It’s time to give Nintendo some love.
For the past two reviews, I’ve been focusing on the X-Box 360 (mostly because I don’t have a PS3), but now I think it is time to turn our gaze onto the best damn handheld system out there right now: the Nintendo 3DS (The PS Vita? What’s that?). This week, I’m going to be breaking down Kid Icarus: Uprising, but if you read the title of the article, you already knew that. You are clever like that. For those of you wondering why the game has a subtitle, you may be unaware that Kid Icarus has been around as long as the Nintendo systems have been, the titles are simply far and few between. If you do not count Kid Icarus: Uprising’s main character Pit’s appearance in Super Smash Bros Brawl (which I don’t), than our winged hero has not been in a game for 21 years. But don’t let that long stretch of time between games worry you, because it hasn’t detracted from the quality of the game at all. Indeed, I haven’t played a game quite like it before. Which isn’t a bad thing, let me tell you.
The story of Kid Icarus: Uprising is a difficult thing to explain. The game has practically no cutscenes or other forms of exposition dumping that most other games usually have. It pretty much just drops you into the thick of combat and puzzles, with very little initial establishments. However, what the game does have, which is something I have never experienced before, is a running commentary from both the main character Pit, and various other characters in the game. This has the effect of having even moments of intense combat feel like it is part of the story. Most dialogue is between Pit (you) and your patron, the Goddess Palutena. And from my own point of view, the banter that those two have is hilarious, and cheesy. But cheesy in that awesome way, like something you might experience when watching Mystery Science Theater: 3000. Without giving too much of the story away, the main plot of Kid Icarus: Uprising is stopping the reborn Goddess of Darkness, Medusa, and her minions and allies. As an angelic servant of Palutena, you will be empowered with her divine gifts, and have to rely on your own martial skill to overcome waves of enemies and solve a number of puzzles.
Gameplay in Kid Icarus: Uprising might leave a few eyebrows raised when you first start playing it, and I’ll be honest, it took me a while to get used to it. But, once I did, it quickly becomes second nature, and you don’t even think about it, as you get sucked into the fast and smooth combat. You don’t control the camera with the analogue stick, or the direction pad, instead you control it with sweeping motions of the stylus. Pit’s movement is still controlled by the analogue stick, but his attack buttons are NOT the expected A and B buttons. Instead, the left trigger is the attack button. This can be a bit strange at first, and even awkward to hold, but Nintendo was kind enough to include a small fold-out stand with every copy of the game. This really helps stop the unconventional control scheme from being bothersome, and in fact, I have used the little stand when playing other games now. It is very comfortable. Like…a small Japanese kickstand of awesome. Yeah, just like that.
Most of the gameplay itself consists of two stages per level. Stage one is exactly five minutes of flying along in a rail shooter (the reasoning behind this is that the Goddess Palutena can only grant you the power of flight for five minutes at a time), quickly followed by stage two which takes place on foot, and it’s more about puzzle solving and light platforming.
Another fun aspect of gameplay is the weapon creation system. During the game you will find and unlock various weapons that you can combine with other found weapons to make more efficient creations. So, for example, a sword combined with a bow becomes floating crystal orbs that shoot holy light. Don’t ask me how that is supposed to work, it just does. Why does every weapon have unlimited ammo? Stop asking completely logical questions and shoot flying eyeballs with flaming cat paws, damn it!
If I was to give this game one weakness however, it would be that unless you ARE actively paying attention to the banter, this game can feel very same-y after only a few levels. It is always the two-stage model, which are only occasionally broken up by bosses. If you aren’t the type who can multi-task between dodging laser-blasts, attacking monsters, and appreciating silly lines, this game might quickly devolve into old Gameboy Mario level entertainment for you. Good for waiting in the doctor’s office, but nothing that is going to keep you up at nights playing until the wee hours of the morning.
Graphically, Kid Icarus: Uprising is freakin’ gorgeous. I’m serious, this is one pretty game. Granted, much of what you see on screen is highly stylized people and monsters, but they are impressive to behold nonetheless. During the sections of the game when you are flying, you will marvel at the subtle majesty of the sky at dusk, the thousands of enemies that can be seen huddling on a mountain, and the raging fires as towns burn under the attack of Medusa’s creatures. The music is less spectacular, as even now I cannot remember any tune that I heard, but it isn’t badly done, just nothing particularly memorable. The voice acting is well done, and there are some very memorable lines that will have you laughing on the floor. The enemy designs are distinct and memorable, and if you look very closely, you can see some Easter-Egg enemies that will make Nintendo fans quite happy. But once again, this game is flippin’ gorgeous, even without the 3D. I personally can’t stand 3D in any form, but a few times in this game I turned it on just to gaze at the sky, which I mentioned earlier was exquisite.
The total package of Kid Icarus: Uprising is, quite simply, impressive and a real gem on the Nintendo 3DS. The only thing keeping me from raving about it is the repetitive level designs, and gap in the franchise line. It is difficult getting into it, and I assume most of my readership was too young to even remember the last Icarus game that came out. However, I think you SHOULD buy this game, and not leave it as a rental. It does have replay value (did I mention that you can greatly tweak with the difficulty settings of every level?), and even if it is only your go-to game for playing on the toilet, it will keep you entertained. Get it.
Final Score: 6.8/10
Final Thought: Peter Pan can suck the tip of my flaming sword-bow, suckas!
