Kid Icarus Uprising proves how amazing 3DS games can be, and everything about it is created in spectacular fashion.
Uprising starts off with you flying in the air for five minutes destroying as many enemies as you can. The sense of speed in each is truly spectacular, and with the 3D effect all the way up, it feels even better. In one stage, you'll escape the rising lava of a volcano, run into the LSD inspired Pandora stage, and even witness the explosion of an ATOMIC BOMB (actually a reset bomb)!!! You'll never get bored of these levels, and some even offer branching paths. As you can see, Uprising takes some of its inspiration from Star Fox 64, but there's more to it than meets the eye. You also get ground stages as well, and while these call to mind Star Fox Assault, it's not, because it's actually fun! I love exploring these stages to find hidden goodies, treasure chests, and weapon upgrades. The controls are awkward at first, but in my opinion they're really well done and feel really good after a few settings. Hell, I don't even need the stand included with it, and it broke on me!
Uprising also includes one truly original and innovative feature, which is betting hearts to set the difficulty for the level. There's actually quite a LOT of difficulty settings, and depending on what you pick enhances the already impressive replay value! I also love the grind rails you occasionally travel on, and a first person mode is optional, though it never did much use for me outside viewing things on the grind rails. You even get to fuse weapons to make them more powerful, and idols of characters in the game can be collected as well. Several allies such as the human on steroids, Magnus, help you out on your quest to defeat the underworld.
The graphics are some of the best I've seen on the 3DS. The lighting effects and detail are simply stunning for a handheld, and I actually thought this was a 360 game at first glance! Of course this is enhanced by the great 3D effect in the game. The most truly standout aspect has to be the sound though. The music is extremely good (one of the best I've heard in a video game), and the hilarious dialogue includes gems such as "Floor ice cream gives you health!" "Hey! You were supposed to be a heart" and the classic "uh...spoiler alert!" Hades is an absolute riot in this game. It even parodies video games such as Metroid, Zelda, and Super Smash Bros, and it even makes fun itself at some points (such as the conversation with Viridi and Pit about the similarities between Kid Icarus and Metroid). The sound effects are also worth mentioning, and sound very old school.
One tiny little complaint with the game is that if you get attacked by an enemy while gaining health, it'll stop growing. Other than that, Uprising is a masterpiece that defies criticism. Very high in fun, quality assurance, hilariousness, and replay value, and coming with many awesome unlockables, Kid Icarus Uprising is as good as Super Mario 3D Land, if not better!
Gameplay: 10/10
Graphics: 10/10
Sound: 10/10
Value: 10/10
Score: 10/10 (A+)