Pit’s adventure on the 3DS looks pretty, but does the gameplay match up?
When I first tried Kid Icarus: Uprising for the 3DS, the game didn’t blow me away, but it was still early in its development cycle. Five months later, Nintendo put the game on display at E3 and I was given the chance to see how it’d been improved.
Uprising features two level styles: one with Pit flying through the air and another with Pit on foot. The air segments are something like Starfox, featuring Pit moving forward on a rail as enemies pop in from all directions. Players have to shoot the enemies with turbo shots or temper their trigger fingers to let Pit’s angelic bow charge up. The sky level I played was fairly straightforward and easy, though a cave level made me dodge lightning bolts and spiky projectiles.
The ground levels are where Uprising makes me think that it might have an identity crisis. The basic game still plays out like a rail shooter with a targeting reticule, but players move Pit himself and the reticule with the same stick. The camera wasn’t the easiest thing to manage, and the button layout itself felt uncomfortable. It doesn’t control like your typical third-person game, and might not be able to because of the targeting reticule mechanic, though if it did it might be a lot easier. At the end of the ground level I encountered a hellhound boss that darted all over the screen and rushed at me. Double tapping the analog stick to dodge his attacks was, once again, uncomfortable. It wasn’t terrible, but it was still somewhat of a struggle.
I liked how Uprising allowed me to choose from a wide variety of weapons beforehand such as a blade, bow, cannon, claw, and dual orbs. The flying levels were enjoyable but didn’t seem to have the depth found in titles like Starfox. I left the 3DS honestly confused about what Nintendo was going for with the latest Kid Icarus adventure, but it could just be one of those titles you need to spend more time with to get the hang of things.
