The Rebirth of Kid Icarus
Over
20 years ago Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters was released on the
original Game Boy, many fans were excited to finally play another Kid
Icarus game, but little did they know, this would be the last Kid Icarus
game for quite awhile.
Many
years later the Nintendo fighting game Super Smash Bros Brawl was
finally released in 2008. Just like the past two games, Smash Bros Brawl
featured well known Nintendo characters from many different game
series, but one character alone ended up sparking a lot of interest. Who
was this character? Well, none other than Pit of course! Pit hadn't
been seen in a for quite a few years, but after Pit won second place in
the Super Smash Bros Melee "NES Character Poll," Nintendo decided to go
ahead and include him in their newest fighting game. Although old school
fans already knew who Pit was, Smash Bros stiill introduced Pit to a
completely new set of fans as well. Kid Icarus was no longer an old NES
game from over four generations ago, but it was now a game even young
gamers knew about, and many became interested in the series.
In
the end, after seeing the fan's reaction to Pit, Nintendo decided to
finally move forward and make the third game in the series.
Welcome back Pit!
Kid
Icarus Uprising is the third game in the Kid Icarus series, and was
released on the Nintendo 3DS. Although the original Kid Icarus games
were more along the lines of a 2D side scrolling Adventure Game, very
much like Metroid, Kid Icarus Uprising goes in a completely different
direction. Although the game does feature some game play elements
introduced in the original games, just like Mario, Zelda, and Samus'
jump from 2D to 3D, Kid Icarus Uprising features its own unique style of
game play, and makes its self stand out from the originals by going
down the path of being a rail shooter/action adventure game/third person
shooter.
Pit's New Adventure
Kid Icarus
Uprising is a fast moving game, and it throws players right in as soon
as they hit start. "Sorry to keep you waiting!" And with that, Pit jumps
through a door and is flying through the sky. Very much like the Star
Fox games, the story in Uprising is almost completely told during actual
game play. As soon as Pit enters the first level the Goddess Palutena
tells Pit that the Underworld Army, that's being lead by Medusa, is
attacking, and it's now up to Pit to protect everyone.
Unlike most
Nintendo games, Kid Icarus Uprising has full voice acting, and the game
makes use of it. Every single level is packed full of dialog, and it
really helps the story come together. In the beginning of the game Pit
and Palutena will mostly talk about what's going on around them;
Palutena will give Pit hints, which serves as a type of tutorial, Pit
will comment back, or the two will simply talk about their overall goal,
but as time goes on more characters are brought into the mix and the
story evolves.
Although some may enjoy the story and the way it's
told, some may actually be turned off by it and they may just turn of
the dialog completely. The characters do in fact talk non stop, many
jokes are told, and the 4th wall is broken quite a few times as well;
some players might find this to be a bit annoying, but others may find
themselves laughing all the time. Either way most people will find that
the game has a pretty good story, and it's filled with twists and turns.
When Pit jumps through that door at the start of each chapter, you just
never know what's going to happen.
Take Flight once again!
The
game play in Kid Icarus changes quite a bit throughout the adventure;
however the core game play will mostly stay the same. Back when
Uprising's engine was being created, it was originally being created for
a brand new Star Fox game, however as time went on Nintendo decided to
create something new. Although the game is now a Kid Icarus game, it's
pretty clear what Nintendo originally intended for it to be. At the
start of each level you'll find yourself flying high in the skies on a
set path that's being controlled by Palutena.
As you soar through
the sky enemies will fly around and shoot at you as you do the very same
back. Just like in old arcade games, or in Nintendo's Sin and
Punishment, the player to dodge everything that comes at them, as they
try to kill as many enemies as possible to shoot for the highest score.
Many of the areas Pit flies through are creative, they look amazing, and
they'll please most old school rail shooter fans. Although these levels
do start out very easy, Kid Icarus Uprising has 99 difficulty settings
ranging from 0.0 to 9.0. Since the game's "normal mode" is set to "2.0,"
there's plenty of room to increase the difficulty if you feel thing's
are a bit too easy. Since the "Power of Flight" only lasts for 5 minutes
at a time, Palutena will send Pit to the ground after awhile, and the
second part of the level will begin.
Once
on the ground players are free to move Pit around in a completely 3D
world. Near the start of the game each ground level is normally a pretty
straight forward path, but as the game goes on levels begin to become a
bit more complex with different paths to explore. Sometimes there will
be doors that require a set difficulty to pass through, other times
there will be areas you need power ups to access, and sometimes you'll
be required to search for a key. Since the game's weapon system runs on a
loot drop based system, there's always a reward for exploring each
level, but it's completely up to the player if they want to or not.
Other
than exploring large maps, ground combat features most of what you
would expect from this type of game. Pit can shoot from long range,
preform charge shots, and shoot special dash shots, but he can also get
in close to to unleash a combo of melee attacks. By mixing up long
range, and melee it's once again up to players to decide just how to
take down each enemy. Sometimes you'll come across an enemy with armor
which will require you to hit a weak spot on the back, other times
enemies will be strong against melee attacks which will require you to
shoot them, and sometimes you'll even have to use power ups or items.
