![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/kidicarus-title.png?resize=676%2C506\" "\\"Kid")
<\/a>So THAT'S what Heaven looks like<\/p><\/div>\n
\n
Kid Icarus<\/em> is easily one of the most difficult games I have ever played.<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m going to let that sink in a bit, because many of the games I will talk about from the NES will fall into that category, but Kid Icarus goes a bit above and beyond. Let me explain.<\/p>\n You see, there are many incredibly difficult games for the NES. Ghosts \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcN Goblins<\/em> comes to mind (or, as my brother believes it should be called, Fuck You, Kid!<\/em>). The original Castlevania<\/em> is also at the top of that list. Why, then, does Kid Icarus\u00e2\u20ac\u201da game that has a password system that allows you to continue your adventure at a later date\u00e2\u20ac\u201ddraw more ire than most NES games of its time?<\/p>\n The answer is hard to describe to any that have not played the game, and goes even deeper than you might realize, if you have ever played the original Metroid<\/em>. In Metroid, players were challenged to continue the game in record time, unlocking different endings based on how quickly you beat the game, and whether or not you had already played through once before with the best ending.<\/p>\n Kid Icarus was built on the same game engine as Metroid and has a similar gameplay element. Getting the best ending in Kid Icarus is so complicated that it makes Calculus homework look simple. Essentially, every time you do anything<\/em> in the game, it is translated into an invisible scoring system that you cannot track in the game. This scoring system is used to determine if Pit (your character) will gain Strength when entering certain levels of the game, or instead be told by the god inhabiting the room that you just didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make the cut.<\/p>\n This guy will repeatedly piss you off.<\/p>\n On top of that, every time you kill an enemy, you get XP that will give you additional Levels (and therefore, additional health bars) when you accumulate enough XP and finish a stage. Reaching the maximum Level and Strength are two of the things that will get you the best ending. The last two can be either very easy, or very difficult, depending on how you go about getting your Levels and Strength up. One of the other goals is to have 999 hearts at the end of the game. This may not sound difficult, but throughout most of the levels, there are a limited number of monsters that attack you in each area. Once they are gone, you must move on and hope to find more to kill soon. This can make it difficult to reach maximum hearts if you spend too many at the various shops in the game.<\/p>\n The last thing you can do is gather all of the weapon upgrades and keep them through the end of the game.<\/p>\n But to be honest, none of that shit really matters when it comes to what makes this game hard. One thing that truly sets a great Kid Icarus gamer apart from the others is finishing the game with Pit\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s proper hair color. Gaining Strength will adjust Pit\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hair color throughout the game, but if you ever get hit by an eggplant thrown by one of the enemies in the dungeons, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all over. Once you turn yourself back into an angel, Pit\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hair color will forever be purple, no matter how many Strength upgrades you get. Finishing the game without purple hair requires a great deal of patience, particularly if you are also trying to get the best ending.<\/p>\n However, all of that is secondary to what makes this game great. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an action-RPG with all the critical numbers hidden from you (which forces you to work harder than ever to get the best ending). Add to the mix that the music is incredible, and the game is unforgettable. The only shame is that the game is so difficult to complete without failure (as most NES games are), making it very frustrating at times.<\/p>\n There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also a sequel for the GameBoy, which is every bit as awesome and more. I highly recommend that you give them both a shot.<\/p>\n Any kid that calls himself a hardcore gamer and has never been turned into an eggplant is full of shit.\u00c2\u00a0— Jesse Cash Kid Icarus is easily one of the most difficult games I have ever played. \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m going to let that sink in a bit, because many of the games I will […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[128,135,136],"tags":[47,73,76],"class_list":["post-82","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-classicgamingsporadically","category-games","category-video-games","tag-gaming","tag-nes","tag-nintendo","post-preview"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":67,"url":"https:\/\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/2008\/10\/mixed-messages\/","url_meta":{"origin":82,"position":0},"title":"Mixed messages?","author":"Jared Cash","date":"October 17, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Help Zeph get back to his point and get a free copy of CGS posted online, just for you! So I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m out browsing around the Interweb, and I come across a strange advertisement (seen above). Now, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m what you would call a video game enthusiast. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve played a few rounds\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Classic Gaming Sporadically"","block_context":{"text":"Classic Gaming Sporadically","link":"https:\/\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/category\/games\/video-games\/classicgamingsporadically\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/halo.