Is Alex Kidd in Miracle World still good?
Alex Kidd in Miracle World is a platformer developed by Sega and released for the Master
System in 1986.
While Alex Kidd didn't take off like Mario, the character proved popular enough to spawn
three sequels for the Master System, a fourth for the Genesis, and a Japanese-exclusive
spin-off.
Needless to say, Alex Kidd was a big deal for Sega in the late 80's.
But back to the game that started it all.
Alex Kidd in Miracle World was met with critical acclaim.
Generation 4 Magazine scored the game a 99 out of 100 stating, “One who has not seen
Alex Kidd cannot claim to know a REAL arcade game-adventure!
Dare I say that it is perfect?”
Video Games Magazine gave the game an 81% noting, “One of the first Master System
cartridges is still the best of what this console has to offer.”
Finally, Happy Computer Magazine scored the game an 80% proclaiming, “I can recommend
anyone with the Master System to give this game a look.”
So, is Alex Kidd in Miracle World still this good?
Let's dive in.
Alex Kidd begins his adventure in Miracle World at the top of Mt.
Eternal.
Here, there is no place to go but down.
While traversing downwards one will learn Alex Kidd’s default attack is a punch.
This extended fist can be used to punch enemies and break blocks.
The blocks with a star contain money bags, the blocks with a skull temporarily freeze
Alex Kidd but don’t cause damage, and finally, question blocks contain a ring, an enemy,
or an extra life.
This enemy is actually interesting.
It starts off temporarily benign, but then begins chasing Alex Kidd.
The goal is to run away and get it off the screen as it it immune to attack.
Achieve this goal and the enemy doesn’t return.
I should also note the enemy placement.
Despite blindly dropping down the screen, there are no surprises.
Enemies will appear in places the player doesn’t naturally drop down, preventing any surprise
deaths.
Yeah, Alex Kidd in Miracle World is one of those one-hit-death games.
Thankfully the player respawns right where they left off, making this a non-issue.
After making it to the bottom of the screen, Alex Kidd falls into Lake Fathom and the first
water level is introduced.
This is a horizontal area.
Still, the basic concepts of enemy combat and block breaking remain the same.
The controls aren’t bad either.
Alex Kidd is buoyant and the player needs to press the down button now and again to
keep him from floating.
The fact all movement is handled with the d-pad, and Alex Kidd can still attack, makes
the water levels here in Miracle World tolerable.
Clear this and the next area begins with a shop where Alex Kidd can buy some goodies
with the money collected, including a bike.
Purchasing it allows the player to blaze along the level smashing blocks and enemies without
penalty.
However falling into lava will still kill the player.
Additionally, driving into an unbreakable block will cause the bike to break, forcing
the player to tackle the remainder of the level like a traditional platformer.
Next, is a boss fight against a henchman.
Oddly enough, this is a game of rock, paper, scissors.
There is some trial-and-error here, naturally, however the henchmen will always choose the
same action with each playthrough.
This means one could learn the order and write them down, or just cheat and use a guide.
Win the battle and Alex Kidd’s adventure continues back in the lake.
As before, break blocks to open the path forward, collect money to purchase items later, and
punch enemies impeding progress.
Make it through here and we arrive at The Island of St. Nurari.
This introduces a new concept, breaking blocks to create platforms.
The red ones are indestructible, so one can’t ruin their chance at completing the level.
However the light ones can be smashed, opening a path forward or can be used to strategically
access different areas of the level collecting rewards.
Reach the end of the level and an NPC finally offers some story elements.
It turns out Alex Kidd is the prince of Radaxian but he was kidnapped as a boy.
Which is weird because Alex, Kidd…
Anyway Radaxian is now being ruled by Janken the Great and our goal is to defeat him.
Next, we are given a pedal-powered helicopter.
Much like the bicycle, the helicopter makes traveling around the stage much faster.
Simply press the pedal button now and again to maintain flight, and avoid hitting the
propeller on elements of the stage, otherwise it will break and Alex Kidd will be sent down
to finish the level underwater.
After this it’s The Village of Namui.
