Kid Icarus: Uprising - More exciting than Mario and Zelda?

By NGamer Staff for NGamer Magazine Subscribe now!

It's one of the games that sold us on the 3DS, but we still have a hefty wait before Kid Icarus touches down in the UK. While he's circling above the airport waiting for a runway to become clear (under modern flight regulations, Pit is technically classed as a light jet), let's sum up why we're excited about Pit's return to the big leagues, after his recurring guest spot in Super Smash Bros.

Reason the first: it looks amazing. Whether you're soaring through the on-rails aerial shooting sections, or down on the ground smacking enemies with your blade, Angel Land is a vivid and beautiful place.

Impressive as it is, though, it's eclipsed by the superb character models. Bosses, including a gigantic cerberus wreathed in flame, look spectacular - although it might be hard to notice this when you're trying to dodge waves of special moves.

Pit, meanwhile, may have a slightly funny gait (He looks like he's limping much of the time. Perhaps he's had his leg tagged by a confused pigeon fancier), but this is otherwise exactly how we imagined/hoped the winged wonder would look when reinvented in 3D.

ANGEL EYES

Reason the second: Uprising is both approachable to newcomers, and packed with plenty of nods to the early games. How does it accomplish this witchcraft? Well, rather ingeniously, by showing history lessons on the bottom screen.

For instance, talk of Pit's nemesis Medusa is accompanied by a prehistoric 8-bit sprite of the evil queen herself. It's a nice way to get newbies up to speed.

Reason the third: Nintendo keep on revealing stuff. At the game's second E3 showing, they surprised everyone by announcing AR card-battling and competitive multiplayer, which seems like Call Of Duty on Red Bull (you know, because it's got wings).

Which just leaves reason the fourth, the most important of all. We're excited about Kid Icarus because we've not seen him in 20 years. With Mario, Zelda and Kirby enjoying near-annual adventures, Pit's return is long overdue.

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