Kid Icarus (universe)

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The Kid Icarus universe refers to the Smash Bros. series' collection of characters, stages, and properties that hail from Nintendo's Kid Icarus games, which were originally a pair of cult-classic action/platformer games for NES and Game Boy. A twenty-one-year hiatus for the series ensued, and it only ended once Masahiro Sakurai developed and released a third game for the 3DS after debuting a heavy stylistic redesign for the series and its star, the young angel knight Pit, in 2008's Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Franchise description

During the "golden age" of the Famicom/NES in the late 1980s, one of the original titles and IPs released alongside titles such as Metroid and The Legend of Zelda was Kid Icarus, an action platformer that aimed to blend several genres. The game's development process was stressed by time constraints, and the game was released on NES on July 1987 to mixed critical reception, which focused criticism on its frustratingly high difficulty and some odd design choices; despite all this, the game has long since been regarded as a cult classic for the console, and some of its characters had been featured on the American cartoon Captain N: The Game Master alongside other video game characters popularized by the NES. Following this, a sequel for the Game Boy, Kid Icarus: Of Myth and Monsters, was co-developed between Nintendo and Tose Co., Ltd. and released on November 1991. Reception was decidedly more favorable for the sequel, citing significant improvements to the gameplay all around, though the game never reached the level of public attention that the original had. In an odd twist, Of Myths and Monsters was, for literally two decades, one of few first-party Nintendo games that were not published in Japan.

For fifteen years following the 1991 release of the second game, the Kid Icarus "franchise" made no return appearances in any format, and the two-game series had seemed to have forever been left behind in a state where it would represent nothing more than a curious piece of history from the Nintendo timeline. But then, in 2006, Super Smash Bros. series director Masahiro Sakurai began an ambitious series revival for Kid Icarus, first by announcing through a trailer the inclusion of the main character, Pit, as a new playable fighter in his then-highly-anticipated Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii. Sakurai had previously brought another obscure NES title from the era, Ice Climber, back into the public limelight by including its player-characters as playable fighters in 2001's Super Smash Bros. Melee, but for Brawl, Sakurai debuted a radical, anime-style redesign for Pit, as well as a more detailed reimagining of Pit's in-game world.

As Sakurai later noted, the redesigned Pit's appearance in Brawl greatly influenced his decision to jump-start the series' revival with a new installment. Following Brawl's release in 2008, Sakurai directed and wrote the scenario for Kid Icarus: Uprising, a high-budget title for the Nintendo 3DS that features on-rails-shooter segments in the air that are separate from third-person-shooter segments on the ground. The game's overall presentation makes full use of the design style introduced in Brawl, complete with fully voice-acted character dialogue and copious amounts of story-driven cutscenes, but also with a far more satirical tone to the story and dialogue itself. The game was released on March 2012 to glowing reviews; however, Sakurai has yet to confirm interest in a sequel. Nonetheless, the now-familiar modern design for Pit is considered standard for the franchise, and has made a return appearance in Brawl's sequel, Super Smash Bros. 4. Meanwhile, Of Myths and Monsters was released in Japan for the first time in the country's history on the 3DS Virtual Console, a month before the release of Uprising.

The Kid Icarus games themselves are set on a multi-plane Grecian fantasy world called Angel Land, where a plane hanging above the mortal Overworld is the light realm of Skyworld, ruled over by the Goddess of Light, Palutena. In the original game, the goddess of the hellish plane of the Underworld, Medusa, wages war against Palutena and the human world, and Palutena sends her loyal warrior, the young angel knight Pit (note that the name "Kid Icarus" is not the main character's name itself, but more of a comedic descriptor of how he is essentially a child equivalent to the Greek myth of the winged man Icarus), on a quest to defeat Medusa by gathering three sacred combat treasures. In Of Myths and Monsters, Pit similarly battles a demon named Orcos. Many years later in Uprising, Pit must battle Medusa and her minions again, but ends up thrust into a much stranger, multi-sided conflict involving a greatly-expanded cast of literally colorful allies and enemies, several of which are drawn from other figures and monsters in Greek mythology. Pit's fights take him through human cities under siege, temples and caverns in the Underworld, Palutena's residence in the Skyworld, and even outer space.

In Super Smash Bros.

