The Alternate Deaths of Three-Headed Hewdraw…and some more Icarus tips

As Eugene’s review stated, Kid Icarus Uprising contains a mind-blowing amount of content. If you’re enjoying KIU – or considering buying it (and you should) – we now present a few tips and tricks you may not have explored yet.

MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD. Nothing earth-shattering, but there ya go.

DAILY GEM SPOTPASSES

This is a good reason to purchase the game ASAP. Weapon and gem fusing are a big part of KIU’s deep gameplay, and – to help players along – Nintendo’s been spotpassing a new unique gem every day since launch. These gems can be fused together to create new weapons. Two spotpassed gems netted me a weapon that was three or four times more powerful than what I’d been making do with. The gifted gems show up in the Streetpass section. Nintendo has not stated how long these gifts will be sent to players, so enjoy it while it lasts!

AR CARDS WITHOUT AR CARDS — HOW TO QUICKLY BUILD UP YOUR IN-GAME IDOL COLLECTION

The KIU AR card collecting/battling mode is an amazing bonus feature. As you probably already know, your 3DS can read a well-scanned AR card off a monitor, an iPhone screen, a printout…a tattoo (okay, probably not a tattoo — don’t try it). Scans and printouts are no substitute for the joy of actually collecting these awesome cards (look to the April Nintendo Power for 3 freebies), but you can use the mockups to enjoy the fun of watching the characters come to life and battle each other while you’re on the prowl for the genuine cards.

Did you know that each new card image you scan gives you a hundred hearts to spend in the game? The card’s character/object will also be added to your Idol gallery for 3D viewing anytime. It’s no surprise there are already several sites with hefty card image collections right there for your viewing/scanning pleasure. Again, this is no substitute for actually obtaining the real cards…but it’s a fun temporary alternative.

THE THREE UNIQUE DEATHS OF THREE-HEADED HEWDRAW

Hewdraw’s easily my favorite Boss in the game, and one reason is that the game’s creators have had a lot of fun with the fact that he’s got three heads. As you fight him in the air (look for the opportunity to run along his back as you approach), the head you defeat last makes a difference in how the rest of the level plays out. Each of the heads has a different personality, and a different dialogue with Pit if it’s the last head remaining on the body. As you proceed, you’ll also get different personalities and dialogue in the midboss section. When you finally face the boss battle of Hewdraw Reborn, you’ll get one of three possible taunts and one of three endings – All of which are pretty funny. In other words, be sure to play through Chapter 3 more than once, and try to leave a different head attached to the body each time.

OTHER ODDS AND ENDS

There are plenty of other secrets in this huge, sprawling game, including hidden Zodiac items, a “Hidden options” button that appears after you’ve beaten the solo quest once, and rare items that drop during online multi-player battles. This is a game that can be played over and over and over again. If you’ve discovered any tricks you’d like to share, please post!