Kid Icarus (universe)

The Kid Icarus universe, known as the Myth of Light: The Mirror of Palutena universe in Japan, refers to the  series collection of characters, stages, and properties that hail from Nintendo's cult classic Kid Icarus games. The first two games in this action/adventure/platformer series were released for NES and Game Boy over fifteen years ago, while the most recent entry, Uprising, was released in 2012. The revitalization of the series first started with Pit's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which in turn led to the development of Uprising.

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 , a microgame in WarioWare: Twisted! and as a collectible trophy in 2001's Super Smash Bros. Melee''. Pit was originally going to be a playable character in Super Smash Bros., but he was not popular enough and Jigglypuff replaced him. It is also suggested that during the 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.

As Sakurai later noted, the redesigned Pit's appearance in Brawl greatly influenced his decision to jump-start the series' revival with a new installment. Following Brawl ' s release in 2008, Sakurai directed and wrote the scenario for Kid Icarus: Uprising, a high-budget title for the Nintendo 3DS that features on-rails-shooter segments in the air that are separate from third-person-shooter segments on the ground. The game's overall presentation makes full use of the design style introduced in Brawl, complete with fully voice-acted character dialogue and copious amounts of story-driven cutscenes, but also with a far more satirical tone to the story and dialogue itself. The game was released on March 2012 to glowing reviews; however, Sakurai has yet to confirm interest in a sequel. Nonetheless, the now-familiar modern design for Pit is considered standard for the franchise, and has made a return appearance in Brawl ' s follow up,. Meanwhile, Of Myths and Monsters was released in Japan for the first time in the country's history on the 3DS Virtual Console, a month before the release of Uprising.

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
Pit was initially included as a late addition for the first roster of Super Smash Flash 2 in 2008, though the restructuring in 2010 left his fate in the air. Six years later, Pit has finally been reconfirmed as playable character.

Character

 * : 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. Pit was revealed through leaks before being officially confirmed on the May 29th, 2016 dev blog. His appearance, moveset and voice clips are taken from Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, while the line he shouts during his Star KO, "I never learned how to read!" is taken from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Stage

 * Palutena's Shrine: A stage taking place on Palutena's palace in the sky. The layout consists of a large platform with a single hovering pass-through platform right above it, as well as a small "second level" platform underneath the main one that can act as a "cave of life" for players. There is also a floating platform on either side made up of fragmented chunks of land.

Media with elements appearing in the Super Smash Flash series
The following list consists of media from the Kid Icarus universe that appears in Super Smash Flash 2.


 * Pit, who debuted in this game as its main protagonist, is a starter character in SSF2.
 * Palutena's Bow, Pit's neutral special move in SSF2, is functionally based on his bow from this game.
 * Three Sacred Treasures, Pit's Final Smash in SSF2, originates as the ultimate weapons from this game.
 * Pit's twelfth costume in SSF2 is based on his in-game sprites from this game.
 * The stage Palutena's Shrine in SSF2 is based on Palutena's Temple, which originates from this game as the Palace in the Sky.
 * Palace in the Sky, an orchestral triumphant remix of theme that plays on the level of the same name in this game, plays as Palutena's Shrine's alternate music track in SSF2.
 * The victory theme of Pit in SSF2 is a remix of an excerpt of the title theme from this game.


 * Pit's design in SSF2 is based on his appearance in this game.
 * The Palutena Bow, which Pit uses as his main weapon in SSF2, is based on its appearance in this game.
 * Upperdash Arm and Guardian Orbitars, Pit's side special move and down special move in SSF2, respectively, originate as weapons he uses in this game.
 * Power of Flight, Pit's up special move in SSF2, originates from the temporary ability to fly granted to him in this game.
 * Pit's tenth and eleventh costumes in SSF2 are based on Viridi and Dark Pit, respectively, who both debuted in this game.
 * The design of Palutena's Shrine in SSF2 is based on Palutena's Temple from this game.
 * Magnus's Theme, an orchestral remix of the theme that plays when fighting with Magnus in Chapter 2 and Chapter 18 in this game, plays as Palutena's Shrine's main music track in SSF2.