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    Looking Back: Alex Kidd

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    Looking Back: Alex Kidd Empty Looking Back: Alex Kidd

    Post by Nessness Tue Oct 14, 2014 7:12 am

    Looking Back: Alex Kidd

    Do you know Alex Kidd? He used to be Sega's mascot, before Sonic the Hedgehog became such a success. In this talk, we are going to learn about who Alex is. We are also going to look at all of his games. (There's only six)

    The talk will start tomorrow. Stay tuned.


    Last edited by Ness and Lucas on Mon Oct 20, 2014 9:48 am; edited 6 times in total
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    Post by Winters Thief Zero Tue Oct 14, 2014 3:37 pm

    I haven't played the series, but I've definitely heard of it.
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    Looking Back: Alex Kidd Empty Re: Looking Back: Alex Kidd

    Post by Nessness Thu Oct 16, 2014 7:33 am

    Day 1

    Have you ever played an Alex Kidd game?

    Yes. [ 2 ]
    No, but I heard about it before. [ 1 ]
    No, and I haven't heard about it before. [ 0 ]
    Why is there an another d on the word 'kid'? [ 0 ]



    Today, we are going to take a look at Alex Kidd in Miracle World. It's probably the most famous Alex Kidd game, and many players consider this as their favorite Alex Kidd game. Well then, let's start.

    Oh, and Alex is not a monkey. He is a monkey-shaped human.

    Looking Back: Alex Kidd AlexKiddInMiracleWorldBox
    Alex Kidd in the Miracle World

    Looking Back: Alex Kidd Title
    Alex Kidd in Miracle World is a platformer, not unlike Super Mario Bros. In fact, this game was made to face against Super Mario Bros! The game has a sheer amount of differences from Super Mario Bros, though.

    Looking Back: Alex Kidd Alex-kidd
    If Mario was a jumping action game, Alex Kidd in Miracle World was a punching action game. Your main way to defeat your enemies is to punch them. If Mario hit blocks by jumping them, Alex had to hit all of those blocks to get stuff from them. Punching the enemies and making them go down is pretty satisfying.

    Looking Back: Alex Kidd Shop
    The money system of this game is also more important than in the other games in Alex Kidd. While the money system in other games often just gave you one-ups, you actually need to save up money in Alex Kidd in Miracle World to buy things from the shops.

    Looking Back: Alex Kidd AlexKiddInMiracleWorld-SMS-Stage3
    Let me tell you a few things you can buy at the shops. There are motorcyles and helicopters, which you are able to use in the levels. These vehicles are often vital if you want to have fun going through the levels, so save up money and please buy them. Their controls are overall pretty good, so don't worry too much.

    There are some more items that will make your life much easier. There are bracelets that will make a beam fire in Alex's hands, capsules that would send Alex's friends to attack enemies, a magical cane that would make Alex float, and finally, an extra life. I highly recommend the bracelet, that item alone makes the game far easier. (Pretty much because this game doesn't have good hit detection) Overall, the variety of items made the game pretty fresh. It also made Alex Kidd more unique than the other games out there.

    Looking Back: Alex Kidd Alex286
    The next unique thing about Alex Kidd in Miracle World is the rock-scissors-paper boss battles.

    Face Palm!Facehoof

    Looking Back: Alex Kidd Alex_Kidd_in_Miracle_World_%2528SMS%2529_24
    Yeah, it is a luck-based boss battle, and you will feel utterly terrible when you lose those battles and lose a life. But it isn't so bad, considering that those bosses actually have a pattern on their fights, that you can memorize those patterns and pathetically beat them on your next try. The fact that you respawn at the boss when you die makes it also pretty easy.

    Looking Back: Alex Kidd Janken_final+alex+kidd+in+miracle+world
    Also, there is an item that will make you able to see your enemies' thoughts, and that item's power lasts until the end of the game. I won't consider it as a nice game design though, those fights often feel too unfair or too easy whether how you do this. Still, it was unique for that time, so I have to give this bonus points.

    I won't really say this game is at the same league as Super Mario Bros. though.

    Looking Back: Alex Kidd Sms_alexmiracle
    Alex isn't the strongest hero ever, so he dies in one hit from everything. While you respawn at the area you last died, you could still get that game over screen.

    And trust me, it isn't easy to avoid all these enemies and obstacles. Some of the areas of this game is amazingly hard to pull off when you are playing this game for the first time. Combine this fact with the fact that you die in one hit, then you've got a big problem..

    Looking Back: Alex Kidd NES-controllerLooking Back: Alex Kidd Mastercontroller
    The controls are also a problem. You know that Button A makes the player Jump and that Button B makes the player Run/Shoot/Attack in most of the games? Well, congratulations, Alex Kidd in Miracle World's controls are reversed. Button 1 makes you jump, and button 2 makes you attack.

    While this wouldn't be a problem if you only played Alex Kidd in Miracle World as your main game, most of the gamers back then would have gone to the various arcade stations and played games there, where the controls were on the original style.

    Thankfully, the controls were changed to the usual controls in the later revisions. But still, it was a really bad design. The hit detection and the floaty jumps also hurt the gameplay a lot.

    Looking Back: Alex Kidd Tumblr_m4rerjNz5e1qk26dzo1_500
    Still, Alex Kidd in Miracle World is worthwhile playing if you want a twist from the ordinary platformers out there. Though it might give you some frustration, if you get used to it, you will get to play one of the most innovative platformers for that time. Just don't expect a masterpiece.

