Kid Icarus: Uprising Review (3DS)

Nintendo is well known for their flagship franchises such as Mario and Zelda, but some of their creations are often stashed away for decades. One such game is the Kid Icarus series which has remained dormant for years; waiting for the perfect opportunity to make a comeback.

Yes, after 20 years Nintendo finally deemed the 3DS a worthy platform to host the adventures of Pit, the main character that’s more famous for starring in the Super Smash Bros. series than his original appearances.

The game draws inspiration from Greek mythology in that Pit, a servant of the goddess of light, tries to stop an all out war between the gods that will unwittingly destroy Earth. Although the campaign stays true to the theme it’s not all death-and-decay like Sony’s God of War series.

In fact – the game has an underlying humorous and witty tone that’s a great source of amusement. There are loads of references to its origins as a NES game, like characters commenting on the amount of additional pixels they acquired throughout the years. Kid Icarus: Uprising has loads of fun with itself which keeps players captivated throughout the incredible 10-hour campaign.

Kid Icarus: Uprising

Pit was born without the ability to fly – somewhat of an embarrassment for an angel. He is temporarily granted the gift of flight by his master, lady Palutena. Unfortunately she can only grant him this power for a few minutes before his wings burn off. As such the game is split into two clear sections: air and land based combat.

When flying, Palutena controls Pit’s trajectory. The player only controls Pit’s position on the screen, his aim and attacks. Air based combat is almost like a 3D version of Space Invaders – enemies appear and the player has to take them out as they approach.

Players use the analogue stick to control Pit’s position on the screen, the touch screen to aim and the left trigger to shoot. This configuration can be a bit overwhelming – it’s awkward to hold the 3DS with only your left palm while managing the stylus with your right hand. That’s why Nintendo includes a nifty 3DS stand with every copy of the game.

The stand is placed on a flat surface and lifts the 3DS so that you don’t need to support the console while both hands are controlling Pit. This does make it more comfortable to play but it’s going to take a while before you’re used to this unique scheme.

Kid Icarus Uprising

A similar control method is used when Pit is on land. In these sections the game behaves like a traditional third-person shooter; you move with the analogue stick, adjust the camera with the touch screen and shoot with the L button. The 3DS stand is also used during land-based combat and it creates an undoubtedly comfier experience. However, while the 3DS stand makes gameplay better than default, it’s still not as comfortable as you’d like.

The biggest problem with the 3DS stand is that you need to have a flat surface (like a table) nearby and it has to be at a comfortable height – otherwise you’ll constantly bend your back when playing. These restrictions make Kid Icarus: Uprising a bad choice for on-the-go gaming; something the 3DS was designed for.

The land-based sections offer more exploration opportunities but are ultimately still linear in nature. There’s a very repetitive flow of events in Kid Icarus: Uprising. Each chapter starts with Pit flying, then moves to the ground and wraps up with a boss battle.

Kid Icarus Uprising

Kid Icarus: Uprising provides plenty of gameplay depth through the weapon system. There are 9 different weapon classes (including bows, clubs, blades and claws) and 12 weapons in each class. Every weapon has different stats, attributes and abilities and different instances of the same weapon are unique.

Every weapon can be used as a ranged and a melee weapon although some might be better for ranged attacks than close quarters combat. Weapons can be fused together to create new weapons and can then be shared with other players using StreetPass.

The greatest feat in Kid Icarus: Uprising is the way in which the story is told. The plot unfolds in the form of dialogue between the characters as Pit is engages in the action. Voice acting in a Nintendo game is almost unheard of, never mind prominent!

The sheer amount and quality of voiced dialogue is spectacular. The characters provide background information, quest instructions and loads of hilarious moments – all without having to sit and watch a cutscene.

While some players might get annoyed by the constant chatter I found it entertaining and a unique way of conveying the story. The voice acting is top-notch and accurately portrays the character’s personality and emotions.

Kid Icarus Uprising

Kid Icarus: Uprising also includes a full scale multiplayer mode that allows local or online play. Players can battle in teams or in free-for-all matches using any of the weapons found or fused in the campaign.

The multiplayer battles can seem rather chaotic for the untrained eye as there’s usually a tumult of sparks, items and players flying across the arena. Once you get used to the organised mayhem that only Japanese developers can create the multiplayer becomes a major and engaging aspect of the game.

South Africans will be delighted to know that, while there are no local servers, there is remarkably little lag when playing online. If only there was some way of communicating with the other players; a sad drawback considering that everything needed for voice (or even video) chat is built right into the handheld console…

The game is jam-packed with other bits and bobs too; Augmented Reality cards, a complex achievement system and a dynamic difficulty system.

Kid Icarus: Uprising revives the classic franchise with a bang. It demonstrates the uniqueness of the 3DS through the innovative, albeit awkward, control scheme. The game also showcases some spectacular graphics that hardly skip a beat amidst the intense action-orientated gameplay.

Nintendo also reminds us that they don’t always do voice acting – but when they do, they do right.

Kid Icarus: Uprising is a unique, action packed game with great spirit and depth. It is unlike any other game you’ve ever played and should find its way into your 3DS collection.

Want to learn more about Kid Icarus: Uprising? Click through to this snazzy info-graphic – Kid Icarus: Uprising info-graphic.