A playthrough of Nintendo’s 1987 NES game, Kid Icarus.
Here’s a fantastic Nintendo classic that doesn’t get anywhere near its due - my guess would be that its because even in comparison to other games at the time, Kid Icarus is brutally difficult and obtuse in some of its mechanics. It’s hard to get to the end, even if only meeting the conditions for the worst ending, but to get the best is a real hardcore test. Loads of precision jumping, difficult enemy patterns, and a stingy life-bar all mean that you REALLY have to invest yourself to get through it.
That investment is well rewarded though - Kid Icarus is one of the best put-together NES platformers, at least in my opinion, with super-tight balancing and a generally fair (though incredibly steep) challenge. For such an early title, it looks pretty nice, and the music is thoroughly awesome - I love the stage 3 tune especially.
Kid Icarus was developed for the Famicom Disk System as a joint effort between Nintendo R&D1 (they handled most of the black box games) and TOSE with Gunpei Yokoi acting as producer. Yes, the same guy who headed up the Game Boy and Metroid, and then was humiliated by Nintendo after blowing the Virtual Boy (and died shortly thereafter in a violent car wreck). Despite the creator’s tragic fate and the reprehensible treatment by a hard-nosed Nintendo after all of his massive successes for the company, this game is a true gem. Why has it only had two sequels?! Both of them are great, by the way, and the second game somehow goes even more unnoticed than the original!
For whatever ire this might stir-up, I have to say that I prefer this game a great deal over the original Metroid. I love Metroid, but Kid Icarus (incidentally enough running on the same engine as Metroid, since they were developed at the same time) really hit me much more favorably - it’s far more linear and focused, and I appreciated that. I loved the exploration aspect of Metroid, but for me, that itch had already been scratched by Zelda. I really enjoyed the similar play mechanics that had been completely reimagined for this title and it’s much lighter atmosphere. I thought that Metroid really managed to hit its full stride in Super Metroid, but Kid Icarus was already there in 1986. Metroid is also super-easy compared to Kid Icarus, and Metroid IS NOT an easy game by any stretch of the imagination.
Finally, for anyone interested in how I got the ending that I did: you have to finish the game with all of the strength upgrades, a maxed-out life gauge, all three of the final weapons for the Medusa fight (duh), and your hearts have to be maxed at 999 when you kill Medusa. I loved this game as a kid in the 80s and beat it a few times, but never managed any ending better than the one where Pit grows huge and flexes his arm. I didn’t even realize there were more endings until I went back to the game as a teenager to replay it and finally got the best one.
So, in closing, I hope you enjoy this playthrough! I could play this again and again and never get bored with it.
____
No cheats were used during the recording of this video.
NintendoComplete () punches you in the face with in-depth reviews, screenshot archives, and music from classic 8-bit NES games!
Visit for the latest updates!
1 view
103
29
2 months ago 00:00:00 1
Kid Icarus - Of Myths and Monsters. Cтрим 1 | Game Boy
2 months ago 00:41:43 1
“The Best Looking Game Ever“
3 months ago 00:27:48 1
New Nintendo 2DS XL и мои игры на нее ( 2 часть )
3 months ago 00:17:49 1
Game Boy Classic и моя коллекция картриджей ( 1 часть )
4 months ago 00:01:00 1
Новая игра-детектив от Nintendo выйдет уже в августе #denismajor #nintendoswitch #nintendo
5 months ago 01:23:08 1
Нью-Йорк: во что превратились Манхэттен и Бруклин | США, урбанистика, промзоны
5 months ago 00:08:16 1
Дылда | Cornstalk | Animated Short Film
6 months ago 01:25:40 1
It´s okay to cry - Calm and sad Nintendo music to cry
7 months ago 00:21:08 1
Why Kid Icarus Uprising is an Underrated Masterpiece
7 months ago 00:20:28 1
Kid Icarus [AVGN 207 - RUS RVV]
8 months ago 01:19:04 1
Elijah Nang - Gaijin 外人 - [ Full LP ]
8 months ago 00:10:39 3
Расследование Аномалий! Коды и прохождение! Часть 5. War Robots
8 months ago 00:35:24 1
10 ЖЕМЧУЖИН В МОЕЙ КОЛЛЕКЦИИ ВИДЕОИГР
8 months ago 00:00:56 1
The first 10 tracks we have ever uploaded
8 months ago 00:01:15 1
Down Your Throat
8 months ago 00:27:59 1
The Insect Tier List
9 months ago 01:00:03 1
Milky Chance - Road Tripping Radio (Colorado Edition)
9 months ago 00:23:17 1
Передача “Новая реальность - 4 выпуск“ 30 июня 1995 года - канал ОРТ
9 months ago 00:04:34 1
Who Would Canonically Win? Byleth vs Palutena | Fight Animation!
9 months ago 00:56:11 1
strange but nice feeling | Playlist to study, sleep | Dreamcore/Weirdcore
9 months ago 02:26:43 36
Angry Video Game Nerd - Season 17 (AVGN Full Season Seventeen)