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As it should be apparent from my shrine, Kid Icarus is one of my favorite NES games. In it, you play as a flightless angel named Pit who is trying to save Angel Land from the evil Medusa. Pit has to work his way up a huge tower and into the Palace in the Sky to confront Medusa. Kid Icarus is a very unique, and very challenging game.
GRAPHICS: 8.5/10
I really like Kid Icarus's graphics. They may not be the most detailed on the NES, but what is there is very good. The items, enemies, and bosses are all clear and colorful. Pit is drawn fairly well, too, although it looks like he's walking with a limp. The background elements look like they could've come out of Metroid, but there's a lot that is unique to this game. I classify background objects into two categories: foreground and background. Foreground objects are things that you can actually interact with, ie, blocks, platforms, walls, doors, etc. Background objects are pure background, ie, things that you cannot touch or interact with in any way. Kid Icarus, much like Metroid, is composed mostly of foreground objects. There is only the occasional statue, tree, gravestone, column, or Venus de Milo statue in the background. The game has an overall dark and "gothic" tone...maybe not what you would expect from a place called "Angel Land", but it gives the game a more serious feel and keeps it from being too "cutesy". The only bright areas are the first two levels of the Overworld, but that is the worst shade of blue I've ever seen used for the sky! Otherwise, the graphics are very decent for a 1986 game.
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SOUND:
9.5/10
Hip Tanaka, the composer of this game's music and Metroid's, has to be one of the best videogame music makers, ever! This game's soundtrack is simply excellent. The fortress music is one of my top favorite videogame songs. I also love the Sky Palace and Underworld Tower themes. The music fits the mood and atmosphere just perfectly. The sound effects are all very good, too. I like how each boss makes a different noise when hit, from Twinbellow's screeching to Pandora's blooping. Some of the sound effects are a bit recycled from Metroid, but most are unique to this game. The only sound effect that I do not like is Pit's mousey "squeal" that he makes when he takes a hit. Other than that, the sound is excellent, and one of the NES's best. Hip Tanaka, where are you???
CONTROL:
8.5/10
For the most part, Pit is very easy to control. You can move left, right, jump, duck, shoot, and climb up and down ladders. Everything is easy to do, except that it may take some practice to get used to Pit's jumping control when you first play this game. It's not quite so easy to control how far he jumps, so you may spend some time overshooting platforms, or coming up short and missing them. If you fall down past the bottom of the screen, you die and have to start the level all over again. Once accustomed to it, Pit's control is very fluid. Pit can also slide back and forth while ducked down, which I think is really funny, though not very useful. The ducking control can sometimes be annoying, because you'll fall through some platforms when you duck, causing Pit to plummet to his doom. It's not always clear what is safe to duck down on and what isn't.
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STORY/ATMOSPHERE:
6.5/10
Instead of rescuing a princess, you're trying to save the Goddess Palutena from Medusa. So, basically this is just another "damsel in distress" plot, but Kid Icarus isn't about story, it's about gameplay and atmosphere. The dark setting gives the game a very "gothic" feel. I liked that they didn't make the game look overly "cheerful" or "cutesy", despite taking place in a kingdom called "Angel Land". Even though some elements are taken from Greek myths, like Icarus, Medusa, and Zeus, not all that much of the game is really based on mythology. Most of the monsters are Nintendo-created enemies, like the Eggplant Wizards, Specknoses, and floating eyeballs, among others. (Also, historians might note that in the actual myth, Medusa was slain by Perseus, not Icarus.) While many of the mythological elements aren't too accurate, it does have its moments, such as how the guardian of the Underworld is a two-headed dog, like the Cerberus.
CHALLENGE:
8/10
Kid Icarus's challenge level is somewhat unbalanced. This is one of the few action games I know of that actually gets easier as you progress (although that's a trait common to many RPGs.) You start out with very little life power, and you only have the short-range bow at the beginning. There are many tough enemies right in the first level that require multiple hits to be defeated (the biggest offender being the Grim Reaper). Plus, it will take some time to get used to Pit's jumping ability. Once you start powering up and getting the special weapons from Zeus, you will find that the game suddenly starts becoming much easier. The fortress mazes are still a real challenge to negotiate, and those Eggplant Wizards that turn you into a helpless eggplant don't make things any easier. The enemies do get tougher in later levels, but chances are you'll be powered up enough that they won't pose too much of a threat. The jumps get trickier in the later areas, too, and if you miss, you'll almost certainly fall to your doom. Therefore, the game doesn't leave much room for error in that department. The final level, although fun to play, is so easy I've never actually died on it. And it's easy to beat the final boss without taking a single hit. Overall, the game is a decent challenge, even if it is harder in the first few levels than anywhere else.
FUN: 9/10
There's no doubt that Kid Icarus is one of my favorite games. Despite having a few flaws, I found it to be incredibly fun to play. The variety of levels is one thing that really sets it apart from most other sidescrollers. Kid Icarus mixes it up with vertical levels that emphasize tricky jumps, horizontal levels where the emphasis is on fighting wave after wave of enemies, labyrinth-like mazes, some challenging boss fights, and even a shooting level with automatic scroll. And KI does all of these so well. Never does the game feel like a bunch of mini-games thrown together. The game has good replay value, since once you beat it, you continue with all of your powerups and points, but not your items. You can play through again and get a higher score for a different ending. You can also play through and try to earn less powerups to make it more challenging. I've replayed this game so many times, I have several notebook pages worth of passwords for it.
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Overall, Kid Icarus is a fun and challenging game with decent graphics and excellent sound. A collector should probably pick this game up. If you want more information on it, please visit my Kid Icarus Shrine, located right here on this site.
OVERALL
SCORE (not an average): 9/10
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