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3D Classics Kid Icarus is a pre-order bonus for Uprising
Nintendo of America has finally revealed at least one way for North Americans to get their hands on the 3D Classics remake of the NES Kid Icarus: by pre-ordering Kid Icarus: Uprising. Nintendo reported today that the download code will be delivered along with pickup of the game, from "select retailers." In other parts of the world, the eShop download was given out as a freebie with registration of two qualifying 3DS games on Club Nintendo, and then offered separately for sale later.
Kid Icarus: Uprising trailer soars into space
Now that the media embargo has lifted, we can rush to our keyboards and breathlessly confirm the presence of space pirates (see: interstellar buccaneers; star-sea swashbucklers) in Kid Icarus: Uprising. Look for more in our hands-on preview later today.
Kid Icarus: Uprising stays put with bundled stand [update: coming to all regions]
When I played Kid Icarus: Uprising at E3, I called the circle-pad/stylus-based controls "unwieldy" and "basically only possible if you've put the 3DS on some kind of stand." (I'm going to pretend) Nintendo was listening, as creator Masahiro Sakurai has revealed a stand peripheral, to be bundled with the Japanese release of the game. "Touching the screen works better if it's secured," he said (roughly translated). Nintendo has yet to make an announcement regarding the stand's inclusion with the American or European versions of the game, but given that this stand was designed to solve an identifiable problem, we'd be very surprised if any region left it out. Update: And we remain unsurprised! Nintendo tells 1UP the stand will be included with all copies of the game, not just in Japan.
Kid Icarus: Uprising gets left-handed mode with Circle Pad Pro
The Circle Pad Pro is expanding its leftward reach to include Kid Icarus: Uprising on the 3DS. Without the Circle Pad Pro, Uprising players will use the stylus to aim and rotate the camera (generally with their right hands) and the 3DS' built-in circle pad to move Pit on land. The Circle Pad Pro will allow left-handed players to aim with their dominant hand, while moving Pit with their right. Producer Masahiro Sakurai didn't know the specs of the Circle Pad Pro before Monster Hunter Tri-G was announced, meaning he wasn't able "to do anything big with it in the time we had," he told Official Nintendo Magazine. Still, Sakurai said he probably wouldn't have used the Circle Pad Pro too much because it "would end up being just the same as controls on other platforms and I think the quick aiming possible with the touch panel suits the game best." Right, "other platforms." Don't worry -- we know what you mean there, Sakurai.
Play Kid Icarus in 16-bit, in your browser
Flip Industries has bridged the gap between Kid Icarus' upcoming 3DS sequel and its classic 8-bit charm with Super Kid Icarus, a 16-bit remake of the title originally released on ye olde NES. This Kid Icarus would have blown minds on the SNES, but now it's pretty, fun (pretty fun) and free to play in your browser. Flip Industries has also added cheats to make the more difficult areas less frustrating -- unless you're a purist or you enjoy a challenge.
Kid Icarus: Uprising, Mario Party 9, more coming in Q1 2012
Nintendo dropped its Q1 lineup on us this morning, offering highlights like the inexplicably GameStop-exclusive Circle Pad Pro and the best news of the year. But there's a lot more in the lineup than those two items -- for example, we now have a specific release date for Masahiro Sakurai's 3DS Kid Icarus: Uprising: March 23. On the 3DS eShop, Nicalis's ports of indie hits VVVVVV and NightSky are scheduled for eShop sometime in Q1, as is WayForward's Mighty Switch Force, a port of Zen Pinball, and Mutant Mudds. Nintendo will bring Kirby's Block Ball to the Virtual Console in the quarter as well. Mario Party 9 will launch on Wii March 11, preceded on February 27 by PokePark 2: Wonders Beyond. The only listed WiiWare title is, again, from Nicalis: La-Mulana sometime in the quarter. The DS lineup is ... light, with only the February release of Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 really worth mentioning. But you can see the full list of announced releases on all three platforms, after the break.%Gallery-141688%
Kid Icarus: Uprising delayed until 2012
Nintendo announced this morning that Kid Icarus: Uprising's flight to retail has been delayed until 2012. According to the publisher's note, the development team for the 3DS action game determined it needed more time to complete the game. Is it enough time to incorporate the functions of that elegant analog add-on? Nintendo also announced it is developing 3D Kid Icarus cartoons with "critically acclaimed" Japanese anime studios. These animations will be available for free on the Nintendo Video service to 3DS owners worldwide.%Gallery-125667%
Nintendo's Comic-Con lounge stocked with Mario, Zelda, Rhythm Heaven, and more
To keep you from ever having to look at an actual comic at Comic-Con, another game company has announced its lineup of playable demos. You'll be able to play a great deal of Nintendo's recent and upcoming 3DS lineup, most of its Wii lineup ... and Dragon Quest Monsters Joker 2 on DS. Nintendo will have both a normal booth at Comic-Con, #5135, and a "Nintendo Gaming Lounge" at the adjacent Marriott Marquis & Marina hotel. This "Gaming Lounge" will feature playable demos of Super Mario, Kid Icarus Uprising, Mario Kart, Metal Gear Solid Snake Eater 3D, Shinobi, and more 3DS games. In addition, you'll be able to try The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Rhythm Heaven, Fortune Street, and more on Wii. Bring your DS and/or 3DS when you go. From 4-6 pm on July 21, Nintendo will host a Pokémon Black/White meetup. The Lounge will also have a giant Pokédex 3D AR marker of Reshiram for you to take commemorative pictures with, and a "gallery" of oversized AR Cards. There will even be downloadable maps for Dragon Quest IX!
Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS 'several years' away, Sakurai says
When Nintendo announced that Smash Bros. was en route to its Wii U and 3DS systems, longtime fans of the fighting series may have, in elation, momentarily forgotten how much time elapses during the announcement and launch. As creative lead Masahiro Sakurai explains in his weekly Famitsu column (translated by 1UP), the next game is "several years" away from completion. "It makes me cringe," he laments, referring to the two game projects being added to his plate. "And I'm not sure it's the smartest thing to make gamers wait for several years, but the early announcement was made chiefly in order to attract new team members." Apparently all of his studio's resources are currently being poured into Kid Icarus: Uprising for the 3DS. "We've got no plans whatsoever -- we've got two new games out there in the open when there's no extra time to work with them at all." At least with these games, Sakurai knew ahead of time. With the Wii's Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Nintendo head Satoru Iwata announced the game before Sakurai even knew it was a project he would be working on. "With previous projects I had a game design document in place before forming a team, but with this I don't have the time for that. I won't be able to look at every aspect of the game and balance out all the characters by myself this time," he writes. Before the Wii U announcement Sakurai's studio, Project Sora, "had intended to make a 3DS Smash Bros.," but doubled up after seeing the Wii U. "If we went solely for the Wii U, the HD graphics would really bump up the visual effects, but then we'd be stuck in another arms race. If we made this game another extension over the previous one, we'd have to cut out the new things we could possibly do on the 3DS hardware and compete with ourselves again over the size of the character roster and the amount of gameplay we can put in it." If your heart stops every time Iwata takes the stage at a press conference, just imagine how Mr. Sakurai reacts.
Kid Icarus: Uprising multiplayer preview: Pitted against friends
For the second E3 in a row, Nintendo wowed E3-goers on stage with a presentation of Kid Icarus: Uprising. That's a nice way of saying the game still isn't out, in case you didn't pick up on that subtlety. This year, however, Nintendo did have playable demos in both single- and multiplayer. Wait, multiplayer? It's true! The 3DS update to the classic franchise includes a multiplayer mode that takes the ground-based parts of the single-player game and turns them into a competitive sport.%Gallery-125667%
Kid Icarus Uprising includes 3-on-3 multiplayer, AR card battles
Nintendo has announced that Kid Icarus Uprising will include an adversarial multiplayer mode. The footage shown during Nintendo's E3 press conference featured several knight-like characters duking it out in traditional deathmatch multiplayer. According to Nintendo president Reggie Fils-Aime, players will be able to challenge one another in 3-on-3 matches. Fils-Aime also mentioned Kid Icarus themed AR cards. When placed next to one another, in-game character models spring to life and start doing battle. It's unclear exactly how this will function, though the implications for future Pokemon trading card games is kind of frightening.%Gallery-125667%
Reggie articulates what's compelling about Nintendo's 3DS launch games
Just as Super Mario 64 DS ushered in the era of the original DS system, it seemed fitting that a 3D-enhanced version of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time -- the cherry on top of last June's "E3DS" scoop -- would be the linchpin of the 3DS hardware launch this March. Except, it's not going to happen. Footnoted in a vague announcement that more than thirty 3DS games would be released between the system's launch and E3 2011 (in early June) was the equally ill-defined update that Zelda: OoT 3D was still "in the works," along with other triple-A Nintendo iterations for the new handheld, including Mario Kart, Paper Mario, Animal Crossing and Star Fox -- not to mention the ballyhooed Kid Icarus comeback, Uprising, which did impress at last week's preview event. "Mario, Zelda, all of those titles are coming," Nintendo of America boss Reggie Fils-Aime told MTV Multiplayer. "From our perspective, we like to launch titles when they're ready. And so they'll be ready. They'll be ready soon -- just not in that initial time period of late March to early June." In other words: "after E3." That leaves Nintendo with a somewhat dubious 3DS launch "window" lineup (we still don't know exact release dates) of first-party titles -- three to be exact: Nintendogs + cats, Pilotwings Resort and Steel Diver. You could make a case for those first two serving strong supporting roles in the hardware launch; and Reggie, off the top of his head, said that the Nintendogs and Pilotwings franchises have combined to sell "tens of millions of copies," despite neither being a particularly prolific sequel bearer. Steel Diver, on the other hand, is an unknown (it began as a tech demo for the original DS) and stars ... a rather drab submarine. Astutely sensing our apathy for the game, Reggie explained that "from a compelling standpoint, we think it's awfully compelling." If you're not buying it ... you could just buy Street Fighter IV again.
