Kid Icarus: Uprising

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Kid Icarus: Uprising
新・光神話 パルテナの鏡
New Light Myth: Palutena's Mirror
Kid Icarus-Uprising.jpeg
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer:

Project Sora

Console: Nintendo 3DS
Genre: Rail shooter, Third-person shooter
Release: Retail:
JP March 22, 2012
NA March 23, 2012
EU March 23, 2012
AUS March 29, 2012

Nintendo eShop:

JP October 31, 2013
NA November 7, 2013
EU April 9, 2014
Ratings: CERO: B
ESRB: E10+
PEGI: 12
OFLC: PG
Predecessor: Of Myths and Monsters
Successor: N/A

Kid Icarus: Uprising, known in Japan as New Light Myth: Palutena's Mirror (新・光神話 パルテナの鏡 Shin Hikari Shinwa Parutena no Kagami), is a long awaited revival of the Kid Icarus series to be published by Nintendo. It was officially announced at E3 2010 as a new Kid Icarus that would come out for the new Nintendo 3DS. It has taken a re-imagined 3D design of Pit and the enemies of the original NES game, though Pit and Palutena themselves are based off their Super Smash Bros. Brawl appearances. Their character models are slightly downgraded from Super Smash Bros. Brawl due to the hardware limitation, but even so, the game's appearance is considered above-average for the Nintendo 3DS.

Project Sora was the developer of the game, with Masahiro Sakurai as the lead designer. The game was released on March 23, 2012 in North America and Europe. A digital download version of the game released in the Nintendo eShop on November, 7, 2013 in North America, and then in April 9, 2014 in Europe.

Story

Uprising is a direct sequel to the classic NES game, and takes place 25 years after the original Kid Icarus. The overall plot is actually split into two main story arcs (which are also split in to mini-arcs), the first of which features the battle against Medusa and her returning minions, while the second chronicles the threat of Hades, Viridi, the Aurum and the Chaos Kin against the human race. In the first story arc, Medusa has been revived, and once again attempts to eradicate the mortals while seeking revenge from Pit and Palutena. In hearing this news, Palutena summons her most loyal servant, Pit, to stop Medusa and her Underworld Army, and restore peace to the realm once more. Along the way, Pit must battle all of the classic enemies and bosses that have returned from the original game. During the latter half of the story, Pit will encounter many new characters and enemies in the greatly expanded Kid Icarus universe, including the true main antagonist, Hades. The story mode is also divided into 25 separate chapters that each represent a stage:

Gameplay Modes

The game is a shoot'em up based as the Air Battles play like a guided shooter and the Land Battles play like a third-person shooter. Pit retains the Palutena Bow from Brawl, but his selection of weaponry has expanded greatly this time around. Uprising has three primary modes of play:

Single Player (Solo Mode)

The single player mode is where the main game and its story will take place. Each chapter of the story is divided into three sections:

Air Battle

In this game, Pit is granted the Power of Flight from Palutena, giving him the ability to fly for a limited amount of time. The areas where this ability is used resemble a free-aiming flight mode as seen in popular rail-shooter games, where Pit can fly in one direction and aim in another, reminiscent of the Palace in the Sky in the original Kid Icarus. But as the trailer states, Pit can only maintain flight for five minutes at a time; after that, Pit's wings will burn up and he will fall.

Land Battle

Land Battles allow Pit to roam freely, and he can alternate easily between melee and ranged combat depending on how close he is to an enemy. In this mode, Pit is also able to perform fast dodges and run very fast while shooting. He can also utilize various Powers to defend himself or combat foes more effectively. The land sections will make up the largest parts of the game.

Boss Battle

Note: This is not to be confused with the Bonus Chapter with the same name.
At the end of every chapter, Pit will face off with a boss character. These range from fighting massive monsters such as Twinbellows, to battling other major characters like Dark Lord Gaol, to encountering recurring villains such as Dark Pit. In some cases, such as with Hewdraw, a portion of the boss fights might take place during the flying sections in addition to the land sections.

