Duck Hunt (ダックハント, Duckhunt), known in PAL versions as Duck Hunt Duo, are playable fighters in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. They were officially revealed on June 12th, 2018 alongside Dr. Mario, R.O.B., and the rest of the returning roster. Although they are a team, Duck Hunt are collectively classified as Fighter #59.
Duck Hunt retain their realistic dog barks and duck quacks, using a combination of recycled voice clips from SSB4 along with additional new ones.
Duck Hunt are a duo that fight collectively as if they were a single character, much like Banjo & Kazooie. They are lightweights, and specifically weigh as much as Sonic, which places them among the bottom 20 in that category. Duck Hunt also have below-average height, above-average walking speed (the 25th fastest), average dashing speed, a slow initial dash (tied for the 12th slowest with Incineroar, Snake, Bowser Jr., and Ryu), low traction (the 15th lowest), above-average air speed (tied for the 20th fastest with Bowser, Sheik, Lucas, and Mega Man), average air acceleration and falling speed, and low gravity (the 14th lowest). Duck Hunt can also crawl and wall jump. These traits make Duck Hunt a character who, while lacking strong burst movement on the ground due to their slow dash, does a good job at maintaining aerial presence with their air speed and fairly high jumps. Collectively speaking, their overall mobility is average.
Due to having three unique projectiles for special moves, Duck Hunt excel in zoning and stage control with an emphasis on setups. Trick Shot generates a tin can that explodes on contact, and the fact that it can be maneuvered by the player with the press of the special button make it a key component of Duck Hunt's pressure, setups, and stage control. Additionally, the fact that the can is generated on frame 1 gives it utility as a combo breaker. Clay Shooting involves throwing a clay pigeon that can be detonated with the press of the special button. It not only has use as a zoning tool, but it also functions as Duck Hunt's most potent combo starter, as the fact that they can act out of the move before it detonates allows them to chain the move into itself, aerials, or a combination of the two. Wild Gunman summons a gunman that shoots from their respective gun after a delay. This further supplements their zoning and setup-centered playstyle, since they can act out of the move before the gunshot. In addition, the gunmen possess their own hurtboxes, giving it occasional use for blocking attacks.
Duck Hunt's air game also has decent utility courtesy of their good air speed. Back aerial is a fast and powerful finisher that comes out at frame 7 and KOs middleweights as early as 120% from the edge of Final Destination, making it even deadlier in the context of edgeguarding. Neutral aerial also compliments their edgeguarding abilities, as it comes out fast at frame 6 and has lingering hitboxes that make it useful for gimps while the strong hit also functions as a passable KO move, KOing middleweights at 135% from the edge of Final Destination. Finally, up air is a good vertical finisher that starts KOing middleweights at around 135% near the blast zone, plus it comes out fast a frame 6 and has a decent amount of active frames.
Unfortunately, Duck Hunt's main weakness is that, outside of some their aerials, the aspects of their kit that don't revolve around their versatile projectiles are rather lackluster. For example, while their aerials are undeniably the best parts of their kit outside of their special moveset, some aren't without their flaws. Although forward aerial is fairly fast at frame 7 and has decent range, it has atrocious KO power; even with the sweetspot, the move doesn't start KOing middleweights until around 180% from the edge of Final Destination, and the fact that the move has sourspots adds a layer of inconsistency to its already poor KO power. In addition, down aerial has some inconsistencies of its own, as while it is a decent spike on paper, the two hits don't always connect into each other. Duck Hunt's endurance also leaves more to be desired due to their low weight and exploitable recovery; while Duck Jump covers good horizontal and vertical distance, its unremarkable speed and lack of protection make it prone to edge guards. While their recovery fares better than in SSB4 due to it being able to be canceled into attacks and air dodges, the fact that Duck Hunt can only cancel their recovery 50 frames later still makes it fairly exploitable.
