Kid Icarus

Kid Icarus (光神話 パルテナの鏡, Hikari shinwa: Parutena no Kagami, Myth of Light: The Mirror of Palutena, or Kid Icarus: Angel land story) is a platforming video game developed by Nintendo R&D1 (what is now known as Intelligent Systems) and TOSE and published by Nintendo for the Famicom Disk System in 1986 and the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1987. It is the first game in the Kid Icarus series.
 * For the series as a whole, see Kid Icarus series.

The game has been re-released twice: on August 10, 2004, for the Game Boy Advance as part of the Famicom Mini Series in Japan only, and on February 12, 2007, on the Wii's Virtual Console.

Plot


Kid Icarus is set in a time when man and gods coexisted, living in harmony in the kingdom of Angel Land which was ruled by two goddesses, Palutena the Goddess of Light and Medusa the Goddess of Darkness. Palutena lived in the Palace in the Sky and administered light, assuring that man was able to grow crops successfully and live in peace. However Medusa, Goddess of Darkness, hated humanity and sought to undo the good Palutena had done; drying up crops and turning people into stone. In anger Palutena transformed Medusa into a hideous monster and banished her to the Underworld. Medusa promised revenge, planning to take over the Palace in the Sky. Medusa joined forces with the monsters and evil spirits of the underworld and soon her army began to surpass that of Palutena's centurions.

A war between Palutena's forces and Medusa's monsters soon began. Medusa led a surprise attack upon Palutena's army which suffered heavy losses, many of the centurions being turned to stone. It was then that Medusa took possession of the Three Sacred Treasures, the Mirror Shield, the Arrow of Light and the Wings of Pegasus, which she gave to her most powerful followers. Palutena was imprisoned deep within the Palace in the Sky, now ruled by Medusa. The previously peaceful realm of Angel Land was quickly turned from a paradise into a land of darkness ruled by the dark god Medusa.

Without any other hope Palutena sought the assistance of Pit, a young warrior who used to be in charge of Palutena's personal body-guard who was locked in a dungeon in the Underworld at this time. Palutena used her magical prowess to arm Pit with a bow and arrow to assist him in his escape from the Underworld. With most of Medusa's guards now occupying the Palace in the Sky Pit's escape was made possible.

Pit must then travel out of the Underworld, across the Overworld and into Skyland before confronting Medusa in the Palace in the Sky after having retrieved the three treasures. After defeating Medusa Pit finds the restored Palutena within the palace. She then bestows on him new armor. If the secret ending is reached, (all upgrades and hearts) Pit will be turned into a teenager and afterwards receive a kiss of gratitude from Palutena:


 * All five endings to Kid Icarus (Youtube)

Gameplay
Kid Icarus was released in the same year as Metroid and it's gameplay shares many similarities. For example both games are platformers with shooting elements and both games also have multiple endings which vary depending on gameplay. It has developed a reputation for being difficult and is variously praised and criticised on this account.

Volume 204 of Nintendo Power contained an article which described the game as blending together elements from Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda and Metroid, stating that Pit can "jump like Mario, collect items like Link, and shoot enemies like Samus." Kid Icarus came in #084 in IGN's 2003 list of the Top 100 Games of all Time, a short review which accompanied the nomination said that it "packs an awesome style, tight design and is still a lot of fun to pick up and play today."

Development
Kid Icarus was created by Nintendo Research and Development 1, one of Nintendo's oldest development teams. At this time Nintendo R&D1 was headed by Gunpei Yokoi, creator of the Game Boy, and producer of the Metroid series. Both Metroid and Kid Icarus use the same engine and were both released in North America in July, 1987.

The original Famicon Disk System version made use of save slots whereas the English version uses passwords, known as "Sacred Words" in the game. The Famicon version of Kid Icarus also takes advantage of the system's wavetable sound channel to produce higher quality music and sound effects. The music was composed by Hirokazu Tanaka.

Pit
Pit is the main protagonist of the series. He carries a bow and arrows and has wings. His bow and arrows can be seperated and turned into two knives which he uses in Super Smash Brothers Brawl. Over time he has grown in age. In the first two games he is 5 - 10 years old. In the Super Smash Brothers Melee (he's a trophy) he is 10 - 11 years old. And in Super Smash Brothers Brawl he's 11 -14 years old. At the start of the series he is trapped in the Underworld which is ruled by Medusa. He is saved by Palutena the Queen of Heaven who uses the little magic she has to save him so that he would come back and save her and defeat the Evil goddess of Death, Medusa who is his arch nemesis in the games of Kid Icarus.

