Kid Icarus (universe)

The Kid Icarus universe refers to the Smash Flash 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 fifteen 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. As of 2006, these are the only two games in the series; hence, it is considered a cult series from the past. In fact, the only other appearances of Kid Icarus characters properties in any media were as part of the cartoon Captain N: The Game Master, a microgame in WarioWare: Twisted! and as a collectible trophy in 2001's Super Smash Bros. Melee. 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 Kid Icarus-themed stages. 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.

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 Flash 2
Due its appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the Kid Icarus franchise makes an new appearance with one character and one stage.

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" 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 and the bow demonstrates the previously unseen ability to split in half and be used as a pair of swords for close-quarters combat.  Like Kirby and Jigglypuff, Pit can jump multiple times in the air. His B move is the Palutena Arrow, which Pit uses in exactly the same style as Link; however, Pit's arrow travels much faster and its 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-B move, titled Wings of Icarus, is a third jump where Pit performs a slight mid-air jump like Kirby and Jigglypuff while his wings glow blue. His down-B move, Mirror Shield reflects projectile attacks and protects Pit from damage on one side. His side-B move is the Angel Ring, a deflector move in which Pit spins the Palutina's Bow at a blinding speed in a full 360 circle, which does damage to enemies.

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.