Kid Icarus

The Good
First off is the characters. Everyone from Kid Icarus to Mister Eggplant. Second is the sheer mass of level exploration. The levels are incredibly huge and had secrets everywhere. Third I guess is the Nostalgic factor, I remember vividly watching my cousin and brother playing it all the time when I was a little kid and just thinking about it brings a smile to my face. Most importantly is that it's one of those unique games that reflects the time and console of which it was on and as more time passes becomes more than just a game - it becomes a priceless treasure.

The Bad
Although the characters looked nice, the overall graphics were not up to par even then. Most levels only had a single-colored background with everything else pasted on. Indoor areas in the game suffered as well. Another was some gameplay issues. Flying was erratic in stressful combat and arrow positioning while flying is very hit-or-miss, and that's not to say that when you're on the ground, you're basically a sitting duck.

The Bottom Line
It's a Action/RPG of sorts. You're Kid Icarus, the Son of the Greek goddess of love Aphrodite. A mysterious enemy has unleashed his minions all over Greece, including Mount Olympus. Your task is to track down and kill all of his minions and finally slay the mysterious leader from Mount Olympus before he harness the power of the gods themselves.

The Good
In 1987, Nintendo released what was to become one of it’s best and most forgotten game. Kid Icarus. From the same man whom created Metroid, Kid Icarus is the better game, but only has yet to spawn one sequel, which was on the Gameboy.

In Kid Icarus, the evil Medusa, has abducted the goddess Palthena, it is up to Pit, aka Kid Icarus, to save his land and goddess, from the clutches of Medusa. The game spans six stages, with the best saved for last, in which Pit takes to the skies!

Gameplay wise, this plays very similarly to Metroid. Only instead of moving right to left, normally you move down to up. With the exception of the final stage. Each stage consists of levels. In which Pit dispatches foes, with his bow and arrow. The final level in each stage is a fortress, not unlike Super Mario Bros. And a boss awaits you at the end of each.

Pit collects magical items at the completion of each stage. And during stages is rewarded with money for killing enemies. This cash can be used to buy items from various shops. You can also take on extra challenges from Zeus, which will earn you various gifts.

Graphically speaking, Kid Icarus, is one of the better looking NES games. But still suffers due to the weakness of the ancient hardware. At least you can tell what things are unlike some NES games.

The music is excellent. The tunes sound heroic and fit the game well. They stand as some of the best music ever produced for a NES game. The Sound Effects are not done as well but they get the job done.

Controls are responsive but limited, due to the Nintendo’s primitive controller.

The Bad
On the downside, this game is too easy. It is easier than Paris Hilton. And this game is virtually forgotten nowadays. Which is a shame, considering how fun and imaginative it is. The Nintendo control makes my hands bleed!

The Bottom Line
There is light at the end of the tunnel. As there is a rumor that Nintendo is making a new Kid Icarus for there new console. Play this game! I got a copy online for about five bucks. Or you can emulate it as it is one of the few games Nintendo does not have protected, I guess they don’t care about. Further proof is that the did not re-release this game on the GBA.

The Good
Kid Icarus has stood as a classic game, the "other" adventure title outside of Metroid. The gameplay offered a lot of diversity with having horizontal and vertical stages and multi-room dungeons to explore. The music and graphics were typical "Nintendo" of the day: bright, cheerful, catchy and memorable.

The game also had some fantastic enemies. Who could even forget the annoying Grim Reaper or the Eggplant Wizard? Some of the strangest enemies ever created, but they definitely stuck out. The bosses were pretty impressive as well, based off Greek mythology, and Medusa was a cool looking final boss.

Like Metroid, the game offered multiple endings, based off how well you did, and how many points you earned. With the upgrades earned and purchased from the shops, Pit became virtually unstoppable.

The Bad
The Grim Reaper's theme music. Could they have chosen any more annoying music for that character when he spots you? You want to kill him just to make the music end.

The vertical stages get a bit annoying with their pits. Once you fall in, that's it. Start all over again. Even with the feather upgrade, there were times that Pit would get stuck under a platform and not be able to escape. And there's nothing worse than having your upgrades stolen by the thieves.

The Bottom Line
I don't know why Nintendo seemingly goes such great lengths to avoid association with this title. Every other franchise they've either upgraded or acknowledged... except for this one. They made a sequel for the original Game Boy, but Pit and his adventures have been largely forgotten. It's a shame, too. The game is a lot of fun, and is equally on par with the original Metroid.

If Nintendo ever decides to upgrade this game, I'd hope they would take the Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker route for the graphical style. That would suit a game like this perfectly, as well as just look amazing.

While hoping for another installment may be largely futile, at least one can hope that Kid Icarus will get his due in the NES Classic Series for the Game Boy Advance. Otherwise, try to track down the cartridge or check it out via emulation.

A great platforming adventure. Recommended.