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NES
Platformer
1 Player
PasswordsKid Icarus is one of Nintendo’s franchises that never made it past the 8-bit era. This is disappointing, as this early NES game proved to not only be the deepest game of its time, it’s one of the more profound in the NES library.
You assume the role of Pitt, a warrior of Angel Land who was captured by the forces of darkness, commanded by Medusa. Angel Land has been taken over by Medusa’s forces, and Pitt is the last hope. Using the last of her strength, the goddess, Palutena, sends Pitt a bow and arrow, and he begins his quest from there.
First, Pitt must escape the underworld. From then on, he must battle monsters, buy items, upgrade his skills, and collect three pieces of sacred armor before his showdown with Medusa. Everything thing in between Pitt’s escape to the final battle is up to you.
Kid Icarus plays at first like a vertical platform hopper, much like Ice Climber. After two levels, however, the game turns to dungeon exploration, and then to side scrolling. By then, the depth of Kid Icarus begins to sink in. Truly, this is a game that is deceptively complex behind the scenes.
This is because there is so much more that can be done than expected. Items can be purchased with hearts that are collected from defeated enemies, items which range from various life restoration bottles to wings that protect Pitt from fall off of the screen. Special weapons can be received by completing endurance challenges, and strength can be upgraded for good performance.
This may not seem like that much on paper, but the various strategies that come into play. Intelligent spending of hard-to-acquire hearts can become a nightmare early in the game, and there are individual strategies for the various fortresses where bosses reside. Add the obscure experience point system for strength upgrades and the helpful bargaining system, plus all of the other strategies involved, and the sum equals a pleasantly vast game where vigilance is rewarded. Head over to GameFaqs.com and look for Daniel Remar’s (DRemar) incredible FAQ before playing the game; you’ll be glad you did.
The audio/visual end of Kid Icarus doesn’t quite keep up with the rest of the game, but it performs well, especially considering that this is an earlier NES title. The surroundings look polished and detailed, the enemies look very nice, and even the menus look good. Pitt himself has a good amount of detail and animates well, though when he goes into a moving crouch, Pitt glides eerily along; a lazy oversight. Other low-points include annoying bouts of flicker and some ugly background color later in the game.
Sonically, there isn’t much to complain about, which is part of the problem. There are a scant amount of sounds in the game, but what’s there comes through well. The music is very well done, with the music conveying the mood very well. There isn’t music which mocks you quite as thoroughly as the reaper’s theme when you mess up in the bonus stages; that alone is worth the price of admission.
The controls hold up well throughout the game. Pitt can jump platforms and attack enemies with ease, a task that only gets easier with leveling-up. The controls could have been a little tighter, and the inability to jump and shoot upwards is a minus.
Kid Icarus is the type of game that starts out difficult and weeds out the weak early on. The first two levels are fairly challenging, since Pitt starts out fairly weak and doesn’t have enough funds to purchase life-saving equipment early on. Once the game’s feel is grasped and Pitt gains a level or two, Kid Icarus becomes a fair challenge and things start to pick up. Be prepared for a lot of frustration at first, though.
My first experience with Kid Icarus was in my younger NES days. The game was rented for me, and I was excited by the cartridge art, as well as the vague reputation that preceded it. Because of the vast strategies involved, I didn’t fair well; I probably got to the second level, but that is in doubt. I remember distinctly being freaked out by the reapers; I wasn’t sure why the music became distorted and enemies were surrounding me, and I became a little scared of the game.
This fear, coupled with the fact that I had only seen the vertical-scrolling levels, shaped my opinion of the game as being a bit too frustrating to be fun, a game where the character can easily fall to the bottom of the screen and lose a precious life. I came across the game in late 2002/early 2003 for five dollars. Considering the fact that it was a classic, I decided that that was a good deal and picked it up. Of course it was annoyingly frustrating at first, but at least I wasn’t scared for the reaper anymore. After studying Remar’s FAQ carefully, I went on to beat Kid Icarus, and found it to be a spectacular game.
BOTTOM LINE: All said, Kid Icarus is a satisfying game that, once you get into it, you’ll play until the end. The only disappointment here is that it ends; a sign of quality code. This is a definite must-have for the gamer that demands a little meat to his adventure.
-The Collector
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