YMMV / Duck Hunt

• Adaptation Displacement: The game is actually based on clay pigeon shooting gallery toys Nintendo made in the 60s and 70s. Perhaps one of the most potent instances of this trope - not only do most people not realize this game was based on a toy Nintendo used to produce, but most people aren't even aware Nintendo produced toys in the first place.
• Awesome Music: The title screen and round start music are catchy and have a tendency to get stuck on people's heads.
• Catharsis Factor: Shooting the dog in the Vs. bonus round will cut the round short but is far more satisfying than the extra points you would have gotten from blasting ducks.
• Fan Nickname: "Mr. Peepers" is becoming an increasingly popular nickname for the dog after a disputedly apocryphal^note Some sources link to an interview, but readers are left confused as the name had apparently been edited out. account of his designer calling him that, though some prefer to keep him as The Nameless. Even Super Smash Bros. doesn't have an official name for him.
• Germans Love David Hasselhoff: This was one of only three games Nintendo made for Zapper in Japan (the other two being Hogan's Alley and Wild Gunman), none of which were especially big hits. In the United States, Duck Hunt was bundled with almost every configuration of the NES, leading it to become an enormous success (only surpassed by its fellow pack-in Super Mario Bros.) and Nintendo and third parties to make more Zapper games exclusively for the American market.
• Funny Moments: Shooting the dog in the Vs. bonus round.
  Dog: (hobbling on crutches) OUCH! SHOOT THE DUCKS, NOT ME!
• It's Easy, So It Sucks!: In the Virtual Console release, a highly visible reticle is turned on by default, making it a point-and-click game rather than a shooting game; this tends to be the reaction from people who don't know you can turn the reticle off (specifically, by pressing any direction on the + Control Pad).
• Memetic Mutation: The dog laughing at you has been mocked and parodied time and again all over the internet. It is infamous and became an Ascended Meme when the trailer for Banjo & Kazooie being added to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate dropped, with the duo being impersonated at first by Duck Hunt, who proceed to heckle the cast of Donkey Kong Country (and the video's audience) with vast quantities of their laughter.
• Memetic Troll: The dog, of course. That snickering face has become the symbol of player mockery for years to come, eventually reaching to Ascended Meme status when players can play as Duck Hunt in Super Smash Bros. and use that laughing face as a taunt to piss off other players.
• Rescued from the Scrappy Heap: The unexpected appearance of the Dog (and to a lesser extent, the duck) in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U as a playable character. The two of them got an inventive move set that involves references to many of the games that made use of the NES Zapper, which made people start to warm up to the dog after nearly 3 decades of scrappiness. It probably helps that people can finally vent their frustrations on him without being reprimanded.
• The Scrappy: The dog is hated by many players who played this game for one simple fact: It does a mocking laugh if you fail to shoot one duck. It is meant to be the player's hunting companion who drives the ducks out of their hiding spots and collects the dead ones for you. Normally, you expect the dog to be disappointed or sad since its efforts was all for naught (and thus makes you feel guilty). But instead, it laughs at you for missing, and given that each round has the ducks fly faster and more sporadic, you will experience this moment eventually. This led many players to want to shoot the dog for being a poor sport, and some even believed the dog was never on your side, instead conspiring with the ducks to make your life miserable.
• Sequel Displacement: While Wild Gunman was the first Zapper game released, most American players tend to associate the peripheral with Duck Hunt due to its inclusion in console bundles alongside Super Mario Bros..
• Signature Scene: The infamous scene of the dog laughing at you for failing to hit a single duck has been etched into many a player's mind.
• Spiritual Successor: Wii Play's target practice is obviously based on Duck Hunt. Minus the dog.
• Suspiciously Similar Song: The "Clay Shooting" start up theme sounds similar to "Baba O'Riley" by The Who.
• Take That, Scrappy!: In Vs. Duck Hunt, you can finally give the dog his just desserts by shooting him in the bonus stage. Sure, you're penalized for shooting him by getting an earful from him and being taken out of the bonus stage, but it still feels satisfying nonetheless.
• The Woobie: The ducks themselves aren't exactly having the best day. The fact that the ducks seem to be friends with the Dog in Super Smash Bros. makes one wonder what kind of amends the dog must have made with them.

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