| Kid Icarus | |
|---|---|
 Logo since 2012 | |
| Genre(s) | Platform |
| Developer(s) | Nintendo R&D1 (1986–1991) Tose (1986-1991) Project Sora (2012) |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo Entertainment System,Game Boy,Nintendo 3DS |
| First release | Kid Icarus December 19, 1986 |
| Latest release | Kid Icarus: Uprising March 22, 2012 |
Kid Icarus[a] is a series of fantasyvideo games byNintendo. Set in thefantasy world of "Angel Land", which is loosely based onGreek mythology, thegameplay combinesaction,adventure andplatforming elements. TheKid Icarus franchise is known as acult classic and a sibling series to theMetroid franchise.
The first installment,Kid Icarus, was released in 1986 for theNintendo Entertainment System and received critical acclaim despite poor sales. A sequel,Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters, was released for theGame Boy. Following a 20-year hiatus,Kid Icarus: Uprising was released in 2012 for theNintendo 3DS.
| 1986 | Kid Icarus |
|---|---|
| 1987–1990 | |
| 1991 | Of Myths and Monsters |
| 1992–2011 | |
| 2012 | Uprising |
AfterNintendo's release of commercially successfulplatforming games in the 1980s, includingDonkey Kong,Ice Climber, andSuper Mario Bros., as well as the critically acclaimedadventure gameThe Legend of Zelda, the company was interested in entering a different genre. They began work on anaction game calledMetroid, which was released on theFamily Computer Disk System on August 6, 1986, and on theNintendo Entertainment System the following year.[1]Kid Icarus was developed alongsideMetroid as its sister game, sharing elements and programmers with it.[2] It was produced byGunpei Yokoi, who previously producedDonkey Kong,Donkey Kong Jr. (1982), and the originalMario Bros. (1983), and music written byHirokazu Tanaka, who also composed forDuck Hunt (1984).[1]
After the release of a handheld sequel,Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters, the series received no new installments for two decades. During the 1990s, gaming magazineGamefan claimed that another project,Kid Icarus: Angel Land Story, also known asSuper Kid Icarus, was in development for theSuper NES.[3][4] An installment for theNintendo 64 was rumored to be in development, but was never released.[5] During the early 2000s,Capcom moved their resources to remakeDead Phoenix as a new, untitledIcarus game to debut on theGameCube.[6] A revival was planned for theWii, developed byFactor 5, but was later cancelled.[7][8][9] A third entry,Kid Icarus: Uprising, was released for theNintendo 3DS in 2012, the first game in the series since 1991.[10]
Pit first appeared inKid Icarus (1986), in which he escapes his prison in the Underworld and sets out to save the Goddess of Light, Palutena, from the clutches of Medusa and her forces. Along the way, he overcomes Zeus' challenges and gains stronger weapons to combat the Underworld's forces.[11]
InKid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters (1991), Palutena's nightmare is interpreted by a fate teller as an imminent invasion by the demon Orcos and his minions. The goddess summons Pit, the leader of her army, and tells him to obtain the three sacred treasures of Angel Land, which she has placed under the protection of three fortress guards to ensure their safety from Orcos. After Pit defeats the guards and finishes his training, Palutena gives him priceless wealth.[12] InKid Icarus: Uprising (2012), he works with Palutena to fight Medusa and her army.[13]
Pit's design was updated for his inclusion inSuper Smash Bros. Brawl. According toMasahiro Sakurai, the creator of theSuper Smash Bros. series and director ofKid Icarus: Uprising, he initially alternated between using Pit's 2D design, his cartoonish art design, and a 3D redesign for his inclusion before ultimately settling on the latter.[14] Sakurai stated that Pit's redesign was based on the concept of how his appearance would have slowly modernized had theKid Icarus series remained active, much like how Link's design has throughout the various installments ofThe Legend of Zelda series.[14] In comparison to his previous design, Pit now appears approximately thirteen years old in angel years.[15]
