Kid Icarus is an action-platform game created and published by Nintendo in 1986. It was released for the Family Computer Disk System in Japan, and for the Nintendo Entertainment System in Europe and North America. The game came out in Japan in December 1986, in Europe in February 1987, and in North America in July 1986.
The story follows Pit, the main character, as he searches for three sacred treasures to save Angel Land, a Greek-inspired fantasy world, and its ruler, the goddess Palutena. Players guide Pit through levels filled with monsters and obstacles, collecting items and defeating bosses that guard the treasures. The game was developed by Nintendo's Research and Development 1 division with help from an external company, later known as Tose. It was designed by Toru Osawa and Yoshio Sakamoto, directed by Satoru Okada, and produced by Gunpei Yokoi.
Kid Icarus received mixed reviews from critics but became a favorite among many fans. Some praised its music and unique mix of gameplay styles, while others noted its simple graphics and challenging difficulty. The game was listed in several "best games" rankings by IGN and Nintendo Power.
The game was re-released for the Game Boy Advance in Japan in 2004. It later appeared on the Wii’s Virtual Console in 2007 and the Wii U’s Virtual Console in 2013. A 3D Classics version was released in Japan in 2011 and in North America, Europe, and Australia in 2012. In 2016, it was included in the North American and PAL region versions of the NES Classic Edition. The game was also available on the Nintendo Classics service in 2019.
A sequel, Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters, was released for the Game Boy in 1991. A third game in the series, Kid Icarus: Uprising, came out for the Nintendo 3DS in March 2012, following Pit’s introduction as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl in 2008.
Gameplay
Kid Icarus is a side-scrolling game that also has role-playing features. The player controls Pit, who moves through two-dimensional levels filled with monsters, obstacles, and items. Pit uses a bow that never runs out of arrows. He can improve his bow by collecting three special items: the Protective Crystal blocks enemy attacks, the Flaming Arrows hit multiple enemies at once, and the Sacred Bow makes arrows reach farther. These upgrades only work if Pit’s health is high enough. The game tracks the player’s score, and if enough points are collected during a level, Pit’s health bar increases at the end of that level.
During the game, players can enter doors to explore seven types of rooms. Stores and black markets sell items in exchange for hearts, which are dropped by defeated enemies. Treasure rooms hold items, enemy nests allow players to earn extra hearts, and hot springs heal Pit’s health. In the god’s chamber, Pit’s bow and arrow strength depends on factors like the number of enemies defeated and the amount of damage Pit takes during battles. In the training chamber, Pit may earn one of the three power items if he completes a test of endurance.
The game world is split into three main areas: the Underworld, the Overworld (Earth), and the Skyworld. Each area includes three levels that can only be moved through in one direction and a fortress. The Underworld and Skyworld levels require Pit to climb upward, while the Overworld levels are side-scrolling. The fortresses at the end of each stage are labyrinths with rooms that do not scroll. Players must find and defeat a gatekeeper boss in each fortress. Inside a fortress, Pit can buy a check sheet, pencil, and torch to help navigate the labyrinth. A one-time-use item called the mallet can break stone statues, freeing a flying soldier named a Centurion who helps in boss battles. For every boss defeated, Pit receives one of three sacred treasures needed to access the final stage, the Sky Temple. This last stage removes the platforming elements of earlier levels and instead uses a scrolling shooter style.
Plot
The game takes place in Angel Land, a fantasy world inspired by Greek mythology. Before the game's events, Earth was ruled by Palutena, the Goddess of Light, and Medusa, the Goddess of Darkness. Palutena gave humans light to make them happy. Medusa disliked humans, destroyed their crops, and turned them to stone. Angry about this, Palutena changed Medusa into a monster and sent her to the Underworld. Seeking revenge, Medusa worked with monsters in the Underworld to attack Palutena's home, the Palace in the Sky. She surprised Palutena, stealing three sacred treasures—the Mirror Shield, the Light Arrows, and the Wings of Pegasus—which took away Palutena's army's power. After her soldiers were turned to stone by Medusa, Palutena lost the battle and was locked inside the Palace in the Sky.
