Eggplant Wizard

''Kid Icarus'' is a series of fantasy video games by Nintendo. Set in the fantasy world of "Angel Land", which is loosely based on Greco-Roman mythology, the gameplay combines action, adventure and platforming elements. The ''Kid Icarus'' franchise is known as a cult classic and a sibling series to the ''Metroid'' franchise.

The first installment, ''Kid Icarus'', was released in 1986 for the Nintendo Entertainment System and received critical acclaim despite poor sales. A sequel, '' Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters'', was released for the Game Boy. Following a 20-year hiatus, '' Kid Icarus: Uprising'' was released in 2012 for the Nintendo 3DS.

Development

After Nintendo's release of commercially successful platforming games in the 1980s, including ''Donkey Kong'', ''Ice Climber'', and ''Super Mario Bros.'', as well as the critically acclaimed adventure game ''The Legend of Zelda'', the company was interested in entering a different genre. They began work on an action game called ''Metroid'', which was released on the Family Computer Disk System on August 6, 1986, and on the Nintendo Entertainment System the following year. ''Kid Icarus'' was developed alongside ''Metroid'' as its sister game, sharing elements and programmers with it. It was produced by Gunpei Yokoi, who previously produced ''Donkey Kong'', ''Donkey Kong Jr.'' (1982), and the original '' Mario Bros.'' (1983), and music written by Hirokazu Tanaka, who also composed for ''Duck Hunt'' (1984).

After the release of a handheld sequel, '' Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters'', the series received no new installments for two decades. During the 1990s, gaming magazine ''Gamefan'' claimed that another project, ''Kid Icarus: Angel Land Story'', also known as ''Super Kid Icarus'', was in development for the Super NES. An installment for the Nintendo 64 was rumored to be in development, but was never released. During the early 2000s, Capcom moved their resources to remake ''Dead Phoenix'' as a new, untitled ''Icarus'' game to debut on the GameCube. A revival was planned for the Wii, developed by Factor 5, but was later cancelled. A third entry, '' Kid Icarus: Uprising'', was released for the Nintendo 3DS in 2012, the first game in the series since 1991.

Plot

Pit first appeared in ''Kid Icarus'' (1986), in which he escapes his prison in the Underworld and sets out to save the Goddess of Light, Palutena, from the clutches of Medusa and her forces. Along the way, he overcomes Zeus' challenges and gains stronger weapons to combat the Underworld's forces.

In '' Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters'' (1991), Palutena's nightmare is interpreted by a fate teller as an imminent invasion by the demon Orcos and his minions. The goddess summons Pit, the leader of her army, and tells him to obtain the three sacred treasures of Angel Land, which she has placed under the protection of three fortress guards to ensure their safety from Orcos. After Pit defeats the guards and finishes his training, Palutena gives him priceless wealth. In '' Kid Icarus: Uprising'' (2012), he works with Palutena to fight Medusa and her army.

Characters

Pit

The main protagonist of the franchise. Originally the weakest among Palutena’s army for being flightless, he eventually becomes empowered by the goddess’s strength upon being told that he is only hope left to defeat Medusa as long as he collects the Three Sacred Treasures in time. At the end of original game, he becomes Palutena’s most trusted servant, though the endings differ depending on how long the player spends throughout the game.

Pit's design was updated for his inclusion in ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl''. According to Masahiro Sakurai, the creator of the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series and director of '' Kid Icarus: Uprising'', he initially alternated between using Pit's 2D design, his cartoonish art design, and a 3D redesign for his inclusion before ultimately settling on the latter. Sakurai stated that Pit's redesign was based on the concept of how his appearance would have slowly modernized had the ''Kid Icarus'' series remained active, much like how Link's design has throughout the various installments of ''The Legend of Zelda'' series. In comparison to his previous design, Pit now appears approximately thirteen years old in angel years.

''GamePro'' identified Pit's gameplay mechanics as taking elements from three of Nintendo's biggest franchises: Mario's jump, Link's ability-enhancing objects, and Samus Aran's projectiles. Pit takes inspiration from Greek mythology, with ''IGN''s Lucas M. Thomas viewing him as a combination between Eros and Icarus and identifying his bow and his wings as his most iconic characteristics. He was featured as the front cover in Nintendo Blast's 2012 Portuguese book titled "Nintendo Blast Ano 3 Edições 25 a 36". ''GameZone''s Vito Gesualdi considers Pit to be a combination of ''The Legend of Zelda''s Link and American filmmaker Woody Allen, noting that "Pit is equal parts Link and Woody Allen, a handsome young warrior with all the self-confidence of our favorite neurotic Jew".

