The Space-Pirate Ship

The Space-Pirate Ship

Preceded By: The Seafloor Palace Followed By: Medusa's Final Battle Locations: Space Pirate Ship Major Characters: Space Kraken

The Space-Pirate Ship is the eighth chapter in the storyline of Kid Icarus: Uprising. This mission introduces the Space Pirates and their dangerous Space Pirate Ship, which serves as the primary battleground of the chapter. Pit's goal in this part of the adventure is to take back the Three Sacred Treasures, which have been stolen by the malicious pirates. Not much is known about this chapter aside from a portion of the aerial mission.

Aerial Mission

Pit will begin this mission in the Galctic Sea, where star constellations are born and held in place. It isn't long before the Space Pirate Ship comes bursting out of this ocean and breaks one of the connecting lines of a nearby c

Pit going against the Space Pirate Ship.

onstellation. Rather than fight, the Space Pirates will quickly pilot their ship into the distance, with Pit giving chase. Palutena claims that the pirates somehow got ahold of the Three Sacred Treasures during their travels, becoming a target of the Underworld army as a result. What begins as a pursuit turns into a frantic race against Medusa's minions as they attempt to break into the Space Pirate Ship while it begins utilizing its many laser cannons, turning the area around it into a chaotic battlefield. Pit and Palutena must figure out how to get inside the ship before the Underworld forces can make it in first.

Ground Mission

Very little is known about the inside of the Space Pirate Ship, although it will seemingly feature three-way battles between Pit, the Underworld army, and the powerful crew of the ship itself. During the mission, Pit will come across the Space Pirate Captain, who will use a special horn to summon Space Pirates to battle Pit and the Underworld forces. Some notable areas have been seen within the massive ship, such as a storage room where the pirates keep the constellations that they have captured. About halfway through the level, there is a room containing a Hot Spring and a lone Space Pirate soaking in it- hang around in the Hot Spring long enough and a Treasure Chest containing Hearts will appear. In addition to the areas located within the Space Pirates' craft, Pit will also travel extensively along the outside of its hull by using Grind Rails set up by Palutena, as well as numerous celestial pathways that form along the ship itself.

Intensity Gates

The Intensity Gate can be found after encountering the first Belunka, but just before entering the room with the stored constellations. When facing straight at the door leading to the room with the stored constellations, look right to find it. The Intensity Gate has an intensity of 6, and inside is a treasure box that contains a weapon in it.

Boss Battle

File:Squidboss.jpg

Pit facing the Space Kraken.

The boss of this chapter is a mighty Space Kraken, accidentally summoned by the Space Pirate Captain when he was trying to call his crew. The creature uses its tentacles to attack while keeping its head underwater. In order to strike at its head, Pit will have to cause enough damage to these tentacles to bring the rest of its body up.

Once its head is up, the Kraken utilizes many new attacks, many of which involve lasers or projectiles. It fires a large blue laser in one of two ways- either straight ahead or sweeping from left to right or right to left. With proper timing, both of these attacks are easy to dodge. It is also capable of firing a storm of lasers from its eyes- these lasers fly at Pit in a random pattern, making them difficult to avoid, especially at closer ranges. It also has an attack where it shoots several large balls of energy from its mouth in quick succession. If Pit is close enough, the Kraken may occasionally lunge its entire head onto the deck in an attempt to crush him- because Pit has to be close enough to the Kraken for it to use this attack and it lunges quickly, this attack is very difficult, if not impossible, to avoid.

Trivia

• The aerial portion of this chapter likely drew conceptual inspiration from the Halberd and its respective stage in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Similarities include the way the camera moves around the ship to emphasize its massive structure and the fact that both crafts use a burst of jet propulsion at the start of the stage. The two ships are also armed with numerous laser turrets and have massive wings for flight.
• Oddly, Reapettes will be encountered and fought during this mission, despite there being no visible Reapers nearby. This is a first for the series, as Reapettes would never appear unless a Reaper in the vicinity summoned them.
• There are two ways a particular section of the aerial portion of the level can play out. If Pit is within the top half of the screen when the pirate ship is first about to emerge from the Galactic Sea, the ship will pass right by Pit and speed off. Inversely, if Pit is within the lower half of the screen at this time, the ship will pop up and nearly crush Pit, sending him below the "waterline" to avoid being hit. Pit will then give chase underneath the sea for a while before being brought above the surface again. Also, the music is altered to sound muffled while he is underwater, returning to normal when he resurfaces.