Kid Icarus Uprising First Impressions

Back when the 3DS was announced and they were showing launch titles, the only game that really got me wanting the system was Kid Icarus Uprising. It turned out that I would have to wait a year before the game came out. By then, what excitement I had felt about the title initially had died out. I bought it release day but have just opened and started playing it this weekend.

The biggest criticism I heard about the game over the past months was its control scheme. I had heard from different sources that it was game-breaking and an object of hatred. The most positive comment I heard about the controls was someone saying "they're ok once you get used to them."

Well, about 3 hours into the game, I too can say the controls SUCK. The air battle is fine, but when you are fighting on the ground, get ready for frustration. You basically have to use the stylus in your right hand to move the camera, which is very imprecise while also moving Pit with the control stick. As long as enemies are some distance from you, the system works pretty decently. But when you are up close and personal, things get messy fast. When you are facing a moving enemy up close, it becomes almost impossible to turn the camera fast enough to keep up with the action, so you just find yourself attacking blind.

Another problem is with the dash move. In order to dash, you have to quickly flick the stick. So you have to stop moving, lift your thumb, and then flick, which breaks up your movement. It's really annoying. They needed the dash move on a button.

As for story, the plot of Uprising is about as compelling as a Mario game. You are fighting against Medusa. That's it. Any background or exposition is handled by conversation with the goddess Palutena as you are fighting or flying. There are no cutscenes or catch your breath moments. It's like the staff didn't even respect the story enough to let the action stop to let you take it in. You just keep on moving. Sky battle, land battle, sky battle, land battle...rinse repeat. Nintendo have been allowed to milk their franchises for so long and have such a fanatic fanbase, that they don't even NEED to have storytelling in their games. It's kinda sad.

I guess one thing I can say about this game is that so far it is pretty easy....even the boss fights. So I'll keep playing for now. But when the difficulty of the game and the difficulty of the controls meet to form a barrier, I will probably quit.