Rumor: New Kid Icarus

[Flip]

When they revealed the new design for Pit in Brawl, one of the original Kid Icarus directors was quoted as saying (paraphrasing) "hey, we should really use that in a game sometime."

Does this mean Kid Icarus is coming back? I don't know, but I can only dream. Pit's fanbase has increased by the hundredfold since Brawl's announcement, as younger and clueless gamers a like realized Nintendo had such a cool niche character and franchise on its hands.

Now I have some of my own ideas for the series, but instead of going too in-depth, I'll open the floor to commentary. I just wanna say that, personally, the series would be done best, imo, sticking with the 2D platforming format. It would make it that much more unique. Just let Pit fire his arrows and fight with the blades (switch back and forth) will full 3D graphics in a 2D playing field. That's my two-cents.

[Smashchu]

Yeah, 2D would work best. I would liken to see an addition of 3D levels as you fly Pit though a level. If you remember, like the Capcom game Rising Pheonix(I think).

[Fryguy64]

If it was 2D I'd much rather chunky cartoon sprites than the fancy Brawl model. But I also think the Brawl model could work very well in a 3D action-adventure game.

In fact, every time I think of it, I think of Banjo-Tooie, for some reason (only more Greek). I think it's that ambitious scale I'd be hoping for

And like all KI games to date (all two of them) it would feature an adventure through the underworld, a battle across the surface of the Earth, followed by an adventure in the sky.

What everyone needs to remember is that the original game was silly - crazy reapers, eggplant wizards, credit cards... it would need to maintain that feeling of "fun" that the original games had without striving to be too epic.

[Deleted]

admin said:

In fact, every time I think of it, I think of Banjo-Tooie, for some reason (only more Greek). I think it's that ambitious scale I'd be hoping for

So long as Nintendo could maintain that epic, massive sensation without the added "game-wide headache" from Banjo-Tooie (which I have no doubt Nintendo could accomplish), then that would truly be an awesome game full of win and chocolate snacks.

Or, if you don't like chocolates, it can be full of win and strawberries, or something.

For some reason, I can see Pit working out in the Okami world...only if Okami was Greek instead of Japanese. You know? Maybe heavy-heavy cel-shading is the way to go for Kid Icarus.

[Manspeed]

Had they not given Pit those blades, I would've wanted the new Kid Icarus to be the 3rd person shooter that Metroid Prime wasn't.

But after an analysis of the original, I think they should make it a mix of Super Mario 64, Ocarina of Time, and Metroid Prime.

[Flip]

When I first played Mario 64, all I could think of was Pit inside the pyramid from the desert level jumping around in a 3D Kid Icarus. I dunno, that was all I could really think of--a vertical 3D platformer.

But now that he's got the blades, as cliche as they are, they would make the series work in a Zelda or even God of War like game. But the problem with that is the bow and arrow play second fiddle, and they really should be the emphasis, hence my thinking 2D is better--having to stop and aim to fire Pit's main weapon every time you need to use is both lame and cumbersome.

The game definitely would have to keep that zaniness though. The GB game had Pythagoras as an enemy and he threw triangles at you when you got too close So maybe a cartoony cel-shading deal would be best...

To be honest, I actually have on paper an idea for a third Kid Icarus game that's more epic than cartoon, but it keeps the childish look and gameplay (think Mystical Ninja games). I'd enjoy it if they evolved the series to fill some niche in their spread of genres they were missing.

[Manspeed]

I think it should be like Mario 64, only you press a button to shoot the enemies with the bow and arrow, but some enemies have to be beaten by getting up close and fighting them with the blades, like in Zelda. I guess Pit's fighting style would have to be different from Link's though, and you'd have to press another button to switch between bow mode and blade mode.

In addition, you'd have all those extra tools Pit could pick up, and assign them to the buttons like in Zelda, or maybe have to switch them out from a menu, like in Metroid. There could probably be some upgrades that let Pit's bow do other stuff besides shoot arrows and turn into two swords.

