Easily the best 3DS game to date!
After a 25 year rest, Pit has returned to the 3DS, and he's brought one of the best Nintendo related experiences I've had in a while.
Right off the bat, one of the first things you'll notice is the genius dialogue. The writing is incredibly charming, funny, and has an obsession with breaking the fourth wall into the tiniest pieces possible (going as far as to referencing the Metroid series, and how long the levels are).
The actual story isn't as strong as the dialogue though. It tends to have some uneven pacing, pointless filler moments like the Aurum invasion, and side plots that don't seem to go anywhere, like the character of Magnus. Not to mention that despite having a war with the forces of darkness, Palutena only allows Pit to fly into battle, despite having an army of centurions on steroids (that can kick my butt any day of the week). Although, there are a few goofs in the story, I still thought it was alright, but it wasn't as strong as the dialogue itself.
Now for the always important gameplay, Kid Icarus is rather formulatic; you start off in an on the rails air battle, and the proceed to a free roam land battle with some platforming elements to it. These are the only two parts to the game, and there is little variation. While this would usually be a downside, the gameplay is so addictive, it's hard to get bored with the formula. Furthermore, the multiplayer mode is arguably better than the solo campaign, and is a must to play at least once. The gameplay also has a lot of replay value due to the fact that you can acquire new weapons in the story mode by accessing harder difficulties, and use them in both single, and multiplayer modes. There are also extra goodies and challenges within the game that allow for extra reasons to replay levels, and keep the game feeling fresh with every play though.
All in all, this is a great game, Nintendo has done a spectacular job on this game, which is why I reward this game with a very solid 9/10 score.