Kid Icarus (video game)

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For the band, see Kid Icarus (band).

Kid Icarus
North American boxart
Developer(s)	Nintendo R&D1
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Director(s)	Satoru Okada[1]
Producer(s)	Gunpei Yokoi[1]
Composer(s)	Hirokazu "Hip" Tanaka[1][2]
Series	Kid Icarus
Engine	Metroid
Platform(s)	FDS, NES, GBA, Virtual Console
Release date(s)	NES JP December 18, 1986 NA July 1987 EU 1987 Virtual Console NA February 12, 2007 PAL February 23, 2007
Genre(s)	Platform game
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: E (Everyone) (Wii)[1] OFLC: G (Wii) PEGI: 7
Media	FDS disk card 1 Mbit cartridge

Kid Icarus​ (光神話 パルテナの鏡, Hikari Shinwa: Parutena no Kagami,^? "Light Myth: Palthena's Mirror")^[3] is a platforming video game and is the first entry in the Kid Icarus series. Developed by Nintendo Research & Development 1 and published by Nintendo, the game was released in Japan in December 1986, in North America in July 1987, and in Europe in 1987. It was re-released for the Wii Virtual Console in Europe in February 2007, in North America in February 2007, and in Japan in February 2007. Following a series of commercially successful video games released by Nintendo in the early 1980s, the company began developing Metroid alongside its sister game, Kid Icarus. Kid Icarus was produced by Gunpei Yokoi and directed by Satoru Okada, with music composed by Hirokazu Tanaka. It is set in the kingdom of Angel Land, the story follows Pit as he attempts to save the kingdom and Palutena the Goddess of Light, from Medusa the Goddess of Darkness.

The game has been noted to combine elements of Nintendo's three biggest franchises -- Zelda, Mario, and Metroid -- in that lead character Pit can "jump like Mario, object-driven ability-enhancing like Link, and shoot enemies like Samus." It gained many awards such as a slot in IGN's 2003 list of the Top 100 Games of All Time, it was also inducted into the GameSpy Hall of Fame. The game had a sequel for the Game Boy, there has also been rumors that there will be a sequel on the Wii.

Contents 1 Gameplay 2 Plot 3 Development 4 Reception and legacy 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Gameplay

Kid Icarus is a platforming video game in which the player controls Pit in sprite-rendered two-dimensional landscapes. Pit starts the game with a bow and arrows As his only weapon, and with only the ability to jump. The player explores more areas and collects power-ups that grant Pit special abilities and enhance his armor and weaponry. The gameplay incorporates elements of action and adventure games. Among the power-ups that are included in the game are the Flaming Arrows, which makes the arrows light on fire, the Sacred Bow, which lets the arrows go a further distance and the Protective Crystal, which protects Pit from some attacks. There are ways to find the power-ups such as the Black Marketer, in which you can buy them, the Sacred Chamber in which a god will give Pit stronger arrows and the Sacred Training Chamber, in which a god will make Pit train in order to receive a weapon, if it is finished. In addition to common enemies, Pit encounters bosses whom he needs to defeat to progress. Defeating an ordinary enemy typically yields hearts which are used as currency, while defeating a boss gives Pit more power. To recover health Pit must find bottles with water of life in them, which will replenish his health, also going to the Hot Spring Chamber which will also replenish his health.^[4]

[edit] Plot

In a time where man and gods coexisted in harmony, the kingdom of Angel Land was ruled by two goddesses, Palutena the Goddess of Light and Medusa the Goddess of Darkness. While Palutena administered the light and helped the mortals cultivate their crops, Medusa despised the mortals and used the darkness to destroy their crops and turn the mortals into stone. Enraged, Palutena transformed Medusa into a hideous monster and banished her into the dark underworld.

But Medusa would not go quietly. She assembled an army of monsters and evil spirits of the underworld to conquer Palutena's home, the Palace in the Sky. War erupted and Medusa's minions overwhelmed Palutena's army, eventually imprisoning the Goddess of Light. Medusa then seized the Three Sacred Treasures, the Mirror Shield, the Arrow of Light and the Wings of Pegasus, and gave them to her most powerful minions.

Defeated and imprisoned, Palutena's only hope was to seek the help of Pit, a young angel trapped in the Underworld. Using the last of her strength, she sent Pit a magical bow. Thus, Pit set out on a quest to escape the Underworld, retrieve the Sacred Treasures that would help him defeat Medusa, rescue Palutena and restore peace to Angel Land.

