During Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s All-Star Smash single player mode, the player must fight against all 86 characters in the order that each character made their debut video game appearance. Though it might feel like Pit and Palutena have only somewhat recently become relevant with Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Kid Icarus: Uprising, they’re actually the 18th and 19th oldest fighters in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate respectively.
This is due to the fact that both characters actually first appeared in Kid Icarus back in December 19, 1986. Their designs in Super Smash Bros. Brawl were designed with the mindset that the characters’ appearances would keep evolving over the years similar to how Link and Zelda evolved throughout the Legend of Zelda series.
Though Pit’s design and personality would be fully modernized by Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Palutena’s evolution as the character we know her today wouldn’t be complete until Kid Icarus: Uprising when it was released in March 2012.
Since then, Palutena has taken on the appearance of a slender woman in her twenties with long green hair that reaches down to her legs. She’s wearing a layered, white dress with numerous gold accessories.
During gameplay, she utilizes a gold staff in her right hand with a mirror shield in her left hand. Though her shield doesn’t passively block projectiles like it does for Link in Hero in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, attacks that utilize it have a unique property that allows her to “trample” over other hitboxes.
Additionally, Palutena will manifest ethereal wings during specific attacks. These attacks often have wind boxes associated with them that push opponents away if the attacks themselves fail to connect.
Regardless, there can be no mistake that Palutena is the Goddess of Light within the Kid Icarus series. Though she can be somewhat mischievous at times, Palutena is said to be kindhearted and benevolent.
Quite a lot of Pit and Palutena’s personalities are demonstrated in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate since Pit can access “Palutena’s Guidance” when Palutena’s Temple is selected as a stage. With the exceptions of Joker, Hero, Banjo-Kazooie, Terry Bogard, Byleth, Min Min, Steve, Sephiroth, Pyra & Mythra, Kazuya Mishima, and Sora, the Goddess of Light is able to offer advice to Pit on fighting 75 out of 86 characters.
The sequence is very similar to Snake’s Codec Conversations on the Shadow Moses Island stage. However, it should be noted that there are a lot more conversations between Pit and Palutena with Palutena’s Guidance compared to Snake’s Codec Conversations since this is simply recycled audio from Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
Thanks to the efforts of Masahiro Sakurai, Palutena has gained quite a bit of popularity from being relatively unknown character with her only two previous appearances in Kid Icarus (1986) and Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters (1991).
Needless to say, we recently took notice of Jinglebooboo’s Instagram page where she has cosplayed as a number of female Nintendo characters. Check out her beautiful Palutena cosplay (with wings even) below:
