You aim with the stylus. In the land-battles you also move the camera, in the air-battles the camera is fixed.

Aiming with the stylus is great, it is fast and very accurate. Moving the camera with the stylus on the other hand is somewhat hard to learn.

Not that the other levels are too much alike.

Palutena tells you in many levels, what to do. This helps to get the weak spot of a boss or similar things.

And there are separate tutorial-videos, so you can watch these to get the controls.

I'd have to say that besides RE:Revelations, it is the best game on 3ds.  The game is beautiful to look at, an absolute joy to play and the charm from the soundtrack and the dialog is incredible.  It just simply offers soo much for the money that even without the online it would be worth it.  That said, the online battles are awesome.  Hopping into a game is super easy and fast and I have experienced zero lag or framerate issues...and there is a lot going on.  The particle effects are insane at some points.  A leader board and perhaps mic chat option would have been nice additions.

I'd have to admit that the controls take some playtime to get used to, but once you've got it...it just works great.  Even for myself, with larger hands I haven't experienced any discomfort.  It would have been nice if the option to use the circle pad pro was included for more than just lefty control...but I really have no problems with controlling the game as it is.

A great game and a must have.  Anyone thinking should stop thinking and go get it is my advice, its a great value and worth the money.

I think it is an excellent game. I can't actually find anything wrong aside from maybe one or two individual pieces of level design on the land battles. Everything about the game is to me very impressive. I reckon it is one of the best handheld games of all times and alongside Super Mario 3D Land, Mario Kart 7 and Legend Of Zelda; Ocarina Of Time 3D my fave game on the system.

One thing that I don't understand is why all the fuss about the controls? I find them easy, intuitive, accurate and comfortable. Maybe not the most convenient but still excellent. I've played it for over 2 hours straight without a hint of discomfort or ever once feeling that they were awkward.

Nice fanart-site: http://fuckyeahkidicarus.tumblr.com/

An example:

I personally give the game a 8/10. Considering how the 3DS still lacks a true 9/10 game in my harsh opinion, this is very good. (I'm one of those people who only gives a perfect score to a game every decade or so).

Pros:
Fun Dialogue
Precise Controls
Lots of Content
Great Air Sections
Loads of Bosses
Alright Multiplayer
Pretty Graphics
Stellar Soundtrack

Cons:
Learning Curve for the Controls
Convoluted Plot

Seriously, this game reminds me of one of those long running anime like Dragon Ball or Naruto, where you end up with completely different main antagonists depending on where you are in the game. You can even divide the game into sagas!

Spoilers!
Chapters 1-9: The Medusa Saga
Chapters 10-14: The Three-Way War Saga
Chapters 15-17: The Aurum Saga
Chapters 18-25: The Surprisingly Serious Saga

All we need is an alien with multiple forms and we'd be set. No wait, I think one of the Aurum bosses did that.

Well, just beat it after stopping myself from doing all the side achievements and I can easily say that this is one awesome game. After hearing so much negative things about the game's controls, I found it so surprising that I got used to them in 10 minutes. Even funnier was that after I got used to them, I went to the options and configured it to where I can shoot and move on a dime. The story was a great route to take considering that they didn't know which way to take it and there are some breath taking moments that amazed me(and freaked me out as well.) I played the multiplayer it was fun as hell but there are a lot of dumb players on it (including myself.) I though that this game was going to end at chapter 10 and even if it did I would still be going for those achievements but man kept on going and it was all amazing. This game is another masterpiece from Sakurai. I only wish that there was more (and driving the vehicles didn't suck.) (9/10)

I've been playing games since I got my NES in 89.

I remember the first game I've ever played was  Super Mario Bros. It introduced me to a whole new world of entertainment and discovery.

I remember the first time I saw a 16bit game, it was Sonic the hedgehog and it blew my mind! It was like nothing I've ever seen or played!

I remember my first time playing Mario 64 and being absolutely blown away! Playing as Mario in 3D for the first time is something I still can't truly explain.

I remember the first time my friend introduced me to Goldeneye. I will never forget the nights playing multiplayer for hours on end with my 3 best friends.

I remember seeing Hyrule for the first time in 3D and having that feeling of endless potential for exploration and discovery.

I remember the first time playing Super Smash Bros. and not understanding what the heck was going on, but I enjoyed every flipping minute of it.

There are those extremely rare games in every gamers life that truly blow the mind and show you things you never imagined were possible. Games that defined a generation, games that brought you and your friends closer together. Games that will forever be a part of your childhood.

To me Kid Icarus Uprising is one of those games!

IMHO this game sets a new precidence for game design, and should be held as the standard for all new Nintendo games. There are so many elements in this game that are just brilliant. Everytime I played a new chapter I was dying to see what happened next with the characters and story. I was estactic to hear the next heavenly tune play in the level. I wanted to see the next breathtaking area in the game( Chapter 8's Space Sea is one of the most beautiful things I've seen in a video game. No I take that back it's one of the most beautiful things I've seen in my life). I wanted to try out my new weapons and powers. I couldn't wait to explore the ground sections and look for intensity gates and treasure chests.And I'm still trying to figure out all the ends and outs of multiplayer.

The creativity and imagination in this game is earth shattering. I mean cmon, You can play as an Angel with a RAIL CANNON attached to his arm while flying through space and battling pirates! The crazy thing is that it works! Brilliantly I might add.

I could go on and on about this game but instead I will sum up all my thoughts up into this next statement.

This game surpassed all my expectations, made feel like a kid again, and most importantly it reminded me while I loving playing games. :)

Nintendo should use this sentence as advertisement for the game.

About to take the game to my friends house so he can play it, hopefully it'll get him to want to buy a 3DS.
I love this game so much, I sincerely hope Nintendo continues with this franchise.