Rating: 4.7/5
In 1987 (for the USA) Nintendo released the two Silver Label adventure games. Metroid became very well-known and popular, but Kid Icarus did not enjoy much popularity in the USA. Sales do not often make sense, but they do in this case. Kid Icarus is something like a combination of Metroid, Super Mario Bros., and Adventure of Link. Another way of describing it is to say that it is a primitive role-playing game with action sequences. If this all sounds strange, then you have gotten the point. It is a sectioned scrolling game where you normally cannot go backwards. The 4th sub-stage out of each group of stages is a dungeon where you can go wherever you want. There is a boss at the end of each 4th sub-stage. This is also one of the earliest password games. In the 1st-3rd sub-stages, you will die if you fall into a pit, unless you have a feather. Monsters will come in waves, altering their patterns based on your position. If you have infinite patience, you will do quite well in this game. You really need to pick up those hearts, for instance. Also, the training rooms are very difficult, but you need to pass them. Much of your time, at least early on, will be spent wondering why in the world this game was designed in this way. You really need to take good long read of a manual or walkthrough before playing this game. Even then, some things will come as a surprise. The eggplant transformation comes to mind, and it is also very important to realize that you lose a hammer every time you hit something with a hammer. Emulators make this game much more playable, but even then not many people will play it due to how frustrating it can be. All the criticism aside, it is clear why this game merited the silver label. The music is quite good for the time, and the graphics are not so bad either. Ancient Greece is interesting, and this game has its charm. I just would not recommend going into it expecting something as good as Metroid or The Legend of Zelda.
You also need an emulator to run this game. To grab one quickly, please check out our NES emulators section.