Fiend's Cauldron

Artwork of the Fiend's Cauldron

The Fiend's Cauldron is the game's unique and innovative difficulty setter. This particular item can be filled with Hearts, allowing players to increase the difficulty of the game by adding more enemies to attack as well as making them stronger. The Cauldron uses a scale of 0.0-9.0, with 2.0 considered as the standard. Players can increase or decrease the difficulty by 0.1 increments, making it a total of ninety-one difficulty levels. Increased levels also reward players with more hearts, weapons, and items. However, if a player were to die, the Cauldron will lower the settings by 1.0, but it will also increase the difficulty if the player performs well. There are also special areas during Land Battles that can be accessed through an Intensity Gate, but these only open to those that have their difficulty set on a particular level. These Gates contain more powerful enemies and rarer treasures.

  • 0.0- Effortless
  • 1.0- Easy
  • 2.0- Standard
  • 3.0- Tougher
  • 4.0- Challenging
  • 5.0- Heatin' Up
  • 6.0- Extra Spicy
  • 7.0- Infernal
  • 8.0- White Hot
  • 9.0- Nothing Harder!

Multiplayer (Together Mode)

Together Mode features two modes: Light vs. Dark and Free-For-All. It features Pit, Dark Pit, and generic Fighters as playable characters. Light vs. Dark is a team death-match type of game, pitting Light Team and Dark Team against each other in battle. The player whose defeat depletes each team's health bar becomes an angel, and the first team to defeat the other team's angel wins. Free-For-All is a simple 6-way point match. This mode supports both local and online play.

Treasure Hunt

Treasure Hunt is the achievement system where players can unlock rewards for meeting certain objectives. There are three different panels with various challenges.

Idol Toss

Idol Toss is a feature similar to the Trophies in Super Smash Bros. series. "Idols" are 3D models of characters, weapons, and items that can be viewed by the player. Each Idol also comes with a fun and informative, little description. During the Idol Toss, the player can launch an egg and shoot it, causing an Idol to hatch. Eggs can be obtained by playing the main story, or purchasing them by using the 3DS's Play Coins. Users can also gain more Idols by playing the AR Battle Mode by scanning other AR cards.

AR Battles

The game features an expansive AR Battle Mode, allowing players to see all characters, enemies, items, weapons, and locations using AR cards and the Nintendo 3DS's dual cameras. With this mode, battles can be waged with different Idols, each of which have their own stats and health bars.

Spotpass and Streetpass

For the Streetpass feature, players will be able to send gems of weapons to other Kid Icarus: Uprising owners. These gems contain information about a specific weapon that other players can purchase for themselves at the Arms Altar. For the Spotpass feature, individuals can download a new weapon gem that is distributed daily online. The Mii that gave these gems was named Palutena. The Mii has no statistics for the game. The weapon gem service has ended as of March 31st, 2013.

Items

Multiple Items have been revealed during gameplay videos and in trailers. Hearts will make a return as items dropped by downed monsters. Treasure Boxes have also been seen containing items such as Food, Grenades, and Drinks of the Gods.

Weapons

Players can access a large arsenal of weapons, from which one can be chosen before each stage or match. Every weapon has close and long range attacks, as well as charged and rapid fire attacks. Individual weapons also have different values and bonuses. Players can find more powerful weapons by playing the single player mode on higher difficulties. In addition, each weapon has a special power attack that can clear the screen of most enemies, although they can only be used during flight. These attacks are represented by blue orbs at the bottom left of the touchscreen. The weapon categories are as follows:

  • Blade - A balanced, user-friendly weapon.
  • Staff - Fire shots that are ideal for sniping.
  • Claws - Move faster but with limited reach.
  • Bow - Fire guided arrows at high speed.
  • Palm - Fire homing shots from the palm of your hand.
  • Club - Fire powerful charged shots instead of continuous fire.
  • Cannon - Envelop enemies in explosive rounds.
  • Orbitars - Fire two separate shots designed for ranged attacks.
  • Arm - Improve melee performance but limit attack range.
A fusion chart for the general class of a weapon.

Weapon Fusing

Players can fuse two different weapons to form a new weapon. Gems can also be fused for the same purpose. Melee strength, ranged strength, and weapon modifiers are determined by the parent weapons, although not all will necessarily be preserved. The chart on the right is a simple reference to which types of weapons create what.

Powers

Powers are new abilities that Pit can utilize in battle. They can have different effects when used, ranging from unleashing powerful attacks to recovering Pit's health.

Vehicles

In addition to these weapons and powers, Pit will also be able to control armed vehicles in battle and for transportation. There are three vehicles that include the speedy Exo Tank, a futuristic robo-suit called the Cherubot, and a vehicle resembling a gyro-sphere called the Aether Ring.

