The video game industry has become complex since the release of the first video game. Our games are now almost exclusively 3D and allow players to explore how the game works in whatever way they want.
However, that wasn't the case in the 1980s, a time when video games consisted of several pixels that are now dwarfed by their modern counterparts and handhelds that could only accommodate this feature and not much else.
Nevertheless, it's this simplicity that gives video games their nostalgic feel - to say nothing of their quality, and Kid Icarus is one such game.
Kid Icarus History & Gameplay
Kid Icarus, or Kid Icarus: Angel Land Story as it's known in-game, is a platformer developed by Intelligent Systems( known as Nintendo R&D1 back in the day) and TOSE and published by Nintendo for the NES and Famicom Disk System in 1986, per the Nintendo Wiki.
The game revolves around the story of a Cherubim royal guard named Pit, who goes on a quest to save his queen and fellow Cherubim from the clutches of the evil Medusa, per Nintendo Life.
There's not much to tell about the game's graphics when looked at with a modern gamer's eyes. However, to a gamer of the 1980s, the game's graphics are to die for - video game developers need to make do with the technology they have at the time to create their video games.
The same is true about Kid Icarus' gameplay. The player controls Pit through two-dimensional side-scrolling levels while fighting evil creatures and collecting items. While Pit is only armed with a bow and arrow (true to his Chrubim nature), players can purchase upgrades to his armor and weapons to improve his health and the damage he deals, respectively, though they need to collect a certain amount of hearts as they go to do so.
To free Pit's fellow Cherubim royal guards, players also need to look out for hammers to free them from the dungeons they're imprisoned in. It's also in these dungeons that players can find one of three legendary weapons to defeat Medusa.
Critic Reception And Public Demand
Kid Icarus is mildly welcomed by both critics and fans alike if the game's 77 Metascore and 7.4 audience score on Metacritic is anything to go by. IGN found the game mediocre despite its good points in gameplay, with it giving the game a score of 7./10.
Nintendo Life also gave the game a 7/10, noting that the game is a prime candidate for a game that makes people think "they sure don't make them like they used to."
It's probably this same sentiment that kept the game alive in people's hearts despite it having a sequel in the form of Kid Icarus: Uprising for the Nintendo 3DS. In fact, an untouched, unopened copy just got sold at auction for $9,000 - a price that includes the buyer's premium, per CNN.
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