User blog:Plasmaster/Smash Study Hall: Duck Hunt

Hey there Smashers! Welcome back to the Super Smash Bros. strategy guide blog series, Smash Study Hall! Plasmaster here.

After a short hiatus, Smash Study Hall is back everyone! I hope this next guide is worth the wait.

Today we will be blasting the opposition out of the sky! The dog we love to hate and the duck we were unable to shoot, the duo of Duck Hunt!

Yes, I do realize that it is actually a trio, with the Zapper guy...

First I thought I'd take a quack at telling you all what kind of fighter Duck Hunt is. Duck Hunt is definitely a zoning character. Much like Link, all of Duck Hunt's special moves, save for the up special, are projectile attacks that all have different uses. Zoning requires a bit of patience to do effectively, carefully watching your opponents, looking for an opening, and then hitting them from afar. In a way this is much like Duck Hunt's character. I know we've all wanted to shoot that dog for laughing at us at some point, but you need to remember to have patience with the dog and with yourself so that you can keep a cool head and make every shot count.

Duck Hunt's best tools for zoning are his special moves, so why not start with those?

Duck Hunt's neutral special is Trick Shot. This move is great for stage control. When the dog kicks it out, pressing the special attack button again will make the Zapper shoot the can, causing it to bounce up and forwards a bit. If your opponent is trying to approach from above, pressing the button quickly many times to get the can to go high in the air is a good strategy; it won't always hit the opponent, but it will cause them to hesitate and DI backwards. The Trick Shot can be useful for dealing with opponents that have reflectors as well. You can shoot the Trick Shot at any time, so an opponent might think you are going to let it fall on top of them when you suddenly shoot the can again. An opponent that tries to reflect the can will not be able to effectively read where and when the can will hit, so use this to your advantage. The Trick Shot will only be on the stage for a set time, so use it when you CAN. Get it? No? Okay...back to the move. Duck Hunt can hit the can forwards with a forward tilt or dah attack or...pretty much any move. This will give the move an increase in range and an opponent charging at you head on will often get hit by the can when you launch it with an attack. Your opponents can do the same though, so remember to watch out because the explosion from the Trick Shot can hurt Duck Hunt too. Setting the Trick Shot can out on the stage can keep your opponents guessing. Another good way to use it is edge-guarding; an opponent trying to recover low can be hit by a falling Trick Shot, though you need to remember that the rick Shot falls at a slight angle rather than straight down, so use this information to ensure the attack connects. Finally, I want to bring up some combos that work with the Trick Shot. Set out the Trick Shot at a certain point on the stage. Grab your opponent and throw them towards the Trick Shot with a forward or back throw. Then, just as they pass over the can, press the button multiple times to hit them with the can.

Phew! Now that the Trick Shot is out of the way, lets get to the Clay Shooting side special move. Clay Shooting can interrupt enemy projectiles if it hits them, though the clay pigeon will be destroyed as well. An opponent hit by the pigeon will not be knocked far, so when you press the special attack button to make the Zapper shoot the pigeon, the opponent will be damaged by these shots as well. Also, a clay pigeon that comes to rest on the ground will remain an obstacle to opponents for a short time since the Zapper can still shoot it then.

Duck Hunt's up special Duck Jump is an average recovery, covering a decent amount of distance both vertically and horizontally. You must remember that the move is quite slow and does not deal damage, so Duck Hunt is vulnerable when you use it. You also can't attack out of the move, so there are no combos that can come of it.

Duck Hunt's down special, Wild Gunman, has more uses than it seems at first glance. The move is quite slow, doesn't deal much damage, and if the gunman is hit by the opponent, they won't attack at all. However the move has a lot more defensive use and combo setup potential than it does offensive. When you put the Wild Gunman out, a number of things could happen.


 * Note: For some of these to work, Duck Hunt must be standing behind the Wild Gunman, having not moved since the move was thrown out.

1) The opponent will stand there like an idiot and get shot. It will probably never happen.

2) The opponent will dash in and attack the Wild Gunman. If this happens, Duck Hunt should shield until their attack ends and then grab them.*

3) The opponent will jump to avoid the shot. This is great for setting up some aerial combos with Duck Hunt.

4) The opponent will shield the shot. This is a great way to set up some grabs and throws; the opponent will shield the shot half the time but not expect you to dash in and grab them. If you manage to grab them before the Wild Gunman fires, hold them in your grab and pummel them until the shot is taken. The shot will put on additional damage to the opponent; then throw them and go for an aerial combo.

Now the opponent might spot dodge, but this is highly unlikely because the time in which it takes for the gunman to fire the shot varies between each gunman design, and opponents will not have memorized the time for each of the five gunmen.

Duck Hunt's standard attacks are all good for racking up damage, but only a few of them are good for combos and very few are killing moves.

Duck Hunt's jab, both regular and infinite, are great for racking up damage; in some cases they can be good for combos (such as you are fighting a heavy opponent like Bowser or Donkey Kong). Duck Hunt's forward tilt is good for combos on the ground; Duck Hunt's down tilt can be used as a combo setup but often times will only put on damage. Duck Hunt's up tilt can be useful for putting opponents in the air for some aerial attacks. Duck Hunt's dash attack is excellent for putting on damage and that's about it.

Now on to Duck Hunt's smash attacks. Duck Hunt's smash attacks have great range. The forward smash is good for launching opponents and putting on damage but will not kill until just over 110 on most characters. Duck Hunt's up smash covers a good area above him, so it is excellent for dealing with opponents that are trying to attack from above while also putting on damage. Duck Hunt's forward smash is a great killing move since the first and second shots hit the opponents directly into the following shot, with the third hot launching and killing most characters between 90 and 100%.

I keep bringing up Duck Hunt's aerial combos. Duck Hunt has some combo attacks in the air, while the others are only good for racking on damage, with one exception. Duck Hunt's forward air combos into itself on heavy characters like Bowser and light characters like Jigglypuff, but middle-weight characters are not easily combed with this move. Duck Hunt's back air has good launch to it and is good for finishing combos. Duck Hunt's down air does not have much meteor power but is able to put some damage on opponents. The neutral air is only good for putting on damage; it has very little combo potential. Now for the exception; Duck Hunt's up air is the only other killing move in its arsenal and is fantastic for killing off the ceiling. It will kill most characters at just over 90%.

Duck Hunt's throws are all pretty good all things considered. His up throw can set up for aerial combos, as does the down throw. The forward and back throw can both be used for Trick Shot combos, as I said before.

Duck Hunt is a gimmicky character. You need to use the zoning strategies effectively to rack on damage, set up a combo, and then go for the kill; doing this correctly is important considering how Duck Hunt has very few killing options. Putting it in Duck Hunt terms, you need to 'Ready, Aim, Fire!'. Ready is the zoning and damage pressure, preparing yourself for the next steps. Aim is comboing the opponents to put them where you want them. Fire is capitalizing on the opponent's position you put them in and going for the kill!

I hope you enjoyed this guide on Duck Hunt! I also hope this guide helped to improve your Duck Hunt game!

If you have any questions, please let me know down in the comments below. While you're at it, let me know what other characters you want to see.

Next time on Smash Study Hall, get ready to learn how to play as the King of Darkness! The Villager guide is next.

Until next time, keep on smashing and leave it to Heropon!