Kid Icarus: UPRISING

Kid Icarus: UPRISING feels like a miracle. After being dormant for over two decades, the franchise made a comeback with a full reinvention… just to die again. Masahiro Sakurai took the reins and turned this forgotten NES classic into an action shooter. It's an incredibly charming package that pushes the little handheld to its limits, even if it sometimes feels like your hands are the ones paying the price.

The game kicks off a whopping 25 years after the original story, with our angelic hero Pit once again taking orders from the Goddess of Light Palutena, their first mission is to stop the resurrected Medusa, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. The narrative takes so many sharp turns you'll get whiplash, you think you're dealing with Medusa but then Hades shows up as the mastermind. You think you're fighting Hades but then Viridi drops a reset bomb on humanity because we're ruining the planet, and just when you think you've got the hang of that, freakin' aliens invade. The plot's all over the place but it somehow works, it keeps you on your toes constantly introducing new factions and characters that are all incredibly entertaining in their own right.

What really sets UPRISING apart tho is its dialogue and voice acting. This was a huge deal for a Nintendo game at the time, with nearly every line fully voiced. The banter between Pit and Palutena is the heart and soul of the game, their relationship is playful and constantly sarcastic with Palutena acting as both a guide and someone who loves messing with Pit. The rest of the cast keeps that energy going, Dark Pit works particularly well because he isn't just an evil clone who exists to be defeated, he's more of a rival and a grumpy contrast to Pit's cheerful personality, like the dynamic between Sonic and Shadow. Viridi brings a completely different attitude into the group, while Hades steals practically every scene he appears in by being both threatening and hilariously obnoxious. Even minor characters tend to have some kind of personality.

The actual gameplay is where things get much more interesting. Almost every chapter is split into two major sections: first comes an aerial battle, where Pit flies along a predetermined route while you control his movement and aim, then the game drops you onto the ground for a third person action section before eventually throwing a boss at you. The aerial portions are probably the cleanest representation of what UPRISING tryna be but the ground sections are more complicated. Mechanically, they give you much more freedom, you can move around arenas, dodge, dash, attack enemies up close, shoot from a distance, use special powers and explore for secrets. There are also vehicles, environmental gimmicks, hidden areas and all sorts of strange little moments that keep the levels from being completely predictable.

And yeah, we have to talk about those controls. UPRISING's control scheme is the most controversial part of the entire game and it's easy to see why. You move Pit with the Circle Pad, aim with the stylus, shoot with the L button and use the touchscreen to control the camera. It's precise once you get comfortable with it but holding the 3DS in one hand while constantly moving the stylus with the other can become really uncomfortable, especially during ground combat and platforming. Pit's movement depends on how you use the Circle Pad with quick movements triggering dashes or dodges, and sometimes the distinction between walking, running and dodging can feel a little too sensitive. When you're fighting enemies, that can create some genuinely exciting movement, when you're trying to carefully approach a ledge, it sends Pit flying off it instead.  Fortunately, the game gives you plenty of reasons to keep playing despite that.

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The gods have spoken, the battlefield is waiting and Pit is already halfway into the sky. If you've made it this far, there's only one thing left to do: take up your weapon and join the fight. First, make sure your system is running homebrew, once that's true, fire up the FBI app from your HOME Menu, your trusty companion for every Remote Install. Point the camera toward your chosen dub down below and let the power of the heavens bring the game straight to your console. When the transfer is complete, Pit will land on your HOME Menu, alongside your other icons, ready to answer Palutena's call. The battle is about to begin!

 

English dub

 

Undub