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8,"url":"https:\/\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/2008\/10\/welcome-to-cgs\/","url_meta":{"origin":82,"position":1},"title":"Welcome to CGS","author":"Jared Cash","date":"October 16, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Total Recall, easily one of the worst games I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve ever played, is redeemable for only one reason\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 Virtual glory-holes. Thanks to Retroforce Go! for helping me discover this. \u00a0 \u00a0 Welcome to the first (reposted) issue of Classic Gaming Sporadically. This is just a space where I will throw up\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Classic Gaming Sporadically"","block_context":{"text":"Classic Gaming Sporadically","link":"https:\/\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/category\/games\/video-games\/classicgamingsporadically\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/totalrecall.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/totalrecall.png?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/totalrecall.png?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/totalrecall.png?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/totalrecall.png?resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":922,"url":"https:\/\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/2009\/02\/classic-games-that-need-to-be-on-virtual-console\/","url_meta":{"origin":82,"position":2},"title":"Classic games that NEED to be on Virtual Console","author":"Jared Cash","date":"February 6, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Inspired by a recent list on episode 73 of\u00c2\u00a0Retroforce GO!, I decided to make a quick list of games that I'm waiting for on Virtual Console. Some are games that most everyone has heard of, but some are relatively unknown to a great many people, and that is a shame.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Games"","block_context":{"text":"Games","link":"https:\/\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/category\/games\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":416,"url":"https:\/\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/2008\/10\/wait-what-the-hell-is-this-game\/","url_meta":{"origin":82,"position":3},"title":"Wait, what the hell is this game?","author":"Jared Cash","date":"October 30, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Last week, on Retroforce GO!, someone asked the crew what video games they got from their parents that they didn't ask for. While the question was (it seemed to me) supposed to be about bad games that they got, it got me thinking. I don't remember getting any games that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Classic Gaming Sporadically"","block_context":{"text":"Classic Gaming Sporadically","link":"https:\/\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/category\/games\/video-games\/classicgamingsporadically\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":59,"url":"https:\/\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/2008\/10\/hit-glowworm-with-stick-eat-glowing-fruit-repeat\/","url_meta":{"origin":82,"position":4},"title":"Hit glowworm with stick\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6\u00c2\u00a0eat glowing fruit\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6\u00c2\u00a0repeat\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6","author":"Jared Cash","date":"October 19, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Dammit! I should have worn my closed-toe sandals! Screw it, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll just club the damned thing to death\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6\u00e2\u20ac\u009d While not on the Virtual Console, and not actually a game I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m currently playing, Battle of Olympus has been on my mind of late. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Why?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d you might ask. You didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t, I know.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Classic Gaming Sporadically"","block_context":{"text":"Classic Gaming Sporadically","link":"https:\/\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/category\/games\/video-games\/classicgamingsporadically\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/olympus.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/olympus.png?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/olympus.png?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/olympus.png?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/olympus.png?resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":77,"url":"https:\/\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/2008\/10\/the-man-in-red-knows-something\/","url_meta":{"origin":82,"position":5},"title":"The man in red knows something.","author":"Jared Cash","date":"October 18, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Purple pajamas\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6\u00c2\u00a0white shoes\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6\u00c2\u00a0ninjas for hire in New York City\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6\u00c2\u00a0Seriously. This one writes itself. There are three types of games you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re likely to see on this website. There are the games that are so incredible that I absolutely must tell you about them because I want you to have this wonderful\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Classic Gaming Sporadically"","block_context":{"text":"Classic Gaming Sporadically","link":"https:\/\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/category\/games\/video-games\/classicgamingsporadically\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/blackmanta-title.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/blackmanta-title.png?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/blackmanta-title.png?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/blackmanta-title.png?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/blackmanta-title.png?resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1568,"href":"https:\/\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82\/revisions\/1568"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zepfhyr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}(Originally posted July 8, 2008)<\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"