Kid Icarus Uprising preview: reaching for the sun
From the moment you pick up the game, Masahiro Sakurai's influence is immediately evident. Like Smash Bros. Brawl before it, Kid Icarus manages to be simultaneously accessible and satisfying. The frenetic on-rails action, variety of perspectives, and onslaught of bizarre enemies make it reminiscent of the Sin & Punishment franchise -- and that's undoubtedly a good thing. In the demo that I played, I was introduced to Pit, looking just as bright-eyed and optimistic as his Smash Bros. counterpart. He has three weapons to choose from: the "well-balanced" Blade, close-range Claws, and a long-range Orbitar weapon. which fires shots that actually grow in power the farther it goes. At first, the importance of these weapons was unclear to me, as I flew through an on-rails shooting sequence not unlike Star Fox. This segment is undoubtedly one of the best technical showcases on the 3DS, as enemies fly in and out of the environment, into and out of the screen. It's all very impressive. In spite of all that's happening on screen, the 3DS manages to render it all without a hitch. It's not difficult to figure out how to play: the analog stick controls Pit's flight, while the touch screen lets you control the aiming reticule, a control scheme ripped from DS FPS games, like Metroid Prime Hunters. Unlike MPH, however, I found it easy to grasp. Perhaps the 3DS analog stick is to credit? Or maybe it's the security brick the system rested on, which angled the system to a comfortable viewing angle. (Chris, on the other hand, speculated that without a perch to rest the system comfortably on, holding the 3DS and controlling Pit would be "terrible" and he wished for a "finger-friendly" touchscreen that didn't require using a stylus.) %Gallery-114682%
3DS 'launch window' to include more than 30 games leading up to E3
Did you hear? It's got a built-in pedometer! The 3DS measures your steps as you walk -- right there in your pocket! Even better: You can pull the thing out whenever and snap all kinds of pics -- the thing's got three cameras! And get this: It also pipes out music, browses the internet and even plays games. True, you've already got a pile of old DS games (and now defunct DS devices) that you could be playing on your new pedometer, but more than 30 three-DEE titles are expected to be released during the 3DS "launch window" (which begins March 27 and promptly closes on June 7 with the start of E3). We've listed 24 of the apparent launch-window releases after the break (though Nintendo's being coy about exact dates), including Nintendo's own Nintendogs + cats and Pilotwings Resort, plus a hearty helping of third-party support; with notable newcomers, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked (previously unannounced outside of Japan) and Crush 3D, a possible port of the 2007 PSP platforming puzzler from Sega. Don't look at the date ambiguity in dismay -- see it as an opportunity! Beginning in late March, you can walk to and from GameStop in anticipation of a new batch of games each Tuesday for ten whole weeks, and the 3DS will count your steps -- each and every one of them! And just imagine how many Street Passes you're going to rack up?
Kid Icarus: Uprising gameplay fresh from Nintendo World
One of the highlights of this weekend's Nintendo World 2011 event was a Kid Icarus: Uprising presentation, during which producer Masahiro Sakurai demonstrated the game live on stage. If you'd like to see that entire half-hour presentation, Nintendo has posted it on Ustream. If you'd prefer to just skip to the good stuff -- specifically, about five minutes of uninterrupted live gameplay -- go for the video after the break, courtesy of Nintendo 3DS Blog. And it is very good stuff, featuring both aerial and ground combat, against lots of flying eye monsters and even some boss types.