Palutena
She is the Godess of Light and the reason that Pit goes on his adventures. In the beginning she helped the Mortals cultivate their crops and was very kind while Medusa was cruel to them and destroyed their crops. So Palutena turned her into a hideous monster with snakes for hair, gils, and claws. Then she banished her to the Underworld. Medusa gathered a group of monsters together and then she kidnapped Palutena and took her away. Using the little magic she had she freed Pit from the Underworld so that he in turn would and could save her.

Medusa
Medusa was once one of the two Gods that ruled over Angel Land and is the Main antagonist of the Kid Icarus series. But she was cruel to the to the mortals and destroyed their crops while Palutena helped them cultivate their crops. So Palutena banished Medusa to the Underworld where she gathered a group of monsters so that she could get revenge agains Palutena. She became the Queen of the Underworld. She went back to kidnap Palutena and turned her body guards. The Centurion into stone sculptures. But unbeknownst to her, with the little magic she had she had she freed Pit so that he could save her and defeat Medusa and in turn save Angel Land.

Eggplant Wizard
The Eggplant Wizard is a wizard and an antgonist of the series who uses eggplants as projectile weapons. If Pit is hit with a eggplant he is turned into an Eggplant that can only run/walk and jump.

Old Man Zeus
Old man Zeus is a God in the series and gives Pit a mission. You are placed into a room full of falling bricks. If you can evade all the bricks than you get a weapon.

Centurion
The Centurions are the royal guards of Palutena and in turn of Angel Land in total who are turned to stone by Medusa. If you save the Centurions, they will come and help you in you're final battle. However, it only takes one hit to kill them.

Shopkeeper
The shopkeeper is the person who will sell you various items from hammers to feathers to potions that will raise your health. His stock always changes.

Black Marketeer
The Black Marketeer will sell you items for higher prices than the shopkeeper. He will also sell you what Pluton has stolen from you.

Nurse
When Pit is in the hospital, the nurse will care for him and nurse him back to health.

Pluton
Pluton is a god who will steal your items and then give them to the Black Marketeer, where you can buy them back.

Grim Reapers
The Grim Reapers are minor antagonists that appear in the game. If they see you, they will be thrown into a panic and call down several Reaplings. A Grim Reaper will not call down more Reaplings if there is still one left from his last call.

Angel Land
Is the Kingdom ruled by Palutena.

Underworld
The underworld is the kingdom ruled by Medusa. In the begining of the game, Pit is trapped here.

Overworld
The Overworld is the part of Angel Land that is ruled by the humans.

Skyworld
Skyworld is the part of Angel Land that is ruled by Palutena; it is Pit's homeland.

Connections to Greek Mythology

 * Pit is based on Eros, Hercules, Perseus, and Bellerophon, but mostly Icarus.
 * Palutena is based on Athena, Demeter, Hera, and Apollo.
 * Medusa is based on the Medusa of Greek Mythology.
 * Old Man Zeus is based on Zeus.
 * The Centurion are based on Hercules and his two sons, Alexiares and Anicetos.

Trivia

 * The NES Kid Icarus instruction manual incorrectly states that there is a "Game Over" screen and even includes a screenshot of it. The screen was changed in the final release of the game to read "I'm Finished!"
 * The game's title is an allusion to the Greek myth of Icarus.
 * The enemy Komayto is actually a Metroid. The Japanese spelling of this enemy's name is (Ko Me To). The "MeTo" being short for "Metoroido" or "Metroid" and the "Ko" signifying it as a child. Thus, the name Komayto actually means "Baby Metroid". The game manual theorizes that Komayto may have came from another planet. Also, the enemy Shulm bears a resemblance to Goomba from Super Mario Bros.
 * The Syren enemy on page 38 of the Kid Icarus manual is perhaps the first (and only) Nintendo-owned female character to sport bare breasts with nipples in North America. It should be noted, however, that the mermaid in the SNK-produced game, Sqoon, was also topless.
 * The Nintendo DS game Electroplankton uses sound effects and the dungeon theme from Kid Icarus.
 * The music that plays when Pit dies is identical to the first four notes from Richard Wagner's Bridal Chorus, played at the start of traditional western weddings.