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Kid Icarus: Uprising, known in Japan as Shin Hikari Shinwa: Palutena no Kagami (新・光神話 パルテナの鏡?, lit. "New Light Mythology: Palutena's Mirror"),[1][2][3] is a title for the Nintendo 3DS video game system, developed by Project Sora (Sora Ltd.) and published by Nintendo.[4] It is the third game in the Kid Icarus series and the first since 1991's Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters, a twenty-year wait referenced in the game's announcement trailer shown at E3 2010.[4] It was released on March 23, 2012 in North America[5] and Europe. The game is also compatible with Circle Pad Pro and is bundled with the Nintendo 3DS Stand accessory for every copy of the game. It also uses the Nintendo Network, and is the first official game outside of Japan to do so.

Plot

The plot of Kid Icarus: Uprising follows the angelic protagonist, Pit, as he battles against a reborn Medusa, Goddess of Darkness who seeks to destroy mankind. With the help of Palutena: Goddess of Light, Pit gains the "Power of Flight" to travel the skies and fight the Underworld Army, defeating Twinbellows.[6] After Pit takes out Medusa's commander Dark Lord Gaol with the help of Magnus, a human mercenary, he battles Hewdraw before going after the Underworld commander Pandora (Kid Icarus) uses an artifact called the Mirror of Truth to create doppelgängers of Underworld monsters. In the process, a doppelgänger of Pit named Dark Pit is created yet operates according to his own free will, taking Pandora's power from his own and becoming an enemy to both the Underworld Army and Pit. After giving an unsuccessful chase for Dark Pit, Pit and Palutena resume their attack on Medusa and kill her last commander, Thanatos, with the help of Poseidon (Kid Icarus) in reaching Thanatos's stronghold. After infiltrating a pirate ship, Pit reacquires the Three Sacred Treasures before settling things with Medusa once and for all. However, it turned out that Medusa was a figurehead leader revived by the true Lord of the Underworld, Hades (Kid Icarus). Revealing that Medusa's actions were his doing, Hades assures that the war is about to take a grander stage.

Hades proceeds to trick the human race into believing the existence of a red herring called the Wish Seed, not only causing an all-out war among the nations but also among the gods as Viridi, Goddess of Nature, intended to restore natural order with her genocidal "Reset Bombs". However, the massive-scale war of the gods caused a mysterious alien race called the Aurum take notice and attack the earth, ransacking it for resources. All three factions, along with the Sun God Pyrrhon, join forces against these "space invaders". However, being well informed of their enemy and tired of their belittlement, Pyrrhon used the other gods to fuse himself with the Aurum Brain, the Aurum's Hive Mind, to surpass them all. In the end, with the Aurum Brain critically damaged, Pyrrhon uses the last of his strength to send the entire Aurum armada and himself to the other end of the Galaxy.

However, the Chaos Kin, a monster that was sealed until accidentally released by Pit during his fight with Viridi's general Arlon, takes control of Palutena and has been using her forces to attack humanity. The Forces of Nature and the Underworld Army have continued their warring during this time, and Pit has spent the last three years unconscious with his soul trapped in a Ring. He manages to wake up still in ring form, and after a series of events involving playing as a girl and a dog, the ring ends up in the hands of Magnus before Pit regains his body. Pit goes to face Palutena with the unexpected help of Viridi, but is too weak to get through the force field around her temple. Viridi sends him to the Hall of the Lightning Chariot, where Pit faces the Chariot Master, accidentally kills him, and acquires the Chariot. Pulled by Unicorns, it uses its speed and power to break the force field, where Pit faces Palutena and breaks the hold the Chaos Kin has over her. At the culmination of the battle, the Chaos Kin takes Paletuna's soul and escapes into the Chaos Vortex, turning her body to stone. Pit and Dark Pit give chase and track down the Chaos Kin, finishing it off and restoring Palutena. With its final bit of strength, the Chaos Kin clutches Dark Pit and dives into the nothingness. Pit dives after him, and reactivates the power of flight, saving Dark Pit but leaving himself without wings and near death. Dark Pit then travels to the Underworld and seeks out the Rewind Spring, a spring of divine water that allows the user to turn back the effects of time. While heading there they learn of Hades true intentions: Using the souls of those lost in the conflict to create more monsters and enhance his power. Once at the Rewind Spring, having remained dormant until now, Pandora leaves Dark Pit's body to use the Rewind Spring to resume the body she had in life. Dark Pit defeats Pandora, and restores Pit to life.

