Is there any Master System fan out there who doesn't know Alex Kidd? I don't think so. 'Alex Kidd in Miracle World,' his first game, is probably the best-known SMS game out there (and one of the best), and most people are familiar with the appalling 'Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars' and 'Alex Kidd in High Tech World.' Not so well-known is 'Alex Kidd in Shinobi World' (an excellent game, nearly as good as the first).
But the one release in the series that almost nobody (well, almost nobody outside Japan) knows about is 'Alex Kidd: BMX Trial,' released only in Japan. The title screen says it was released in 1987, so it would have come out around the same time as Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars (probably slightly before or after).
Where the other Alex Kidd games were platform games, this one is a BMX game, as the name would suggest. Another difference is that you don't control the game using the standard controller, but using a paddle controller (I think that this was also only released in Japan).
Let me begin by saying that the control is somewhat... odd. It is when playing the ROM, anyway. I haven't played the game on an actual SMS, with an actual paddle controller, so I couldn't say for sure. But Meka, Zoop's spiffy new SMS emulator, features paddle emulation via the mouse, and this is the best way (short of using an actual paddle controller, of course) to play it. It is near impossible using the keyboard or joystick (at least until paddle emulation through these devices is implemented). Because of the unusual control, this is a pretty challenging game. But with practice, it becomes easier.
There's a variety of different tracks, including a desert, a river, and even Radaxian, Alex's home. Some of the tracks (though not the water levels, obviously) have BMX jumps, which add to the fun, and if you pull off a successful wheelie you'll receive a prize. These prizes include rice balls (as eaten in Alex Kidd in Miracle World) and onions that restore your health, and even rocket boosters!
The tracks break off into different directions and are littered with rocks and trees and other stuff, all of which will deplete your energy if you crash into them. Lose all your energy and you lose the game. Another 'hazard' is the other riders, who'll try to knock you off your bike (Road Rash style).
The graphics in the game, as is expected of an Alex Kidd release, are great. Colourful and cute, though not to the point of overkill as in the sickening Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars, they are very competent. The neat little animations are also very amusing.
Music also rates fairly well. I'm fairly picky about the music in games, but it's not bad at all in this one. It's distinctively Alex Kidd, and one or two of the little tunes are very similar to those of Alex Kidd in Miracle World. Being an early Japanese SMS release, the game features FM music (supported by emulators Meka and Massage) that sounds a lot better, but even the standard sound is, as I said, pretty good.
|
Uncomfortable control aside, Alex Kidd: BMX Trial is a pretty cool game. The Alex Kidd element is there in the graphics, sound, and general feel, and while it doesn't shape up to the better platformers in the series (I'm not talking about #2 and #3), it's a quirky, fun little title well worth trying out- and it's interesting to have a look at such unusual foreign titles. None of the text is in Japanese so it's fully understandable, so I recommend that you download it for a good laugh or two ;) |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
