Smash Character Review: Duck Hunt Dog

Welcome to the Smash Ultimate Character Review. In this series, brought to you by no one because who would sponsor this, Bloggin Hood will review each character in Smash Ultimate, a daunting task for anyone without a crippling addiction for Nintendo products. This series will review important topics like best costume, taunt, and the most stylish moves in the character’s arsenal to embarrass opponents. It’ll also discuss less important topics, like best moves, character strength and weaknesses, and overall playstyle. If you survive the boring stuff, you’ll know just how to play to be the biggest baller online with a Kill Death Ratio at -3.

This all comes from a casual player’s mindset. Whle I’m not a button mashing new player with no concept of the shield button and I understand what profession players are talking about, I myself am not a professional. In fact, I’m all thumbs. I can’t input a combo, a combo breaker, or even a C stick Smash. It’s not pretty. Therefore, don’t expect these to be a technical discussion, or a high level point of view. I’m writing these for the people who follow up their Kirby Rock Form with a second Rock Form. I’m writing to the players that go out of their way to pick Star Fox and say “Pew Pew Pew” as he slams the B button like it owes him rent money. And yes, I write to you, the heavyweight characters who spam smash attacks hoping for the best. There may be some real content in here, but only because I back doored my way into it.

He’s been hinted at a bunch of times, but today is the day that Duck Hunt Dog’s review is finally here. What about Duck Hunt makes him Bloggin Hood’s choice of a fighter? With the release of Banjo and Kazooie, will anyone ever select the less known mammal and fowl tag team? There’s only one was to find out.

Opening Rant:

Few characters in fiction have undergone such a metamorphosis over their creation than my main main (pup?), the Duck Hunt Dog. Sure, you can point to a few characters who’ve made similar transitions, but they weren’t nearly as drastic. I’m sure a lot of you nerds are thinking about Darth Vader*. If we follow the storyline based on the timeline, and not the movie releases, Vader is a moral seesaw. He starts as a super annoying kid who apparently has some special cells that make him strong in the force. Then he gets manipulated by, probably the most obvious evil guy who doesn’t have horns and pitchfork. After being a destroyed, messed up pawn for most of his life, he decides to help his son and daughter out at the last possible second, arguably because they kissed at one point due to him never explanation their relationship. That’s enough for him to be considered a hero? Sure, I skipped a few details. There were cannibalistic teddy bears, a few millions clones, and a few robots who communicated via beeps. I think that’s everything. I got to say, I’m not impressed. Take away Vader’s iconic costume, James Earl Jones’ intimidating voice, and the red lightsaber, and you have a puddle of characterization compared to Duck Hunt Dog – or DHD as he likes to go by when the writer is tired of typing.

A more recent, equally nerdy example I can give that fits the bill is Jaime Lannister from Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire.* When introduced, Jamie is one of the most hated characters, antagonizing the Starks constantly, going as for as to get Ned killed. He also takes the Leia and Luke Brother Sister angle to a whole new level with his twin, Cersei. In Book 2, he has one of the best villain conversations with Catelyn Stark I can remember. Then, Jaime becomes a Point of View Character, and we learn so much – mainly, how he saved the entire realm by regicide, viewed as the biggest stain on his legacy. We see Jaime break, losing a hand, and therefore his identity as a knight. We then see him evolve, becoming a man obsessed with honor in a world where everyone assumes he doesn’t have any. Jaime will do anything for who he loves – Cersei, Tyrion, and ultimately Brienne, and doesn’t care what oaths he has to break to protect people. In some ways, it makes him the most honorable man in the series. In the show, back before it completely went off the rails, Jaime painfully splits from Cersei, who cares more about power than the realm or her brother, and decides to go fight with the Starks, Targaryns, and everyone else who hates the Lannisters. It was a big moment.

That’s all well and good, but unless the books ever finish, the show completely ruined this, making Jaime leave Brienne high and dry to return to Cersei, not to stop her, but to run away with her. At one point, he tells Breanne he never cared about the people of King’s Landing, you know, the ones he saved while tarnishing his name forever. No, that made sense. This was the worst twist since soda companies convinced people that diet drinks were healthy. In fact, almost all of the characters on Game of Thrones were ruined at the end, except Davos. Nobody ruins Davos. #Davosforking.

So again, I ask the question, who has had a better character arc than Duck Hunt Dog? You may be asking, “Wait, the Dog that laughed at you for missing in Duck Hunt? He had 6 animations. How is he a good character?” I supposed that’s fair, but I’d rather have no character than suffer through the Jaime Lannister debacle.

