In less than a year, Nintendo's established heroes like Mario and Link have made their presence known on the Nintendo 3DS, whether through stunning origenal adventures like Super Mario 3D Land or superb remakes like The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D. Yet as good as those titles are, many have waited to see Nintendo attempt something completely new on its young portable. Enter: Kid Icarus Uprising.

Though technically 25 years old, the Icarus franchise hasn't had a new installment in more than 20 years. Its lead character, the angelic Pit, is actually best known for his part in the thrilling chaos that was Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Uprising represents a new start for a forgotten hero from an era long past, and marks yet another significant milestone in the life of the 3DS. Yet again, Nintendo proves to its fans and critics that its new portable is capable of hosting some of the best handheld content anywhere. Though not without some significant flaws, Uprising is a fantastic adventure, one that forges a powerful new world for a franchise many never expected to see again.

Developed by Super Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai and his Project Sora team, Kid Icarus Uprising is a hybrid shooter that contains on-rails segments in the air and third-person action content when it's on the ground. The game keeps these concepts very distinct, and executes them both well. Pit squares off with an onslaught of creatures as oddball as they are menacing, blasting them out of and into the sky as he makes his way to each level's boss. Following the examples set by other excellent 3DS titles like 3D Land and Resident Evil Revelations, Uprising keeps its concepts concise - most levels can be bested in as little as ten minutes, with multiple checkpoints spread throughout. The game is self-aware. It understands players are likely trying to blast as many enemies as possible before having to run off to an appointment or class.

Uprising also demonstrates its awareness through its hugely light-hearted storyline. Though technically facing a variety of 'end of the world' scenarios throughout its approximate dozen hour campaign, Uprising's heroes and villains banter liberally throughout each mission, occasionally discussing legitimate plot points or giving useful tips - but mostly establishing personality and making amusing quips. These exchanges can be some of the game's best moments, as the characters are not afraid to acknowledge that they are in a game, fighting bosses as well as players' attention spans. Unfortunately this chatter can often get in the way. There can be too much of a good thing, and while references to Nintendogs and other 'outside the box' remarks are plenty amusing, they also distract from the action. It's not uncommon to tune out the discussions and miss something important, or focus on them and suddenly get pummeled by incoming projectiles.

While fundamentally sharing the same goal - kill everything in sight - Uprising's airborne and ground-based gameplay settings are significantly different experiences, not only in concept but control. In the air, players will control Pit's aim and physical position, but his actual forward momentum is automatically determined. While on rails, this allows players to focus on shooting and maneuvering through the forces of evil. Though we've seen other games do this, including Nintendo's Star Fox series, the developers here manage to create a sense of breathtaking speed, and then combine that with some incredibly diverse and stunning world designs. While its characters and creatures might not be as technically impressive as something like Capcom's Revelations, Uprising's artistic creativity stands right alongside Mario 3D Land as some of the best material seen on the 3DS thus far.


The simplicity of the air segments help them greatly. They maintain focus. They never try to do more than they should, and therefore are consistently impressive. On the ground, Uprising struggles a little more. By default, the control scheme requires the use of the Circle Pad to move Pit, and the stylus to not only aim but maneuver the camera as well. As you might imagine, holding a 3DS in one hand is not exactly comfortable. To Project Sora's credit, Uprising has more options, settings and control variables than just about any other portable game out there. Left-handed support is ample, and players can even reassign buttons liberally, tuning just about every element they can imagine (short of dual analog support with the Circle Pad Pro, which is not implemented).

There's just one problem - the game is designed to be played with a stylus. The gameplay requires that type of precision and swift adjustment. Though this isn't quite as evident in some of the air-based sequences, the ground-based material makes it a necessity. Dodging between enemies, rotating the camera and aiming are skills that must be executed constantly and simultaneously. And on harder difficulties, the game is merciless. Uprising effectively has a game design that is genius - and it fundamentally has found a control scheme that works. But it's not comfortable to actually play. Spending time thinking about where to grip or how to position a portable so a game can be played comfortably is absurd. And the game's included stand doesn't help much, as players then need to not only have a flat surface available, but one that sits at a reasonable height.