Kid Icarus Uprising on 3DS is an action-shooting masterpiece. Pit in the skies and on the ground with innovative twin-stick shooter gameplay. Sparkling humour, excellent multiplayer and colossal content. A 3DS exclusive treasure.
Your verdict
Category
Action1 player12+
Description
Pit, guardian angel of the goddess Palutena, battles Medusa's forces and cosmic powers in this thunderous return of the series after 25 years of absence. Published by Nintendo, released in Europe in March 2012. Automatic flight phases and real-time ground combat, online versus modes, hundreds of weapons to customise and fuse. Multilingual version.
Kid Icarus - Uprising review
MAX
Art direction
★★★★★
"Iconic"
MAX
Music
★★★★★
"Legendary"
4/5
Story
★★★★★
"Captivating"
Mythology revisited in flamboyant colours, luminous skies and inventive creatures: the adventure bursts with life at every moment. The anime design of Pit and his foes, full of humour and energy, carries a spectacular staging. This visual exuberance, rich and dynamic, teems with delightful detail.
The work of a prestigious collective led by Motoi Sakuraba, the score unfurls a grandiose, heroic and surprisingly varied orchestra. Each chapter has its own flamboyant theme, underlining the humour as much as the epic of Pit's journey. This symphonic breadth, sumptuous and inventive, ranks among the finest on the console.
Gameplay
"Excellent"
Fun
"From the very first seconds"
Slicing through the skies in air-combat stages of wild intensity, then carrying on across the ground weapon in hand: the breakneck pace never lets you breathe. The self-mocking dialogue gives it a unique tone, funny and complicit. Spectacular, chatty and bursting with ideas, an exhilarating action blend driven by overflowing generosity.
Addictiveness
"Obsessive"
Blasting away in flight during electrifying aerial stages, then roaming the ground with a teeming arsenal sets up a frantic rhythm where each chapter rekindles the urge to chase a better score. Forging weapons and trading difficulty for rewards drives you to start over. Stylus aiming tires the hand, but the wild energy and the humor keep a tenacious grip.
The NTSC release of Kid Icarus Uprising follows the same logic with a slightly larger print but equal attrition: the original 3DS stand is often missing from second-hand copies, and it is what truly defines a collector-grade game. The AR card pack that came with certain pre-orders also forms a distinct sub-market, sought after by Sakurai completists and fans of 3DS ephemera.
Memorable bosses
Designed by Masahiro Sakurai, this action festival alternates aerial flight and ground combat to set Pit against a colorful gallery of adversaries, from the dragon Hewdraw to the mischievous Hades. Tasty banter during the fight, grandiose staging and orchestral themes give every duel a wild personality. A generosity and flair that still hit home today.
When the game breaks the 4th wall
Few games have their own heroes openly joke about being in a video game: here, gods and fighters riff on the mechanics, beg for a sequel and gently tease you if you leave the action paused too long. That knowing chatter, as funny as it is unembarrassed, turns every skirmish into a comedy double-act aimed straight at the player.
Is Kid Icarus - Uprising still worth playing in 2026?
Released in 2012 on 3DS, Sora's project directed by Masahiro Sakurai resurrects a dormant Nintendo licence into a spectacular action game mixing on rail flight phases and ground combat. The winged hero Pit faces hordes of enemies in a riot of effects and offbeat humour, carried by flavourful voice acting and a grandiose soundtrack. The weapon fusion system and the difficulty wager setting enrich the replay value. The stylus controls, demanding on the wrist, clearly divide. A generous and singular action game, recommended for fans of nervous spectacle and of witty writing.
