I finished this a little while back and I had planned to write this review a little sooner but alas!
First off I want to say that I love the first Kid Icarus game on the NES. You played as a flightless angel called Pit who had to climb his way out of Hades and up to Olympus so he could save the goddess Palutena from Medusa. It was just one of those games that was absurdly difficult but the controls were tight. It really had some genius level design now that I think about it. If you have not played the original game it does not matter. It will help you understand some of the in-jokes and concepts within the game but it shouldn't stop you enjoying the game. Having said that however, I urge you to go play the NES game anyway as it's one of the best games on the system if you ask me. Second only to most, if not all the Megaman games but y'know, it's Megaman so...yeah.
Kid Icarus Uprising is a little bit of an oddball game as it comes packaged with a collapsible stand to aid you in playing the game and believe me, the control set-up requires it. As a whole it's a rather interesting little tool and I'm surprised how useful it was. You need a table of a decent height to play with it, but if you can find the perfect place to play, it's pretty great. I also played the whole game with the 3D turned off, as it distracted me. Too many things are going on at once and the 3D does nothing but worsen the experience if you ask me.
You basically have two modes of play in the single player. On-rails shooter in the air and third-person ground segments. Each have their own control style and one works far better than the other.
The On-rails segments work great. You move Pit with the stick and shoot with the L button. You aim the targeting reticle with the touch screen. This does work fine but my main complaint is there is no way to centre the reticle, so you may have to fight to get the perfect spot on the touch screen again. Either way it's a great system and fans of Panzer Dragoon will get a massive kick out of it.
The ground segments however are a little more challenging to deal with. You move with the stick as you normally would and shoot with L but now the touch screen not only controls the reticle but camera movement. By flicking the touch screen in a direction it will move that way but this makes complex movements almost impossible without practice. You can master the controls, but it's a mission that I think many will lack the patience to deal with. I feel I cannot really fault the developers as there are little other ways to go about making working controls for a game like this. There are adjustable options but I found the default setting worked best.
The game was created by Masahiro Sakurai from Smash Brothers fame and it shows. There are tons of unlockable trophies and there is a token based system to unlock more. The game also features various weapon types with many different effects. You can also fuse two weapons together to create something completely new. A system that very much feels like demon fusion from the Shin Megami Tensei series. There is also a very fun and interesting system that tries to make the player push himself by giving better prizes on higher difficulties. Ranging from 1 to 9. The catch is that the higher the difficulty setting the more currency you need to put into the pot.
The story mode is pretty long for this kind of game. I clocked about 18 or so hours by the end. The story itself is either it's best or worst point depending on the kind of comedy you like. The game is very self aware and constantly makes references to itself and it's 8-bit roots. It also has tons of cheesy 80's jokes and one-liners. I personally think it's the biggest charm about the game and I would love to see others willing to take this approach to making games.
On a final note. Due to the controls and the placement of the 3DS. I suffered tons of cramp in my hands and far worse back pains. I suggest to take many breaks when playing the game as it does really take its toll.
My Score: Entertaining characters and jokes along with genuinely great on-rails segments make this game great despite some pretty hard hitting flaws. 7/10
The People: The jokes are a mixed bag and the ground parts are sure to destroy the willingness to play for most people. 6/10
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