Kid Icarus
1986 · Action / Platform · NES / Famicom Disk System
Overview
Kid Icarus is a 1986 action-platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Family Computer Disk System in Japan and the Nintendo Entertainment System in Europe and North America. It was released in Japan in December 1986, in Europe in February 1987, and in North America in July.
Deep Dive
Kid Icarus is a 1986 action-platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Family Computer Disk System in Japan and the Nintendo Entertainment System in Europe and North America. It was released in Japan in December 1986, in Europe in February 1987, and in North America in July.
Developer Story
Kid Icarus was developed by Nintendo Research & Development 1 simultaneously with Metroid, sharing engine components. Designer Satoru Okada and producer Gunpei Yokoi wanted two contrasting games — Metroid's dark horizontal exploration and Kid Icarus's vertical ascending structure. Pit's journey from the underworld upward to Olympus provided the visual variety of three distinct environments.
Did You Know?
- Kid Icarus and Metroid were developed simultaneously by the same team, sharing engine code — the games launched within months of each other.
- Pit began the game extremely weak — the starting areas were intentionally brutal, designed to be replayed after earning upgrades.
- The three environmental phases — underworld (bottom-scrolling), overworld (side-scrolling), sky world (horizontal shooting) — kept the game visually fresh.
- Pit appeared in Super Smash Bros. Brawl in 2008, reviving interest in the character and leading to Kid Icarus: Uprising in 2012.
