Toru Osawa got married in the middle of making Kid Icarus, and was called back to work on the second day of his leave.
On August 6, 1986, Metroid went on sale, and Kid Icarus still had a staff of one: Toru Osawa.
He had been at Nintendo about two years when he asked for a game of his own, and this was his first. He loved Greek myths, so he built them in, and he wanted an action game with the taste of an RPG. He wrote the design document and drew all the pictures himself.
After Metroid, the team went on holiday, and for a stretch of August, Osawa was the only one in the office still working. When Yoshio Sakamoto came back from his holiday, he saw that Osawa needed help and brought in the Metroid staff.
From autumn into winter they worked through the night. There were no beds, so they slept on flattened cardboard boxes, and the heating went off at night. Osawa got married partway through, asked for three days off instead of a honeymoon, and was called back on the second day, in the middle of dinner. The master disk went to the factory three days before the December 19 release.
— inspired by Toru Osawa
About this game
Released in Japan on December 19, 1986 for the Famicom Disk System, Kid Icarus is an action game rooted in Greek mythology that mixes upward-scrolling climbs with side-scrolling stages. The player controls Pit, an angel who climbs out of the Underworld to rescue Palutena, the goddess of light, from Medusa. The Disk Card saved the player's progress; the 1987 cartridge release overseas used passwords instead.
Gallery
The Story Behind
Kid Icarus was developed at Nintendo R&D1 with help from an outside company. It was made for the Famicom Disk System because the Disk Card held three times as much as the cartridges of the time and could store the player's progress, which let the team build a longer game. It was designed by Toru Osawa and Yoshio Sakamoto, directed by Satoru Okada and produced by Gunpei Yokoi, with music by Hirokazu Tanaka.
Tricks & Tales
Specknose, the enemy made of glasses and a big nose, came from the game's composer: Osawa has said that when someone wore novelty nose-glasses at the office, people joked that it was Hirokazu Tanaka. The Eggplant Wizard, who turns Pit into an eggplant, grew partly out of Osawa's fondness for the eggplant-masked enemy in Wrecking Crew. Osawa also said he started out treating the game seriously, and the humour came in as the people around him kept adding to it. The Japanese disk version had no staff roll; credits were added for the 1987 cartridge release overseas.
Collector's Guide
Region & Compatibility
The Famicom Disk System was sold exclusively in Japan and was never officially released in any other region. It was designed as an attachment to the original Famicom, using a rewritable magnetic Quick Disk format — a medium that no longer has manufacturer support and that Nintendo ceased rewriting or selling decades ago. Buyers outside Japan should understand that there is no Western-compatible equivalent: FDS software requires a Famicom console, the RAM adapter, and the dedicated power adapter, all of which are Japan-market hardware. The disk media itself is not readable by any standard floppy drive.
Maintenance Tips
The drive belt is the most critical maintenance item. The original rubber belt stretches over the decades and eventually fails, and then the drive can no longer read disks. Fitting a new belt takes small tools: precision screwdrivers, a small hex key and tweezers. A new belt is not the last step. Afterwards, test the drive with a disk you know is good. If it does not read cleanly, the disk speed and the position of the read head have to be adjusted. The head is set against a test signal on an oscilloscope, which is specialist work. The RAM adapter board contains electrolytic capacitors that should be recapped if the unit is used regularly -- leaking capacitors can damage the PCB and corrupt disk reads. Clean the battery compartment with vinegar and a cotton swab if corrosion is present. FDS disks should be stored in their cases away from magnetic sources.
Going deeper
Explore the machine this game ran on, and what to check before you buy or care for one:
What to Watch Out For
Before buying, these are the points worth knowing — from someone who handles original Japanese Kid Icarus (Hikari Shinwa: Palutena no Kagami) copies regularly.
How do I care for a Famicom Disk System game?
The disk itself is delicate: keep it in its sleeve and case, away from heat, moisture, and magnets. Never touch the exposed film. The Disk System drive runs on six C-cell batteries or a dedicated AC adapter (the HVC-025 — not the Famicom's HVC-002, which has different specs). If you are not using the drive, remove the batteries — a leaking battery does more lasting harm than years of ordinary use.
Can I still save my game on a Famicom Disk?
Yes, if the disk is write-enabled and the drive's batteries are good. Kid Icarus saves your progress directly to the disk. Each disk has a write-protect tab at its corner — if it's been snapped off, the disk can no longer be written to (you will see Error 03). If the tab is intact and you still can't save, check the drive's six C batteries first.
Before You Buy
Things worth knowing before you buy Kid Icarus (Hikari Shinwa: Palutena no Kagami)
A short checklist for buying a used Famicom Disk System disk wisely — useful with any seller, anywhere.
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Choose a seller who tests it before shipping
A copy that has actually been powered on and checked is a known quantity. An untested one is a gamble you only settle after it arrives.
Look for a seller who states it was function-tested and says what they confirmed. A serious seller can tell you exactly what was checked.
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Inspect the disk and its shell
Disk System media is fragile — the magnetic disk can wear, and saves are written back onto the disk itself.
Ask whether it was tested and reads reliably; look for cracks or a warped shell in photos.
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Make sure it fits your console
This is Japanese Famicom Disk System media and requires a Famicom with a working Disk System drive.
Play it on a matching Japanese console or a region-free system, and confirm the listing states the region.
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Mind the drive belt on the console side
Disk System drives commonly need a replacement belt to read reliably — this is a console matter, not the disk.
If reading is unreliable, the console's belt is the usual culprit, not the game.
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Read the seller's reviews and return policy
A 100% positive record across thousands of sales is close to a guarantee — packing, communication and problem-solving all work for everyone. A return policy protects you if something is off.
Read the feedback and confirm a clear return window before you buy.
The last step before buying anywhere is knowing what it's worth.
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Rooms this game lives in
Wander deeper — explore the themed rooms where Kid Icarus (Hikari Shinwa: Palutena no Kagami) sits alongside its kin.
Memories from around the world
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