Alex Kidd in Miracle World is a 2D side-scrolling platforming game that was developed and published by Sega for the Sega Master System. Originally coming out in Japan on November 1st, 1986, and was released to North America and Europe one year later. It stars Alex Kidd, a martial artist tasked with the duty to save the kingdom of Radaxian from the evil Janken the Great. Alex Kidd also served as Sega's mascot before the introduction of Sonic the Hedgehog.
As an added bonus of information, while the Sega Master System never really caught on in North America, it was a huge success in Europe, and even won the console wars against Nintendo's NES system proving that people over the pond got it right.
Without further ado, let's dive in to Alex Kidd in Miracle World.
Such a beautiful day in the neighborhood!
The main gameplay in Alex Kidd involves exploring the various levels, getting money from blocks that Alex can break open with his fist, and defeating enemies with his one punch death move. A natural One Punch Man, you could say. Alex must overcome enemies and obstacles to complete the game and save the kingdom of Radaxian.
Needless to say, the game is hard. Very hard. Some players make it look easy, but it's really not. Take the rock, paper, scissor game, for example. You can see what they're choosing over head, but what it lands on isn't what they choose, so you have no earthly idea which one to pick until it's too late. Making it extremely hard to figure out and boiling it down to just dumb luck.
I feel like I should track down the owner, but I really want to buy a bicycle.
After getting enough money you can go to the shop located at the beginning of some stages to buy either a bicycle for riding, or a helicopter for flying. Which greatly enhances your chances of passing that stage because of the way it's laid out. Another item you can find on your travels are extra lives which appear as a mini Alex on the screen.
The fact that the boss battles in the game are basically rock, paper, scissor contests give this game an extra flavor of kid friendliness than most other games. But that gets thrown out the window by the end of the game when their heads come off and they attack you. From there it just like a regular boss fight. Getting hit once or losing the rock, paper, scissor game (otherwise known as jan-ken-pon) kills Alex and you have to start over. This was back in the 80s so there's no way to save your game. You just start off at the beginning again and hope for the best. Overall the game is only 40 minutes long if you know what to do and how to do it. But the difficulty spike more than makes up for how short the game actually is.
Don't mess with the octopus, kids!
Another aspect of the game is the underwater levels. Where Alex swims and avoid obstacles. Unlike Sonic, Alex doesn't need air bubbles to help him breathe and instead just holds his breath for the remainder of the water level. Makes my job a whole lot easier.
Let's talk about the graphics for a minute. Considering this game came out in 1986 on an 8-bit console like the Master System, the graphics have aged very well. It has a good art style to the game that makes it look cute (and I mean that nicely) and is a fun game to look at. The sound also compliments the graphics well and the music is nice. Needless to say the game is as fun to look at as it is to listen to.
I will tolerate no monkey business!
The story of the game is pretty simple and is told through gameplay. Jaken the Great defeated King Thunder of Radaxian and kidnapped his son, Prince Egle, and his fiancee, Princses Lora. You find out from a friendly old man that you're actually the long lost son of King Thunder so the matter becomes more personal for you as you set out to defeat Jaken the Great's henchmen and then Jaken the Great himself. Turning him to stone as a result of defeating him. At the end of the game you retrieve the crown and Radaxian is restored under the newly crowned King Egle. And everyone lives happily ever after, except for Alex Kidd who knows the whereabouts of his father is still unknown. Chances of a sequel is greatly multiplying.
Some times you have to let your fist do the talking.
At the end of the day, Alex Kidd in Miracle World is a fun, cute game that is plenty difficult to provide a good challenge for more hardcore gamers, while still having aspects that can draw in a more casual fan. While still looking pretty good considering it has been three decades since the game originally came out. If you're interested in seeing what Sega's old mascot had to share the world, then by all means, give it a go. It was definitely a reason to buy a Sega Master System back in the day.
Get it!
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