The Classic Game - Alex Kidd in Miracle World

The Classic Game: Game Number 1 Alex Kidd in Miracle World

Alex Kidd in Miracle World - Sega Master System

Welcome to the first of our classic reviews on older games, first up Alex Kidd.

Probably the most famous game in the Alex Kidd series Miracle World is more then likely familiar to anyone born into the late 70's to early 90's that played videogames. AKIMW (Alex Kidd in Miracle World as it will be know for the rest of this article) came built into various Sega Master System Consoles and was a lot of peoples first and or only game for quite some time. In a rather genius move by the boffins at Sega the included the game in built with the hardware, turn the console on and the above screen would greet you, although it did get a cartridge release as well.

Alex Kidd was Sega's attempt at obtaining a mascot to counter Nintendo's Mario and while the character never obtained mainstream success like Nintendo's mascot it was a very competitive figure in Euro/Australian gaming but ultimately Sega would have to wait until Sonic to get there cash cow mascot.

The game at hand though is a very well balanced platformer that has quite a colorful impressive use of the master system's hardware more so considering its an early title in the life of the hardware.

 The aim is very simple; you must travel the land of Radiaxan to save it from the evil rule of Janken the Great and his henchmen. Along the way Alex meets an array of people, each with information about his forgotten past or with a new mission to undertake. Instead of the left-to-right way of structuring levels that so many Master System platform games were accustomed to using at this point, AKIMW used less linear level design. The opening level has you make your way down through a mountain chasm to reach water, another has you flying a helicopter but if you hit an obstacle you plummet into the sea below and have to carry on from there. The castles later in the game are large with rooms full of traps, with shortcuts, secret areas, dead ends, all giving the feeling that you're not on rails, so to speak. This all helps to keep the game from getting repetitive and adds to the charm.

Still a brilliant game today and has aged very well, what other game lets you play Rock, Paper, Scissors?

Alex Kidd Series Games:
Alex Kidd in Miracle World
Alex Kidd in Shinobi World
Alex Kidd: High-Tech World
Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars
BMX Trial: Alex Kidd
Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle