Tear Jerker / Kid Icarus: Uprising

As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.

"My wish would be to fly by myself! I'll return to Skyworld victorious!"

Pit: So, things are going exactly as Hades planned.
Palutena: He spread the rumor about the Wish Seed. And the humans were gullible enough to believe it.
Pit: If only we had a chance to tell them the Wish Seed was a fake. ...Now look at them. It's like they've lost their humanity, and all they have left is... brutality!

— Chapter 11: "Viridi, Goddess of Nature"

Kid Icarus: Uprising is full of both spectacle and hilarity, but when push comes to shove, the sheer torment the heroes and the people they're protecting go through is enough to make one weep.

---

• Chapter 11: With Hades having spread rumor of the Wish Seed, an Apple of Discord that doesn't even exist, humanity wages war upon each other, and Pit and Palutena get to see entire armies slaughtering each other like monsters, all with no music playing for added effect. Pit puts it very accurately:
  Pit: It's like they've lost their humanity, and all they have left is... brutality!
• Chapters 18, 19, 20, and 21, all of which take place during the Player Punch that is the Chaos Kin arc. Why?
  • Chapter 18 is the Wham Episode, when you learn that Pit's soul and conscience has been trapped in the Ring of Chaos for three years with his mindless body slaughtering people during that time, and Palutena has been possessed by a creature called the Chaos Kin and become the enemy of mankind. Palutena tells Pit that she's gotten sick of humanity and especially sick of Pit, in a manner that sounds like a parent suddenly snapping at their child with pent-up anger.
    • Throughout the chapter you fight Centurions, who in Chapter 17, declared they'd be happy to die for his sake, and now they're trying to kill you. Someone give Pit a huge hug.
    • The whole chapter is one big Tear Jerker from Pit's point of view. Imagine that after saving the Earth from a hostile alien race, you wake to find yourself in a ring, having to possess others. When you find Magnus, he informs you that Palutena and your mindless body have been slaughtering the humans for three years. You finally regain your body and you fly to Skyworld only to find your beloved home utterly destroyed. And then you find that Palutena, the Goddess you swore to serve with your life, wants nothing to do with you and the very Centurions who once proudly called you captain and declared they would gladly die for you are now attacking you. It's enough to make even hardened players want to cry for Pit.
    • And that's not even getting into how Palutena must be feeling, right about now. Keep in mind, she is completely aware of the entire time she spent being the Chaos Kin's puppet. She's bearing witness to her own body and voice being used to lay slaughter to untold amounts of people, force her loyal commander into a ring for three years, spout nonsense about how she's sick of the very humans she cherishes, and all around go entirely against everything she believes in. And considering how much she blames the Gods, including herself, for humanity's problems, imagine how she feels knowing this is technically her doing. Even during the boss battle, she whimpers "Pit... why...?" if you hit her, further confirming that she is aware of what is going on.
    • Not to mention the music that plays when Pit finds Skyworld in ruins. It's quite tragic, and then turns to a One-Woman Wail once Palutena is encountered.
  • Chapter 19 has The boss fight with the Chariot Master, where he explains his backstory which is quite tragic. He once served under a master who died along with all his comrades-in-arms, eventually leaving him alone with his horses, Phos and Lux. Even after the Chariot Master himself dies, his soul still remained because he was such and honorable warrior. And then he dies after his fight with Pit, who is horrified and saddened that he had to resort to murder. The scene is made all the more tragic as the Master was not only testing Pit's worthiness for the Lightning Chariot, but is implied to have wanted to die. The fact that Viridi of all people is comforting Pit when the Master dies hammers home how tragic the scene is.
    • Despite this, it's revealed in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U that the Chariot is still in Viridi's possession, who intends to continue her battle against Pit and Palutena. However, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate shows that Pit is now using it as his Final Smash, so either Pit and Palutena managed to retrieve it, or Viridi willingly gave or lent it to them.
  • Chapter 20 has Palutena getting impaled by the Chaos Kin's tail and having her soul ripped out in front of Pit's eyes, just after he thought he saved her, and she turns to stone.