After an attempt to take out Hades with the Three Sacred Treasures ends up with the items destroyed and swallowed whole by the god before escaping with Dark Pit's help, Pit seeks out Dyntos: God of the Forge who makes all of the weapons Pit uses in the game. Dyntos puts Pit through three trials to test his worth which involve him fighting against previous bosses and allies. Surviving the Trials, Pit is granted the Great Sacred Treasure (a transforming suit of flying armor) and resumes his assault on Hades. Their fight rages on through the Underworld, generally matching each other blow for blow. Hades makes for the Overworld, catches Pit off guard, and delivers a downward punch, crushing the Great Sacred Treasure. As Hades prepares to finish Pit with a powerful attack, Medusa rushes in and attacks him refusing to be Hades' pawn any longer. Revealing his true form, Hades easily destroys Medusa and resumes his attack on Pit. But by this time, Pit has taken up the weapon salvaged from the Great Sacred Treasure and is guided in his flight path by Viridi while Palutena uses her energy to charge the weapon. Just as Hades is about to finish him, Pit unleashes the full power of the Sacred Treasure, vaporizing Hades where he stands in the massive blast. The world is saved, and the people of Earth rejoice though Viridi grudgingly lets Pit have his happy ending in regard to the humans still striving. After the credits, though dead, Hades's disembodied voice expresses some respect towards Pit for beating him and that he might be able to revive himself with 25 years' time.

Gameplay

Players take control of Pit, who must protect the land from the evil Medusa.[6][7] The game is controlled with the Circle Pad and stylus and has highly customisable options. The Circle Pad Pro peripheral is also supported for left-handed players. The game ships with a stand allowing the player to hold the 3DS in place.[8] Each of the game's various chapters are split up into air and ground sections. Air sections are on-rail shooting segments, in which players must shoot flying enemies while dodging enemy attacks. Once on the ground, players have more control over Pit as he traverses through the level. Pit can either shoot enemies from a distance or attack them up close with melee attacks, while also performing various moves to dodge enemy attacks. As the game progresses, Pit earns several weapons of nine types- bows, claws, blades (a combination of a sword and a gun), clubs, orbitars (two objects that hover at Pit's shoulders), staffs, arms (a weapon that fits around Pit's wrist), palms (magical tattoos covering Pit's arm), and cannons, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. By collecting hearts from defeated enemies, players can bet these hearts to increase the 'intensity' of a chapter, increasing its difficulty. If the player successfully clears a chapter, they can earn rewards, such as new weapons, depending on the intensity settings, with higher intensity earning more powerful equipment.[9]

Along with the game's single player story mode, the game also features multiplayer for up to six players locally or via Wi-Fi. Players can compete in Team Deathmatches or Free-For-Alls using standard fighter characters. In the Team Deathmatch mode, named Light vs Dark, each team has a health meter that depletes when a player is defeated. The value of the player's weapon determines how far the meter depletes after death, and the player whose death depletes the meter completely will become their team's angel, a more powerful character who represents the team. The match ends when the other team's angel is defeated.[10] The game also comes with Augmented Reality cards that can be used to play minigames with the 3DS' augmented reality features.

Development

Kid Icarus: Uprising is developed by Nintendo's Project Sora development studio[11] and built specifically for the Nintendo 3DS.[6] The game retains Pit and Palutena's new looks as introduced in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.[12]

The game has two soundtracks. The first one, entitled Kid Icarus: Uprising Music Selection features twenty-five songs that is selected from the game.[13] The official soundtrack however, holds all seventy-one songs.[14] Motoi Sakuraba is one of the six composers in the game.[15]

Voice cast

Character Japanese voice actor English voice actor
Pit, Dark Pit Minami Takayama Antony Del Rio
Palutena Aya Hisakawa Ali Hillis
Viridi Makiko Ohmoto Hynden Walch
Arlon Yasuhiko Tokuyama Troy Baker
Phosphora Yuka Komatsu Kari Wahlgren
Magnus Akio Kawagasa Fred Tatasciore
Dark Lord Gaol Junko Minagawa Kari Wahlgren
Hades Hōchū Ōtsuka S. Scott Bullock
Medusa Rica Matsumoto Cree Summer
Pandora Mariko Suzuki Nika Futterman
Thanatos Eiji Ito Danny Mann
Hewdraw Masaya Takatsuka Danny Mann
Poseidon Ryūzaburō Ōtomo Fred Tatasciore
Pyrrhon Tetsu Inada Troy Baker
Chariot Master Hōchū Ōtsuka Alan Oppenheimer
Dyntos Kōji Yada Alan Oppenheimer

Animation

To promote the game, Nintendo commissioned three Japanese animation studios to produce short stereoscopic animations based on the game, which were made viewable on the Nintendo 3DS' Nintendo Video service:

  • Thanatos Rising (空飛ぶ木馬 Soratobu Mokuba?, lit. Flying Trojan Horse) by Production I.G: Three-part short as Pit works to save a village from being attacked by Medusa's first in command: Thanatos, The God of Death.
  • Medusa's Revenge (メデューサの逆襲 Medyūsa no Gyakushū?) by Studio 4°C: A prologue to the game showing Medusa's rise to power and Palutena's pledge to stop her.
  • Palutena's Revolting Dinner (おいかけて/おいかけられて Oikakete / Oikakerarete?, lit Chasing After / Being Chased) by Shaft: Two-part short in which Palutena accidentally unleashes a group of living carrots all over Skyworld.

