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lumberbaron

Kid Icarus: Uprising

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Game just came out on Friday, was wondering if anyone else picked it up.

First impressions are that it is fun, but my hand hurts after 15-20 minutes from holding the system with the default controls, and at the moment I am refusing to use the stand. Besides that the game seems to be kind of cool.

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My hands hurt just reading Ben Kuchera's description of this game:

I tried to play the game on a plane, which is one of those places that portables games should excel, and I had to use the tray table. You can play while holding the system in your hands, but expect cramps within minutes. It’s not ideal.

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I really like it, it definitely has Sakurai's design DNA all over it, really seems to be approaching Smash-levels of stuff. So much dumb stuff. All those unlockables and collectibles and extra modes and that ridiculously deep loot system, there's even a totally silly augmented reality collectible card battling game topping it off. (So there's well over 200 AR cards, and each copy of the game got a randomized set of them. Try taking two of those AR cards you got with the game and put them down with the arrows facing eachother while using the AR mode. There's not exactly much depth to it, but as an extra thing they threw into this game, it's weird and neat.)

The game itself though... The flight sequences are the highlight, they're immense fun. The game borrows an awful lot from Sin & Punishment, which is a good source to cull inspiration from, those are incredible games. (If you have not played Sin & Punishment 2 on the Wii, you should play Sin & Punishment 2 on the Wii. It's a miracle that game even exists.)

That ground combat, however...

I don't know.

God damn, why isn't it just a mouse look-style interface? Why does dragging the stylus move the cursor independently of the screen, and why do i have to flick the stylus to turn? It's so unintuitive, it's very awkward and hard to adjust to. I don't think it destroys the game, i've slowly been able to adjust to it, but it's such a odd design choice. (A very uniquely japanese design choice.)

They give you loads of control options though, you can tweak a lot of it to your satisfaction, but you can't get rid of that control conceit. ("It's like spinning a globe!" the game says.)

The rest of it is pretty good though, the kinds of mechanics they have at work in here are the kinds of mechanics i have enjoyed in other games. You're using dodges to tweak your attacks, there's a lot of dashing around, it's very frantic. I enjoy the combat in this game, it's just the control scheme i have problems with.

The story has been surprisingly charming. Characters are actively acknowledging that they are inside of a game, the whole tone is unabashedly silly. There's a lot of really, really goofy banter and awful jokes. It really is very charming.

Multiplayer seems fun, but being able to bring your loot into it means you want to play the solo game some before diving in.

Adaptable difficulty is really cool, i've been playing in the 5-7 range right now.

...And uhh... Use the stand.

Just... use the stand.

I don't see why people have such an issue with the stand.

Anybody who played Metroid Prime Hunters on the DS looked at that thing and instantly understood why it's a good idea, knowing the "claw" you get from how you have to hold the system to play games using that style of control scheme on DS hardware.

There's probably an argument to have about what alternative control schemes they could have gone with, or if they should have held it back to ensure deeper support for the circle pad pro, but for what it is, just use the stand.

If you insist on playing it without the stand, try wedging the right side of the system into the palm of your right hand, while still holding the stylus in said hand. Your left hand will still cramp up after a while, but it won't be nearly as bad as trying to hold it with just one hand.

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My reasoning for not using the stand is because this is on the 3DS. You listed a ton of the reasons that I really do enjoy the game, even the much bitched about "on ground" combat is really fun (if not for the controls I would happily say my favorite part of the game). The problem is that when I am on the ground it stops being something I can almost fake with any of the control schemes that the game throws at you (from the crazy button aim thing to whatever else they could cobble together as "functional"), to the need to use the stylus to have anything that even resembles control. I hate the stand because it gives me the sense that this is not something that I could just take with me on a long trip, this is something that is going to stay at my apartment while Mario or Tales goes to my in-laws while I make no attempt to have a conversation with them.

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I just find it odd that Nintendo's acknowledgement of the issue, and their attempt to provide a solution, has made it such a huge and negative story. Especially when there had already been a ton of other DS games that have used the same kind of left-trigger/d-pad/touchscreen control scheme and had been similarly cramp inducing. I suspect nobody would be talking about it, if the stand didn't exist.

You could argue that Kid Icarus Uprising has more eyes on it as a major game for the 3DS, but Metroid Prime Hunters was a similarly important game for the DS, it was a major system showpiece. (The original launch systems shipped with an MPH demo!)

Talk to anybody who played it, it was definitely a cramp inducing game, but that aspect was never a part of the dialogue surrounding that game.

This Kid Icarus Uprising thing is Nintendo acknowledging a problem, and by acknowledging the problem, creating a worse image problem around the product.

I guess i'm saying that I don't think it's as bad an issue as people are making it out to be. If you can deal with the control scheme, you don't need the stand. If you can't, you have the stand.

A lot of the pieces written about the issue have been getting really hyperbolic.

Edited by Sno

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Oh hey! MP bots!

Start a "nearby" match without an opponent, and it fills up with bots.

They don't seem like particularly smart opponents, but i'm always happy to see games have MP bots.

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I seem to be getting more used to it the longer I play. That said, I would have gone out and bought a Frankenstick just to be able to aim with that and make it a normal third person shooter.

Has anyone gotten to the driving section? Really not impressed with the way that controls.

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After playing the game for a fair chunk of time, i realized that i was playing the game without the stand and without any cramps. I guess the training wheels are off, so to speak.

I've got a handle on the free-roaming combat, and i do think it's actually a very excellent combat system, but the aiming and movement control remains awkward at times. It really stands out with the vehicles, or when it wants you to do rudimentary platforming.

A lot of it just seems kind of counter-intuitive to the way people have learned to play 3D games, and it really feels like something that was designed by a team that doesn't have a lot of experience with 3D games. A lot has been said about the stylus aiming, but there's other things too. For example, on an analog stick you would gently and repeatedly tap in a given direction to to make small careful adjustments to your standing. It's something you do in so many games that you'll do it without thinking about it, but in this game that input can send you leaping to your death. (Gaaargh!)

There's also some other things that the game should probably be a little more clear about, like how holding the stylus down on the touchscreen while in melee range of an enemy will let you strafe very quickly around it.

Like i said though, once you've done the necessary mental gymnastics, it's a very good combat system, it's a very good action game.

I love how the loot system works. For how intimidating it can seem to sacrifice two items to create one, fusing is actually really incredibly straightforward.

I've really been enjoying messing around in the MP, there's not a lot to it, but it seems to hold up well under scrutiny.

I was surprised by how many levels there are in the game, it goes on for quite a bit. Perhaps that shouldn't be a shock given how much other stuff there is.

It's just so goddamned charming too, endlessly silly and self-aware.

I think this is probably the best game on the 3DS right now, which is something i think i've said about the each of the last few 3DS games i have played, which probably says something about how rapidly the 3DS has accelerated in the last few short months.

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. For example, on an analog stick you would gently and repeatedly tap in a given direction to to make small careful adjustments to your standing. It's something you do in so many games that you'll do it without thinking about it, but in this game that input can send you leaping to your death. (Gaaargh!)

Yes, Yes, Yes! I think it was in Pandora's level with a moving platform that you had to jump off of to avoid barriers that I had to put the game down for awhile after beating. Between the timing and the exacting movements that you needed to jump off, back on, and then kill enemies it all started to show the stress of trying to figure out how to do this correctly on the platform.

I agree that it does seem like it is the teams first attempt at making this kind of game, but it also seems like they decided the flying controls should also be the same exact controls that you use to move around in the world. I don't know when on the design document someone circled, "same controls in the 3D platforming section as rail shooter" and wrote above it, "do this" but they should be spoken to.

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