Kid Icarus 3D Classics Review: Catching Lightning in a Broken Bottle

The 3D enhanced version of the 1985 Nintendo Entertainment System’s Kid Icarus is still an old-school romp, but one huge technical gaff nearly ruins the fun.

After a few minutes, it becomes too difficult to “see” how great this game actually is, or was.

Not taking up the entire 3DS screen (a border outlines a part of the screen, like many other 3D classics on the system), Kid Icarus is definitely a sore-eyed sight. Sure, the 3D elements work well and the game shines in this mode, but everything is just downright small. This isn’t the first time this has happened on the 3DS. It’s understandable when the Virtual Console ports feature lackluster visuals- those are straight up replicas of the originals.

This game was supposed to be enhanced for the 3DS. Aside from the added 3D, that’s just not the case here.

It’s common sense that nearly three-decade-old 2D sprites won’t exactly translate well to a handheld. Even a Game Boy game the likes of “Kirby’s Adventure” looks decent in 3D on the system, but that’s because it was made specifically for a handheld, too. But when you’re playing with an NES game, you have to make some extra adjustments. With the viewing radius even smaller than what the 3DS system can provide, it becomes too hard to get into the action.

And there’s plenty of action here. Arguably one of the first stealth action games ever created, Kid Icarus is all about speed, deception and skill. The 3DS control scheme makes controlling Pit as easy as it should be, but expect to get frustrated. Every level features a long jump that will stump you the first few times. Between that and the hordes of different enemies, this title still has some staying power.

A relic of the ’80s, Kid Icarus is downright difficult. Many gamers will get frustrated and quit before they finish the first level. Those that are able to traverse the harsh environments and the perpetual onslaught of mythical beasts will be rewarded. Not with any extended gameplay experience- once you finish this one, it’s pretty much over. But you will be left with the feeling that you “did” it. This is the type of game that puts a notch on your belt, some hair on your gaming chin. You can’t call yourself hardcore unless you’ve finished it.

So even with the minuscule character models, it still plays the way it should. For that and its equally tiny price point, the 3D Classics edition of Pit’s first adventure is still a memorable one.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13821 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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