioware, inc.: Mega Microgame$". Nintendo Database. Retrieved 2006-12-11.
  25. "Boyz 'N the Hood". Amazon. Retrieved 2006-11-25.
  26. "Duck Hunted". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2006-11-25.
  27. "Dick Cheney's Duck Hunt". Kotaku. Retrieved 2006-11-25.
  28. "Synopsis of N.R.A.y RAY from Drawn Together". Retrieved 2006-11-25.
  29. "E3 Expo Coverage". IGN. Retrieved 2006-11-20.

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