Alex Kidd In Miracle World holds a place close to my heart as one of the first games I played. It was built into my brothers Master system II and we would all spend many an hour trying to get to the next level, only to have our last life cruely snatched away at the last moment, making us start again. I remember one time when we got further than we ever had before, but unfortunately as the night drew near we ended up keeping in on pause till the next day so we could carry on Alex’s quest t save the land from Evil King Janken.
Now, fifteen years later I’ve been given the chance to delve into the world of Alex Kidd once again thanks to the Wii’s virtual console feature, but how does it stand up to my fond childhood memories?
After a few minutes of watching Mario run around in circles collecting coins my game was finally downloaded and so it came time to play. Upon hitting the start button I was presented with the garishly yellow title screen and jaunty tune I had grown to love. Then it was onto the first level I have played so many times as I jump down the cliffs punching pterodactyl type things and collecting money bags. One thing I noticed though was the controls seemed alot more sensitive and slidey than i remembered. erhaps this was due to games getting the control schemes better due the the years, or the fact that the Master Systems control pad was so sticky that slidy controls were needed to make the game playable, but after a few minutes I found myself getting used to the controls. After that I felt at home jumping around puching blocks, thinking normal places looked odd and then remembering the secret/impending doom hidden inside of them. The smiles kept on coming as I fell into the ocean and the music changed to another of its limited sound set, which brings me to another gripe. I can’t remember underwater sections being this dodgy to control either, as you need to hold down to move down or you float back to the top. Anyway, it didn’t take me long to get the hang of things and soon I came across my first boss.
Alex Kidd broke away from the tradition of game bosses. Theres no punching, no jumping on heads, no hitting an axe the the end of a bridge. Instead you have to play the old classic of Janken (Rock, Paper, Scissors). It’s a game to the death with two out of three taking the crown. My mind started racing back trying to remember the tricks to working out what they were going to play and before soon “stone head” turned into a rice ball and I could pass.
I am thuroughly enjoying playing this classic once again and can’t wait to play some more. The only problem is that i’m stuck at the same place as I was all those years ago, but due to my greater gaming experience i’m sure I will eventually be able to conquer the game and claim my crown. I highly reccomend you pick this up and at 500 points its a steal.
