Kid Icarus (universe)

The Kid Icarus universe refers to the Smash Bros. series' collection of characters, stages, and properties that hail from Nintendo's cult classic Kid Icarus games. The two games in this action/adventure/platformer series were released for NES and Game Boy over 20 years ago, and Kid Icarus received positive reviews back in the day. The star of the series is a young angel knight named Pit.

Franchise description

Kid Icarus was released in 1987 during the "golden age" of the NES and was met with positive reviews. Its gameplay was based on the engine used for the original Metroid, which was also released in North America and on the very same day in 1987; hence it is often considered a "sister series" to Metroid. In 1991, its sequel, Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters, was released for Game Boy in North America, and it used the engine to Metroid II: Return of Samus; interestingly, it was never released in Japan. It is suggested that during development of Melee, the developers had to decide between characters from three classic NES games to include as a fighter, and the choices were Pit, the Ice Climbers, and the Balloon Fighter. They decided upon the Ice Climbers.

Seemingly a defunct franchise of the past, global interest in Kid Icarus was renewed when the E3 2006 trailer for the upcoming Super Smash Bros. Brawl revealed a redesigned Pit as a playable character and the second Nintendo World trailer revealed a Kid Icarus-themed stage. Shortly after E3, famed Nintendo game designer Shigeru Miyamoto suggested that a new game in the Kid Icarus series could very possibly see release on the Wii. In addition, the NES game was released for Wii's Virtual Console in February 2007 for 500 Wii points. During E3 2010, Nintendo showed a preview of a new upcoming game, Kid Icarus: Uprising, the development of which is being headed by Masahiro Sakurai. Because of his involvement, much of the game's design has been based on the series' content as seen in Brawl, as if to retcon the designs as established in Brawl into the original series itself. Sakurai has noted that Pit's appearance in Brawl greatly influenced the decision to jump-start the revival of the Kid Icarus series.

The Kid Icarus games are set in a fantasy world based on Greek mythology and holding a strong visual theme of classical antiquity. The fantasy world is titled Angel Land, and it is divided vertically into three realms: the Underworld ruled by the Goddess of Darkness, Medusa; the Overworld of mortals; and the Skyworld of angels, ruled by the Goddess of Light, Palutena. In the first game, Medusa wages war against Palutena and enslaves her in the Underworld. It is up to the young angel Pit to wield the Sacred Bow of Palutena to combat Medusa's forces and defeat her, and throughout the game he collects a series of powerful equipment called the Three Sacred Treasures from boss monsters. He eventually destroys Medusa, saves Palutena, and restores peace to Angel Land.

In Super Smash Bros.

Pit was originally planned to be a playable character in Super Smash Bros. He was cut from the game due to animation problems for his wings.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee

There are a large number of trophies in Super Smash Bros. Melee that depict classic Nintendo games from the past, and a trophy depicting a 3D rendition of the classic-style Pit is no exception. Other than that, however, there is no additional representation of the Kid Icarus franchise in the game.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Kid Icarus is introduced as a primary universe in the Super Smash Bros. series in the third installment, Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Character

• 
  Pit: A young angel knight who serves the goddess Palutena and saves the kingdom of Angel Land from the evil of the Underworld goddess Medusa. The name "Kid Icarus" is technically a misnomer, and refers not to Pit as an alternative name, but more as to what kind of entity Pit is. The Greek myth of Icarus is centered around a man possessing wings; since Pit has wings, he can be considered a "kid Icarus" of sorts. For his appearance in Brawl as a fighter, Pit has undergone a major character redesign. He uses the Sacred Bow of Palutena in combat, both to fire arrows, as it always has, and also to demonstrate its previously unseen ability to split in half and be used as a pair of swords for close-quarters combat. Like Kirby, Jigglypuff, Meta Knight, and Charizard, Pit can jump multiple times in the air. His Standard Special move is the Palutena Arrow, which Pit uses in a similar style as Link, Young Link, and Toon Link; however, Pit's arrows travel much faster, unaffected by gravity, and their trajectory can be controlled (i.e. it can be made to curve upwards or downwards) by pressing a direction right after releasing the arrow. His Up Special move, titled Wings of Icarus, is a unique move giving him the ability of temporary free flight around the stage. His Down Special move, Mirror Shield, reflects projectile attacks and protects Pit from damage on one side. His Side Special move is the Angel Ring, a reflector move in which Pit spins the Palutena's Bow at a blinding speed in a full 360 circle, which does damage to his opponents.

On the final character select screen (after all characters are unlocked), Pit shares the fourth column with fellow Famicom/NES-originated characters Ice Climbers, R.O.B., and Samus.

Stage

• 
  Skyworld: This stage, set in the eponymous realm of the franchise's world, features several platforms that can actually be shattered by characters attacks, but they become replaced by clouds that substitute as platforms right after, although the clouds are pass-through.
  

Music

• Underworld - A small medley consisting of a remixed version of the Underworld level theme and the Grim Reaper's theme. It is used on the Skyworld stage.
• Skyworld - A redone version of the Overworld level theme from the original Kid Icarus. It is actually misnamed in Brawl. It is used on the the Skyworld stage.
• Title (Kid Icarus) - A remix of the original Kid Icarus's title screen theme. It is used on the Skyworld stage. This song is also played during Pit's Classic Mode credits.
• Kid Icarus Original Medley - A medley made up of numerous parts of several songs taken directly from the original Kid Icarus, including the title theme, the fortress theme, and the Skyworld level theme, among many others. It is used on the Skyworld stage.
• Pit's victory theme - Derived from the original Kid Icarus's title screen theme, this fanfare is not actually heard in this form in any Kid Icarus title.

Trophy

• Pit
• Palutena's Army
• Palutena
• Palutena's Bow