Who made it?
Nintendo R&D1 and Intelligent Systems.
What is the premise?
Originally, you would use the NES Zapper to record 8-bit ducks on your CRT TV as they run away from your dog.
It was a bundled title for many NES consoles, and would get callbacks in Wii Play’s point-and-shoot minigames — and the dog/duck duo would appear in Smash Ultimate, of course — but Duck Hunt was officially re-released only once on non-8-bit hardware, for reasons we’ll describe below.
Why should you play it?
Because outside of OG NES/Famicom hardware connected to a CRT TV, this is the only official way to play it. The NES Zapper only worked in tandem with a CRT display and does not work on modern displays.
The Wii U VC release turns Duck Hunt into a Wii Remote pointer operation, with a displayed cursor to help you aim. It’s a trade-off, to be sure – the always-visible cursor makes shooting ducks a lot easier than it was with the Zapper – but for a game that’s otherwise not only “stuck” on original hardware, but also relies on display technology that the vast majority players no longer have access, this edition is for many the easiest way to play Duck Hunt in the 21st century.
How much is that?
$4.99 / £3.49 / $4.99.
We’ll be back soon with another 3DS or Wii U eShop recommendation as part this series ‘Countdown’. Let us know below if you already have this in your collection and share your thoughts.
Table of Contents
