Kid Icarus: Uprising

[Nz17]

I think I've found my favorite Nintendo 3DS title in Kid Icarus: Uprising. It's fun, it's funny, it's gorgeous, and it's controls are quite customizable. The only thing which would have made it better was support for dual-analogs using the Circle Pad Pro. But this is seriously the best looking 3DS game I've played. Watch YouTube videos of it to see for yourself if you haven't seen it already. You can really tell it was originally going to be a Wii game, that's how good it looks... and for a portable title on a small screen, that is just beautiful.

The humor is very grand. When Pit asks why it is called "Kid Icarus" and when can he meet this Icarus guy, he gets miffed when his questions get ignored. Characters remembering each other see the 8-bit NES sprites in their memories. The forth wall is broken with frequency, like referencing the dash move in the Super Smash Bros. series. And Pit has an inferiority complex about his inability to fly which gets referred on occasion. Plus the three-headed dragon arguing with itselves in British accents is too funny. LOL

The ground-based parts are mainly linear and the flying parts are like an on-rail shooter... and the execution is amazing. Even moreso, you can adjust the difficulty on a scale of 0-100, making the rewards greater to match the challenge. There are hundreds of rewards with thousands of variants to collect. The higher difficulties also open new branches on the levels so you can only explore those other paths on the harder challenges. And besides for using the touch screen to aim (which can be changed to the analog pad, d-pad, or the face buttons), there aren't really any 3DS-specific gimmicks that the game uses. Yes, there are stereoscopic visuals, but those are entirely optional.

I say if you have a 3DS, then pick this game up as soon as possible. Kid Icarus: Uprising is better than all the other 3DS games I've played since buying it back when it launched, and I don't see that opinion changing any time soon unless Castlevania: Lords of Shadow: Mirror of Fate is exceptionally amazing.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

It's a GREAT game, I absolutely love the full voice over treatment, it ads epic levels of charm. I need to finish that game some day.

I only wish the AR card fights wouldn't always produce the same exact results every time.

[mailman187666]

the AR cards are definitely a fun little diversion if you and a friend have a deck to use. Last year at PAX East 2012 we got a bunch of cards at the Nintendo booth and after we left the parties, we had fun playing war with those. Its all random but fun nonetheless.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

the AR cards are definitely a fun little diversion if you and a friend have a deck to use. Last year at PAX East 2012 we got a bunch of cards at the Nintendo booth and after we left the parties, we had fun playing war with those. Its all random but fun nonetheless.

Actually they're not random, two cards matched up will always always produce the same result, there's no randomness at all, which stinks IMO as it could have made for a fun game if there was some chance involved like that Playstation Eye Camera ar card fighting game.


I do like the cards though, it's neat to watch them fight.

[joshnickerson]

Love this game. One of the best and funniest localizations this side of the Mario RPGs. The ground based sections are a bit rough in my humble opinion, but it's easy to overlook when everything else is so amazing.

[substantial_snake]

I just started playing this one last night and although the game is fun and the humorous dialog (only played the first mission so far) is pretty good the control scheme is really tiring really quickly.

I'm playing on an XL though so I don't know whether that makes it any better or any worse.

[Tanooki]

Agreed, great game but also why I put it up too after getting to the faux credits 1/2 into the game...my hand just hurts playing it because of the limited control option it has. Shame with circlepad they halfassed it as lefty only and not dual stick.

[Bubble_Man]

Indeed, it's one of the best titles for the 3DS. For me, the best game for the system would be either that or RE Revelations.

[nickerous]

This game was the reason I bought the 3DS. Glad they didn't screw it up. I've logged over 150 hours so far.

[Nz17]

This game was the reason I bought the 3DS. Glad they didn't screw it up. I've logged over 150 hours so far.

I bought the 3DS for Mega Man Legends 3. I'm glad buying the 3DS worked out better for you than it did for me! ;)

Either way, I'm pleased to have a 3DS yet I still hold out hope for Mega Man Legends 3. In the meantime, Kid Icarus: Uprising will be my game card of choice. :)

[Lady Jaye]

I'm skipping on it unless I can find a cheap copy with a circle pad pro. You see, I'm left-handed...

[Nz17]

18 hours total, and I completed the story campaign. *Minor spoiler about the number of levels now =>>>* I couldn't believe that it was 25 levels long! Talk about getting some good bang for my buck! Kid Icarus: Uprising could honestly have been three separate games. I think with the story following three distinct acts, the game should have had two entries on the Wii with the final entry on 3DS to help sell consoles to those who wanted to complete the trilogy. It worked for Metroid Prime 3. ;)

Tried a bit of multi-player and that was fun. Done with the game now as I don't really want to re-play levels at higher difficulties to get better gear to continue the cycle until I have the best weapons and all the gear. Though truthfully I could see myself playing this game for a bit in the future either for the multi-player or to replay the levels for the excellent art, characters, and writing. :)

Here's hoping for a sequel... and that we don't have to wait decades to get one.

[YoshiM]

So how many used the circle pad pro? I'm debating on getting one as it's not overly comfortable to use the stand as the only places I can do this is my kitchen table, which has uncomfortable chairs or my desk which has lots of clutter. I can play it with the stylus but my hands get wicked cramped after playing a level. Besides that, I don't always sit still so suddenly my 3D-o-vision gets all goofed.

From what I have played in my limited time-awesome game. This is a reboot done right.

[Nz17]

So how many used the circle pad pro? I'm debating on getting one as it's not overly comfortable to use the stand as the only places I can do this is my kitchen table, which has uncomfortable chairs or my desk which has lots of clutter. I can play it with the stylus but my hands get wicked cramped after playing a level. Besides that, I don't always sit still so suddenly my 3D-o-vision gets all goofed. From what I have played in my limited time-awesome game. This is a reboot done right.

The problem with getting a C.P.P. is that even if you do, Kid Icarus: Uprising will still only use at most a single analog pad, i.e. there is no "twin stick" mode to use both analog inputs. It is really just for people who want to play "left-handed" (stylus in left hand for shooting, C.P.P. in right hand for moving).

What I would recommend instead is to go into the control options and customize it to fit your style of play. For myself, I mapped movement to the X Y A B buttons, aiming mapped to the analog pad, and set the R button for shooting. This avoids having a single wrist supporting the entire weight of the 3DS by distributing it to both hands on the console. Another option is to flip the previous setup: buttons for aiming, analog for moving, L for shooting. Both work well, but I find the fine movement of the analog stick better suited for aiming as it is the "more important" element to the game (You can avoid most enemy fire by simply moving left-to-right with only occasional up-or-down movement.).