But it’s not just people who can stand in the shadows, indeed, what we have here is

probably the most famous #2 in video gaming history. Always with second billing. Always

behind Super Mario Bros. It’s Duck Hunt, the first (and in many cases, only) experience

most people had with the Zapper.

It’s a classic case of Exactly What It Says On the Tin: You hunt ducks. You have a gun.

And you blow the little feathered bastards out of the sky, because Eddie Izzard told

you to. Your faithful companion dog accompanies you on this quest of destruction, holding

up each of your kills like he’s trying to take credit for it or something. No, dog,

I’m sorry. That’s my doing. I’m the one with opposable thumbs. You’re NOT the

man now, dog. And if you snicker at me one more time I’m going to replace you with

an otter.

Sorry. Had to put that mutt in his place. Anyway, each round consists of 10 birds, deployed

as singles or in pairs. One notes immediately that whereas in singles, the birds tend to

travel in straight lines, paired birds are prone to more diverse midair maneuvers, which

might make tracking them a bit of a pain. Fortunately, you’ve got three shots for

each set of bird or birds, so one miss won’t be a problem. Each downed bird will be marked

in red at the bottom of the screen; to progress to the next round, simply slaughter the quantity

indicated by Mega Man’s life bar down there. But be warned: After 10 rounds, that quota

will increase periodically.

If blasting cute little birds to smithereenies isn’t much your style, you can trade in

the duck blind for a nice, clean, antiseptic shooting range. Here, your targets are clay

pigeons, fired into the distance at varying trajectories. No bastard dog to mock you,

either, just you, the horizon, and discs of socially-acceptable soon-to-be-shrapnel. Be

warned, though, that the clay pigeons always come two at a time; there’s no singles option.

It’s the first and foremost name in the Zapper lineup, even if it does get just a

sliver of the limelight. Look on the bright side, at least it isn’t World Class Track

Meet, a more obscure game with a much more obscure peripheral, that tried to muscle in

between Duck Hunt and Super Mario Bros. But we’re not gonna stand for that, no sirree

bob! Duck Hunt deserves its own place, and most importantly, its own cart. And you can

still find it, alone, if you’re lucky. Sure, it just takes up more space than the combined

cart, but your collection of games will look more accomplished! So grab a beer, settle

into your duck blind, throw a couple choice words at that stupid mutt,.and settle in for

some sportsmanship all NES-style. It’ll cost less than live ammunition, and you’re

less likely to catch pneumonia.