Featuring the first appearance of the character many consider Sega's first true mascot, Alex Kidd in Miracle World is basically the Master System's response to the popularity of Super Mario Bros. for the NES. There's plenty of running and jumping, and Alex can destroy overhead blocks with his head. However, the game does deviate from the SMB formula in a number of ways, including Alex's ability to punch enemies and ride an assortment of vehicles, including a motorcycle and a speedboat. When Sega released a scaled down model of the Master System in 1990, Alex Kidd in Miracle World was included in the package. ~ Brett Alan Weiss, All Game Guide
Roots & Influences
Alex Kidd is Sega's first mascot. He is featured in five games, four on the Master System and one on the Genesis. As the first in the series, Alex Kidd in Miracle World's most likely influence, and greatest competition, is Nintendo's Super Mario Bros.. While both are 2D platform games, Alex Kidd in Miracle World does include some original features through the use of vehicles. ~ Jonathan Sutyak, All Game Guide
Review: Enjoyment
There's no doubt why Alex Kidd had so many sequels. ~ David Filip, All Game Guide
Review: Overall
Alex Kidd has starred in more Master System games than any other character, so many considered him the unofficial Sega mascot until Sonic the Hedgehog took the throne in 1991. The Sega Master System's most popular series began with Alex Kidd in Miracle World.
The first thing you'll notice, besides the colorful graphics, is the tight control, which is essential for a platform game that requires frequent jumping. The pause button also accesses a variety of tools Alex can use on his quest, and vehicles like the speedboat and motorcycle add a new dimension to the running, jumping, and breaking of boxes. These features were quite innovative for the time, and considering that the game's major competition was Super Mario Bros. on the NES, Sega needed as much heavy artillery as it could get.
Another positive aspect is the game's variety: you'll advance through caves, forests, castles, and strange rocky areas as Alex embarks on a quest to free his family. Occasionally shops will appear so you can take advantage of the precious bags of money collected from treasure chests found along the way.
Humor is also prevalent in the game, as Alex will have to play the Paper-Scissors-Stone game against Janken the Great and his stooges, who happen to be named (surprise) Paper Head, Scissors Head, and Stone Head. You can't help but smile as soon as you see these villains in action.
Yet one wonders about the translation quality for other names, as Alex's brother "Igul" is named "Eagle" in the instruction booklet -- although the names sound the same, Sega would have done well to polish the game's text. Also, as strange as it may seem, this game ends on something of a cliffhanger that would not be resolved until four years later in the 1990 Genesis game Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle.
Characters and plot aren't a major part of the game though, as the jumping and survival skills take center stage and remain fun throughout. Items like the Pedicopter (yes, a helicopter that Alex has to pedal like a bicycle) and the Cane of Flight help him through tough situations, and the characters he encounters are all colorfully drawn.
The bouncy, happy music also fits every scene, the quest to pick up more money to buy additional items keeps the pace moving along, and the final puzzle is a great way to end the game. It's no wonder Sega kept Alex's career alive for so long, because this Kidd is a winner. ~ David Filip, All Game Guide
Review: Graphics
The bright, colorful graphics look very nice compared to other games of the same era. ~ David Filip, All Game Guide
Review: Sound
Each type of environment and most vehicles have their own bouncy tunes. ~ David Filip, All Game Guide
Review: Replay Value
There aren't a lot of secret levels or rooms, but there are enough to keep it interesting. Trying some levels with and without vehicles is also a different experience. ~ David Filip, All Game Guide
Review: Documentation
Choppy, incomplete sentences are an early Sega trademark, but at least you know what they mean to say. Unfortunately, this is common on the platform. ~ David Filip, All Game Guide
Alex Kidd in Miracle World is a platform game for the 8-bitSega Master Systemvideo
game console. It was first released in Japan on November
1, 1986. Due to the mass distribution of the version bundled with and built into some
versions of the Sega Master System console, it became the most recognised game in the Alex
Kidd series.
Story
The story is that of Alex Kidd, who is looking for his lost brother, Egle (sometimes referred to as "Igul"), captured by the
evil villain Janken the Great (Janken is romanized Japanese for the game
Rock, Paper, Scissors, which plays an important part in the games boss fights).
Throughout the game he has to face many different monsters, including the three henchmen of Janken the Great, through sixteen
stages before he can face the evil villain.
Versions
Title screen
Alex Kidd in Miracle World was initially available as a cartridge.
From 1990 onwards, the game was built into certain revisions of the Sega Master System hardware, including some New Zealand,
US, Australian and European versions of the Master System 2, and some European and Australian versions of the Master System 1. The
later "built-in" version differs slightly from the cartridge edition - this can be identified by Alex's meal on the map screen
between levels. In the original cartridge version, Alex is consuming a rice ball; in the
built-in version, Alex is eating a hamburger. The other major difference is the controls - the
cartridge version uses button 2 to punch and button 1 to jump. These controls felt unnatural to many people, and were swapped
over for the built-in version. There were rumours deemed to be false but which later proved true of a version in which Alex is
drinking root beer on the Map screen.
Janken (Paper, Scissor, Stone) Matches
A distinctive aspect of this game was the playing of a "best 2 out of 3" match of "Rock, Paper, Scissors" to defeat Janken's three henchmen, "Rock Head", "Paper Head" and "Scissor
Head" and the ultimate henchman, "Hammer Head" instead of a more traditional physical boss fight in which winning depended on the
players skill. This meant that upon meeting such a boss, Alex had a one-in-three chance of losing a round. Towards the end of the
game, all three of Janken's previously defeated henchmen return, and resort to a more conventional battle in addition to having a
"Rock, Paper, Scissors" battle.
Screenshot from the first level
Alex Kidd in Miracle World did not have a battery save option nor a password system, meaning that when all of Alex's
lives and money ran out the game was over. However, all Janken matches throughout the game used a preset sequence, meaning that
it was easy to remember the sequence from a previous play and act accordingly. This sequence however, remains intact only if the
player never loses a single round. If and when the player loses one round at any time, the rest of the game's sequence will
change unpredictably. In this case, it is advised to pick up one of the game's two "Telepathy
Balls", which will from then on allow you to see your opponent's hand as it cycles through the Rock, Paper and Scissors options,
giving the player the opportunity to pick the right outcome. Even when the player resorts to using this, the match remains no
cakewalk; a boss could change his decision at the very last second, making quick reflexive thinking necessary.
Trivia
The game featured an un-documented continue feature, where the player could continue the game with three lives from the
beginning of the level they died on by holding the up direction and quickly pressing button 2 during the "Game Over" screen. This
would cost the player 400 of the in game currency.
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