Although the basic combat is simple, it can also be very deep.
Throughout
the levels Pit will also be able to use power up items, such as bombs,
he can get into vehicles, and he can also use special jump pads and
grind rails to get around. Most of the time these items are only useful
in the room they appear in, but sometimes you'll come across the rare
levels that actually require you to bring them with you if you want to
move on; levels with race tracks for the "bike" for example.
Each
level normally ends with a boss fight, which is normally the enemy that
you have been talking to throughout the entire level. Although each boss
is normally a flat out fight to the death using a mix of long range and
melee attacks, sometimes the game does change it up by throwing in what
one might call a "gimmick" as well. Sometimes you'll be required to use
jump pads to dodge attacks, other times you'll be using grind rails to
get in closer, but either way boss battles are fun and creative; sadly
they only last around 30-40 seconds when playing on easier settings...
That can be a problem if you want to hear all of the dialog...
The Controls
Kid
Icarus Uprising is one of the few 3DS games out with what you might
call controversial controls. The game is controlled completely by using
the slider, the touch pad, and the L button by default, but the controls
can be changed in the options. While in the air the slider is used to
move around, the touch screen is used to aim, and the L button is used
to shoot, but on the ground things get a little bit complicated.
While
on the ground the slider is still used to move around, but it's not as
simple as it was in the air. By simply pushing the slider in any
direction Pit will dash or dodge, however since Pit can get tired easily
dashing around is not always the best option and can sometimes get you
into a lot of trouble. Pit can walk slowly which will not use up any of
his energy, but due to the circle pad being so touchy, it can be a bit
tricky to simply start out walking instead of running. Even so, if Pit
starts out running, you can simply let back on the slider to slow down
and switch over to a normal walk.
Just like in the air the touch
screen is used for aiming and the L button is used for shooting, but the
touch screen also controls the camera angle as well. By swiping the
screen the camera will slowly turn, and this can really be a pain/make
it hard to see; however the good news is that you CAN change the speed
of the camera, and it's something I
STRONGLY RECOMMEND
doing. Many people have a problem with the camera angle, but by setting
the rotation speed to max the game's camera angle will rotate along with
your aim which makes the controls a lot easier in the end.
Camera
and aim control can also be set to the four buttons (XYBA) just like in
Metroid Prime Hunters, but this is a lot slower and can make the game a
lot harder than it needs to be. Still if you're the type of player who
would rather avoid the touch screen at all costs, you may want to check
out these options.
Sadly as of right now there is no right slider
controls, but the Circle Pad Pro can be used for lefties, and due to the
fact that Kid Icarus Uprising is set up to allow patches, it's always
possible that we'll see it in the future. Either way the game allows you
to finely tune the controls so almost everyone should be able to find
the controls that work best for them.
Pit the Weapon Master!
As
I stated before, Kid Icarus Uprising uses an item loot system which is a
very important part of the game play. Before setting out and playing
the next level, players are able to select which weapon they want to
bring with them. At first glance it seems like a pretty simple system,
but with 9 different classes of weapons, and many different types of
weapons for each class, it actually has a lot of depth. For example a
First Blade is well balanced between long range and close range, but a
Samurai Blade has stronger melee attacks with a shorter shooting range,
Brawler's Claws has a rapid punching "range" attack, while Stealth Claws
shoots a long stream of invisible shots. Every single weapon has its
own advantages and disadvantage, and each class plays completely
different; once again it's up to players to decide which weapons to use,
and it's also up to them to learn how to use them.
Besides having
different types of weapons, each weapon has many versions as well. Each
weapon has a star rating for it's ranged and melee attacks to show you
how strong it is in them stats. If one weapon has 4 stars in melee and
two stars in ranged, while another version of the very same weapon has
three stars in melee and no stars in ranged, the former would be the
stronger weapon. Weapons also have 6 ability slots as well, which are
normally chosen at random, but by fusing two weapons together to make a
new one, you can somewhat chose which abilities to pass on.
For
example: if you have a First Blade with three stars in it's ranged
stat, and it has the abilities of "Health +2," "Shot Range +1," and
"Dash cont. fire +4," and you fuse that with a First Blade with four
stars in ranged and the "Overall defense +1," "Shot range +1," "Melee
dash attack +3," and "Item attack +2" abilities, you'll create Wolf
Claws with a 4.5 stars in ranged attack, and it'll have the abilities of
"Shot range +1," "Overall defense +1," and "Item attack +2." In other
words by fusing items with the abilities you want, you can create a
weapon that has a few of the very same abilities. It may sound a little
bit confusing, but there is an in game chart that shows you what you'll
create, and just how you created it. Of coarse if you want to take the
easy way out, you could just buy weapons from the shop using hearts you
get from killing enemies, but they ARE completely random.
