From Luigi’s Mansion to Donkey Kong Country to Pikmin, it seems like every Nintendo franchise has made its way to the Switch. While some series skip a generation or two, the Switch generation has welcomed more of Nintendo’s catalogue than any other console to date through ports, remakes, and sequels.

However, fans have noticed one glaring omission from the Switch library: Kid Icarus.

Kid Icarus began life on the NES way back in 1986 with its first release as an action platformer on the system. It was popular enough among gamers back then to received follow-up on the Game Boy in 1991. After that, the series went dormant.

Until finally, in 2012, it was revived by none other than legendary game designer Masahiro Sakurai of Kirby and Smash Bros fame. Sakurai brought Kid Icarus into the third dimension on the Nintendo 3DS with Kid Icarus: Uprising. The entry was seen as both a commercial and critical success, selling over 1 million units even as a launch title for a handheld that wasn’t exactly popular at the time with an IP that wasn’t a household name. Pretty impressive, right?

Since then, Kid Icarus protagonist Pit and his goddess Palutena have featured as playable fighters in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and are fan favorites in the gaming community. Yet still, nearly a decade later there’s been no announcement of a bonafide Kid Icarus sequel, remake, or port in the works.

In 2018, Sakurai acknowledged the demand for the product, but ruled out the possibility of a Kid Icarus: Uprising port on the Switch.

“I could say that this was close to becoming the most difficult project in my entire career, both in terms of the team and the hardware.” Sakurai said to EDGE magazine, “As a game in general, it’s rich in content and enjoyable, and people have even asked for a modern port. However, I don’t think this will be possible.”

Of course, that was three years ago. Things can change, right? And maybe not. Maybe a port would be too much of a pain considering the different control scheme of the 3DS compared to the Switch. But maybe Sakurai could consider a whole new Kid Icarus project built from the ground up with the Switch hardware in mind, especially now that he’s deeply familiar with it, right?

Wrong. Many fans might have been excited to see Sakurai recently post an image of Pit from Kid Icarus soaring in the sky on Twitter, but a quick translation of the post dashes any hope we may have left for a sequel any time soon.

“On this day in 2021, New Light Mythology: Palutena’s Mirror (Kid Icarus: Uprising) went on sale!!  We’ve received many requests for a sequel or a remake, but that might be a bit difficult…”

Yeah… that doesn’t sound like anything is currently in production or even in the preliminary discussion stages.

Oh well. You can always play the original NES classic on Nintendo Switch Online, and fire up your 3DS for a playthrough of Uprising. Or just select Pit or Palutena as your fighter in Smash Bros and dream on.