GamePro identified Pit's gameplay mechanics as taking elements from three of Nintendo's biggest franchises:Mario's jump,Link's ability-enhancing objects, andSamus Aran's projectiles.[16] Pit takes inspiration fromGreek mythology, withIGN's Lucas M. Thomas viewing him as a combination betweenEros andIcarus and identifying his bow and his wings as his most iconic characteristics.[17] He was featured as the front cover in Nintendo Blast's 2012 Portuguese book titled "Nintendo Blast Ano 3 Edições 25 a 36".[18]GameZone's Vito Gesualdi considers Pit to be a combination ofThe Legend of Zelda's Link and American filmmakerWoody Allen, noting that "Pit is equal parts Link and Woody Allen, a handsome young warrior with all the self-confidence of our favorite neurotic Jew".[19]
The Eggplant Wizard first appeared in the 1986 video gameKid Icarus. In the game, he serves as an arch-nemesis to Pit, depicted as an anthropomorphiceggplant sorcerer who can shoot eggplants at other characters and disable their abilities by encasing them in an eggplant.[20][21] He also appeared in the animated television seriesCaptain N: The Game Master, where he serves as an antagonist.[22] The Eggplant Wizard was inspired by the game's creator Toru Osawa's passion for eggplants and the eggplant men fromWrecking Crew. Osawa said that he drew the character to celebrate his summer bonus.[11]Shigeru Miyamoto and Masahiro Sakurai both consider the character key to the enduring popularity of theKid Icarus series.[23][24]
Since his debut inKid Icarus, Eggplant Wizard has received largely positive reception from critics, withIGN writer Luca M. Thomas called him the "most popular, most cunning enemy character to come out" of theKid Icarus series.[22]Shacknews writer Ozzie Mejia called Eggplant Wizard the most aggravating antagonist in all of video games, writing that he threw his controller against the television out of frustration when playing the game as a kid.[25]Destructoid writer Chad Concelmo ranked him as "the biggest asshole video game wizard", stating that there is no other character who has more hatred than Eggplant Wizard due to his high defense and ability to transform Pit into an eggplant.[26]1UP.com writer Jeremy Parish called him a weird idea for an enemy, but also Pit's most challenging, comparing him to the Hammer Bros. from theMario franchise because they often come in pairs and throw projectiles at the player character. However, he also noted that the Eggplant Wizards were worse because they would target Pit.[27]Nonstop Nerd staff wrote that Eggplant Wizard can completely ruin anyone’s playthrough of the game due to being the most threatening enemy, and that those who played the game would be able to relate to this.[28]
UGO Networks writer Chris Plante ranked the moment when Eggplant Wizard was turning people into eggplants as one of the 20 most memorableNintendo Entertainment System moments.[29]GamesRadar+ included Eggplant Wizard in their list of the "top seven edible enemies in gaming", stating that he was "one of the strangest, most talked-about weirdos in all of gaming" and questioned why he was in a game about Greek mythology.[30]GamesRadar+ also claimed that the character was "clearly-designed-by-a-madman old bastard of the NES baddo fraternity" and that his "oddness belied a far more insidious property".[31] Eggplant Wizard has been suggested as a playable character or item forSuper Smash Bros. series by critics.[22][32][33] Chris Morgan ofYardbarker named Eggplant Wizard as the true cult icon of earlyNintendo and noted his charm.[34]
Eggplant Wizard has been viewed as synonymous with theKid Icarus series even outside the gaming community. Jason Cipriano ofMTV Multiplayer Blog wrote that he described Eggplant Wizard as emblematic of the series' wacky design and stated that fans would be excited to see him appear inKid Icarus: Uprising.[35] To celebrate the release of the game,ABC News writer Lauren Torrisi featured several eggplant recipes.[36] Ishaan Sahdev ofSiliconera reported on aGameStop promotion forKid Icarus: Uprising that gave away a selection ofaugmented reality 3DS cards, including Eggplant Wizard.[37]
{{cite web}}:|last= has generic name (help)Viridi: Actually, Dark Pit works for me now. He's an officer in the Forces of Nature.
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