In the end, Pit retrieved these three treasures and battles Medusa. Having won, Pit travels back to Angel Land to find the newly restored Palutena bestow on his armor (perhaps raising his rank). However, if the secret ending is reached (all upgrades and hearts), Pit will be turned older (teenage years) which afterwards he will receive a kiss of gratitude from Palutena.^[4]

[edit] Development

After Nintendo's release of commercially successful platforming games in the 1980s, including Donkey Kong (1981), Ice Climber (1985), and Super Mario Bros. (1985), as well as the critically-acclaimed adventure game The Legend of Zelda (1986), the company was interested in entering a different genre. They began work on an action game.^[2] The game was called Metroid. Nintendo released Metroid for the Family Computer Disk System on August 6, 1986, and on the Nintendo Entertainment System one year later.^[2] One year later Kid Icarus was developed alongside as its sister game, it shares elements and programmers with Metroid.^[1] The game was produced by the same man who produced Metroid, Gunpei Yokoi, who previously produced Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Junior (1982), and the original Mario Bros. (1983), it featured music written by Hirokazu Tanaka, who also composed for Duck Hunt (1984).^[2]

The game has been noted to combine elements of Nintendo's three biggest franchises -- Zelda, Mario, and Metroid -- in that lead character Pit can "jump like Mario, object-driven ability-enhancing like Link, and shoot enemies like Samus."^[5] After defeating Medusa, the player is given an end screen based on the different points earned in the level. Kid Icarus is one of the first games to contain multiple endings, with five in total. In each one Pit is given different jobs, the first three ones include a normal sized Pit with different helmets that symbolize jobs, in the last two Pit is transformed into a full grown angel.^[6] The Japanese ending does not contain the fourth and last American ending, in which the chamber lights up. Instead, it uses the first four endings. The conditions upon which the Japanese endings are based also takes into account how many times the player had to continue the game. The North American version of Kid Icarus uses a password system that was new to the industry at the time, in which players write down a 24-letter code and re-enter it into the game when they wish to continue a previous session. Codes also allow for changes in gameplay; ICARUS FIGHTS MEDUSA ANGELS will give the player invincibility and unlimited feathers.^[7][6] The virtual console of the game was released in North America on February 12, 2007.^[8]

[edit] Reception and legacy

Despite being overshadowed by Metroid, Kid Icarus is regularly recognized as a high quality game. It was awarded the 84^th slot in IGN's 2003 list of the Top 100 Games of All Time^[9] and was also inducted into the GameSpy Hall of Fame.^[10] Also from IGN, it was ranked 20th in IGN's Top 100 NES Games.^[11] In Volume 199 of Nintendo Power, it was voted number 54 in a list of the top 200 Nintendo games of all time.^[12] Nintendo Power also listed it as the 20th best Nintendo Entertainment System video game, praising it for its gameplay and music in spite of its "unmerciful difficulty".^[13] Reviewing the Virtual Console version of the game, GameSpot noted that it isn't the most unique blueprint for a video game, but it was fairly fresh back in 1987, he also said that the music was nicely composed, but the few sound effects are all taps and thuds. Another complaint was that the graphics and the audio where very bland and it was very difficult comparing with the games of today, giving the game a rating of 5.1 out of 10, for "mediocre".^[14] For the Classic NES Series version of the game, IGN commented that the game's gameplay was fun, but that it wasn’t Nintendo's most focused design. He complimented the story in the game, but complained that game's design hasn't aged in as timeless a manner as many other first-party Nintendo games from the NES era. He finished saying that the game was still fun but just do not expect heaven on earth, giving it a 7.0 out of 10, for "decent".^[15] Then IGN reviewed the Virtual Console version, complaint about the lack of passwords, saying there was something missing, also given 7.0 out of 10, for "decent".^[8] The protagonist of the game, Pit, was included in Super Smash Bros. Brawl on the Wii. The game had a sequel titled Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters for the Game Boy in 1991. There have been rumors that a sequel to the game will be developed for the Wii, though Yoshio Sakamoto has stated that he is not aware of any projects currently underway related to Kid Icarus, but did say that Nintendo would be happy to produce it, but that they would need to find the right way to make it. Also saying that as long as fans want a new game they will try.^[16]Pit also appeared in the American animated television series Captain N: The Game Master.^[17]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Kid Icarus (video game) guide at StrategyWiki
• Kid Icarus at MobyGames
• Kid Icarus at NinDB
• Hikari Shinwa Palutena no Kagami (Famicom Disk) at Video Game Den

v • d • e Kid Icarus series Main series Kid Icarus · Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters Characters Pit Related Super Smash Bros. Brawl · Satoru Okada · Gunpei Yokoi · Metroid · Captain N: The Game Master