Pit's new Powers
Kid
Icarus Uprising also features a "power" system which allows you to
customize Pit to your liking. As you play through the game you'll find
different powers which you can equip. Each power comes in different
shapes and sizes, and in order to equip them you must drop them in your
6x6 ability box. If you have ever played a game such as Megaman Battle
Network, or Valkyria Chronicles, you'll be very familiar with this type
of set up.
Powers come in all shapes and sizes, some buff you for a
short amount of time and make you stronger, some create shields, others
allow you to poison or stun your enemies, some heal you, and there are
even ones that allow you to jump or glide! There are MANY different
types of abilities, and all of them have their very own uses.
Player vs Player
With
all the different weapon classes and weapons, and with the whole skill
set up, Kid Icarus Uprising is the perfect type of game to feature an
online mode, and Nintendo took advantage of that. Kid Icarus Uprising
features two online game play modes, Light vs Dark, and Free for All. In
free for all players simply are thrown into a battle field where they
try to rack up as many kills as possible within the time limit. It's a
fast and easy game mode to play, but it just isn't as deep as the other
mode, Light vs Dark.
In Light vs Dark you're put on a team of
three on either the Light or Dark side, and you're given the goal of
taking down the other teams angel. As team members are defeated their
team's health bar will slowly decrease, how much health that is lost
depends on how strong the weapon of the defeated player was, until it
finally hits 0. Once this happens the last player to get killed will be
transformed into the team's angel and given a completely random weapon.
This is when the real battle starts.
Each team MUST protect their
angel while the other team tries to take it down. Teams must be able to
work together to both protect their own angel as they attack the other
teams angel as well. If an angel is defeated, the other team wins and
the game ends.
Both online modes are fun to play, and you can even
play against bots, however the online mode is still a bit flawed.
Unlike past Nintendo games such as Metroid Prime Hunters, Kid Icarus
uprising does NOT feature any type of ranking system, you cannot play
with both friends and strangers, and there is no way to talk with your
team. Although the ranking system isn't that big of a deal, it's a bit
sad that you and your friends can only play together/with bots, and not
being able to at least send some type of message can really hurt the
game as well. If you're the angel and you're being attacked, good luck
calling to your team for help...
The Unlockables and Extras of Uprising
Just
as you might expect from a game that was created by the same developer
who brought us Smash Bros, Uprising features many unlockable features
and extras to play around with.
Just like in Kirby's Air Ride and
in Smash Bros Brawl, Uprising features an achievement system called
"Treasure Hunt." As you play through the game and complete different
achievements, boxes in treasure hunt will be opened, you'll earn
rewards, and the boxes around the box will be become lighter to show you
what else you can unlock. For example, if you play "Far Away" online
mode you'll unlock the "Effect Recovery Lv. 1" power, and the boxes
around it will turn light which will allow you to see what you have to
do to open them. In this case the boxes around it which we can now see
are "Clear chapter 1 within 7 minutes," "collect over 10,000 hearts,"
and "clear chapter 7 in crisis mode." In other words, if a box is still
dark, you cannot see how you open it, and if it's light you can.
There
are 360 achievements to unlock in game, and as each box is removed a
piece of a large picture can be seen in the background. You can also use
features to auto unlock a single box, but sometimes it's just better to
save them.
Idol Toss is another extra feature that's included in
the game which is Uprising's version of the coin mini game in Smash
Bros. As you play the game you'll unlock eggs which you'll be able to
launch into the air and turn into Idols. Idols serve as Uprising's
version of trophies and they allow you to view a 3D model as well as
read information about whatever the idol is of. Idol Toss isn't as "fun"
as the coin launcher in Brawl, but it's still fun collecting idols
either way.
Under the "Vault" option in the main menu you can
check to see just about everything you have unlocked. Here you can view
your Idols that you've collected, listen to music in the Music Gallery,
check your achievements, access the Idol Toss (which can also be
accessed in Story Mode), check your records (which record every bit of
detail about the game), and you can offer Hearts to the Goddess.
Offerings "do nothing" but with each offering the Goddess gets closer.
What offerings truly do is a secret, and something that might be worth
your time.
So, is it worth it?
Kid Icarus
Uprising is a great rail shooter and action adventure 3rd person
shooter. The story is nice, the game play is solid, the game is very
nice looking, there's a lot of extras, a crazy deep weapon and crafting
system, it has 90 difficulty settings, and a fun online mode; however
the game still may not be for everyone. Dialog can be annoying, controls
may be hard to get used to, and the online mode is missing some
features that have became "standards" for online PvP.
Kid Icarus
Uprising is NOT the Kid Icarus we used to know, but it is still a great
game. If you're the type of person who likes rail shooters/3rd person
shooters/action adventure games, and loves having 100s of weapons to
play around with, then this is the game for you.
I give it a rare rating of 9.5/10
FLY PIT!