Kid Icarus director discusses 3DS gameplay

An interview with Masahiro Sakurai reveals gameplay details for the upcoming title.

In an interview with GameLife, Masahiro Sakurai of Kirby and Smash Bros. fame detailed the title’s gameplay, and how the 3D effect enhances games on the 3DS.

The game was revealed to be on-rails, but with quite liberal movement of Pit available to the player. When asked to compare it to Sin & Punishment Sakurai commented “Yes, it’s kind of similar”.

Sakurai focused on the three main devices of control: the slide panel, the L button and the stylus and how they integrate together to offer something unique in contrast to other shooters. Essentially the slide panel is used for movement, the L button for shooting, and the touch screen for aiming. He contrasted the aiming controls with that of first-person shooter games on the Nintendo DS, stating “…you have to move the reticle and you reach the edge of the screen… you have to start over again”. He said the functionality of the 3DS alleviates that problem in Kid Icarus Uprising – “The way around that is using like a flick motion to quickly turn”.

He also discussed that melee attacks have different levels of sensitivity, similar to the use of smash attacks in the Smash Bros. series. ‘Smash’ attacks can be executed by flicking on the stick and whilst single button presses will launch off attacks, multiple presses can be linked to for combos. There’s unlimited ammo for shooting and pressing the button once will fire a charged shot, with a continuous hold resulting in “a large stream of machine-gun like bullets”. Sakurai also noted that the aim is not precision targeting, and that the bullets will curve towards enemies. That decision is intended to move the focus away from precision targeting and towards dodging and maneuverability, requiring a higher level of strategy from the player.

When asked if the game play is easier due to the 3D effect, Sakurai hinted that the effect can enhance the level of depth the player can perceive- “For players up until now who haven’t really been comfortable with 3-D game spaces, it’s like opening that other eye.”

Sakurai commented on comparisons between the capabilities of the 3DS to that of the Wii. “I believe that there are a lot of areas that [the 3DS] will excel in that will push it in a different direction than what the Wii is capable of”, Sakurai said.

When asked if the title would launch with the system, Sakurai replied “We don’t know yet”.

Source: Game Life