However, the flaws of other aspects of Duck Hunt's kit are most apparent in their ground game, as their grounded normals are mediocre at best and well below average at worst. While their rapid jab is a good damage racking option, neither it nor the standard jab start KOing middleweights until 190%. Forward tilt, while being disjointed and having passable startup at frame 8, lacks range in comparison to other disjoints and doesn't start KOing middleweights until 150%. Up tilt, while in theory being a frame 7 combo starter into neutral and up aerial at low and mid percentages, isn't that consistent in practice due to the fact that its narrow hitbox struggles to hit grounded opponents even at point blank range. Even down tilt, which is among their best grounded moves due to being their fastest grounded poke (at frame 6) and being capable of starting tech chases, suffers from being an even worse disjoint than forward tilt in terms of both range and KO power.
While the aforementioned moves are simply mediocre, the same cannot be said for dash attack, a move that is genuinely below average; it has slow startup at frame 10 while also having abysmal KO power, as it can't even KO middleweights past 200%. On top of having slow startup, Duck Hunt's poor initial dash further hinders its use as a burst option, a role that dash attacks are generally meant to fulfill. Duck Hunt's smash attacks don't do their ground game many favors either, as while they have good KO power and are disjointed for utilizing the NES Zapper, their startup is rather subpar and they have awkward hitboxes that prevent all the hits from connecting at times. Their grab game is also a contributor to their less than stellar strength on the ground; their standing and pivot grabs have deceptively good range, but the reward they get from a grab leaves more to be desired due to none of their throws leading to consistent combos or KOing at reasonable percentages.
Overall, Duck Hunt excel at controlling the neutral by simultaneously controlling both the duo and their assortment of projectiles in order to generate setups, frame traps, and pressure whether the opponent is onstage, at ledge, or offstage while their good air mobility and fair share of fast aerials also give them a slight emphasis on offstage edgeguards. In exchange for these strengths, they have a notable lack of flexibility in other aspects of their kit due to their overall average recovery and ground game, meaning they have to be more reliant on crafty use of their projectiles in order to get things going compared to other zoners.
Essentially, Duck Hunt are solid characters, yet other characters of a similar archetype simply have more flexibility in parts of their kits that don't revolve around their projectiles. For example, while Link is good at zoning and creating setups with Boomerang and Remote Bomb, he is considered to be a high tier character because he has notable strengths all across the board, such as a strong out of shield option in the form of Spin Attack, safe and potent aerials in the form of his neutral and forward aerials, and an overall better ground game than Duck Hunt due to the greater reach and power of his disjoints, as well as his more combo-friendly grab game. While it is not entirely certain whether Duck Hunt's strengths outweigh their flaws or vice versa, Duck Hunt are generally considered to be viable.
Duck Hunt received a mix of buffs and nerfs in the transition to Ultimate, but have been buffed significantly overall. Duck Hunt's notoriously inconsistent KO potential has been improved in many ways: their infamously unreliable smash attacks now connect much more reliably (though their final hits may still fail to connect in rare instances), while their forward tilt is now a situational KO option thanks to its much higher base knockback.
Trick Shot, which was already a powerful, versatile projectile, has been improved in many ways: it KOs earlier, travels further, has less endlag and can now be hit in air, all of which improve its utility. Clay Shooting has less ending lag and forces opponents to stay in place if they get hit, which make it an excellent combo tool. In addition, it now explodes into shrapnel that deals damage in many directions, increasing its effective range.
Duck Jump now allows the duo to act out of it after at least 50 frames; when coupled with the reintroduction of directional air dodges, these changes somewhat improve the safety and reliability of their once-risky recovery. Lastly, Wild Gunman has less ending lag, higher damage outputs and knockback (to the point that the orange and sombrero gunmen boast KO potential at high percents), and the defeated gunmen each maintain a hurtbox that allow Duck Hunt to use them to block incoming attacks.
Duck Hunt also benefit from the universal changes of Ultimate. Their mobility has improved, particularly in regard to their dash/initial dash speeds and their aerials' reduced landing lag. These changes, when coupled with many of Duck Hunt's moves in general having less endlag, somewhat improves their combo game.
