
	Platform Sega Master System Genre Platformer Publisher Sega Developer Sega ETA 1986
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Alex Kidd in Miracle World

As platformers rose in popularity, spearheaded by the likes of Super Mario Bros., it was only a matter of time before Sega stepped onto the scene with their own offering in the genre. This game turned out to be Alex Kidd in Miracle World for the Master System. Walking the line between adhering to traditional gameplay mechanics, and adding something new, the game managed to carve out its own little niche for Alex.

Pretty much anyone who got a Master System received a copy of Miracle World (at least in North America) seeing as this was Sega's pack-in game at the time. Moreover, it wasn't even on a cartridge. Instead the game was build right into the system itself, so their was no escaping Mr. Kidd for Master System owners.

On a basic level, Miracle World was quite similar to other platformers out there with lots of jumping around on platforms (who'd of thought!). What made Alex Kidd stand out from the pack were two things. Firstly there were his attacks. Instead of bouncing on bad guys' heads, he would take a more conventional route, and simply punch them. It wasn't just any kind of punch, though, as Alex's fist was pretty darn gigantic, so one must assume that it must have packed quite the whallop. The second thing that made Alex Kidd stand out was the period chakan battles (rock, paper, scissors) he would get into against the evil chakan masters that had taken over the nearby kingdom that he was trying to liberate. Another neat little element of the game was being able to ride around on a motorcycle, or pedal copter, but these weren't hugely useful abilities.

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Visually, the game had a decent amount of detail, and plenty of bright, happy colors. There was definitely a happy-go-lucky feel to the game's aesthetic. It was interesting at the time, and by interesting I mean annoying / childish, as even in the 80s there were console fanboys saying that Alex Kidd or Super Mario Bros. was the better game visually, gameplay-wise, or whatever. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

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Unfortunately, the Master System was left in the NES' dust in North America, and never really gained mass appeal, but it did have its followers, and this proved to be enough to keep the system around, and it certainly helped keep Alex Kidd games coming. It wasn't hugely ground breaking, but the game was more than enough to give players a taste of a platformer that didn't involve Italian plumbers.

roygbiv

July 20, 2010