Before losing all her power, Palutena sent a bow and arrow to Pit, a young angel. Pit escaped from the Underworld and began a mission to save Palutena and Angel Land. During the story, Pit recovered the three treasures from three fortresses: one in the Underworld, one in the Overworld, and one in the Skyworld. After obtaining the treasures, Pit used them to attack the sky temple, where he defeated Medusa and rescued Palutena. The game has five endings. Depending on how well the player performs, Palutena may give Pit a piece of armor or change him into a grown-up angel. In the Japanese version, the best ending from the English version is not available, and a different ending is shown instead.
Development
Nintendo's R&D1 division created the game. It was made for the Family Computer Disk System (FDS) because the FDS's floppy disk, called the Disk Card, had three times more storage space than the Family Computer's cartridges at that time. The Disk Card allowed developers to save player progress, which helped them design a longer game with a bigger world. Kid Icarus was the first game designed by Toru Osawa, who was credited as Inusawa. He was the only person working on the game at the start. Osawa wanted to create an action game with role-playing features and used a story based on Greek mythology, which he loved. He drew the pixel art and wrote the technical details that became the prototype. After Nintendo finished its game Metroid, more staff joined the Kid Icarus project.
Satoru Okada, credited as S. Okada, directed the game. Gunpei Yokoi, credited as G. Yokoi, was the R&D1 division's general manager and produced the game. Hirokazu Tanaka, credited as Hip Tanaka, composed the music. Yoshio Sakamoto, credited as Shikao.S, joined the team after returning from vacation following the completion of Metroid. He made the development process more efficient and influenced many design choices for Kid Icarus. Some unusual features were included, such as credit cards, a wizard turning the player character Pit into an eggplant, and a large, moving nose meant to look like composer Tanaka. Sakamoto said these humorous elements came from the R&D1 team, whom he called "strange." Osawa originally wanted the game to be serious but changed to a more humorous style after the team's suggestions.
To meet the release date of December 19, 1986, staff worked overtime and stayed in the office late at night. They used torn cardboard boxes as beds and covered themselves with curtains to stay warm in the unheated building. Kid Icarus was completed and entered production just three days before the release date. Some ideas for extra stages had to be removed because of the tight schedule.
Release
In February 1987, a cartridge-based version of the game was released for the NES in Europe. In July 1987, the same version was released in North America. For this release, the ending graphics were updated, and staff credits were added. Unlike the Japanese version, which saves progress on a Disk Card, the cartridge version uses a password system to restore progress, a feature that was rare at the time.
In August 2004, Kid Icarus was re-released for the Game Boy Advance as part of the Famicom Mini Disk System Selection. The game was later released on the Wii’s Virtual Console on January 23, 2007, in Japan; February 12, 2007, in North America; and February 23, 2007, in Europe and Australia. It was also released on the Wii U’s Virtual Console on August 14, 2013, in Japan; July 11, 2013, in Europe and Australia; and July 25, 2013, in North America. Passwords from the NES version do not work in the Virtual Console version. In 2016, the game was included in the North American and PAL region versions of the NES Classic Edition. In 2019, it was released on the Nintendo Classics service.
A 3D Classics remake of Kid Icarus was released for the Nintendo 3DS handheld console. This version includes stereoscopic 3D effects and updated graphics, such as new backgrounds. It uses a save system instead of passwords. It also includes the extra sound channel from the Family Computer Disk System for music and sound effects.