However, Duck Hunt have received some nerfs. Their lighter weight further worsens their already poor endurance. Some of their aerials have also been worsened: clean neutral aerial's noticeably lower knockback growth hinders its KO potential, forward aerial has a slightly shorter duration, and down aerial no longer auto-cancels with a short hop. Lastly, Trick Shot has lost some of its set-ups into Clay Shooting, while the latter is harder to destroy and its shrapnel can also damage Duck Hunt.
Overall, the changes to Duck Hunt greatly benefit them, as they are considered to be better than they were in SSB4. These buffs and nerfs, however, also change their playstyle somewhat. When coupled with Ultimate's faster engine, the combination of Duck Hunt's lighter weight, improved mobility and generally improved normal moves gives them more a more aggressive playstyle than in SSB4. Despite this, the large retention of their camping game also enables them to use it potently, despite the faster game engine favoring more offensive playstyles.
Initially, Duck Hunt were believed to be considerably worse than in SSB4, to the point that their playerbase was even smaller than it was in SSB4. Raito, the best Duck Hunt player in the world, most notably held this negative perception of them, and thus resorted to using secondaries, such as Inkling. However, as time went on, Raito started achieving very strong results competitively with them, such as placing 3rd at both Albion 4 and Umebura Japan Major 2019, placing 5th at EVO 2019, and taking sets off of notable players including Dabuz, Shuton, Cosmos, and Abadango.
These commendable results indicate that Duck Hunt have maintained their viability, but have also potentially become even more viable than in SSB4. Along with Raito, other Duck Hunt mains, such as Ozone and Vintendo, started achieving respectable results as of late. Although Duck Hunt's playerbase is still small, their impressive results, especially by Raito, indicate that they can be very potent when mastered.
Duck Hunt's model is of a significantly higher visual quality. The dog's overall color scheme is more vibrant, better matching his sprite in Duck Hunt, and he now features detailing on his fur, collar, paws, and nose. The duck's color scheme is more subdue and features greater feather detailing.
Duck Hunt is significantly more vocal. They have more voice clips during gameplay beyond their taunts and Star KO, consisting of bitcrushed realistic dog noises and duck quacks. These voice clips are also now available in the Sound Test.
Similar to other cartoonish fighters, the duo are more expressive.
The duck no longer blinks during the duo's idle and crouching animation and on the results screen.
Duck Hunt's shielding animation is slightly altered. The duck now covers the dog with its feathers.
Neutral attack's animation is faster and the rapid jab and rapid finisher have less startup lag, making them connect more reliably.
Neutral attack 2's largest hitbox is bigger (4.2u → 5u).
Neutral attack 3 has a smaller hitbox (5.8u → 5u).
Neutral attack 1 and 2 and neutral infinite deal less damage (2% (first)/3% (second) → 1.5% each, 0.8% → 0.4% (infinite)).
Neutral attack 1 has its two larger hitboxes replaced with four smaller ones (3u/3u → 1.8u/1.8u/2u/2u).
The infinite has gained a shieldstun multiplier of 5×. This allows it to lock opponents into their shields between each hit, and thus pressure them more effectively, but also allows them to cancel shieldstun and punish Duck Hunt more easily if they shield 10 hits or more.
Up tilt has less startup (frame 7 → 6) and ending lag (FAF 34 → 28).
Up tilt is harder to connect on grounded opponents, since characters can no longer run through each other.
Up tilt's hitbox is smaller (7u → 5u), while its Y2 offset was compensating (13 → 15), the hitbox is narrower and has less range against grounded opponents.
Up tilt deals significantly more base knockback (35 → 95), but has much less knockback scaling (130 → 40), removing its KO potential, but increasing its combo potential.
If the first hit of forward smash connects, subsequent hits will be positioned to continue the chain into the final hit, rather than having their positions somewhat randomized.
Forward smash's first and second hits launch at a higher angle (5° → 45°) and deal more set knockback (60 → 66 (hit 1), 60 → 69 (hit 2)), making them connect more reliably.
It has larger hitboxes (3.8u → 4.7u (hit 1), 5.2u → 6.9u (hit 2), 7u → 7.8u (hit 3)).
The first two hits no longer have set knockback (72/60 → 0), and use an autolink angle (140°/150° → 368° (hit 1), 115° → 368° (hit 2)), allowing them to connect more reliably.
