Duck Hunt (World)

Duck Hunt gameplay context

Duck Hunt is the quintessential 1985 NES launch title, a well-known light gun shooter bundled with the console itself that introduced millions to the Zapper peripheral I still remember picking up as a kid. Your mission is deceptively simple: shoot down a limited number of 8-bit ducks as they tauntingly fly across a blue sky, all while enduring the mockery of that smirking brown hunting dog that pops from the bushes when you miss. Duck Hunt includes region marker: World, which helps separate this page from nearby ports, regional releases, and similarly named entries.

• Duck Hunt entry snapshot
  Duck Hunt includes region marker: World, which helps separate this page from nearby ports, regional releases, and similarly named entries. The listed tags point to Light-Gun Shooter, giving the page a clearer shooter play style search intent. Emulator core: nes.
• Revolutionary Light Gun Mechanics
  Gameplay hinges entirely on the bright orange NES Zapper, a peripheral that used the scan rate of CRT televisions to detect hits; that distinctive *flash* over your target signaled a successful shot. Learning to lead your shot just ahead of a duck's changing flight path and squeezing the trigger on a flickering screen was an arcade-like thrill few home systems could match.
• Two Distinct & Memorable Modes
  Beyond the iconic single duck and two-duck hunting modes, players forget Game B offered pure target-shooting fun with clay pigeons launched from the bushes. I spent hours in this mode perfecting my aim without the pressure and shame of the dog's mocking one-bark, two-bark, and uproarious belly laugh for a complete miss.
• A 2-Player Cooperative Twist
  Few games utilized the two-controller port idea as neatly as the hidden 2-Player B mode, where the second player used a standard NES pad to control the duck's flight path via the D-pad. It turned the entire game into a humorous, tense battle of wits between hunter and hunted on the same screen.