One can either complete this level on foot, which features plenty of tough platforming
over small platforms, or journey along in the helicopter.
Either way, some new fire enemies are presented which require pattern recognition and a little
caution to get by.
At the end of this level is a more traditional boss, sort of.
Rather than playing a game of rock, paper, scissors this bull just needs to be punched
8 times.
Rapidly pressing the attack button is all it takes really, meaning there’s no challenge
here whatsoever.
We are then alerted to the fact Alex Kidd’s brother is imprisoned in the Radaxian Castle.
So, let’s get a move on.
On the way to the castle is Mt.
Kave, offering new scenery but again the core mechanics remain the same.
A player can either speed through the level as quickly as possible, or take their time,
carefully breaking blocks methodically to ensure clean punches at enemies and creating
platforms for reaching items.
Overall, this is a rather thoughtful level and builds nicely upon the concepts taught
thus far.
Greeting Alex Kidd at the end is another henchman.
Like before, the player needs to correctly guess the appropriate action to be successful
in a best of three battle.
Defeat him and it’s time for The Blakwoods.
Despite many attempts, I never really got a good grasp on this stage.
A bike is available for purchase in the shop at the beginning, however the stage hazards
presented don’t quite match the capabilities of the two-wheeled vehicle.
Still, there is a particular set of blocks near the beginning of the stage that can be
nigh-near impossible to get past without an item.
And I guess this is where Alex Kidd is rather clever.
Skill is necessary to get past this part straight-up.
I know it’s possible, but I can’t do it.
However it’s easy to smash through this early obstacle with the bike.
Even if you fall on spikes later on, nothing else in the level requires superhuman reflexes.
Alternatively, one could use an item, like the ring, which gives Alex Kidd a projectile
attack.
This allows the player to break the hazard blocks without freezing and dropping into
death.
There is also a magic wand giving temporary flight, yet another way to get past this obstacle.
That is three alternative ways to get around one hazard.
Not bad for a 1986 platformer.
Moving along, The Blakwoods offers a new enemy to contend with: monkeys.
These guys throw coconuts at the player at various speeds.
It’s a basic pattern for sure, but when trying to navigate tight platforms, it adds
yet another wrinkle to the gameplay.
The level ends against a bear with a sword.
One could attack this boss straight-up, punching when the sword is out of the way, or use the
ring and mow him down quickly with projectiles.
Then, there is a boat.
This works like the bike where the goal is to avoid driving head first into obstacles.
If you do ride into something, you get pushed down to the water level below.
Thankfully, the area after this is a little more interesting.
This is another fun platforming gauntlet.
The player is given the choice to either go on foot, which makes navigating through the
fire hazards later a little easier.
Or use the helicopter, which makes the first half of the level easier, but the larger hitbox
makes avoiding the fire hazards tougher.
In either case, one will have to avoid lightning, increasing the difficulty and making the enemy
patterns more complex.
The section ends with a henchman.
While I don’t care for this battle concept, I do appreciate how each has a face resembling
a hand, making the shape of rock, paper, or scissors.
It’s weird as hell and reminds you this game was definitely developed in Japan.
Finally, Alex Kidd arrives at Radaxian Castle, or Radactian Castle; the manual and screen
text spell it differently.
The game changes here as the level is no longer linear.
Instead it plays sort of like a dungeon you'd find in The Legend of Zelda.
Each screen acts as a mini obstacle course, and there are branching paths.
The first goal is to rescue the older brother, who reveals we need to find a hidden letter
and then head of to the Kingdom of Nibana to find the Moonlight stone.
It is here one can also find the telepathy stone, which allows Alex Kidd to see what
the henchman are thinking.
There was one in Mt.
Kave as well but I just sort of went passed it.
Anyway, with the telepathy stone you’ll see the henchman battle at the end of this
level is no longer luck based as we can see what the henchman is going to pick.
He will change his mind at the last moment so quick reaction is needed to be victorious,
but I appreciate how the concept has evolved.
After winning the game, his head comes off and start moving about the screen.
Punch it three times and the exit will be revealed.
With the letter in tow Alex Kidd now needs to travel to the Kingdom of Nibana.
