As we’ve mentioned previously, Nintendo Power’s latest issue features Kid Icarus: Uprising in a big way. The magazine contains a huge, eight page article about the game.
Missed out on the issue? Then head past the break for information about Uprising’s large arsenal of weapons, items, magical powers, StreetPass usage, and much more.
– Ground locations include a medieval castle and an interstellar space-pirate vessel
– Fight with projectile attacks
– Can hide behind pillars/rubble
– Close-range melee combos
– Dash attacks
– Can take your time to explore in these sections
– Lots of hidden treasures
– Secret life-restoring hot springs
– “levels are frenetically paced and full of surprises”
– Sakurai calls this “escalating the situation”; piling action on top of action to keep players off balance and engaged
– Vehicle example: Exo Tank
– Grinding gameplay made possible by Palutena’s magical rails
– There are times in which NPCs appear abruptly to fight by your side
– Recurring villains like Dark Pit appear from time to time
– Constant stream of dialogue to give players a better idea of what’s going on
– Dialogue is usually between Pit and Palutena or Palutena and the villain at the moment
– Dialogue “works like a charm” because of “clever writing and strong performances”
– “necessary plot explanations and strategy tips are buried deep within a stream of smart, self-aware banter”
– There’s a moment in the game in which Pit finds an item from the first Kid Icarus and Palutena says that it’s less pixelated than she remembers
– A comrade-in-arms will express shock that Pit would be so reckless as to open treasure chests left in plain sight without suspecting a trap
– “strong characters and a rollicking plot without ever pulling players out of the action to watch a non-interactive event scene or read a screen full of text”
– Palutena will show cute artwork and screenshots from the original Kid Icarus (reminding Pit of how enemies used to look) on the touch screen, though “the game rarely gives you a chance to peel your eyes away from the action unfolding above”
– At least 8 chapters; Nintendo Power reached this point and said there was “no end in sight”, hinting that there are many chapters
– Uprising isn’t the type of game you play once and then put on the shelf
– Massive arsenal in the game
– “more weapons than anyone could realistically hope to use in a single trip through the game”
– Unique, legendary, superpowered weapons
– Nine weapon categories
– “when you switch to a new weapon category, it almost feels like you’re playing an entirely different game”
– Individual weapons, some with very different properties in each category
– Burst Blade unleashes a flurry of short-range bullets that are great for clearing a room
– Viper Blade sends out smaller, longer-ranged bullets that poison their targets
– Samurai Blade is weaker at long range, but has a fast and deadly melee combo
– Royal Blade is slightly weaker on offense, can send unleash a deadly blast attack to cover your escape when you dash backwards to evade an enemy
– Obtain 1-2 random weapons from treasure chests
– Collect hearts and use them to purchase weapons from a random assortment at Arm’s Altar
– Access the Arm’s Alter between levels
– There is a practice range at Arm’s Alter
– Random assortment of special abilities for each iteration of a weapon
– Examples of the above: One random Royal Blade may have a small defensive boost, an extra bullet on each side-dash attack, and a chance to paralyze foes; another Royal Blade may feature a speed boost, enhanced long-ranged shots, and an improved combo attack
– Practically an infinite amount of randomly generated weapon variations
– Pass a “seed” of a good weapon you find through StreetPass; let your friends buy it in their own games
– Pit can pick up single-use items in addition to weapons
– Examples of the above: A centurion that follows Pit around firing arrows at foes, a shield that protects Pit’s flank from enemy attacks
– Pit can find magical powers that may be equipped between levels
– Powers include summoning a meteor shower or firing a massive laser beam (offensive)
– Defensive powers include a high-jump or the ability to recover some health
– Powers take up space on Pit’s power grid
– Find powers in high and low-level versions
– Bring only as many powers into combat as you add to the grid
– Use a power only a certain amount of times in each level
– Can replay levels to gather hearts and open treasure chests
– Sakurai hinted at high-level challenges: “We’ve added a certain unique system to address the original game’s reputation for being quite challenging.”
– AR Cards were originally intended to be the Kid Icarus equivalent of Smash Bros.’s trophies
– Nintendo hasn’t said how the cards will be distributed
– Gather cards to unlock more more content in the game (nothing that can’t be unlocked through standard play)
Multiplayer deathmatch
– When a player is killed and then reborn, his team loses some energy from a communal bar
– When the bar hits zero, the last character to fall is reborn as an angel (Pit or Dark Pit)
– Enemy team then gets a new goal: hunt down the enemy angel to win the game
– Other two teammates become immortal, giving them a good opportunity to even the odds by emptying the enemy team’s bar
Weapon examples
1. Meteor Bow
– Works well for long-ranged attacks
– Crummy as a melee weapon
– Don’t fire as quick as staves
– Light arrows contain powerful homing properties that will help you pick off enemies far away
– Heat-seeking triple arrows can help clear a room
– Charge attack fires a single, non-homing projectile
– The charge attack hits with the force of a meteor strike
2. Samurai Blade
– More of a melee weapon
– Fires projectiles more slowly than average
– Brutally powerful melee sword combos
– Sakurai’s favorite weapon
3. Ogre Club
– Pit will need to stop and catch his breath after running even a short distance because clubs are very heavy
– Powerful at mid-range
– Heavy melee damage at ranges from which other weapons would still be firing projectiles
– Most clubs can’t fire projectiles quickly
– Wide, slow swings are great for knocking back enemy bullets
4. Midnight Palm
– Magical runes that wrap around Pit’s hands
– Quick-firing projectiles
– Projectiles home in on foes skillfully
– Good for mid-range combat
– Should be used by defensive players who use Pit’s back-dash to avoid enemy strikes
– Dash causes a giant crescent moon to rise in Pit’s wake, repelling further enemy attacks
5. Dynamo Cannon
– Shells have high power
– Slow rate of fire
– Shells fly in an arc
– Shells can clear a whole field when they detonate, so accuracy isn’t entirely important
– Charged shot makes a giant static explosion that sends electricity lancing through foes to deal repeated damage
– This shot may paralyze survivors if you’re lucky
6. Brawler Claws
– Claws are the shortest range weapons
– Rapid projectile fire
– Quick, lengthy close range combos
– Useful in tight areas
– Charged shot is like a shotgun blast of swinging fists
– Melee combo can keep foes off-balance
– Lightweight construction
– This leaves Pit unencumbered
– Can move quickly without tiring
7. Drill Arm
– Arms strap over one of Pit’s hands
– Can be used for hitting foes at melee range
– Launch powerful projectiles at distant targets
– Short melee range
– Projectiles don’t fire quickly
– Still among the the game’s most powerful weapons at any range
– Drill Arm’s twisting charge shots entrap and continuously shred their target
8. Guardian Orbitars
– Orbitars consist of two (usually) spherical objects that float near Pit’s shoulders
– Individual projectiles can add up to heavy damage against distant foes
– Shoulder positioning lends itself to powerful side-dash attacks at melee range
– Guardian Orbitars are more defensive than the other Orbiatars
– Charged shot unleashes an enemy-repelling wall of force
9. Ancient Staff
– Staves are the ultimate long-range weapons
– They can fire bursts of magic energy straight and true
– Players will have to be a crack shot to take advantage of their long range since they have no homing properties
– Ancient Staff charged shot unleashes a giant magical seal that can hit foes repeatedly as it rises in the sky
