Kid Icarus
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| Kid Icarus | |
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| Developer(s) | Intelligent Systems |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Designer(s) | Gunpei Yokoi, Satoru Okada |
| Engine | Metroid |
| Release date(s) |  18 December 1986 July 1987 1987 |
| Genre(s) | Platform game |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Platform(s) | FDS, NES, GBA, Virtual Console (TBC) |
| Media | FDS floppy disk 1 Mbit cartridge |
| Input | Gamepad |
Kid Icarus (光神話 パルテナの鏡 Hikari shinwa: Parutena no Kagami?, Myth of Light: The Mirror of Parthena) is a platforming video game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Famicom Disk System in 1986 and the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1987. It is the first of only two games released in the Kid Icarus series.
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[edit] Plot
In a time where man and gods coexisted in harmony, the kingdom of Angel Land was ruled by two goddesses, Palutena the Goddess of Light and Medusa the Goddess of Darkness. While Palutena administered the light and helped the mortals cultivate their crops, Medusa despised the mortals and used the darkness to destroy their crops and turn the mortals into stone. Enraged, Palutena transformed Medusa into a hideous monster and banished her into the dark underworld.
But Medusa would not go quietly. She assembled an army of monsters and evil spirits of the underworld to conquer Palutena's home, the Palace in the Sky. War erupted and Medusa's minions overwhelmed Palutena's army, eventually imprisoning the Goddess of Light. Medusa then seized the Three Sacred Treasures, the Mirror Shield, the Arrow of Light and the Wings of Pegasus, and gave them to her most powerful minions.
Defeated and imprisoned, Palutena's only hope was to seek the help of Pit, a young angel trapped in the Underworld. Using the last of her strength, she sent Pit a magical bow.
Thus, Pit set out on a quest to escape the Underworld, retrieve the Sacred Treasures that would help him defeat Medusa, rescue Palutena and restore peace to Angel Land.
[edit] Gameplay
Kid Icarus is often compared to Metroid, as it uses the same game engine. In volume 204 of Nintendo Power, an article was written about the game describing it as blending together elements from The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario Bros. and Metroid, stating that Pit can "jump like Mario, collect items like [in] Zelda, and shoot enemies like [in] Metroid."
[edit] History
Kid Icarus uses the Metroid game engine and contains both side and vertical scrolling action sequences. In fact, the NES versions of both games were released on the same day with the same "Password Pak" selling point. The original Famicom Disk System versions of both games, however, feature save slots, unlike the NES version which uses a password system (known in-game as "Sacred Words"). As with Metroid, the FDS version of Kid Icarus also features higher quality music and sound effects that take advantage of the system's wavetable sound channel.
A sequel to Kid Icarus, titled Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters, was released for the Game Boy in 1991, only in America and Europe. The game is similar to the original, though there are a few new features including the ability to slowly float downwards by repeatedly pressing the jump button (much like the raccoon tail power-up in Super Mario Bros. 3).
Despite being overshadowed by Metroid, Kid Icarus is regularly recognized as a significant game. It was awarded the 84th slot in IGN's 2003 list of the Top 100 Games of All Time[1] and was also inducted into the GameSpy Hall of Fame[2]. In Volume 199 of Nintendo Power, it was voted number 54 in a list of the top 200 games of all time.
On August 10, 2004 Kid Icarus was re-released in Japan on the Game Boy Advance as part of the Famicom Mini Series. The game is also rumored to be available for the Wii Virtual Console. [3]
Pit is to appear as a playable character in the Wii production Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and has undergone a dramatic change for the game.
[edit] Development
Kid Icarus was produced by Gunpei Yokoi and the music was composed by Hirokazu Tanaka.[4]
[edit] Packaging artwork
 Hikari shinwa: Parutena no Kagami |
[edit] Trivia
- The Kid Icarus Instruction Manual incorrectly states that there is a "Game Over" screen and even includes a screenshot of it. The screen was changed in the final release of the game to read "I'm Finished!"
- The game's title is an allusion to the Greek myth of Icarus.
- The enemy Komayto is actually a Metroid. The Japanese spelling of this enemy's name is (Ko Me To). The "MeTo" being short for "Metoroido" or "Metroid" and the "Ko" signifying it as a child. The Name Komayto actually means "Baby Metroid". Also, the enemy Shulm bears a resemblance to Goomba from Super Mario Bros.
- The Syren enemy on page 38 of the Kid Icarus manual is perhaps the first (and only) Nintendo-owned female character to sport breasts with nipples in North America.
- Metroid: Zero Mission includes a reference to Kid Icarus in the form of three Unknown Items. As with Kid Icarus' Three Sacred Treasures, the items are apparently useless until they are activated near the end of the game, where they have the same benefits as the Sacred Treasures.
- In the Great Cave Offensive game in Kirby Super Star, the player can collect the Pegasus Wing, one of the three Legendary Treasures from Kid Icarus (bottom row, fifth column on the treasure screen).
- One of the microgames in WarioWare: Twisted! is an homage to Kid Icarus, and the Famicom Disk System version of the main theme for Kid Icarus is an unlockable feature. The game even states that "This is the closest you'll ever come to getting a sequel".
- The Nintendo DS game Electroplankton uses sound effects and the dungeon theme from Kid Icarus.
- In the Homestarrunner.com game Peasant's Quest, shooting the Kerrek with the bow and arrow prompts the remark, "Here goes, Kid Icarus."
- Pit, the main character of Kid Icarus, will make an appearance as a playable character in the upcoming Wii title 'Super Smash Bros. Brawl'.
[edit] References
- ^ "IGN's Top 100 Games of All Time (81-90)". IGN. 29 April 2003. Retrieved 24 May 2006.
- ^ Cassidy, William. "Like its mythological namesake, Kid Icarus's time in the sun was entirely too brief". GameSpy. 14 September 2003. Retrieved 24 May 2006.
- ^ Berghammer, Billy. "Online Survey Reveals Nintendo Revolution's Virtual Console Details And Pricing Possibilities". Game Informer Online. 10 January 2006. Retrieved 31 July 2006.
- ^ "Transcription of game's credits". The Kid Icarus Coliseum. Retrieved 27 January 2005.
[edit] External links
- Kid Icarus at GameFAQs
- Kid Icarus at MobyGames
- Speed run video at Speed Demos Archive
- Screenshots of the game's endings at Video Game Museum
- Maps of all levels for Kid Icarus at NESMaps
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| Kid Icarus • Of Myths and Monsters Pit • Palutena • Medusa |
