Alex Kidd in Miracle World

Alex Kidd was meant to be Sega's response to Mario and the basic platformer mechanics of jumping and busting blocks are present, except where Mario does it by jumping on enemies, Alex has a straightforward, sideways punch. Another thing that sets apart Alex Kidd from Mario is how it allows you to buy certain upgrades and even vehicles(like motorbikes and helicopters) which are fun to ride, but also too easy to lose out of control. It's cool that the levels offer you choice into how you want to beat them with what you have in your disposal.

My only really big gripes with this game is the controls can be too sloppy or sensitive at times(though once you reach the end of the game you'll master them), and that there is no visible way to determine the order of signs to take for the janken matches which are what the boss battles revolve around(if the telepathy ball were more easily available in the levels, this would have been avoided). Other than that, this is a surprisingly competent, very imaginative game, and really great for children.

This game came internally bundled with the Sega Master System II which was my first foray into home video games since the very early 1980s. Alex Kidd in Miracle World [アレックスキッドのミラクルワールド] was a fun little game that served as a good introduction to the console. Not blindingly difficult, and enjoyable enough to want to keep playing in order to complete it. Indeed, there was a real sense of achievement in beating the game. Once that had been accomplished the next challenge was to complete the entire game without losing a life. Once that became a regular occurrence the game was put on the back burner and only revisited occasionally.