The laughter is what made Duck Hunt Dog who he was – a villain. He was supposed to be your loyal hound, carefully collecting the ducks you, the hunter, shot down. And while he does that, he also takes a sadistic glee in mocking you while you missed. The sound effect from the laughter haunted many of player’s dreams. I’m sure every single player had tired to take aim at the dog at some point, missing due to the dog’s immunity, and being “rewarded” with another round of laughing. More than Bowser, Ganon, Ridley and all the rest, Duck Hunt Dog was video games first true villain. He played his part well, a troll who mocks players for poor performance. Truly, he was Jaime Lannister before his time, minus the blonde locks.

Gamers didn’t see Duck Hunt Dog again for decades, until a trailer dropped for Smash 4, and released he would be a playable character. At first, it was just the dog, but then, we quickly found the duck was involved, not as an enemy, but as a friendly ally. The two fought together, with the dog handing the movement and the duck did most of the attacks. That wasn’t all though. The hunter joined, using his rifle in a variety of special attacks and smash moves. It was the combination of all three aspects that made the character work. The Duck Hunt Dog, gaming’s first true villain, became a happy cuddly icon who was friends with the duck. It was beautiful.

Now, I know what you’re thinking this time as well. “How come Duck Hunt’s 180 gets a pass but Jaime and Darth Vader don’t? Sounds awfully bias, Bloggin Hood.” Of course it’s bias. I’m the writer. But I’d argue that other than the unlikely friendship, Duck Hunt Dog remains the same character he also was, just that he’s friendlier than we knew, and he’s got a duck pal. At his core, Duck Hunt Dog is just as big of troll as he ever was.

Let’s ignore his play style for a second, which completely proves my point, but I got enough ammo on the animations alone. Firstly, the laugh remains part of his taunts. If you ever thought he lost his edge, hit left or right on the d-pad and you’ll quickly drop that point. Second, the dog uses the duck as a bludgeoning object repeatedly. This may have lost it’s luster with Banjo’s forward smash, but that move was lifted from the source material. Duck Hunt’s moveset was made from scratch and they decided the dog to hit people with the duck like a club. Finally, those smash attacks that involve the hunter – yeah, the dog must avoid being shot to hit the opponents. That’s right, our friend is still trolling so hard, the hunter turns on his pup, much like you did years ago. Not only is that animal cruelty, it confirms what I’ve known all along – Sure, our dog is friendlier than before, but his character is a troll. That’s never changed. His remained the same at his core, we just learned that he’s not so bad after all.

Also, it’s likely the dog just doesn’t like the loud sounds from the hunter and isn’t forced to dodge at all, making most of the argument moot despite sounding good. Thank goodness the laugh is in there.

Fighter Review:

Character Gimmick – Banjo and Kazooie removed his original gimmick an animal tag team. Now, I’d say the gimmick is their unique move set combining all elements to the Duck Hunt game, making a fun, complete character. Honestly, it’s impressive. I guess the control over the projectiles is kind of a gimmick, as the B button can control damage buffs and movement on certain attacks. Not everyone can get 16 special moves and random critical hits in their move sets, ehh hero?

Playstyle – The word troll is thrown around a lot these days, but I don’t think any other word fits better. Duck Hunt dog is typically played as a projectile character, spamming special attacks like they’re free. And trust me, they are. You’ll send all sorts of cans, discs and hired gunman after the opposition, while taunting till you put your d-pad at risk. Unfortunately for DHD, Smash 5 worried about silly things like “Balance” and prevented excessive spam with his moveset. You can really only control one projectile at a time, and while there’s a work around to it, it’s a step back from the spamming nature of the character.

It’s not all about projectiles though. Duck Hunt’s Smashes provide great range and his physical attacks use the duck like a weapon, further providing protection. He’s also low to the ground, being a dog, allowing some attacks to miss him entirely. You can play Duck Hunt aggressively, but it’s not the preferred method. Use spacing and your specials to your advantage.

Costumes – If you aren’t using the default costume, the dalmatian costume is, by far, you’re best available option. It’s not as though the different colors will make Duck Hunt Dog’s size change, but imagine if you could pick a Great Dane version or a Corgi version. Who wouldn’t play as Duck Hunt Weiner Dog? Alas, it isn’t meant to be, cause you know, hit boxes are pretty important for fighting games. The dalmatian is pretty fantastic and is my go to. It should be yours as well.

Speed and Mobility – On the ground, Duck Hunts dash is decent, covering ground by proving the adage four legs are better than two. He does struggle opening doors without opposable thumbs. In the air, Duck Hunts movement is average, if not a bit below average. It’s serviceable enough, but that poor duck is struggling out there more than Kazooie. You’ll be able to get from point A to point B fairly quickly. Usually, those points are camping spots.

