Kid Icarus (NES) Playthrough
300A playthrough of Nintendo's 1987 action-platformer for the NES, Kid Icarus.
Angel Land has been invaded, and its ruler, the goddess Palutena, is now being held by Medusa, a gorgon who has been nursing a grudge ever since Palutena exiled her to the underworld. It's now up to Pit, "Kid Icarus", to recover the three sacred treasures needed to save the goddess and restore the balance of power.
Kid Icarus is considered a sibling to Metroid ( • Metroid (NES) Playthrough - NintendoComplete ). Both were developed in 1986 by Nintendo's R&D1 team for the Famicom Disk System and run on the same game engine, but they offer very different experiences.
Pit has to battle his way from the depths of the underworld to Palutena's sky palace, and the journey is split into four distinct legs. In the first stage, he ascends the depths of the underworld, building his strength as he does battle with the monsters trying to keep him there. Upon escaping, he spends stage two searching the surface for a way to the sky. The third stage sees Pit climbing yet again, this time through the clouds, until he reaches the palace where the fourth stage - the takedown of Medusa - finally kicks off.
The first three stages are broken up into three substages. The first two areas in each stage are linear platforming challenges: the primary goal is to survive to the end, but Pit can improve his odds along the way by fighting enemies to increase his strength and taking on challenges to improve his equipment. The third area is a maze-like fortress where Pit has to fight a boss for one of the treasures. The fourth and final stage, a horizontal shooter segment, begins once Pit has equipped himself with the three sacred treasures.
Kid Icarus shows a lot of imagination in its design and a healthy bloodlust in its challenge. The game seems almost cruel at first - the controls are stiff, the under-the-hood RPG mechanics aren't spelled out, and the waves of attacking enemies constantly pressure you onward - but with enough time and practice, everything will come into focus, and that's when real progress can be made. The most difficult part of Kid Icarus is getting over that initial hump.
Even with graphics and controls that make it feel more archaic than its contemporaries, Kid Icarus is a thoughtfully designed, creatively executed take on the 2D platformer with a lot of replay value and a great soundtrack, and it's a blast to playthrough.
In short, it's a classic.
If you like Kid Icarus, you might also be interested in the excellent 3DS remake: • 3D Classics: Kid Icarus (3DS) Playthrough
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