Eggplant Wizard

The Eggplant Wizard first appeared in the 1986 video game ''Kid Icarus''. In the game, he serves as an arch-nemesis to Pit, depicted as an anthropomorphic eggplant sorcerer who can shoot eggplants at other characters and disable their abilities by encasing them in an eggplant. He also appeared in the animated television series '' Captain N: The Game Master'', where he serves as an antagonist. The Eggplant Wizard was inspired by the game's creator Toru Osawa's passion for eggplants and the eggplant men from '' Wrecking Crew''. Osawa said that he drew the character to celebrate his summer bonus. Shigeru Miyamoto and Masahiro Sakurai both consider the character key to the enduring popularity of the ''Kid Icarus'' series.

Since his debut in ''Kid Icarus'', Eggplant Wizard has received largely positive reception from critics, with ''IGN'' writer Luca M. Thomas called him the "most popular, most cunning enemy character to come out" of the ''Kid Icarus'' series. ''Shacknews'' writer Ozzie Mejia called Eggplant Wizard the most aggravating antagonist in all of video games, writing that he threw his controller against the television out of frustration when playing the game as a kid. ''Destructoid'' writer Chad Concelmo ranked him as "the biggest asshole video game wizard", stating that there is no other character who has more hatred than Eggplant Wizard due to his high defense and ability to transform Pit into an eggplant. ''1UP.com'' writer Jeremy Parish called him a weird idea for an enemy, but also Pit's most challenging, comparing him to the Hammer Bros. from the ''Mario'' franchise because they often come in pairs and throw projectiles at the player character. He, however, also noted that the Eggplant Wizards were worse because they would target Pit. ''Nonstop Nerd'' staff wrote that Eggplant Wizard can completely ruin anyone’s playthrough of the game due to being the most threatening enemy, and that those who played the game would be able to relate to this.

''UGO Networks'' writer Chris Plante ranked the moment when Eggplant Wizard was turning people into eggplants as one of the 20 most memorable Nintendo Entertainment System moments. ''GamesRadar+'' included Eggplant Wizard in their list of the "top seven edible enemies in gaming", stating that he was "one of the strangest, most talked-about weirdos in all of gaming" and questioned why he was in a game about Greek mythology. ''GamesRadar+'' also claimed that the character was "clearly-designed-by-a-madman old bastard of the NES baddo fraternity" and that his "oddness belied a far more insidious property". Eggplant Wizard has been suggested as a playable character or item for ''Super Smash Bros.'' series by critics. Chris Morgan of ''Yardbarker'' named Eggplant Wizard as the true cult icon of early Nintendo and noted his charm.

Eggplant Wizard has been viewed as synonymous with the ''Kid Icarus'' series even outside the gaming community. Jason Cipriano of '' MTV Multiplayer Blog'' wrote that he described Eggplant Wizard as emblematic of the series' wacky design and stated that fans would be excited to see him appear in ''Kid Icarus: Uprising''. To celebrate the release of the game, ''ABC News'' writer Lauren Torrisi featured several eggplant recipes. Ishaan Sahdev of ''Siliconera'' reported on a GameStop promotion for ''Kid Icarus: Uprising'' that gave away a selection of augmented reality 3DS cards, including Eggplant Wizard.

Other characters

* Palutena is the Goddess of Light, who Pit serves.
* Viridi is the Goddess of Nature and leader of the Forces of Nature.
* Hades is the Lord of the Underworld and the main antagonist of ''Uprising''.
* Magnus is a human mercenary who aids Pit and worked alongside Gaol in the past before she joined Medusa's forces.
* Dark Pit is a doppelgänger of Pit created by Pandora using the Mirror of Truth, who works independently before allying with Pit and Palutena. In his Palutena's Guidance conversation in ''Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U'', he is revealed to have joined the Forces of Nature.
* Medusa is the Goddess of Darkness, who is later revealed to have been a pawn of Hades.
* Pyrrhon is the God of the Sun, who sacrifices himself to help stop the Aurum's invasion.
* Pandora is the Goddess of Calamity. After Pit defeats her, Dark Pit absorbs her powers, but she later reclaims them from him during their fight at the Rewind Spring, where she restores her true body.
* Arlon is the commander of the Lunar Sanctum, a military base that served as the prison for the Chaos Kin before being destroyed.
* Poseidon is the God of the Sea, who opens the path for Pit to confront Thanatos.
* Phosphora is a commander of the Forces of Nature, who gives Pit the Lightning Chariot.
* Dyntos is the God of the Forge, who builds the Great Sacred Treasure that Pit uses to defeat Hades.
* Thanatos is a commander of Medusa's army.
* Cragalanche is the boulder-like commander of the Forces of Nature.
* The Centurions are foot soldiers of Palutena's army.

Notes

References

{{Main franchises by Nintendo

*
Nintendo franchises
Video game franchises introduced in 1986
Video games about angels