ne of my favorite games of all time. When I recently played through the whole game to record
the soundtrack, I had as much fun as I did way back in the late 1980's when I was a kid. I have
great memories of playing this game, especially during summer vacations. My brother and I used
to call it our "summer game" because it seemed like every year when school ended, we got urges
to play this game again. One of the coolest things I remember most is discovering the secret
continue mode by accident. One time, after getting all the way to Janken's castle, I lost all
my lives and just started pressing up, down and the two buttons together really fast and
suddenly, the screen read "Continue Mode." I was shocked and so happy. I never knew exactly how
to do get the continue mode until recently when I searched for it on the Web. Also, for some
weird reason that I don't remember, I used to think this game was called Little Kid Alex, until
I bought the game and found out the real name.
What makes this game such a classic? Well, everything about it is great, but lets start out
with the gameplay. You'll have to jump around a lot to get around in this game, which
is reminiscent of Super Mario Bros., but unlike Mario, Alex has many cool items he can acquire.
His main form of attack is a punch, but during the game you'll find Power Bracelets (which
lets Alex shoot something like a laser from his fist), Canes of Flight (fly around for a
limited amount of time), Magic Powders (for temporary invincibility), and several other useful
items. Not only that, but there is also a motorcycle, helicopter, and speedboat that you get
to operate! The end of most levels is usually guarded by a boss who challenges you to a game of
paper, rock, scissors, which is one of the most memorable things about this game. How's that
for gameplay diversity?
Graphics-wise, Alex Kidd in Miracle World is excellent. The backgrounds are a little bit plain,
but otherwise, the graphics are really colorful and pleasing to the eye. You will travel to
very different-looking levels, including cities, a cave, two castles, and several swimming
stages. The music is also very good, but the problem is that there is very little of it. Most
of the levels use the same track from level one (the main theme), the castles have use the same
track, the swimming levels use the same track, etc. On the bright side, there are two separate
music tracks that play when you are on one of the three vehicles you can use. I love the music,
it's just that there is too few tracks.
If you own a Master System, chances are you own this game or have at least played it. For all
those who didn't know about this game, play it! It's one of the true classics from the 8 bit
era.
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