But on the way are more levels.
First is a short city, ending with a fifth henchman battle.
His headless attack is made more challenging with a projectile attack, but the three hit
rule remains the same.
Next is a helicopter level where the game really tests the player’s ability to not
crash the propeller into low platforms.
Clear this and the King of Nibana advises the Moonlight Stone has been stolen, but offers
us a stone slab.
Finally, he alerts us to the fact the crown is hidden in Lake Deep.
With this information Alex Kidd travels through another platforming level in the countryside.
Again, one can buy the motorcycle from the shop and blaze through attempting to dodge
obstacles and jump over lava pits, or save the money for extra lives and traverse by
foot.
In any case, the difficulty continues to increase, this time with enemies on short paths.
Landing in a small space without landing on an enemy is tough, but with the skills developed
thus far, it’s not impossible.
The sixth and final henchman concludes the section.
Clear this and a new castle shows up on the map screen, leading to another awesome castle
level.
Like before, this is non-linear.
A player could explore every nook and cranny finding extra lives and other goodies, or
speed through on the ideal path to save time.
The choice is up to the player.
This castle also lays it on thick with the traps.
While the first castle had a mild puzzle element trying to figure out how to free the brother,
there are many more here.
Sometimes this involves just punching blocks before getting crushed, other times it’s
double punching a block to open a path before the water drowns Alex Kidd.
This was briefly introduced in Mt.
Kave, where pressing the star block removed this block, allowing progression.
But in this final castle, all of the elements are put together to challenge the player.
There are also branching paths and my preferred method is to use the wand on this area to
avoid a particularly nasty underwater screen on a different path.
Still, all-in-all, this secret castle is pretty amazing and a terrific way to end the heart
of the adventure.
Now, normally I would introduce a spoiler alert, but the battle against Janken the Great
is not actually the end of the game.
Like his three henchmen, the battle begins with a game of rock, paper, scissors.
He changes his mind a couple of times on his last throw, so reacting with the telepathy
powers can be tough.
But like the previous battles, his throws will be exactly the same on every playthrough,
assuming you don’t die during battle or mess up the order.
After losing he begins firing projectiles.
Oddly, Janken the Great is ridiculously easy to defeat, with an obvious safe spot on the
screen.
Like the three henchman, after three punches to the face, he goes down.
From here, a princess tells us we need to find the crown in order to save the people.
So, after a quick swim through Lake Deep, we finally arrive to the real end of the game.
But first things first, Alex Kidd begins the journey with the Sun Stone, and then grabs
the Moonlight Stone from Janken the Great upon defeat.
Using these two stones Alex Kidd unlocks a final room.
Here are five switches on the ground that must be pressed in a certain order.
That order, comes from the stone slab received back at the Kingdom of Nibana.
Touch the switches in the order revealed on the stone, and the Crown will appear.
Jump over some flame, snatch the crown, and the adventure finally comes to an close.
Alex Kidd in Miracle World ends on a cliff-hanger.
Alex Kidd’s older brother is crowned King, but the end text scroll reveals Alex Kidd
doesn’t know where his father, King Sander, ended up.
With that, the game has been beaten and then of course, the credits roll.
Graphically, Alex Kidd in Miracle World is about what you would expect from an early
Sega Master System game.
Sprite works is very simple with limited colors and basic details.
The player sprite in addition to the enemies are mostly small with just two frames of animation.
The frog enemy is the notable exception, it’s large and detailed, which is nice.
Color selection is also primitive, and most areas have a generic feel to them.
Background are generally a vast canvas of a single color, and when there are details,
they are simple.
The only exception is the underwater sections, which feature a sparkling background offering
a sense of movement in addition to some good color use, with the water contrasting nicely
with the landscape.
This does mean the frame rate is a rock solid 60 frames per second and I really only noticed
two instances of flickering.
Once with an extra life and again against Janken the Great.
The music follows suit.
While the main music has a catchy hook that is sure to get stuck in your head, the rest
of the music is good but not great.
The motorcycle music, helicopter music, boss track, and underwater theme are fine but simple.