Up smash's first and second hit deal slightly more damage (2%/2.4% → 2.5% each).
Up smash's final hit deals more knockback (40 base/112 scaling → 45/120).
Neutral aerial's clean hit has less knockback scaling (100 → 86). This reduces its KO potential, but combined with the landing lag reduction grants it combo potential when landing.
The first hit sends the opponent at a lower angle (145° → 95°), the second hit launches at an autolink angle (145° → 363°), both hits deal more set knockback (40 → 50) and have a reduced hitlag multiplier (1× → 0.5×), allowing them to connect more reliably overall.
All hits have larger hitboxes (5.5u → 6u (hits 1-2), 8u → 8.5u (hit 3)) and the second hit and third hit's hitboxes have been moved upward (Y offset: 20u → 21.5u (hits 2), 21u → 22.5u (hit 3)), improving its range overall.
The first hit's hitbox has been moved lower (Y offset: 20u → 18.5u), slightly reducing its range overall.
Trick Shot's can is slower and more floaty, but starts further forward.
Trick Shot's can travels more distance every time it is shot. This increases its effective range, but also means it will fly over grounded opponents more often.
Trick Shot's explosion sends the opponent flying in the direction of the side of the can that hit them, instead of sending them the direction Duck Hunt is facing.
Trick Shot's can has bullet holes appear every time the special button is pressed.
Trick Shot's can auto explodes more quickly after the eighth shot (76 frames → 60).
Trick Shot's can is able to be hit with an attack midair, allowing Duck Hunt to cover more options.
Trick Shot's can and its explosion deal more damage (1.8%-2% → 1.6%-4.4% (contact), 8% → 10% (explosion)), without full compensation for knockback on the explosion (110 scaling → 100), improving its KO potential.
Trick Shot's can can be shot even when it is about to explode, increasing the amount of time it can be maneuvered.
Trick Shot has less ending lag (FAF 46 → 42).
Trick Shot has lost some setups in combination with Clay Shooting.
Shooting Clay Shooting's pigeon with Special Move works differently. Instead of always getting destroyed immediately, it will only be shot once per input made. If it is moving too fast, it will not be destroyed, but it will always be destroyed in one shot if it is moving slowly enough.
Clay Shooting has slightly less ending lag (FAF 66 → 64).
Clay Shooting forces the opponent to stay in place if they get hit, making it a significantly better combo starter.
When Clay Shooting's pigeon is destroyed, debris that deals damage flies in multiple directions. [1]
However, these particles will damage Duck Hunt if the pigeon is destroyed by the opponent.
This means a pigeon that missed and was thrown with the smash input takes longer to destroy, reducing its safety.
After 50 frames, Duck Jump can be cancelled with an attack or air dodge, though Duck Hunt will still be helpless afterwards.
If Duck Hunt gets hit by a windbox or an attack that deals no knockback (like Fox's laser) after cancelling Duck Jump but before entering helpless state, Duck Jump can be used again. This can be repeated indefinitely. [2]
The Wild Gunmen's eyes flash before they are about to shoot, instead of flashing immediately after spawning.
Wild Gunman has less ending lag (FAF 45 → 42).
Each Gunman fires three frames earlier.
Each Gunman deals 4% more damage (4%-7% → 8%-11%) with no compensation on knockback, granting them KO potential at high percents, especially the Sombrero Gunman.
When a Gunman is defeated, it will take longer for him to disappear and for another Gunman to be spawned.
However, the Gunman's defeated body has a tangible hurtbox, which allows Duck Hunt to use it as a shield from projectile attacks.
The Wild Gunmen have visual bullet tracers when shooting their guns, allowing players to see how far each gunman will shoot.
The dog performs a paw swipe, followed by a headbutt, followed by a dropkick performed from the baby freeze (a variation of the freeze breakdancing move). If button mashed, the duck pecks repeatedly at alternating angles and then thrusts its wings and beak forward. The first two hits can lock.
