Welcome to World Zero - Reviews for the hardcore gamer

Kid Icarus is an odd pairing of mythology and hogwash, with the actual mythology referring more to the tale of Perseus than to the character of Icarus from whom the game derives its namesake. In this butchering of Greek culture (the first of many to come in the video game industry, I assure you) the evil Medusa has invaded Angel Land, and it's up to Pitt, our faux winged hero, to defend it. However in his current effeminate state, and hailing from an area of such relative peace and wussitude like Angel Land, Pitt is not up to the task. To prove himself, Pitt is charged with securing three mystic treasures to aid him in slaying the gorgon. Pitt's journey is thus divided into four main sections: one devoted to finding each treasure and one for his apocalyptic, reality shattering showdown with the gorgon swine.

It's here where we become acquainted with one of Kid Icarus's many quirks, as the gameplay changes slightly in each segment. The first and third worlds –Kid Icarus's signature stages– are vertically scrolling levels with a twist. The screen scrolls upwards as you progress, but never backwards, making the entire duration of the stage feel as if situated over one big bottomless pit. Combine that with the classic Mario Bros-esque screen wraparound, where you exit stage right and reappear stage left and you have what amounts to a steep, nearly vertical learning curve. If there's a single reason I can think of for why Kid Icarus never took off as an IP it's exactly that. Starting off with an extremely small amount of health, the beginning segments are difficult enough, never mind the fact that even a single missed jump can (and usually will) leave you falling for a long, long time.

But after putting in a little effort to get used to the game’s jump physics, and a little currency into some items that effectively resurrect you from pit deaths, I hope you'll find the game quite manageable and enjoyable to an extent where the initial work you have to put in is well worth it.

The second world is a more traditional side scrolling stage akin to Megaman or Ghosts n' Goblins, and the fourth an automatically scrolling shooter, not unlike Gradius or Lifeforce. Adding more diversity (because genre-hopping is not enough) the final subworld of the first three stages takes place in a free roaming, maze-like fortress. Think Zelda dungeon before there was such a thing, or perhaps more accurately, a castle stage in Simon's Quest and you've got the right idea. Though relatively short, you can see that Kid Icarus tries to jam as much in as it can.

This is evident by the game’s novel inclusion of RPG elements. Keeping with the theme that Pitt is training for his task of slaying Medusa, Zeus monitors your progress and puts you through trials every now and then. Granted, every trial is the same, where Zeus rips up the bathroom linoleum and throws chunks of it at your head for 60 seconds, but it's a pretty cool way to distribute power-ups and increase your life meter (and was so lovingly ripped off by Tecmo in NES Rygar) and actually kind of works as a plot device. Kid Icarus also includes a currency system, one that was basically cut and pasted into Castlevania 2. Collecting hearts earns you money that can be used at the various shops strewn throughout the game world. The system was actually handled very well and incorporates things like haggling and black markets into the mix. At one point you'll encounter enemies that can steal your equipment and don't be surprised when you find it at some backwater shop at incredibly inflated prices. Be lucky enough acquire a credit card and experience the true-to-life joys of burying yourself in debt.

The RPG elements are probably Kid Icarus's greatest contribution to the side scrolling adventure genre, but the nonlinear fortress levels were pretty revolutionary as well. These levels progress in a screen-by-screen fashion much like the first Zelda, and are fairly devious in their design, even by today's standards. In a stroke of genius, by using hammers bought and collected in the preceding stages, you are able to free Centurion allies from their stone prisons located within these fortresses. These soldiers then gladly provide supporting fire during your battle with the level's boss.

Known to many as only Metroid's sister game because the two shared similar staff, music, and design concepts, Kid Icarus isn't often remembered for its own numerable merits. Still, while long outlived by Gunpei Yokoi's "other" NES adventure, Kid Icarus was far and away the more influential of the two at the time of its release. Kid Icarus is such a seamless blend of action, adventure, and RPG elements that I just don't see the action adventure genre evolving as it did without the innovations of Kid Icarus.

Rating	The rating scale in detail
6.0	+ Simple, but functional graphical style.
8.0	+ Excellent Hip Tanaka soundtrack.
8.5	++ Extremely varied gameplay keeps the experience fresh. + Solid, enjoyable platformer. - Starts out more difficult than it ends up finishing.
8.5	+ I'm a sucker for Greek mythology. ++ Ridiculously creative character designs. You can get transformed into a walking eggplant!
9.0	++ New game plus, multiple endings and RPG elements to take advantage of. ++ The first game (along with Metroid) to utilize password saves.
8.5	+ An incredibly innovative, but unfortunately mostly overlooked NES classic.

	Kid Icarus
	Platform: NES • Developer: Nintendo • Genre: Adventure • ESRB Rating: N/A • Words: Man9child