The game became available on the Nintendo eShop on January 18, 2012, in Japan; February 2, 2012, in Europe; April 12, 2012, in Australia; and April 19, 2012, in North America. In Japan, users who registered any two Nintendo 3DS games on Club Nintendo between October 1, 2011, and January 15, 2012, received free download codes starting December 19, 2011. In Europe, users who registered any two selected Nintendo 3DS games on Club Nintendo between November 1, 2011, and January 31, 2012, received codes starting January 5, 2012. In Australia, users who registered any two selected Nintendo 3DS games on Club Nintendo between November 1, 2011, and March 31, 2012, received codes starting January 2012. In North America, download codes for the 3D Classics version were given to customers who pre-ordered Kid Icarus: Uprising at select retailers when they picked up the game, which was released on March 23, 2012.
Reception
Reviewers for the Famicom Disk System described the game Kid Icarus in different ways. One reviewer praised it for feeling fresh because of its simple design and its mysterious atmosphere, which they believed would appeal to both children and adults. Another reviewer noted that the game's graphics did not fully match its Greek mythology theme and found the way characters moved across the screen (a technique used in older games like Pac-Man) to feel outdated. In Famicom Tsūshin, two reviewers said the game was too similar to Metroid and not as good. Others mentioned the game's difficulty, with one critic stating that it forced players through tense moments without offering rewards for completing them.
By late 2003, Kid Icarus had sold 1.76 million copies worldwide and gained a dedicated fanbase. Critics gave it mixed reviews over time. In 1992, a writer for Nintendo Magazine System called it "pretty good fun" but said its graphics looked outdated compared to other platform games. Retro Gamer magazine's Stuart Hunt called it an "unsung hero" of the NES, praising its music and enemy designs but noting its high difficulty and design flaws. Jeremy Parish of 1Up.com disagreed, calling the game "underwhelming" and criticizing its controls, music, and design choices. He recommended the Virtual Console version for its ability to let players experience the game with a new perspective.
Frank Provo of GameSpot reviewed the Virtual Console version and said the gameplay was not unique but had been fresh in 1987. He criticized the game's excessive difficulty and poor graphics, including small, simple characters and lack of detailed backgrounds. He also disliked the emulation, which kept the game's slowdown issues and removed cheat codes. Lucas M. Thomas of IGN called the game's design "odd" and said it did not age as well as other NES games. He praised the music but criticized the removal of cheat codes in the Virtual Console version.
Kid Icarus is ranked 20th on IGN's list of the top 100 NES games and 84th on the top 100 games of all time. It is 34th on Electronic Gaming Monthly's 1997 "100 Best Games of All Time" list, which noted it helped show the NES could do more than simple arcade-style games. Game Informer ranked it 83rd in 2001, calling it fun despite its difficulty. The game was inducted into GameSpy's "Hall of Fame" and ranked 54th in Nintendo Power's top 200 Nintendo games. Nintendo Power also listed it as the 20th best NES game, praising its vertical scrolling levels and music but noting its extreme difficulty. Official Nintendo Magazine placed it 67th on a list of the greatest Nintendo games.
Legacy
A Game Boy follow-up game to Kid Icarus, called Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters, was released in North America in November 1991 and in Europe on May 21, 1992. Nintendo and Tose created the game, and it used many of the same game rules as the original. Of Myths and Monsters was the final game in the series for more than 20 years.
In 2008, it was reported that a 3D Kid Icarus game for the Wii was being made by Factor 5, a German-American studio. However, Nintendo did not approve of the project. Factor 5 canceled several games after closing its American office in early 2009. In 2010, Yoshio Sakamoto said he was not aware of any plans to make a new Kid Icarus game for the Wii. A new game in the series, Kid Icarus: Uprising, was later released for the Nintendo 3DS in 2012. This game is a third-person shooter and was made by Project Sora, the company of Masahiro Sakurai, the designer of Super Smash Bros.
Pit, a character known as "Kid Icarus," appears in the American animated TV show Captain N: The Game Master. He also appears briefly in Nintendo games like Tetris, F-1 Race, and the Super Smash Bros. series.
In May 2011, an independent developer named Flip Industries released a game called Super Kid Icarus. This was an unofficial Flash game with a style similar to the SNES.
In The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Mario is shown playing Kid Icarus in his room after having an argument with his family.