The dog leans on his chest and forepaws in order to thrust his lower back forward and propel the duck, who performs a peck. It can be angled and is decent for spacing, while its horizontal angle allows it to propel Trick Shot's tin can a long-distance forward while it is in front of themselves.
The dog leans on his chest and forepaws in order to thrust his lower back upward and propel the duck, who performs an upward headbutt while thrusting its wings upward. It has a narrow horizontal hitbox, only hitting opponents directly next to the dog.
The dog swings his lower back forward to propel the duck, who performs a turning peck. It is the fastest of Duck Hunt's tilts at frame 6, and can send opponents into a tumble starting around 40%, which can create tech chase situations.
The dog slides forwards and propel the duck, who performs a peck. It covers a fair amount of distance and its very high base knockback makes it decent at warding off an opponent. However, it has noticeable ending lag. The late hit knocks the opponent over and behind Duck Hunt.
The dog and duck look forward before the NES Zapper fires three shots in front of them while they comically flail around frightened. It is a semi-spike and the longer it is charged, the larger its range becomes. However, its first two hits are unreliable, as their angles and very high knockback growth can occasionally launch opponents too early, and thus allow them to evade its last hit. It is the slowest of Duck Hunt's smashes at frame 17. This move can be angled.
The dog and duck look upward before the NES Zapper fires three shots above them while they comically dodge the shots frightened. Like forward smash, its range increases the longer it is charged. Although its first two hits are unreliable because of their angles and very high knockback growth, they are slightly more reliable compared to forward smash and down smash's first two hits.
The dog and duck look at the ground before the NES Zapper fires three shots around them while they comically dodge the shots frightened. Its first and last hits are in front of the dog, while the second hit is behind him. Its last hit launches the opponent behind the dog, and as a result, Duck Hunt must face away from the edge when attempting to use this move in order to properly launch the opponent off-stage. Like forward and up smashes, its range increases the longer it is charged, but its first two hits are unreliable because of their angles and very high knockback growth.
The dog performs an aerial cartwheel. It functions like a sex kick and is tied with up aerial for Duck Hunt's fastest aerial in terms of startup at frame 6, though the move's long ending lag can result in a self-destruct if used carelessly offstage.
The dog thrusts his lower back forward to propel the duck, who performs a corkscrew peck. It is useful for spacing, edgeguarding, and combos. However, its sweetspot's average damage output and knockback growth make it unsuitable for KOing outright.
The dog thrusts his lower back backward to propel the duck, who performs a turning peck. The sweetspot on the duck's beak is Duck Hunt's strongest aerial, KOing Mario at 105% from the edge of Final Destination.
The duck pecks upward three times while carrying the dog in tow. It is tied with neutral aerial for Duck Hunt's fastest aerial in terms of startup at frame 6. The last hit's respectable knockback makes this a viable KO option off the top blast line at higher percents.
The dog somersaults to perform a headbutt, followed by the duck immediately performing a somersaulting peck. The second hit can meteor smash aerial opponents.
The dog rears his head back and sways it forward to throw the opponent. It is mainly useful for tossing the opponent into Trick Shot or setting up edgeguards, only KOing Mario around 190% from the edge of Final Destination.
The dog spins around to throw the opponent. It is Duck Hunt's most damaging throw, but has lower knockback than forward throw, failing to KO Mario below 200% from the edge of Final Destination, and is mostly useful for setting up edgeguards or throwing opponents into Trick Shot.
The dog sways his head downward to slam the opponent onto the ground. It is Duck Hunt's least damaging throw, but can function as a set-up into any of their aerials at mid to high percents.
The dog kicks away a tin can from the Hogan's Alley game mode of the same name. The can is explosive and subsequent neutral special button presses cause the NES Zapper to shoot the can forward. After 9 button presses, the can starts to emit smoke and will then explode. The can is also capable of being manipulated by the dog and duck's attacks, with its tilt attacks being especially useful in this regard. However, this also applies to the opponent's attacks. Overall, it is Duck Hunt's most versatile projectile, and their most useful edge-guarding option. It is active starting on frame 1, making it useful for interrupting combos, though the explosion can also damage Duck Hunt. Although its explosion has very high knockback growth, it lacks KO potential out of edge-guarding because of its average damage output and low base knockback.
