Kid Icarus: Uprising
Developer: Project Sora
Publisher: Nintendo
Release Date (US): March 23, 2012
ESRB Rating: E10+ for Everyone 10+: Comic Mischief, Fantasy Violence, Mild Suggestive Themes
Features: Circle Pad Pro Support, Local and Online Multiplayer, SpotPass, StreetPass
Concept: Revive the Kid Icarus series for a modern audience
Kid Icarus: Uprising is the return of the classic Kid Icarus series, which hasn't had an appearance since Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters in 1991 on the Game Boy. The series' protagonist Pit made an appearance as a fighter in Super mash Bros. Brawl back in 2008, but now he's back in his own game for the 3DS.
Controls: Uprising gives you multiple control settings. The default, which is what I used, has you move with the Circle Pad, aim with the touch screen, and attack with the L button. I've heard plenty of people have had wrist pain issues with that control setup, but I personally didn't have such an issue. If you do have that issue, Project Sora made sure you had options. Also, if you're a lefty, the Circle Pad Pro can be used to mirror the control setup. All in all, the simple control scheme makes for a fun game. The amount of differenct actions you can do with the simple setup is staggering. You can either run or quickly dash just by how you move the Circle Pad, and you can either aim or move the camera with the stylus. Dashing has some interesting effects on your attacks, and is great for dodging. Basically, it's a very deep control setup for the small amount of the 3DS it uses.
Gameplay: Kid Icarus: Uprising offers an interesting combination of on-rails flying and ground-based baddie busting. Both use the same combat system of ranged shots and melee strikes. Certain enemies can only be hurt with one type of attack, and certain weapons excel at ranged over melee and vice versa. Speaking of which, there are nine types of weapons, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Bows and staffs are great for ranged combat, while clubs and claws offer greater close-ranged attacks. My personal preference are cannons, whose explosive charge shots (more powerful ranged attacks that require a few moments of no shooting) pack a punch. It goes even deeper with the vast amount of different weapons in those catagories, and even more when each instance of a weapon has different stats, which makes for nearly unlimited possibilities for your armaments. Also helping you are powers, which are Tetris-like blocks you set on a grid to give you touchscreen activated support abilities, like healing. Your wapons and powers go to use in the rarely strayed from flight-ground-boss level setup or the deathmatch-style multiplayer battles, weather they be free-for-all or the 3-on-3 Light vs. Dark. Online works pretty well, even with my unreliable internet. It's a fun way to test your skill and the power of your weapons. Another way to test your skills is the Fiend's Caldron, which allows you to bet Kid Icarus' currency, called hearts, in order to raise or lower a level's difficulty, or intensity as it is called. Intensity ranges from 1.0 to 9.0 in .1 increments, with the default being 2.0. Higher Intensity means more of a challenge, but better weapon and power drops. Also, in pretty much every level with a ground segment has what is called an Intensity Gate, which requires you to be either at the intensity listed or higher to pass through it. Inside includes a battle with some powerful enemies, but beat them and you get an equally powerful weapon or power.
Story: Sakurai may have said story wasn't the main focus in Uprising, but him and his team at Project Sora did an amazing job with it nonetheless. It follows Pit as he completes missions for the goddess Palutena in order to stop the recently resurrected Medusa and her Underworld Army. I won't spoil much else, but there's also a lot more plot in addition to what I've already mentioned. You don't have to go through a mission briefing before every level, as Pit jumps right into the flying segment and gets the info from Palutena while he's mowing down enemy troops. In a move that goes against traditional Nintendo conventions, Kid Icarus: Uprising had a LOT of voice acting. Not only does Pit speak with Palutena, but with his enemies as well. The banter is silly, light hearted, and often fourth-wall breaking, which makes for an interesting listen during intense combat. Mentions of pixels, loading screens, and other Nintendo franchises is much appreciated. The talkative cast of Uprising is a fresh change compared to the silence of Mario and Zelda games.
Graphics: It certainly isn't the abolute best visuals the 3DS had rendered, but Kid Icarus: Uprising can claim to be one of the 3DS' most eye-pleasing games. The flying segments and giant bosses show that the 3DS can handle some pretty detailsed environments and character models. If you look at the right angle, you can also notice that Pit's in game model's mouth will move when he speaks, which is a large improvement over games like Dead or Alive Dimensions, whose cutscenes were full of unmoving statues to represent characters. Uprising is a technical achievement for the 3DS, and graphics lovers won't be disappointed.
Conclusion: Many fans have waited over 20 years to see the return of the angel named Pit, and the wait gave us this amazing and fresh game that has several megatons worth of content. I didn't even talk about Idols (with their respective AR Cards) or the Xbox Achievement-like Treasure Hunt, and those along with other extras can keep players hooked for a long while. These are the people that made Smash Bros. Brawl, after all. Uprising is great fun for all ages, and the included 3DS Stand is also compatible with all previous and future 3DS games (heh heh). It's a great value for its price, so go out and grab a copy!
Story: Sakurai may have said story wasn't the main focus in Uprising, but him and his team at Project Sora did an amazing job with it nonetheless. It follows Pit as he completes missions for the goddess Palutena in order to stop the recently resurrected Medusa and her Underworld Army. I won't spoil much else, but there's also a lot more plot in addition to what I've already mentioned. You don't have to go through a mission briefing before every level, as Pit jumps right into the flying segment and gets the info from Palutena while he's mowing down enemy troops. In a move that goes against traditional Nintendo conventions, Kid Icarus: Uprising had a LOT of voice acting. Not only does Pit speak with Palutena, but with his enemies as well. The banter is silly, light hearted, and often fourth-wall breaking, which makes for an interesting listen during intense combat. Mentions of pixels, loading screens, and other Nintendo franchises is much appreciated. The talkative cast of Uprising is a fresh change compared to the silence of Mario and Zelda games.
Graphics: It certainly isn't the abolute best visuals the 3DS had rendered, but Kid Icarus: Uprising can claim to be one of the 3DS' most eye-pleasing games. The flying segments and giant bosses show that the 3DS can handle some pretty detailsed environments and character models. If you look at the right angle, you can also notice that Pit's in game model's mouth will move when he speaks, which is a large improvement over games like Dead or Alive Dimensions, whose cutscenes were full of unmoving statues to represent characters. Uprising is a technical achievement for the 3DS, and graphics lovers won't be disappointed.
Conclusion: Many fans have waited over 20 years to see the return of the angel named Pit, and the wait gave us this amazing and fresh game that has several megatons worth of content. I didn't even talk about Idols (with their respective AR Cards) or the Xbox Achievement-like Treasure Hunt, and those along with other extras can keep players hooked for a long while. These are the people that made Smash Bros. Brawl, after all. Uprising is great fun for all ages, and the included 3DS Stand is also compatible with all previous and future 3DS games (heh heh). It's a great value for its price, so go out and grab a copy!
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