Duck Hunt - On This Day

Anyone who has ever owned an NES console has probably heard of Duck Hunt, a game in which ducks are killed by a controller in the form of a light gun pointed at a CRT monitor / TV screen. This game appeared on the Japanese market on this day exactly 38 years ago.

Duck Hunt’s gameplay was simple: the player waited for the dog to jump into the grass and chase away the ducks that then flew across the screen. The player had a shorter period to hit 2-3 ducks before they flew off the screen, and he also had limited ammunition for three shots. After each round, the dog triumphantly showed the player's catch or laughed in his face if he didn't hit any ducks.

In addition to this standard model, there was also a mode in which clay ducks were shot. The game could be played in pairs, with the second player controlling the duck with the classic controller and running away from the first player. In the game, however, one could cheat by bringing the light gun closer to the TV screen, so aiming would become unnecessary, and every shot would be accurate.

Duck Hunt was remembered primarily for his characters. The dog that helped the player was often mentioned as a very irritating character, but he still secured a guest appearance in the Super Smash Bros. series. As of 2014, the Duck Hunt can be played on a Wii U console with a Wii controller instead of the NES Zapper.