Characters

Major Characters and Voice Cast

Characters English Voice Japanese Voice

Pit

Dark Pit

Antony Del Rio Minami Takayama
Palutena Ali Hillis Aya Hisakawa
Medusa Cree Summer Naomi Shindo
Magnus Fred Tatasciore Kenji Nomura
Dark Lord Gaol Kari Wahlgren (Credited as "Kari Whalgren") Junko Minagawa
Thanatos Danny Mann Eiji Ito
Pandora Nika Futterman Mariko Suzuki
Hewdraw Danny Mann Masaya Takatsuka
Hades S. Scott Bullock (Credited as "Scott Bullock") Hochu Otsuka
Viridi Hynden Walch Makiko Ohmoto
Phosphora Kari Wahlgren (Credited as "Kari Whalgren") Yuka Komatsu
Arlon Troy Baker Yasuhiko Tokuyama
Poseidon Fred Tatasciore Ryuzaburo Otomo
Pyrrhon Troy Baker Tetsu Inada
Chariot Master Alan Oppenheimer Hochu Otsuka
Dyntos Alan Oppenheimer Koji Yada


Enemies


Kid Icarus: Uprising enemies and bosses
Underworld Army ArminBelunkaBlusterBoogityBrawny ClawsBumbledropClubberskullCollinCommylooseCoralCrawlerDaphneDark Lord GaolEggplant WizardErinusFire WyrmFort OinkFrozumGanewmedeGirinGloomerangGreat ReaperGuttlerGyrazerHadesHades's HeartHandoraHewdrawIgniotKeronKomaytoLeoxMagmooMedusaMega MusselMerenguyMikMinosMonoeyeMonolithMonomiknoseNettlerOctosOrnePandoraParamushPetribomberPhilsPlutonPorcuspineReaperRemoblamShelboShemumShildeenShootflyShripShulmSinistewSkuttlerSnongSnowmanSpecknoseSplinStackjawSyrenTempura WizardThanatosTortolunkTrailtailTwinbellowsUnderworld GatekeeperVakloomWave AnglerZik & ZakZureeZurret
Forces of Nature ArlonBadootBladerBoom StomperBumpety BombCacawCaptain FlareClobblerCragalancheDibble DopFlageForces of Nature GuardHugwormJitterthugLethiniumLunar Sanctum Control CenterLurchthornMahvaMeebaMegontaMudroneNutskiParashooterPew PewPipPhosphoraReset BombReset Bomb PodSkreetleToxiecapTrynamiteUrgleZert
Aurum Aurum BrainAurum CoreAurum CloneAurum GeneratorAurum PyrrhonBagloBiotaBlitClaxisDohzJyokKolmaNukleenPlixoQuoilRezdaRozSioTaklaxTribyteXonemeZaurumZrink
Palutena's Army CenturionCenturion KnightCenturion StrongarmJuggernautPalutenaPit's Body
Chaos Kin Chaos KinShadow Pit
Other Enemies Chariot MasterDark PitGreat Sacred TreasureMagnusMimicutiePhoenixPseudo-PalutenaSoufleeSoul-Eating MonsterSpace KrakenSpace PiratesTreasurefish



Development

The idea of creating a game for the Nintendo 3DS occurred to Masahiro Sakurai as early as July 2008, shortly after the release of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, when the Nintendo President, Satoru Iwata, personally approached Sakurai about a brand new handheld in the works and desired him to make a game for it.[1] Sakurai continued to work on this idea until it was approved by Nintendo on October 2008, but at this point, it still was not a Kid Icarus game, but an original product. However, by working on the Super Smash Bros. games, Sakurai has noticed that many gamers were frustrated due to many beloved franchises being left dormant[2] This was when the Kid Icarus series came to mind, and Sakurai thought the franchise would work well with his project. In 2009, Project Sora was formed and recruitment began in March of that year. Another Nintendo series Sakurai considered was Star Fox, but he believed Kid Icarus was a better fit for the gameplay.[3]