Duck Hunt has no extra mobility options. Like at all. This makes sense – Duck Hunt is trying to avoid up close combat as much as possible. Still, you’d like some sort of dashing move or invulnerability frames to get out of a heavy character bearing down at you. Ah well. I guess you’ll have to use a massive amount of projectiles to keep enemies at bay… Speaking of.

Projectiles – Here, my friends, is where Duck Hunt Dog shines. In the interest of fairness, I have to mention the weakness of Duck Hunt’s projectile games – each is easily countered if your opponent is prepared. Duck Hunt’s can attack can be attacked back and hurt DHD as much as the opponent if it connects with him. His discs can be attacked and destroyed, though you risk being hit by the hunter when this happens. Finally, Duck Hunt’s hitmen are weak, falling over at 3-5% each. It’s not quite as fearsome as it seems.

But all these counters are in a best case scenario. You have total control over the can for a plethora of mind games. The disc is a great projectile that moves slowly. The men provide cover. If you mix up your attacks, these will not be easily countered. The biggest downside, really, is that you can only use one projectile at a time. Smart implementation of these moves will pin your opponent back, demoralize, and with a little bit of proper taunting, cause him to rage. That my friends, is expert Duck Hunt Dog play.

Recovery and Edge Guarding – Duck Hunt’s recovery is the standard two jumps and the UP B. His UP B provides good distance vertically, but isn’t fantastic horizontally. It also has no hit box, so you’re at complete risk. Somehow, a dog and duck live way longer than you’d expect, 150% or up at times, but is spike bait. This is one of the few times you may want to consider recovering high. Yes, I realize how backwards that sounds.

The can makes an exceptional edge guarding tool as you can control it’s height and falling speed with B button inputs. It’s your main source of guarding and keeps you safe on the edge. You can control it off the edge as well, though it’s tough to juggle that as A button attacks whiel airborne. Duck Hunts’ Forward Air and Back Air are great attacks off the ledge, with just enough power to gimp. He also has a Down Air spike. It’s a two hit attack that guarantees a spike off the first hit, so it’s slightly more accurate than the average spike. Still, it’s a spike, so don’t expect consistency. Overall, it’s a solid edge guard game, but I prefer the safety of the can with Duck Hunt’s suspect recovery.

Ground Game – Spamming Projectiles. Moving on…

Ok, Ok, fine. Let’s say besides spamming, what can you do? Well, even if you’re not using the can as a projectile, you should always have one out to assist in combos, or to work as a follow up after a throw or smash attack. DHD’s smash attacks have range and decent power (D Smash is his weakest) but shouldn’t be spammed. His tilt attacks are really just medium range pokes, which is fine, but nothing exciting. You want to use the disc to pin the opponent down, get aggressive with some cans, and use grabs if the opponent tries to power shield through your onslaught.

Air Game – Depending on which way you attack, Back air or Forward Air are used both for approaching and as pokes. These moves get added range due to the duck, making them relatively safe. Neutral Air is the typical “Get off me” move that comes out a little slow, but has a tad more knockback than the average Neutral attack. Up Air provides the power, so you don’t want to spam that. Better players than I can juggle with jumping Side B attacks. I tried it once and somehow fell off the edge, so yeah, not for me. You can summon a man with Down B to use as a shield, which has it’s uses. Mostly though, you’re using left/right and A.

Power – A character like Duck Hunt should not be all that powerful, but I’d put him at mid-range. Both Up Smash and Forward Smash have good knockback, especially for their range. Up air will net a good amount of KOs off of the top. While the Can, Forward Air and Back Air aren’t exactly huge knockback moves, they tend to rack up knockouts over the ledge which helps.

Most Stylish Move – With respect to the can, which is about to get the most analyst of any single move in this series, and the Down Air spike, the most stylist move is side taunt. The laugh is who Duck Hunt Dog is. It should be your most often used motion, including walking and jumping. Don’t fall for these tricks about “attacking” when you can taunt and humiliate the opponents.

Moves to Focus on

B – The Can – Without question, my favorite move in the game, the can has so many practical uses, it should be banned. Ok, that’s probably a stretch, but truly it’s versatile. Well it might not be technically the best projectile in the game, nothing matches it’s amount of uses.

