Big Buck Hunter Pro

**Big Buck Hunter Pro** is the 5th game in the Big Buck Hunter franchise, and is by far one of the most well-known. The developers over at Play Mechanix decided to bring Big Buck Hunter into the next phase by updating the gameplay formula, graphics, and more. This was the first in the Big Buck Hunter series to introduce the concept of bonus critters, and was also the first to introduce Pappy to the series. The game was released on February 1st, 2006.

## Adventures

* Whitetail Deer
* Elk
* Pronghorn Antelope
* Bighorn Sheep
* Moose
* Caribou (Tournament Edition only)

## Critters

* Squirrel
* Rabbit
* Raccoon
* Skunk
* Opossum
* Fox
* Bluebird
* Blackbird
* Mountain Lion
* Wolf
* Rattlesnake

**Bonus Animals**

* Mallard Duck
* Holstein's Cow
* Pheasant
* Quail
* Gopher
* Dove
* Wild Boar
* Turkey
* Frog
* Canada Goose (Tournament Edition only)

## Bonus Games

* Duck Hunt Bonus - *"Shoot the Ducks"*
* Pappy's Moonshine Bonus - *"Shoot the Jugs"*
* Pie in the Sky Bonus - *"Shoot the Cowpies"*
* Pheasant Hunt Bonus - *"Shoot the Pheasants"*
* Log Yard Bonus - *"Shoot the Targets"*
* Mars Needs Cattle Bonus - *"Shoot the UFOs"*
* Quail Hunt Bonus - *"Shoot the Quail"*
* Windmill Mania Bonus - *"Shoot the Targets"*
* Gopher Garden Bonus - *"Shoot the Gophers"*
* Dove Hunt Bonus - *"Shoot the Doves"*
* Boars Gone Wild Bonus - *"Shoot the Boars"*
* Mug Shot Bonus - *"Shoot the Mugs"*
* Turkey Hunt Bonus - *"Shoot the Turkeys"*
* Clockwork Bonus - *"Shoot the Targets"*
* Frog Flippin' Bonus - *"Shoot the Frogs (x4)"*
* Goose Hunt Bonus (Tournament Edition only) - *"Shoot the Geese"*
* Barrel Bonus (Tournament Edition only) - *"Shoot the Targets"*
* Meteor Bash Bonus (Tournament Edition only) - *"Shoot the Meteors (x?)"*

## Trivia

* This is the first game in the series to introduce Pappy, who originally appeared in Pappy's Moonshine Bonus, as well, he popped up in Barrel Bonus. It wasn't until afterwards when Pappy became a series-staple character who would end up becoming a mascot for the series, popping up in more and more bonus games, as well as even getting starring roles in side games such as "In Case of Zombies: Doe of the Dead" from Big Buck HD Wild.
* Bighorn Sheep and Moose (as well as Caribou) were first introduced in this game, while the other three animals, Whitetail Deer, Elk, and Pronghorn were originally from the older Big Buck Hunter games.
* Caribou is the only animal in this game that was added later on, but was not one of the three animals added in Big Buck Hunter Pro: Open Season. The Caribou were originally used for the Big Buck Hunter Pro world championship, since they were the fastest animal that could be found in the game. However, it was very selective if a public arcade version of the game would have Caribou or not, since you had to connect to the internet in order to download the adventure and add it to the game. This was one of the only times an animal was made specifically for the tournaments, and it was until the Zombie Deer adventure in Big Buck Hunter Reloaded when a new animal was a tournament exclusive.
* Up until the release of Big Buck Hunter Pro: Open Season, each animal had one bonus game centered entirely around hunting a specific bird, and it was always the first bonus game in each adventure as well. However, despite having a bonus game centered around each bird, none of these birds would ever be featured as critters in the main game.
* There were multiple different home ports of Big Buck Hunter Pro as well, it is the game in the series with the most home ports. A plug n' play version of the game developed by Super Happy Fun Fun and distributed by Jakks Pacific was released in 2009, the game featured two three-trek adventures, an Eastern and Western adventure, however, both of them only had Whitetail Deer and none of the other animals, as well as six of bonus games. In 2010, a port of Big Buck Hunter Pro was released on the Nintendo Wii, developed once again by Jakks Pacific. Two IOS ports of Big Buck Hunter Pro were made as well, one was just the regular arcade game, but with Caribou included, and another version called "Big Buck Hunter Pro: Tournament Edition" which allowed players the opportunity to play Big Buck Hunter Pro for money and also featured Big Buck Hunter Pro: Open Season content. In Fall of 2017, Super Happy Fun Fun released their Sure Shot HD plug n' play console, which solely focused on being a home port of Big Buck Hunter Pro, as well, Big Buck Hunter Pro: Open Season could also be bought as an add-on to the game. At the end of 2020, Arcade1Up released their Big Buck Hunter Pro arcade cabinet (or Big Buck World depending on the cabinet art), which not only featured Big Buck Hunter Pro, but also Big Buck Safari, Big Buck Hunter Pro: Open Season, and Big Buck Safari: Outback. A deluxe version of Arcade1Up's Big Buck Hunter Cabinet is set to release sometime in late 2023.
* In Big Buck Hunter Pro: Tournament Edition, while in its core was still the same game, had a lot of noticeable differences to the arcade version. First off, you could compete in tournaments and win money, but unlike with Big Buck Hunter: Marksman, this was optional, as the game could still be played normally. Instead of having three treks of each animal, there were multiple different adventures which each featured one trek of three different animals. There was only one adventure unlocked at the start, but every other one had to be bought with real money. The game also featured the addition of power-ups, something we only saw in this game. When you killed a certain amount of certain critters, you would unlock a power-up to help you proceed in the game easier, these power-ups included; Marksman, No Reload, Pathfinder, No Does, and more. You also couldn't just jump into the game either, as the game featured a virtual coin system where you would earn more coins depending on how well you did in a trek, but the coins you earn go into playing more treks, as well as using power-ups. The game also had an achievement system in each adventure, where there were a total of 12 achievements to go for in each adventure, and getting these achievements led to you unlocking bonus games. The game also had every animal from big Buck Hunter Pro: Open Season added to it as well.