Tons of ‘Kid Icarus: Uprising’ Details
The latest issue of Nintendo Power has spilled the beans on Kid Icarus: Uprising in a big way, look away now if you want to avoid spoilers…
– 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)
– 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
– 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
– 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
– 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
– 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
– 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
– 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
– 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
– 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
– 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
– 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