The dog throws a clay pigeon, based on the Clay Shooting sub-game (Game C) from Duck Hunt. It has two flight trajectories: a slow, higher arc and a faster, straight arc. Moving while performing the move initiates the former, whereas standing still and performing the move initiates the latter. Pressing the special button again causes the NES Zapper to destroy it with 5 quick shots, making it a natural combo. It is useful for hindering approaches, but can also act as a set-up into a dash attack from 0% to medium percentages, or into a forward aerial at high percentages. Although somewhat situational, the clay pigeon can also act as a makeshift landmine by allowing it to land on the ground, and then destroying it to surprise an opponent. Alternatively, Duck Hunt can attack the pigeon, causing it to explode into fragments that will damage nearby opponents. However, opponents can attack the pigeon as well, which will damage Duck Hunt.
The duck flies upward while carrying the dog before getting tired and falling to the ground. It is maneuverable and covers a decent amount of vertical and horizontal distance depending on how it is maneuvered. After a short while, Duck Hunt can interrupt the move with an attack or an air dodge, but doing so will render them helpless.
The dog summons an 8-bit version of one of the five gunmen from Wild Gunman. Each gunman will fire their gun after a set amount of time and then disappear in a puff of smoke. Each gunman's firing time, damage output, knockback growth, and launching angle varies. The gunmen can also block attacks, but if any of them receive at least 5%, they will fall and not fire their guns. Once a gunman falls, Duck Hunt must wait very briefly before they can summon another one.
5% (flock of ducks), 10% (gunmen's initial shots), 24% (gunmen's final shots), 6% (ending)
The dog barks to call in a flock of 8-bit ducks. The flock tackles the opponent, launching them into a Wild West-styled field from Wild Gunman. The opponent is then repeatedly fired at by the gunmen, who are also shooting at the cardboard cutout gangsters and tin cans from Hogan's Alley.
The dog leaps into an 8-bit sprite of grass with the duck on his back before they both rise from the grass while the dog performs his signature laugh. The grass then disappears in a puff of smoke.
Left: The dog jumps into a patch of 8-bit grass. He then, along with the duck, pops up from the grass and proceeds to do his signature laugh.
Up: Runs on screen and turns around to kick away a can from Hogan's Alley. He then assumes a pose in which he stands on his left hind leg while raising his right and brings his front legs towards himself.
Right: Summons a Wild Gunman to shoot to the left, then another one to shoot to the right. He then continuously holds the pose used to summon them. The Wild Gunmen don't appear in Team Battles.
The jingle that plays before a new game starts in Duck Hunt, slightly sped up. It begins with the original 8-bit rendition, then transitions to a remixed version for the rest of the theme.
In the early metagame, most players believed Duck Hunt was worse than his Smash 4 counterpart due to Ultimate's game mechanics encouraging more aggressive gameplay, which contrasted Duck Hunt's more campy playstyle. Despite this, however, players, most notably Raito, showed that their buffs from Smash 4 were effective in making them a viable character in the current game. This helped Duck Hunt's perception in the community, with most people believing the character's viability was on-par with his Smash 4 counterpart.
However, Duck Hunt's results has since seen a slow decline, due to a stagnant playerbase and declining results from Raito. With buffs not addressing Duck Hunt's worst flaws, including its weak kill power, the current consensus is that Duck Hunt is a low mid-tier character.
Any number following the Smasher name indicates placement on the Fall 2019 PGRU, which recognizes the official top 50 players in the world in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate from July 13th, 2019 to December 15th, 2019.
Duck Hunt's opponents are animals, or in the case of the Mii Fighters, humans wearing animal costumes. Due to being an animal, Rathalos also fits this theme and is fought as the final boss of their route.
Duck Hunt were among the fighters that were summoned to fight the army of Master Hands.
During the opening cutscene, Duck Hunt were present on the cliffside when Galeem unleashed his beams of light. The duo was seen panicking alongside Villager and a composed Wii Fit Trainer, with the dog covering his eyes and the duck attempting to lift the dog off the ground with Duck Jump. The duo was then placed under Galeem's imprisonment alongside the rest of the fighters, excluding Kirby.
