Vs. Duck Hunt (NES)

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snakeboy1
Posts: 1446
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

Vs. Duck Hunt (NES)

Postby snakeboy1 » August 16th, 2012, 5:42 pm

As I mentioned in another thread, I ordered the NES reproduction of the coin-op Vs. Duck Hunt from retrousb.com .  I figured I'd give a few thoughts on the game for anyone interested.

First of all, if you enjoy the original NES Duck Hunt, you will probably love this game.  The main problems with the original, the too easy difficulty and repetitiveness, don't exist in this game.  You can control the settings by using the dip switches (there are literally dip switches on the cart).  Along with four levels of difficulty, you can choose between three or five misses per game (notice I said per game, NOT per round), and adjust the points needed to be awarded an extra miss.

There is only one mode of play in this game that alternates between both the duck and clay pigeon levels found in the original NES game.  Also included is a bonus round where you try to shoot as many ducks as possible.  It seems pretty easy, but every once in a while, the dog will jump out of the grass and if you shoot him, the bonus round ends (That's right, you CAN shoot the dog in this game).

If you check out the site in the link above, you'll see that there are other Vs. repro titles available like Super Mario Bros., Castlevania, and Excitebike.  I'm definitely interested in those now and would love to hear from anyone who has tried them.

m0zart1
Posts: 3117
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

Vs. Duck Hunt (NES)

Postby m0zart1 » August 16th, 2012, 7:10 pm

[QUOTE=snakeboy]If you check out the site in the link above, you'll see that there are other Vs. repro titles available like Super Mario Bros., Castlevania, and Excitebike.  I'm definitely interested in those now and would love to hear from anyone who has tried them.[/QUOTE]

Before I had ever heard of an NES, I was playing Vs. Super Mario Bros. in the arcade.  Me and several friends discovered it in the mid-80s and were wowed by it.  It was unlike any other game we had ever seen in an arcade.  We worked for a year to beat the game, constantly besting each other, and spending a small fortune in the process.  It is actually a merging of the NES SMB and SMB2.  Boards that repeat themselves in the NES version of SMB (i.e. just adding more enemies or making the platforms smaller) are replaced by the easier boards from SMB2.  The result is a much tigher game.

Beating the game rewards you with 100K points for each extra man you have left.  Hence, even after me and my buddies beat the game, we were still trying to beat each other with scores by keeping as many points, gathering as many coins, and missing no extra men, all without dying, so that we could achieve the best score.  Keep in mind, all of the "tricks" in the NES version to gain large numbers of extra men don't work in this game.

When we heard of the NES and that it had an arcade-perfect version of the game we had been slaving over in the arcades, we all got excited -- until we actually got the NES and SMB cart and realized that SMB was a gimped experience on the NES compared to the arcade.  I don't think me or any of my buddies every really appreciated the NES version at all as a result.  At the time, it was common (as you know) for home consoles to have versions of arcade games with missing stages or relaxed experiences, so we had the impression that the game came into the arcades first, and that the NES version was a reduced home experience.  We had no idea that the NES version came first in Japan, and that the arcade game came later.

I have a Vs. Super Mario Bros. cabinet in my game room.  I rarely play it now, and will probably eventually sell it as I am losing interest in games and collecting.  However, it still holds a special place in my memories.

BTW, this wasn't the only NES game we were introduced to first in the arcade.  Vs. Duck Hunt, Vs. Hogan's Alley, Vs. Excitebike, and Vs. Track and Field were all in our arcade.  And yeah, when I got my NES and realized we couldn't shoot the dog, it was a pretty stark disappointment at the time -- seems like nothing now, but little things like that back then had a cool factor.  We noticed when they were missing.

snakeboy1
Posts: 1446
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

Vs. Duck Hunt (NES)

Postby snakeboy1 » August 16th, 2012, 11:22 pm

Unfortunately, I've never had an opportunity to play any of the Vs. coin-ops.  In fact, I didn't even know that they existed until a few years back.  I think the next one I'll get is Vs. SMB as it sounds pretty great.  I am pretty intrigued by Vs. Hogan's Alley, though, since it's supposed to be quite a bit better than the NES version.

m0zart1
Posts: 3117
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

Vs. Duck Hunt (NES)

Postby m0zart1 » August 17th, 2012, 5:54 am

[QUOTE=snakeboy]I think the next one I'll get is Vs. SMB as it sounds pretty great.[/QUOTE]

It is the best version of the game for sure.  If I had a list of the 10 most important gaming experiences I've had in the 40 years, it would be a candidate for the top position, ... though I'd probably side with a Zelda game instead.

[QUOTE=snakeboy]I am pretty intrigued by Vs. Hogan's Alley, though, since it's supposed to be quite a bit better than the NES version.[/QUOTE]

I have no recollection of any significant differences between the arcade and NES versions of Hogan's Alley; however, that could just be my failing memory.  I'd think if there weren't any differences, the supplier you linked to wouldn't take the time of creating carts for it.

I always liked Hogan's Alley better than Duck Hunt.  If you do get Vs. Hogan's Alley and notice any differences between the versions, do let us know.

snakeboy1
Posts: 1446
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

Vs. Duck Hunt (NES)

Postby snakeboy1 » August 17th, 2012, 1:30 pm

[QUOTE=m0zart]I have no recollection of any significant differences between the arcade and NES versions of Hogan's Alley; however, that could just be my failing memory.  I'd think if there weren't any differences, the supplier you linked to wouldn't take the time of creating carts for it.
[/QUOTE]

According to the description on the Retrozone site, it is similar to Vs. Duck Hunt in that it cycles through Game A and Game B of the NES game.  It also is supposed to be more fast-paced unlike the NES game that just kind of saunters along.  There is no mention of the can shooting game, though, which is kind of disappointing since that's my favorite mode in the NES game.

steephen1
Posts: 239
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

Vs. Duck Hunt (NES)

Postby steephen1 » August 28th, 2012, 8:44 pm

I'm not really experienced with the VS. versions of the games. They sound good, but I don't really have the money at the moment to buy one (I need to keep bread on the table, and I have to have the air-conditioner.
If I ever get one cheap, I'll consider it.


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