After months of work, Kid Icarus: Uprising along with the Nintendo 3DS was formally unveiled at E3 2010 on June 15, 2010, during NIntendo's press conference by Satoru Iwata. The announcement was met with delightful surprise by the press and fans, which has left Sakurai "touched", and was "absolutely, totally happy about it."[4] On January 2011, Nintendo held the Nintendo World 2011 event in Japan to allow the general public to try out their new system which also included a demo station for Kid Icarus: Uprising.[5] Sakurai himself also held a live presentation showcasing the game. At E3 2011, the multiplayer mode for Uprising was revealed, and another playable demo that allowed guests to try out the single player campaign or the newly shown multiplayer. The game was originally slated for a Holiday 2011 release, but a press release in December of that year revealed the game has been pushed back to March 2012. On January 20, 2012, Sakurai officially announced on his Twitter that Uprising has gone "gold"[6], and the game successfully released on its designated dates.

In a post-release interview, Sakurai has mentioned that 3 chapters had to be scrapped early in the development[7], possibly meaning the final product was intended to have more than 25 chapters. He also originally considered giving Pit a a mascot-like character to help guide through his adventure before switching over to Palutena.[8]

Audio

Kid Icarus: Uprising is one of the few first-party Nintendo games to feature full voice acting. Voice over recording was done by Hollywood's Soundelux DMG[9]. The voice cast was directed by Ginny McSwain[10], a veteran voice director and Emmy Award winner.

The original soundtrack was composed by well-known Japanese musicians such as Yasunori Mitsuda, Motoi Sakuraba, Yuzo Koshiro, Masafumi Takada, Noriyuki Iwadare, and Takahiro Nishi, along with Hirokazu "Hip" Tanaka who composed the original NES game's music and jingles.[11] Most of the music in this game is performed by a live orchestra or real instruments, with few tracks using MIDI. A selection of the game's music was released on the Japanese Club Nintendo[12], and eventually a full official three-disc soundtrack was released in Japan by Sleigh Bells.[13]

Promotions

Kid Icarus: Uprising manga from V Jump. Illustrated by Satoshi Kinoshita.

Kid Icarus Float

At Nintendo World 2011, Sakurai announced the production of a 10 meter tall Kid Icarus Float depicting Pit and Palutena in northern Japan for the Aomori Nebuta Festival. It was paraded down the streets of Aomori on August 2011.

Manga

Japanese magazines, CoroCoro and V Jump, both released a short manga in their April 2012 issues. The manga from CoroCoro was based on Chapter 1, and V Jump's was based on Chapter 3.

Anime

A mini-series of Kid Icarus 3D Anime shorts aired on Nintendo Video to promote the game's release:

Figma

On April 27, 2013, Japanese figure-making companies, Good Smile Company and Max Factory, released figmas of Pit and Dark Pit.

Reception and Sales

Upon release, Kid Icarus: Uprising received positive reviews from both critics and fans. It is also one of the few games to receive a perfect 40/40 from the Japanese gaming magazine, Famitsu.[14] The gameplay, the characters, the script, the voice acting, the visuals, the mulitplayer, and the music have all been praised. However, a common complaint from many gamers was the rather cumbersome control scheme. Nonetheless, the game sold 1.18 million copies worldwide as of March 31, 2013[15], and is often regarded as one of the best games available on the 3DS.

Gallery

Illustrations

Trivia

  • Kid Icarus: Uprising contains numerous references and shout-outs to other Nintendo games.
  • Kid Icarus: Uprising was the first 3DS game to be revealed to the public during E3 2010.
  • The box art for Kid Icarus: Uprising was changed for its English release so that it features Pit with an angry expression, while the Japanese version has him smiling. This type of change has similarly been made for various games in the Kirby series, which was also created by Masahiro Sakurai. Sakurai himself noticed this, and seems to be slightly amused by it.[16]
  • Interestingly, the 3DS home screen jingle for Kid Icarus Uprising is the same as 3D Classics: Kid Icarus.
  • Kid Icarus: Uprising was the first 3DS game to have a reversible box art in all regions.

External Links

References


Kid Icarus series
Main Series Kid IcarusKid Icarus: Of Myths and MonstersKid Icarus: Uprising
Remakes 3D Classics: Kid Icarus
Related Games Super Smash Bros. BrawlSuper Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii USuper Smash Bros. Ultimate
Related Media Captain N: The Game MasterKid Icarus 3D Anime
Key People Toru OsawaYoshio SakamotoMasahiro SakuraiHirokazu TanakaGunpei Yokoi