In the mode proper, Duck Hunt can be found inside a forest covered in fog to be challenged and recruited.
Duck Hunt's fighter spirit can be obtained by completing Classic Mode. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 300 Gold, but only after Duck Hunt has been unlocked. Unlocking Duck Hunt in World of Light allows the player to preview the spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a fighter spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. Their fighter spirit has an alternate version that replaces it with their artwork in Ultimate.
•Defeat the main fighter to win •The enemy will occasionally be invincible after a little while •Hostile assist trophies will appear after a little while
•The enemy is very fast and can't stop quickly when the enemy's at high damage •The enemy can deal damage by dashing into you •The enemy has increased move speed and reduced weight
This also happens if a directional air dodge is used or when caught by an attack with a special grabbing animation. This is also true with the latter in SSB4.
Duck Hunt are the only characters who face all of the Star Fox fighters in the same round in their route.
They are also the only characters to face all of the Donkey Kong fighters in their route, albeit in different rounds.
There's a graphical error with Duck Hunt's on-screen appearance when done facing the left. The smoke effects appear behind the 8-bit grass instead of in front of it.
Despite not being present in Team Battles, the sounds of the Wild Gunman appearing and firing can still be heard if Duck Hunt are the leading fighters of a winning team.
In European Spanish, European French, German, and Italian, the name tag and voice clip from the announcer on the victory screen is slightly different from the one used on the character select screen, instead featuring a noticeable translation of "the" (el Dúo Duck Hunt, le Duo Duck Hunt, das Duck Hunt Duo, il Duo Duck Hunt). This trait is shared with Wii Fit Trainer, Pokémon Trainer, Villager, Ice Climbers, Inkling, Hero, and the Mii Fighters. Additionally, Duck Hunt and King Dedede are only two fighters having this trait in the European versions, but not in the American version.
Duck Hunt, the Ice Climbers, Daisy, Ken, R.O.B. and Cloud are only non-DLC characters who don't appear in more than one spirit battles from their home series. Dr. Mario doesn't appear in any Mario spirit battles at all. This is not counting Olimar, who appears only in Mockiwi spirit battle as himself, but is fought in other spirit battles as Alph.
While the Mii Fighters technically represent the Super Smash Bros. universe, they appear in most of Mii-related spirit battles.
If the player is only using VS. matches to unlock characters, like in SSB4, the Duck Hunt universe is the final universe with playable representation to be encountered. Duck Hunt are the penultimate characters to unlock in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS (with the final being Jigglypuff, who is part of the Pokémon franchise, which already has unlocked playable representation in Pikachu, Charizard, Lucario and Greninja), the final characters in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, and in Ultimate, all other characters that follow Duck Hunt in the timed encounters are from universes that have already been encountered.
Unlike in SSB4, the duck does not blink in any animations that the dog does. This is similar to a situation in SSB4 where R.O.B. lacks any emotes in Versus Mode on the Wii U version.
However, if Duck Hunt are trapped in a bind pose, the duck can be seen blinking.
In almost all the spirit battles, Duck Hunt is just representing the dog characters. Squawks's battle is the only one where Duck Hunt represents a bird character.
Unlike other Sound Tests with multiple characters in them (such as Popo & Nana, Pikmin & Winged Pikmin, and Banjo & Kazooie), Duck Hunt's voice clips are not split between the dog and duck and are not specifically written which clip belongs to which. The Sound Test first lists the dog's four barking clips, followed by the duck's two quacking clips, which is followed by the dog's star KO voice clip.
Duck Hunt's model is of a significantly higher visual quality. The dog's overall color scheme is more vibrant, better matching his sprite in Duck Hunt, and he now features detailing on his fur, collar, paws, and nose. The duck's color scheme is more subdue and features greater feather detailing.
Like all characters, Duck Hunt's 
Duck Hunt is 
Fixed a game crash along with 
Corrupt save data occurs along with Mii Swordfighter if they play Century Smash.