The first B button press has Duck Hunt Dog kick the can. You can leave it where it is, or continue to hit B. The hunter will begin to shoot the can between 8-10 times. You can rapid fire to rise it up, or pace your shots to move more horizontally, or even make the can fall. The can will explode after a few seconds of inactivity, or when it connects with any character. If attacked, the can will not explode, but fly in the direction it is hit. This will also reverse it’s path when the B button is used. This may not sound like a lot but here’s just some of the uses it has.

• As a standard projectile. This is easy to see coming and very predictable. Therefore, I use the can this way 98% of the time.
• As a follow up tool. By planting a can, I like to use it in a quick combo. Something like throw – can – aerial is easy is land and does a quick 20-25%.
• As a launching item. Hitting can with a tilt attack and rushing in after forces the opponent to guess. The can moves much faster when attacked, and you can move it a bit more with a few B button presses.
• As an edge guarding tool. Not only can this connect, but it forces the opponent into a direction. You can force them up and set up a KO with Up air, or force them down and try to finish them with a spike.

The can is life. The can is love. The can is everything. Truly, this is what makes Duck Hunt special. That and being a horrific troll.

Side B – Fetch – In exceptionally high level play, this move is Duck Hunt’s bread and butter. With proper timing, multiple of these can be chained to rack up damage. At my level, this is a secondary projectile that can really frustrate opponents. Side B throws a disc, a slow moving projectile. Hitting B will again summon the hunter to fire, but also lock the can from being summoned. Always be sure to place a can first before this move. When B is used, the disc shatters, and the pieces can hit the opponent. You can hit B a few additional times for more damage. Like the can, on its own, it’s slow, but does great damage. It’s good against rushing opponents. You can also leave the disc on the ground and fire at it later, like a trap, but that leaves your options limited. Overall, it’s a good projectile, but it’s true worth is only for the best Duck Hunt players. They probably don’t taunt so what do they know?

Down B – Hired Hitmen – The most interesting thing about this move, is where are these men coming from? Duck Hunt Dog points and summons a marksman? Is this a super power? Does he have some sort of weird pocket dimension. I don’t know who dreamt this attack up, but I appreciate it.

Technically, this is a projectile attack, which when fired, is quick and tough to see. However, the attack has a 2 second wind up and does pitiful damage. The point of the attack isn’t for offensive, but rather defensive. The marksman works a shield that attacks, perfect for projectile battles. You can set up the man to take the damage while you approach from above, or set up another projectile attack. If the enemy doesn’t attack, you get a free projectile attack anyway. There’s a long cool down option, but the benefits outweigh it. Don’t expect this to be your best move, but it has a lot of situational uses.

Up Air – Duck, Duck, Goose – Duck Hunt Dog’s best finisher in the air, this is a three hit attack that hits the upper boundary move often than you think. While this move was good in Smash 4, changes to the hit stun in Smash Ultimate benefit multi hitting attacks. There’s a mini suction that occurs. Duck Hunt was a huge beneficiary for this and a ton of his moves, including all smashes are multi hit. Even if it doesn’t Ko the opponent, Up Air causes decent damage and juggles a bit. Don’t waste this move. You need to keep this fresh as you’ll get more kills with it than expected.

Forward Smash – Lead the Target – While Up Smash is likely the better move, the range on Forward Smash gives it the nod. As if Duck Hunt Dog needed to be more annoying, he has a multi hitting Smash attack that only needs to connect with the last of the three shots to get full knockback. Again, the changes in Smash’s mechanics boost this move if used up close, racking up the extra damage before the big knockback. This is a move you can even use as an edge guard and rack up some Kos on recovering opponents. It’s somewhat versatile, but not without flaws – all of Duck Hunt’s smashes have big lag if they miss. Use carefully, but don’t be afraid to fire it off with some distance. It’s the Duck Hunt Dog way.  

Verdict

Smash is a game featuring video game icons. There are stars that have been mainstream for decades, new characters creating their own legacy, and even rivals from other companies. For some reason, there’s Daisy too. None of these characters, in a list that will ultimately hit over 80, compare to the enjoyment, the projectile spam and of course, the troll that is Duck Hunt Dog. Has there been a more creative moveset? Previously, the only animation the character had was the reticle fire, a dog laughing for missing, and duck flying. Nintendo made a complete, fun move set out of that.

Sure, people will complain about the constant projectile spam, but really, he’s not quite as projectile based as he appears on the surface. Each of his three long ranged attacks are balanced and can be countered. Plus he’s cuddly, so that’s pretty good. Duck Hunt gets an easy 10/10. Long live the can.

*If anyone complains about me spoiling the gist of Star Wars, I’m going to openly mock you for it as deserved.

** If anyone complains about me spoiling the gist of Game of Thrones, I’m doing you a favor. Go watch something else until the books come out.