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DAILY MANIFESTO

Retro Revolution: Return of the Kid Icarus

Posted on Friday, April 13 @ 07:37:24 Eastern by KevinS

The last tag on our review of Kid Icarus: Uprising had me thinking: "Does anyone still care about Kid Icarus?" I hadn't actually asked that question myself; with the hoopla that came with having Pit playable in Super Smash Brothers Brawl, I assumed I wasn't the only one interested in seeing him star in his own game again. I'm lucky enough to own both of the previous Kid Icarus games, so I gave them a quick look over again.

Kid Icarus (NES) - The main character Pit breaks out of jail to stop Medusa from destroying the rest of the world, and he has to find three legendary treasures to do it. Loosely based on Greek mythology, it's interesting as far as story in gaming goes, but beyond that it has some issues. The gameplay was just that little bit too stiff and slippery at the same time. Multiple enemies on-screen can easily either hit you or trap you into a spot where someone else can hit you, and the level design was damn unforgiving. Still, it sounded really good and brought RPG elements into what was otherwise a simple up-scrolling platform game. It was also, most likely, the first time many of us heard anything about eggplants (was for me, anyway).

Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters (Game Boy) - The sequel to the NES title, Pit takes on the Orcos to restore order and peace in Angel Land. The world was expanded and some exploration was possible, making each stage one large map instead of a progressive series of platforms. Nearly everything was enhanced on the small-screened Game Boy grayscale, most notably the tightness of control and the sprites' clarity and detail. What makes it odd is the fact it wasn't released in Japan; it came out in the US and Europe, but not the country it was actually developed in.

Did you play much of the original titles or is the 3DS incarnation your first foray into the mythical Angel Land? And please, answer for us the most important question… are you happy that Kid Icarus is back?

Related Games: Kid Icarus: Uprising

Tags: Nintendo, Retro Revolution

Comments

ShadeTail
Joined: Nov 2006

Posted: Apr 13th, 2012 at 4:23 pm
I never played either of the originals, up until I got the 3D Classics version with Uprising. Even given the upgrades with the 3D Classics version (and it isn't just the graphics; they've made some subtle control changes), I can't say I like it much.

I think Uprising is an excellent game, and I've no problem at all that they chose to revive the Kid Icarus ip.

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elmoreoocyte
Joined: Apr 2012

Posted: Apr 13th, 2012 at 7:31 pm
I have the NES cart. I didn't get it until the early 2000's when I was working and had money to buy NES games I always wanted as a kid but was too poor to have. I like the music a lot, and the gameplay is about as forgiving as Contra (which I beat without the Konami code by playing EVERY DAY the summer before I could drive).

I was happy when I heard they were revamping the franchise. I was pissed when I found out it was 3DS and not my Wii that's been gathering dust and thus have not played Uprising.

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