Reception

 Reception

Prior to release, Kid Icarus: Uprising was nominated for Best E3 Trailer by GameSpot at E3 2010.[24]

Upon release, Kid Icarus: Uprising has received very positive reviews. Official Nintendo Magazine gave the game 91%[23] while Famitsu gave it a perfect 40/40 score.[25] Edge gave the game an 8 out of 10,[18] and IGN gave it an 8.5, calling it a game full of superb action, stunning graphics and solid gameplay, though criticizing its control scheme.[22] Eurogamer gave the game a 9 out of 10 and said that "Kid Icarus: Uprising is a strong, pretty game turned into an essential one by way of its surrounding infrastructure."[19] Nintendo Power scored the game a 9.5 out of 10, praising its surprising story and controls, and saying that it "was well worth the wait".[26]

In contrast, Game Informer was more critical, giving the game a 7 out of 10 and stating that "Kid Icarus: Uprising is charming, and there’s plenty to see and do. It’s a shame that the very real threat of repetitive stress injury may keep some players from playing to the end."[21]

Despite the positive reception of Kid Icarus: Uprising, the game's creator Masahiro Sakurai stated, in an interview with IGN, that he is not intending to develop a sequel.[27]

See also

References

  1. 社長が訊くE3特別篇『新・光神話パルテナの鏡』. 任天堂 E3 2010情報. Nintendo Co., Ltd. (16 June 2010). Retrieved on 17 June 2010
  2. Iwata Asks: Kid Icarus: Uprising. Nintendo E3 Network. Nintendo of America, Inc. (15 June 2010). Retrieved on 16 June 2010
  3. (2004) Album notes for Famicom 20th Anniversary Original Sound Tracks Vol. 1. Scitron Digital Contents.
  4. 4.0 4.1 3DS' Launch Title Will be Kid Icarus Uprising. Joystiq.co.uk (15 June 2010).
  5. Nintendo Dates Kid Icarus: Uprising, Rhythm Heaven Wii, Mario Party 9. 1UP.com (13 December 2011).
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 KID ICARUS: UPRISING. Nintendo E3 Network (15 June 2010).
  7. E3 2010: Kid Icarus Uprising Announced for 3DS. 1UP.com (15 June 2010).
  8. http://www.nintendo.co.uk/kidicarus
  9. http://www.gamesradar.com/how-difficult-can-kid-icarus-uprising-be-new-railer-explains-intensity/
  10. http://kidicarus.nintendo.com/uprising/multiplayer/rules.html#light-vs-dark
  11. Kid Icarus: Uprising confirmed for 3DS. Videogamer.com (15 June 2010).
  12. Kid Icarus: Uprising announced for 3DS. Joystiq.co.uk (15 June 2010).
  13. http://vgmdb.net/album/32092
  14. http://vgmdb.net/album/33508
  15. http://vgmdb.net/artist/166
  16. Kid Icarus: Uprising. GameRankings. Retrieved on 2012-07-13
  17. Kid Icarus: Uprising. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2012-07-13
  18. 18.0 18.1 Edge Magazine Awards Kid Icarus Uprising 10/10. Mynintendonews.com (9 March 2012). Retrieved on 22 March 2012
  19. 19.0 19.1 Kid Icarus: Uprising Review. Eurogamer.net (19 March 2012). Retrieved on 22 March 2012
  20. Hayward, Andrew (2012-03-23). Kid Icarus: Uprising Review for 3DS. G4. Retrieved on 2012-03-23
  21. 21.0 21.1 Kid Icarus: Uprising - 3DS. Gameinformer.com (19 March 2012). Retrieved on 22 March 2012
  22. 22.0 22.1 Kid Icarus Uprising Review. Ds.Ign.com (19 March 2012). Retrieved on 22 March 2012
  23. 23.0 23.1 Kid Icarus Uprising review. Computerandvideogames.com (6 March 2012). Retrieved on 16 March 2012
  24. GameSpot's Best of E3 2010. E3.Gamespot.com. Retrieved on 26 August 2011
  25. Famitsu Review Scores(3/13/12). Gamingeverything.com (13 March 2012). Retrieved on 16 March 2012
  26. Kid Icarus: Uprising. Nintendo Power (23 March 2012). Retrieved on 26 March 2012
  27. Nintendo: Kid Icarus: Uprising Sequel Unlikely. GamingUnion.net (2012-05-10). Retrieved on 2012-05-10

External links

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