[kirbychu]

I had an idea for a 3D Kid Icarus game while I was at work today...

Basically, think something similar to Mario 64 or Banjo-Kazooie, but with flight. Not like the Wing Cap or Kazooie... you wouldn't need any power ups to do it, and it wouldn't run out after time. You could fly as high or as far as you wanted, tilting the Wiimote up to ascend and down to descend. This would give the game limitless potential for exploration, and eliminate bottomless pits (because seriously, who likes those?) from the list of obstacles. Of course, there could be enemies who take away Pit's flight for short peroids of time.

Using this idea, there could be three styles of stages. Underworld, Overworld and Sky. Underworld focusing mostly on on-foot stuff, Overworld being a basic mix of both, and Sky being mostly flying.

It's just an idea, but I liked the thought of it.

[Manspeed]

I figured Pit could have something like a mid-air triple jump, for reaching high places and crossing big gaps. Or, if the upward climbing mechanic of the original stays intact, it could be more like FLUDD's Hover Nozzle and allow Pit to float slowly down to the ground.

There could be some places where Pit gets a Pegasus Wing or some kind of feather power-up that allows him to fly like in SM64 or B-K, in order to reach certain areas, or maybe have an entire stage geared towards flying around, like the Speedways from Spyro.

Actually, now that I think of it, my vision of a new Kid Icarus has quite a few similarities to Spyro, only more Zelda-ish.

[kirbychu]

The whole point of my idea was for it to be unique. Which is why nothing I said was followed by "like some other game".

[Manspeed]

The problem is that Kid Icarus already had similarities to other games, most notably Mario, Zelda and Metroid. It's kinda hard to make a game without borrowing elements from another game these days. I believe that if you can take features from various sources, and blend them together in the right way, you can create something pretty unique.

[kirbychu]

But... my idea didn't have similarities to those games. Surely a new idea is better than a hodgepodge of old ideas? Or has the world gone topsy-turvy on me again?

[Manspeed]

Well, in today's game industry, the old genres ran dry, so they had to mix them together, thus resulting in such beasts like Action/RPGs and Adventure/Platformers.

I guess either of those methods could work, but I'm assuming the general consensus is that it's easier to make something new out of something old. Sort of applies to the "ain't broke, don't fix" rule and prevents the fans from revolting.

[Fryguy64]

kirbychu said:

But... my idea didn't have similarities to those games. Surely a new idea is better than a hodgepodge of old ideas? Or has the world gone topsy-turvy on me again?

You DID compare your ideas to SM64 and B-K...

I don't think unlimited flying potential would necessarily work. Unlimited exploration is not as fun as it sounds - there would need to be adventure behind it, action and drama... these things would be hard to achieve with the ability to travel anywhere in three dimensions.

I also agree with Rob here... games (like movies, music and books) are rarely original, but that doesn't mean they can't also be entertaining. It's more about how those elements are arranged that make the difference.

After all, Super Mario Bros. is nothing but Namco's Pac-Land with a Game & Watch control pad, surely?

[kirbychu]

admin said:

You DID compare your ideas to SM64 and B-K...

Oh, I was just talking about the scope of the levels. I could've compared it to a large field for the same effect.

I wasn't saying the game would be all about exploration, I was just saying there was potential for it. I didn't think far past the flying mechanics, but it seems people would rather play a game that's a mix of Mario and Zelda. Oh well. I tried.

EDIT: MORE CLARIFICATION!

I'm not against revisiting old ideas. Not at all. But I think if there is potential for new ideas, they should be explored as much as possible. Now obviously, I'm no game designer. But I'm sure if somebody with more brains than me sat down and thought about it, we could have a fantastic game using this flying thing. I thought it was original, at least.

Rob-Bert's idea... though not bad... had absolutely nothing new about it. Just a mix of SSB, SMS, SM64/B-K and Spyro. You could call the game Kid Icarus 3: Pit vs. Originality.

I know, I'm sorry. This is because I should've been in bed an hour ago, see. Rant over.