Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters

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Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters

Developer(s)	Nintendo R&D1
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Engine	Metroid II
Release date(s)	November 1991 21 May 1992
Genre(s)	Platform game
Mode(s)	Single player
Platform(s)	Game Boy
Media	1 Mbit cartridge

Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters is a video game published by Nintendo for the Game Boy, and was first released in November of 1991. The game was not released in Japan. It is the only sequel to the original Kid Icarus (released for the FDS in 1986 and NES in 1987) and it uses the same engine as Metroid II: Return of Samus.

1 Plot
2 Gameplay
3 Trivia
4 External links

[edit] Plot

One night, the Goddess Palutena was startled by a horrible dream. In it, her beloved Angel Land was under attack by an army of demons. She summoned a soothsayer, who told her that this was not just a dream. It would soon come to pass that a demon by the name of Orcos would soon attack Angel Land.

Palutena quickly summoned the hero, Pit, and told him of the crisis at hand. She then sent Pit on a mission: to obtain the Three Sacred Treasures (the Wings of Pegasus, the Silver Armor, and the Light Arrows) and to become stronger so that he may be worthy of using them when Orcos finally attacks. The ending sequence is very similar to the Greek myth of Icarus, where Pit's wings melt away from the sun's heat and he falls from the sky.

[edit] Gameplay

World 1, Underworld Tower

Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters is a platform-action style game. Scrolling can occur in all directions, unlike the original NES game (which limited the player's ability to backtrack).

Like most platformer heroes, Pit can jump. He can also flap his small wings while in the air to slow his descent.

Pit's main weapon is his bow, which comes with an unlimited supply of arrows. He can also collect Hammers from various places, which can be used to smash certain destructible walls and objects. Hammers disappear after one use.

Pit's life is gauged by a vitality bar in the corner of the screen. When he takes enough damage to empty it completely, Pit dies. If the player has a life (called a "Credit") remaining - and only two are given - Pit will start back at the stage entrance. If both extra Credits are used up, the game ends and the player must start from where they last saved.

Throughout the game, Pit can find shops where he can buy items (such as Hammers or backup vitality) using Hearts. Hearts are the game's currency, and can be obtained by killing enemies. Pit also encounters the god Zeus, who judges his strength, and also will grant him a special weapon if he passes a test of endurance.

Pit's training takes him through three worlds: the Underworld Tower, the Overworld, and the Sky World Tower. Each of these worlds has four stages that Pit must fight through. After completing a stage, the player's score is totaled, and the player is given a chance to save their progress. If Pit performed well enough in the stage, Zeus appears and expands his vitality bar. (This can only happen up to four times.)

The last stage of each world is a fortress housing one of the Three Sacred Treasures. Each treasure is guarded by a powerful Fortress Guardian, whom Pit must defeat before claiming his prize.

Upon the retrieval of all three Sacred Treasures, Pit returns to the Sky Palace. Here, his training is evaluated, and it is determined how many of the Sacred Treasures he is worthy of using. Pit will always be granted use of The Wings of Pegasus, which give him the ability to fly (whereas his initial wings only allowed him to soar). Depending on his performance, he may also be given the Silver Armor (which reduces the damage he takes from attacks) or the Light Arrows (arrows that can be fired continuously). However, even if Pit is not initially granted the use of all three, Zeus has two chambers in the Sky Palace where he will give Pit one of the remaining Treasures after passing an endurance test.

[edit] Trivia

The name Orcos may be a mistranslation of the Greek Orcus, an underworld demon similar to the deity Hades.
At the very end of the game, the scene where Pit ends up flying too high and has his wings melted off by the sun's heat is an obvious take on the myth, Icarus. Also, the face on the sun looks suspiciously similar to the Goddess of the Sun.