Sakurai on how he's preventing Kid Icarus: Uprising from causing eye strain
In a GamesMaster interview (the same one during which he revealed tentative plans for online play), Kid Icarus: Uprising producer Masahiro Sakurai discussed strategies for preventing 3DS users from ruining their eyes. "In my experience of development and actually using it," he said, "when you have a lot of objects flying towards the user I find that it's more likely to cause eye strain so during development I'm using objects moving away from the user which doesn't have that effect." It sounds like the 3D effects will be most notable for Pit's arrows and projectiles, then, rather than things being flung at the winged hero. The path of those projectiles is also noteworthy, according to Sakurai: "In standard shooters or FPS games you see the bullet travel to its destination and it's just a dot because it travels in a straight line," Sakurai explained. "But because of 3D technology you can use arcing shots and get a sense of a bullet travelling with real depth." Sakurai also mentioned that he had an indirect role in the system's development. "Early on, Nintendo were soliciting lots of feedback from within the company and from me. And I had very specific requests from Mr. Iwata in regard to what my ideal picture of the device was, etc." He didn't say what his specific recommendations were, but he did subsequently call the combination of the touch screen and the Slide Panel "very important" for 3D games.%Gallery-95653%
Project Sora 'testing' online multiplayer for Kid Icarus: Uprising
According to a GamesMaster interview with Project Sora head Masahiro Sakurai (excerpted by ONM) 3DS flagship title Kid Icarus: Uprising might feature Kids Icarus, plural. "The online capabilities are currently being tested," Sakurai said. "There could be some versus play but we can't go into any detail. There are a lot of capabilities that expand on what was in the DS that people are taking advantage of." If anyone's going to make a 3DS online game happen, it's Sakurai, one of the few Nintendo developers to make an online game (Super Smash Bros. Brawl). But how would a versus mode work in an on-rails shooter -- score competitions? %Gallery-95653%
Masahiro Sakurai explains Kid Icarus' uprising on 3DS
Speaking to Techland, Kid Icarus: Uprising producer Masahiro Sakurai described how the new 3DS franchise revival came about. Essentially, all of the distinguishing characteristics of the game came into the picture separately. First, Sakurai decided that he wanted to make a shooting game for Nintendo's new handheld, which he knew would be more powerful than the DS. Then, according to Sakurai, "Mr. Iwata said, 'Maybe you might like to do some Nintendo franchise,' and I felt that if the match was good, then there's definitely room for that." Sakurai was thinking Star Fox, but "the game design incorporates a lot of different views; for example, flying and shooting sideways, or turning around and shooting behind -- and I felt that there were some restrictions with Star Fox in this regard." (Of course, Star Fox ended up on 3DS anyway.) It was only after coming up with the game concept that Sakurai learned of the 3D screen, and "quite by chance or luck, [Nintendo] found that to be a very good match with the gameplay idea." Sakurai also proved that he's basically as clueless as the rest of us about the renewed popularity of Pit, the protagonist of an inscrutable NES game about shooting mice, collecting hammers and being turned into an eggplant. "I think -- and you can recognize this from the original game, too -- that he has sort of this carefree, worry-free sort of air about him, and that, I think, provides a positive outlook for the player and relieves some of the stress that you get from more serious games." %Gallery-95653%
Kid Icarus Uprising trailer unfortunately isn't in 3D
Here's the unfair thing about the Kid Icarus Uprising trailer that we've posted after the break -- we got to see it running on a 3DS (in 3D) just yesterday, so we're pretty bored with all these silly two dimensional videos running on our computers. Sure, the game looks purty and features some pretty massive environments (especially considering it's a portable game), but it's not exactly running in brain-melting 3D. Oh, and if the model for Pit looks familiar, that's probably because it's nearly identical to his appearance in 2008's Super Smash Bros. Brawl. In case you were wondering, that's a good thing, folks. %Gallery-95653%
Kid Icarus: Uprising announced for 3DS
You remember Kid Icarus in Smash Bros. Brawl? That's what Kid Icarus looks like in his new game, Kid Icarus Uprising for the 3DS. Seriously, we were straight up shocked at how impressive the graphics are for a handheld title. Nintendo announced the title at this morning's presser as "Project Sora" before showing off the first trailer. We'll have more info (and the trailer) for you as soon as we can.
