Kid Icarus

Kid Icarus: Uprising is still amazing. The exhausting amount of content is certainly keeping me busy, though I am happy something's distracting me from the fact that Dream Drop Distance finally has a localized release date of July 31! On the bright side, there's only 115 days remaining! On the down side, there's still 115 days remaining. Now I await the English trailers.

I realize I talk about Kingdom Hearts more so than other series. Wish I didn't, cuz it isn't even my favorite series of all time (that honor goes to Zelda). It's just that KH is my ongoing series that builds hype in me more than others, mainly for it's involved plot. As much as I love my beloved Nintendo franchises, most of them aren't directly linked to each other by plot. I can be excited for New Super Mario Bros. 2 as much as I want, people aren't going to get that excited, especially for those who claim "it's the same damn game" and disregard that it's still the best pure platforming experience out there.

Onto a newly-revived classic:

Happy yet deadly.

Kid Icarus is one of the best NES games I have ever played, lemme get that point across right now. It's one of those games that you play when you're young, realize it's tough as nails, unforgiving and unrelenting in its brutality, and yet you still can't stop playing it, trying to figure out its secrets and to finally best it at its own game. It lures you in with its charming, colorful small characterizations of Japanese renditions of Greek mythology. Kid Icarus then promptly capitalizes on that friendly facade and wails on poor Pit. Through all of this, it's still fun.

Hope your platforming skills are up to snuff.

Players take control of the angel Pit, a warrior fighting to save the Goddess of Light, Palutena, from the Goddess of Darkness, Medusa, who commands thousands of Underworld forces. Starting from the Underworld, it's up to Pit to gather the Three Sacred Treasures as he travels through to the Overworld, then climbing further into Skyworld and then reaching the Palace in the Sky to face Medusa and save Palutena.

The game runs off the same engine as Metroid, and plays somewhat similarly in basic terms. While an action/platformer at heart like it's sister title, Kid Icarus mostly differs in that it utilizes linear scrolling stages that can't be backtracked unless the player restarts the level. The enemies come often enough that spacial awareness and sharp reflexes benefit the twitchy gamer.

The first three worlds follow the scrolling structure, and the first and third worlds scroll vertically upwards, which was different from the 2D Mario-style stages platformers mostly consist of. The fourth stage in the first three words consist of a Fortress Stage that the Bosses reside in. They're a cross between Zelda's Dungeons and Metroid's caverns, and are fully backtrackable until the Boss is encountered and defeated.

Eggplant Wizards: how to break controllers.

Icarus also features some light RPG elements to liven things up. While the game begins brutally hard (especially for newcomers), if you're decent at killing/milking enemies, you'll find your journey to get progressively easier until the final stage, where the game's largely a cakewalk. This is not a detriment, but rather an unusual form of difficulty curve that works in reverse to the norm. It's a welcome challenge, but takes a little getting used to if you want to avoid multiple rage quits. When foes are defeated, they drop Hearts that act as currently instead of health (which are covered by chalices). Using Hearts, you can equip Pit with further-reaching arrows, add fire to your shots, and have floating shields to protect him from projectiles. Health and arrow strength can also be upgraded. The Fortress stages even include a Zelda-like Map and Compass feature, so there's enough variety to add to its signature charm, such as hot springs restoring health and hospitals to cure Pit from being cursed into an eggplant from an Eggplant Wizard.

Can you say 'Happy NES Ending?'

Kid Icarus is definitely not for the casual player, for a considerable amount of skill is required to rise over the initial difficulty. The 3D Classics version is slightly easier in the control department (if you're a stickler for controls like I am), particularly in the jumping aspects for the tricky platforming sections. I definitely recommend the 3D Classics version, if not for the snazzy scrolling backgrounds and great 3D effects, Nintendo 3DS eShop naturally. An excellent 8-bit action/platformer.

Series
1. Kid Icarus

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Dunno how to end off, save saying I don't know how.

Ciao!