Duck Hunt

Smash Attacks

SIDE SMASH

Fires multiple shots horizontally in front of Duck Hunt. A longer charge has more range than the quickest version.

DOWN SMASH

Alternating shots immediately in front of and behind Duck Hunt.

UP SMASH

Multiple shots close above Duck Hunt’s body with the last shot knocking opponents high vertically.

Basic Attacks

Standing Attack

The dog has a three-hit string with its paw, head, and hind legs while the duck comes in for the rapid strikes.

Forward Tilt

While the dog crouches, the duck flies out horizontally to attack the opponent with its beak. This can be aimed up or down.

Up Tilt

The dog kicks its hind legs up while the duck swings upward with its wings.

Down Tilt

The dog swings its hind legs toward the opponent while the duck flies out to attack the opponent’s feet with its beak.

Dash Attack

The dog slides forward while the duck attacks out in front with its beak.

Edge Attack

The dog climbs back up to the stage while the duck strikes forward for covering fire.

Air Attacks

Neutral Air Attack

The dog does a cartwheel attack midair!

Up Air Attack

The duck flaps its wings and strikes upward with its beak to hit multiple times.

Down Air Attack

The dog kicks downward with one of its hind legs before the duck swings around and also strikes the opponent downward. There is a meteor smash when the duck’s attack hits an airborne opponent.

Forward Air Attack

The dog kicks forward above its head with its hind legs while the duck attacks with its beak.

Back Air Attack

The dog kicks back with its hind legs while the duck attacks with its beak.

Special Attacks

Trick Shooting (Neutral Special)

Kick out a can that explodes after about 10 seconds or on contact with an opponent. Pressing the button again shoots the can, causing it to bounce higher into the air. After eight shots, the can drops from its current position and explodes.

Clay Shooting (Side Special)

Throw a clay pigeon out horizontally. Hitting the button again fires three shots at it. The clay pigeon can also hit an opponent before it has been shot. If this happens, timing your shot immediately after gives you a small combo.

Duck Jump (Up Special)

The duck flaps its wings to fly up, lifting the dog to safety. This is only a recovery, not an attack. You can control the direction the duck is flying by hitting Left or Right, but you can’t cancel this move once it begins.

Wild Gunman (Down Special)

Duck Hunt spawns one of five gunmen to fire a shot. Some gunmen fire quicker than others, but all can be destroyed before firing their shots. You can only have one gunman out at a time.

Final Smash

NES Zapper Posse

A flock of ducks fly through the battlefield immediately in front of Duck Hunt, striking anyone in their path. Opponents struck by the ducks enter a cinematic where they get to meet all of the Wild Gunmen at the same time, along with a bunch of exploding cans! This Final Smash has great damage and explosive power.

Strategy

Duck Hunt is one of the most versatile zoning characters in the game, thanks to a variety of projectile options. While these projectiles make for a great long-range game, Duck Hunt also possesses some long-range attacks whenever the duck flies out to strike. Though Duck Hunt is two characters, they are below-average weight and if either gets hit, that hit deals damage to both, so be sure to keep opponents away with their projectiles! Always try to have a can from Trick Shooting out, as it gives you more options in how to attack your opponent. As for weaknesses, Duck Hunt’s weight and, surprisingly, Duck Hunt’s recovery and KO power can be issues. While Duck Jump can recover very high, you can’t cancel it, it isn’t an attack, and you can be hit out of it. While all of the Smash attacks deal good damage, they are all multi-hit. Because the shots are so quick, it can be difficult to time them to get all hits out of them.

Trick Shooting is an essential projectile for Duck Hunt because the can explodes on contact with an opponent and has good knockback. Note that the can hitting an opponent deals damage, the shots at the can also hit other opponents, and the explosion damages anyone around it. The faster the can is traveling, the more damage it deals on impact. Experiment with different timings for shooting the can—or even leave it as a trap and don’t shoot it! You can also move while advancing the can, which allows you to use it as a shield of sorts during your approach! Clay Shooting is another good projectile for Duck Hunt, as you can choose when you want to shoot the clay pigeon. If you use Clay Shooting when Trick Shooting’s can is out, hitting the Special button focuses on the clay pigeon before returning to the Trick Shooting can. The shots at the clay pigeon can also advance Trick Shooting’s can, so try to combine these attacks! Because each of the gunmen can be defeated, consider using your shield to defend them from projectile attacks. The Wild Gunman spawns one of five gunmen that fires a single shot at the opponent. They have different attack speeds, ranges, and damage on their shots, and their shots can also hit the clay pigeons from Clay Shooting and the can from Trick Shooting! Duck Jump is mainly used for recovery and is not an attack.

Back Air and Forward Air have the best range and are your best options to KO opponents while in the air. With the Forward Air, try to hit at maximum range for best results. Down Air is also very good for its meteor smash. For Smash attacks, Side Smash is your best option. Down Smash and Up Smash can be very difficult to time, but with practice, you will learn to land them more consistently. Side Tilt is a great poke, and Up Tilt is a good option to cover opponents approaching from above you. Though KO power can be an issue, Duck Hunt has excellent edge-guarding capability, thanks to its Trick Shooting can and Clay Shooting. Use a throw to get opponents off-stage, then bombard them with your projectiles!

Recovery

Duck Hunt really only has one good recovery tool, the Duck Jump. Duck Jump is your only way of getting back up to a stage. You can move the duck left or right as it carries the dog and flies back up. Once this recovery starts, you can’t stop it, and it isn’t an attack. This means you have to avoid enemy contact altogether. The lesser but more obvious recovery tool is Duck Hunt’s double jump. The second jump is considerably higher than most characters’ as the duck flaps its wings to get you as high as possible. Consider using this before using the Duck Jump if you really need to get a lot of height because you are in a fall state after Duck Jump.