Rumours have claimed that Pit was to be a playable character in Super Smash Bros.; like rumours involving Peach, Bowser and other characters, however, this rumour has never been definitively proven.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee

There are a large number of trophies in Super Smash Bros. Melee that depict classic Nintendo games from the past, and a trophy depicting a 3D rendition of the classic-style Pit is no exception. Other than that, however, there is no additional representation of the Kid Icarus franchise in the game.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Kid Icarus is introduced as a primary universe in the Super Smash Bros. series in the third installment, Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Character

• 
  Pit: A young angel knight who serves the goddess Palutena and saves the kingdom of Angel Land from the evil of the Underworld goddess Medusa. The name "Kid Icarus" is technically a misnomer, and refers not to Pit as an alternative name, but more as to what kind of entity Pit is. The Greek myth of Icarus is centered around a man possessing wings; since Pit has wings, he can be considered a "kid Icarus" of sorts. For his appearance in Brawl as a fighter, Pit has undergone a major character redesign. He uses the Sacred Bow of Palutena in combat, both to fire arrows, as it always has, and also to demonstrate its previously unseen ability to split in half and be used as a pair of swords for close-quarters combat. Like Kirby, Jigglypuff, Meta Knight, and Charizard, Pit can jump multiple times in the air. His Standard Special move is the Palutena Arrow, which Pit uses in a similar style as Link, Young Link, and Toon Link; however, Pit's arrows travel much faster, unaffected by gravity, and their trajectory can be controlled (i.e. it can be made to curve upwards or downwards) by pressing a direction right after releasing the arrow. His Up Special move, titled Wings of Icarus, is a unique move giving him the ability of temporary free flight around the stage. His Down Special move, Mirror Shield, reflects projectile attacks and protects Pit from damage on one side. His Side Special move is the Angel Ring, a reflector move in which Pit spins the Palutena's Bow at a blinding speed in a full 360 circle, which does damage to his opponents.

On the final character select screen (after all characters are unlocked), Pit shares the fourth column with fellow Famicom/NES-originated characters Ice Climbers, R.O.B., and Samus.

Stage

• 
  Skyworld: This stage, set in the eponymous realm of the franchise's world, features several platforms that can actually be shattered by characters attacks, but they become replaced by clouds that substitute as platforms right after, although the clouds are pass-through.

Music

• Underworld - A small medley consisting of a remixed version of the Underworld level theme and the Grim Reaper's theme. It is used on the Skyworld stage.
• Skyworld - This is a redone version of the Overworld level theme from the original Kid Icarus. It is not the Skyworld level theme as the name would suggest--the track is mislabeled in Brawl. It is the theme of the Skyworld stage.
• Title (Kid Icarus) - A remix of the original Kid Icarus's title screen theme. It is used on the Skyworld stage. This track is also played during Pit's Classic Mode credits.
• Kid Icarus Original Medley - A medley made up of numerous parts of several tracks taken directly from the original Kid Icarus, including the title theme, the fortress theme, and the Skyworld level theme, among many others. It is used on the Skyworld stage.
• Pit's victory theme - Derived from the original Kid Icarus's title screen theme, this fanfare was not actually heard in this form in the first two Kid Icarus titles, but an orchestrated remix of it was included as the victory fanfare for the multiplayer portion of Kid Icarus Uprising.

Trophy

• Pit
• Palutena's Army
• Palutena
• Palutena's Bow

In Super Smash Bros. 4

Character

• 
  Pit: Pit returns as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4, with a new design based on his appearance in Kid Icarus: Uprising. This is reflected by Pit gaining new moves, such as the Upperdash Arm, and the Guardian Orbitars.

Stage

• Viridi, Goddess of Nature: A stage based on an area in Kid Icarus: Uprising appears in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS. The area is based upon a castle, features many wooden platforms, and takes place in front of a war between greed-driven humans and Viridi.
• Palutena's Temple: A stage based on an area in Kid Icarus: Uprising appears in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. Not much is known about it aside from a large state depicting Palutena's visage is seen.

Items

• X Bomb: A new explosive item to the Super Smash Bros. series was introduced in the form of the X Bomb, which first appeared in Kid Icarus: Uprising, also drawing inspiration from Meteos.

Trophy

• Phosphora

Similarities to Super Smash Bros. in Kid Icarus: Uprising

In a similar way to how many fundamental gameplay elements in the Smash Bros. series are inspired by the Kirby series, there are several elements in Kid Icarus: Uprising that are clearly inspired by those in the Smash Bros. series. This is often attributed to Masahiro Sakurai being the lead designer for both games. Some examples include:

• When battling on foot, Pit can execute different, often stronger versions of attacks by quickly tapping the Circle Pad in a direction relative to the direction he is facing. The tapping motion is also used to dash and dodge attacks.
  • In one of Uprising's tutorial videos, Pit directly notes that the dashing technique is familiar. Palutena mistakenly claims that it's from "Super Bash Sisters", Pit corrects her, but she doesn't believe him.
• When knocked down , Pit can perform getup rolls or attacks, and can also press the attack button upon landing after being hit to execute a breakfall.
• Many of the enemies in Uprising appear to be influenced by Subspace Emissary enemies, in terms of design and function. For instance, the Stackjaw enemy operates similarly to the Gamyga.
• Various attacks have differing effects when they connect, including flame, electric, freezing, darkness, and light.
• The Powers system, which involves placing shaped objects on a grid to utilize extra abilities, is very similar to the Sticker system.
• The Daybreak item in Together mode operates similarly to the Dragoon, involving a collection of three parts that then fire a one-hit KO attack.