Developed by Nintendo and TOSE Co., Ltd., Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters is the sequel to Kid Icarus – a much-loved game released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1986. Of Myths and Monsters was published by Nintendo, exclusively for the original Game Boy, in 1991 in North America, and 1992 in Europe. For some reason, it wasn’t released in Japan, where it was made.

The game is based on Roman and Greek mythology and follows the exploits of the “angel soldier”, called Pit, on a quest to retrieve three sacred treasures: The Wings of Pegasus, The Silver Armor, and The Light Arrows. These three treasures are being held by Guardian Monsters that must be defeated to give them up. They must then be used in the final stage (The Sky Palace), to defeat the demon, Orcos.

Pit’s sole weapon prior to obtaining the magic treasures is his bow and arrows, and this is pretty feeble to begin with, but can be upgraded as you progress.

Unlike in the original Kid Icarus, in this game the screen scrolls in four directions, giving you more freedom to explore levels. Levels do still wrap-around (in most cases – not always), and the idea is to kill monsters; collect hearts (these are your money, for buying things in shops); collect special items; protect your health bar, and find and enter doors to see what they have to offer. Inside these doors are found a number of different things. They can sometimes hold nothing but advice from the Gods. Other times, they might have bats swarms (that you can shoot to earn hearts); shops, where you can buy consumables; hot springs, where you can bathe to replenish your health; occasional gifts from the Gods; rooms with pots that you can shoot for bonus items; and training rooms, which – if you complete them – offer you weapon upgrades.

Monsters manifest themselves in a number of different ways. Your first encounter will be snakes, that drop down from inverted pots on the ceiling (when activated, by standing under them). Flying monsters appear in certain places and can easily sap your life energy if you’re not careful. Some monsters rise up from the ground; some jump around like locusts; others duck to avoid your arrows… They come in a variety of forms and all will try their best to kill you, so must be destroyed and/or avoided.

Initially, the levels in Of Myths and Monsters are fairly straightforward, but later they become more maze-like. Some levels have multiple rooms that are connected by ladders and doors that you must find your way through. When you eventually make your way to the final room in this maze, you’re then confronted by your first boss, and he is pretty tough – mainly because he takes a lot of hits to kill.

Before you reach a boss, however, Pit’s health can be increased, but only if he has defeated enough enemies on each level. The God, Zeus, decides this when he assesses Pit’s progress after completing a level. It goes without saying that it is worth investing some time and effort into monster-killing, in order to boost your health bar.

Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters is a difficult game overall, but it’s still a playable, fun and well-designed game. It’s starts off quite challenging, and soon becomes more difficult; becoming brutal by the second world. After completing each level you have the option to save the game to battery backup.

Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters was re-made and re-released for the Nintendo DS in 2012.

More: Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters on Wikipedia