    • During the boss fight with Palutena, you can actually kill Palutena by shooting her instead of the Chaos Kin^note Please note that the speech from Hades in that video is not actually in the game, that video was the only one of the scene that shows the character portraits on the bottom screen. Fortunately, it's nothing more than a Non-Standard Game Over, but her echoing scream and Pit's reaction to accidentally killing his own beloved Goddess just makes it incredibly bleak.
      Pit: (as Palutena dies in agony) No! What have I done?!
    • Chapter 20 is just one more string of Break the Cutie for poor Pit. Throughout the whole thing, he's being belittled by his possessed Goddess while being attacked by the Centurions, all the while Hades is still being a massive troll. In spite of this, Pit still chooses to save his Goddess. The conversation shortly after Pit arrives in Skyworld is a good example of what's going through his head:
      Pit: You have to stop attacking the humans!
      Palutena: No, Pit. Don't you see? This is my atonement for my greatest sin. I let the people grow arrogant and betray the heavenly order.
      Viridi: Oh, jeez. You're just figuring that out now?
      Pit: You're not yourself! The Lady Palutena I know would never say something like that!
      Palutena: Please. Angels cannot truly know Gods.
      Pit: I followed your orders because I trusted you. I can't even count all the times I risked my life for you! [...] I trusted you because I knew you were on the side of justice and... and light! But something is blocking that light now. This isn't the real you. [...] The Goddess of Light has turned dark. Skyworld is destroyed! Everything is wrong, and it's up to me to make things right!
      Palutena: Oh, Pit. You never change, do you? You're just as naïve as ever.
      Pit: I'm not naïve!
      Palutena: Don't get me wrong. I appreciate how easy that's made things for me. But you have to understand, the past is gone.
      Pit: Fine. If that's the way you really feel, I guess I have no choice. As the captain of your guard, it's my duty to save you from what you've become. And if saving you means defeating you, then I'll do what I have to do.
  • Chapter 21: After Palutena's soul is recovered and goes back to normal, the Chaos Kin's remains attack Dark Pit and send him falling to his doom. Pit then demands to Viridi to activate the Power of Flight to save Dark Pit from the Chaos Kin, knowing full well that his wings will burn up. After he saves Dark Pit and the Goddesses recall them, we get a gruesome shot of Pit's burned wings, complete with exposed bone and dried blood; and for extra emotional impact, Palutena recalls Pit stating that his one wish is wanting to fly on his own.
    Palutena: Oh, Pit...
  • Also, if you fail to shoot down the Chaos Kin, Viridi tells Pit that he's out of time, she can't extract him, and that she's sorry. It's how legitimately sad she sounds that makes it a Tear Jerker.
  • On a related note with Viridi, When Pit demands Viridi activate the Power of Flight, she adamantly refuses, knowing his wings will burn up. But after repeated pleading, Viridi reluctantly does; and sure enough, while he does rescue Dark Pit, his wings burn up horribly.
    Pit: (after the Chaos Kin gets hold of Dark Pit) Oh no... Pittoo! (jumps in after him) Viridi! I need to fly!
    Viridi: (more concernedly than ever) You already used the Power of Flight! Don't you remember? If I enable it again now, your wings will catch fire!
    Pit: The Chaos Kin is going to destroy Pittoo! Can't you see what's at stake here? I don't care if my wings catch fire!
    Viridi: No way! Just forget about it! I'm pulling you out!
    Pit: No! Stop! If we don't help him right now, we won't have another chance! I'm begging you, Viridi! Let me fly! NOW!
    Viridi: (sadly) Fine! But whatever happens to you isn't my fault!
    (Viridi activates the Power of Flight, causing Pit to scream in agony at his wings set alight)
    Viridi: Hang in there, Pit! Be strong!
    Dark Pit: Help... me...!
  • When Dark Pit asks how he's doing, Viridi can barely resist the urge to cry, her voice quavering as she tells him Pit's condition.
    Dark Pit: How's Pit?
    Viridi: (voice nearly breaking) Pit... Pit's in bad shape. He can't fly. He's barely breathing.
  • During the time where Viridi takes over as Mission Control and until you complete Chapter 21, the menu theme changes to her temple instead of Palutena's. Whereas Palutena's menu music sounds cheerful and relaxing, The new background music can be best described as "sorrowful serenity".
  • The new menu in its entirety, sorrowful music and all. After launching so many missions from Skyworld, Pit has lost his home on top of everything else, and does not know if he can ever get it back. Despite having everything he needs Viridi's Mission Control is an unfamiliar setting to him and the player both.

---