I did find the castle music to be strangely enjoyable though, as it ditches the happy
beats for something more sinister.
The melody is slower, notes linger, and the strange instruments have much more depth offering
a richer soundscape.
The sound effects are also basic, with the appropriate exploding sound when enemies die
and crumbling noise when breaking rocks.
However the breaking item blocks and collecting money effects make an ear piercing screech.
I’m baffled at how many early Master System games use these high pitch noises but it sounds
awful, especially on modern speakers.
So, with all of that out of the way, we arrive back to the question asked at the beginning
of the video.
Is Alex Kidd in Miracle World, still good?
First, I need to address what I’ve been avoiding since the start.
The controls are bad.
First, the momentum, is all wrong.
Alex Kidd starts off ridiculously fast.
This means changing directions on small platforms is difficult, and running into enemies, or
off ledges, is a frequent occurrence.
Even after spending hours with this game, the controls never became natural.
If you aren’t consciously thinking about the controls, you will die.
A lot.
There are little oddities as well.
The collision detection can be downright poor at times, making it difficult to collect items
when you are clearly touching them.
And Alex Kidd cannot crawl, making moments like this tedious.
The twitchy momentum is also carried into the jumping.
I appreciate having mid-air controls to adjust Alex Kidd’s trajectory, but because everything
happens so fast, landing on small platforms is a nerve-wracking experience from the beginning
of the game to the end.
This fact actually makes the vehicle segments, along with the swimming, a breath of fresh
air.
As there is no precise jumping or landing, these become more enjoyable with the physics
provided.
Sadly, a platformer is all about platforming, and with controls this twitchy and unnatural,
Alex Kidd really does play like a game developed over 30 years ago.
What doesn’t feel like it was developed over 30 years ago is the level design.
Seriously, for as outdated as the controls are, the level design is mostly excellent.
For one, the level designer seemed well aware of the difficult jumping so many jumps feature
blocks strategically placed to stop Alex Kidd once he lands.
This takes a lot of pressure off the player and while not everywhere, it does ease the
pain.
Better still, enemy placement is spot on, never surprising the player with cheap placement.
Instead, the player is given an opportunity to assess the situation and plan an attack.
Nothing is out of reach either.
Enemies low to the ground can be punched, and no enemy is placed in a spot requiring
some death-defying leap.
It’s actually kind of impressive.
Next, I really dig the monetary system.
One can break every block to get cash and buy bonus lives or other items to make the
adventure easier, or skip them altogether for a more challenging experience.
A veteran is not forced to utilize the money, but the mechanic also rewards those looking
for every advantage.
Best of all, it really helps newer players who might be less familiar with the series.
There is a nice risk versus reward system as well.
Since there is so much momentum, Alex Kidd can punch a block in the air and then collect
the item inside, all in the same leap.
While I didn’t attempt this over lava, someone less averse to risk certainly could.
Same goes for this jump here, and many other areas.
It gives a layer of replayability to the overall adventure.
Also giving replayability to the adventure are secret areas.
Punching all of the pieces off of this octopus tentacle will reveal a path.
And I already mentioned using the magic wand to get up to this ladder, offering an alternate
path through the final castle.
Little touches like this are awesome and I welcome their addition.
Finally, the difficulty curve is spot on.
I love how concepts start off simple, and are built upon as the game unfolds.
The early helicopter sections allow the player to get up to speed with their controls, and
then mastery of these controls are necessary later on.
Block breaking begins as a fun way to score extra goodies, before being mandatory for
making it over hazards.
From the beginning, everything in Alex Kidd in Miracle World feels exceptionally thoughtful,
and it’s obvious the designers put care into the placement of just about everything.
It makes for a world incredibly fun to platform through.
So yeah, Alex Kidd in Miracle World is still a good game.
However, while the terrific levels and decent enemies do a good job mitigating the controls,
they can’t hide them altogether.
They really are ridiculously twitchy and it does knock the game down a notch.
Had they been tighter, this one might be up there with some of the best 8-bit platformers
available.
Instead, Alex Kidd in Miracle World is a good game, worth playing, but man I wish the controls…
were better.