The Lunar Sanctum (chapter)
The Lunar Sanctum | ||||||||||||
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The Lunar Sanctum is the thirteenth chapter of the storyline in Kid Icarus: Uprising, which has Pit searching for and fighting one of Viridi's high-ranking commanders. It takes place in a rather peaceful location in the night sky, lit up by the moon. However, it isn’t long before the area turns into a battlefield when Viridi's army begins to attack in full force.
Aerial Mission
This chapter begins with Pit singing a cheerful victory song, due to his successful defeat of Viridi. He claims that he’s now ready to seek out Hades, but Palutena warns him that the nature goddess still has dangerous allies that need to be dealt with as well. This particular ally is a lunar entity by the name of Arlon, who lives in a mechanical fortress in the sky. As Pit is shooting down numerous monsters, Palutena explains that his fortress acts as a lethal weapon, making it a priority to take it out. She proceeds to point out the moon in the sky, to which Pit comments on how pretty it looks. However, his admiration of the moon quickly turns to shock when she points out a second moon right next to it. Palutena claims that this duplicate is actually Arlon's Lunar Sanctum, as it splits open to reveal its mechanical interior. Before Pit can get a good look at it, the Sanctum suddenly unleashes a massive laser in his direction, and continues to attack as he begins rapidly flying towards it while avoiding many enemies. Arlon soon introduces himself, turning out to be very polite and respectful towards Pit and Palutena. He even mentions that he'd prefer not to fight, but the situation is entirely out of his "purview" due to Viridi's orders. After the moon god attempts to blast Pit with the Sanctum's central laser cannon, Palutena leads the angel through an opening along its side. She finally finds him a way in, just as Arlon attempts to close the gates on him. Each of these gates has a weak spot that can be destroyed, allowing Pit to enter a vent leading into the Lunar Sanctum's ground area.
Ground Mission
The ground portion of this chapter is quite extensive, taking place in what appears to a whole other world within the Lunar Sanctum. Like the goddess of calamity Pandora, Arlon is shown to be very fond of visual trickery and has many illusions spread throughout his domain. Some of these include holograms of various enemies that litter the Sanctum, as well as special mirrors that reveal invisible platforms and switches in their reflections. Midway through the level, both the Lunar Sanctum Control Centre and Dark Pit are fought as minibosses, the latter of which was casually invited by Arlon for a rematch against Pit. Because the Control Center responds to damage by releasing bombs, this can be used as a potential weapon against Dark Pit, especially if he’s tricked into shooting it himself. Upon being defeated, the dark angel will fly away, leaving Pit to finish off the Control Center if he hasn’t already. The rest of the trip to Arlon is a long one and includes traversing the Sanctum’s moon-like outer surface, as well as an unpleasant encounter with multiple Nature monsters called Clobblers. These initially weak creatures grow enormous and dangerous when provoked, making them among the deadliest troops in Viridi’s army. After fighting off multiple waves of enemies in different rooms of the Sanctum, Pit will finally make it to Arlon himself.
Dark Pit and Control Center Miniboss
Both Dark Pit and the Lunar Sanctum’s Control Center serve as the chapter’s minibosses. While the Control Center is Pit's primary target, Dark Pit presents the more immediate threat as he relentlessly bombards Pit with arrows while moving around the large room. The Control Center itself does not attack, but will release a blast of energy when struck. This can be used to Pit's advantage as he can trick his dark counterpart into attacking the control center and take damage. After defeating Dark Pit, Pit can focus on the Control Center and can use hit and run tactics to finish it off.
Attacks
- Arrows: Dark Pit fires arrows at Pit.
- Charged Arrow: Dark Pit fires a charged shot.
- Energy Blast: When struck, the Control Center fires an energy blast in retaliation.
Intensity Gate
While in the room with the boss door, look left to see the Intensity Gate in plain view. As you approach the boss door, take the thin path to the left to reach it. The Intensity Gate requires an intensity of 7.0, and inside is a single treasure box that holds a weapon in it.
Boss Battle
Despite his respectful attitude and seemingly delicate appearance, Arlon proves himself more than capable of holding his own during this unique boss fight. He has a special ability to darken the arena, greatly limiting visibility and making him harder to locate. It is best to wait for Arlon to attack first, as the glowing projectiles he unleashes will often reveal his position. Upon taking enough damage, Arlon’s darkness power will increase in effect, making it difficult to even see where Pit himself is standing. He will also use more powerful attacks, including a lunar beam that can travel across the stage. After taking enough hits, the Arlon will finally go down.
Attacks
- Crescent Chakrams: Arlon tosses a crescent-shaped chakram at Pit. When using Lunar Eclipse, Arlon will sometimes leave a chakram floating in midair, then fire three chakrams while Arlon moves to another part of the arena.
- Lunar Darts: Arlon fires five energy darts at Pit.
- Lunar Orbs: Arlon fires three large, slow moving energy orbs at Pit.
- Lunar Marbles: Arlon performs a tap dance-like motion, releasing several balls of energy that traveled along the ground.
- Lunar Spikes: Arlon creates a ring of dark energy that follows Pit. After a few moments, spikes erupt from the ground to damage Pit.
- Lunar Eclipse: Arlon shrouds the arena in darkness.
- Lunar Barrier: Arlon creates a barrier to defend against frontal attacks.
- Lunar Mines: Arlon leaps across the arena, leaving three energy mines in his wake.
- Lunar Laser: Arlon charges up power and fires a beam of energy that travels the arena.
- Lunar Missiles: Arlon charges up power and fires several homing lasers at Pit.
Battle Quotes
"Well played, young one." (When defeated.)
Epilogue
Upon defeat, Arlon’s power drains from the entire Lunar Sanctum, causing it to collapse. During this time, a mysterious creature breaks out of the crumbling structure, although Pit and Palutena simply brush it off as nothing important, instead opting to prepare for their next attack on Viridi's forces.
Trivia
- This chapter seems to be a parody of Star Wars in that the Lunar Sanctum looks similar to and operates like the Death Star, a likewise moon-sized machine armed with lasers including one powerful enough to destroy an entire planet. The chapter’s music even sounds partially inspired by the Star Wars series and Pit's aerial approach towards the Sanctum is quite similar to the Rebel Alliance's approach and subsequent battle above the surface of the Death Star.