    Looking Back: Alex Kidd D98dd194
    Another fun fact is that this game was actually translated into Korean by Samsung. That's pretty spectacular, considering most Korean shipping companies are pretty much too lazy to translate things. (They didn't even translate Sonic Riders..)

    Tomorrow, we will take a look at Alex's next two games- Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars, and Alex Kidd: BMX Trial. Thank you! Also vote on the poll.

    Day 1 Over.
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    Post by queenzelda Thu Oct 16, 2014 12:23 pm

    Huh, that game looks awfully familiar. I might have played this game at some time or another. If not I'd probably try it out anyway; it looks kind of cute. :3
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    Post by Winters Thief Zero Thu Oct 16, 2014 1:06 pm

    ^ You probably have if it looks that familiar to you.

    Seems like a cool game, I've never played it myself though as I said before.
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    Looking Back: Alex Kidd Empty Re: Looking Back: Alex Kidd

    Post by King Atem Thu Oct 16, 2014 1:10 pm

    Heck I'd try playing it. I've played a lot of other platform games & from how it looks Alex Kidd looks to be a lot of fun.
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    Looking Back: Alex Kidd Empty Re: Looking Back: Alex Kidd

    Post by Nessness Fri Oct 17, 2014 9:29 am

    Day 2

    Would you like to play Alex Kidd in Miracle World?

    Yes! [ 4 ]
    Nope..[ 0 ]



    After making success with Alex Kidd in Miracle World, it was obvious for Sega to release a sequel for it. But Sega aimed for the Arcade market this time. And so, Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars came out. Today, we are going to take a peek of Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars.
    Also, there will be a minor peek of Alex Kidd: BMX Trial, which is a bike racing game. Well then, let's start.

    Looking Back: Alex Kidd 11026-Alex_Kidd:_The_Lost_Stars_(set_2,_unprotected)-1
    Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars

    Looking Back: Alex Kidd Alex-kiddLooking Back: Alex Kidd Shop
    Looking Back: Alex Kidd AlexKiddInMiracleWorld-SMS-Stage3Looking Back: Alex Kidd Janken_final+alex+kidd+in+miracle+world
    Let's recap the things that made Miracle World pretty unique. Rock Scissors Paper, the shop and the items, punching things and destroying them.... So, how did The Lost Stars improve on this?

    Well, all of these stuff were taken out from this game. There's no rock scissors paper matches. There's no money, and so there's no shops and items. You can not punch things in this game. Let's take a deeper look on how the gameplay was changed in Lost Stars.

    Looking Back: Alex Kidd Alex_Kidd_The_Lost_Stars
    If Miracle World and the other platformers were mainly based on attacking and destroying your enemies, Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars is mainly based on trying to avoid every enemy you face in the levels! You don't even get to use your attack and beat up enemies, unless you get a powerup. Overall, The Lost Stars is a game highly based on defending yourself.

    Looking Back: Alex Kidd 0002
    So, how does this affect the fun factor? Overall, not being able to defeat your enemies all the time really hurts the fun factor. Some people could argue that jumping over tons of enemies is more fun than beating up enemies with the punch- but no, beating up the enemies felt much more satisfying than having to leave the enemies alone..

    The fact that it is very hard to dodge these enemies also damages the fun factor quite a lot. Some parts are really full of enemies and obstacles, that you will have to jump through the enemies or the obstacles at the just right timing. If you slightly misjudge your jump, then congratulations, you will get hit! This game would eat up your money a lot, considering the other arcade games had a damn health bar! The ones with one-hit-death also didn't have all those frustrating areas like this!

    If Miracle World was an innovative game if you get used to the frustration, Lost Stars doesn't give you anything for passing the frustration. Seriously, the level designs are also pretty bland (just simple left-to-right areas) that doesn't help at all. There's also a time limit in this game, but that feature would get obsolete after thinking you would die a lot.

    Don't get fooled by the game's cute and beautiful art style (Seriously, the only good point I can think of this game). The Lost Stars isn't a worthwhile game to play through in my opinion.

    Looking Back: Alex Kidd Alex-kidd-the-lost-stars-world
    But wait. Before moving away from the subject of The Lost Stars, let's check out the Master System Port of The Lost Stars. The port was released two years after the arcade version was released, by the way.

    Looking Back: Alex Kidd Images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR1hF5I2fOAJw-S-5u48EmMX_KvDgAPp_syq-2ltOlJPxUCAfD8
    While the Arcade version was a torture to complete, due to the fact that you die in one hit, you have infinite lives in the Master System version! The time limit takes a much bigger place in this game though- any hit would take away the time you need to beat the stage. Even then, it's not a real problem, since you will just get sent back to the beginning of the stage. There isn't even a game over in the Master System version.

    Looking Back: Alex Kidd Alex
    But still, the Master System Version isn't a good game either in my opinion. Those stupid obstacle courses are still here. While they might take your money this time, it is still tedious to misjudge your jump, lose all of your time, and go back to start of the stage. And why would you play the MS version of The Lost Stars anyway, if you got a much superior game Miracle World in your hands?

    Also, this game is NOT the worst Alex Kidd game. We are going to take a peek of that game in the next episode, so take a guess how it could be even worse than this.

    Let's take a short peek at BMX Trial and end today's talk.

    Looking Back: Alex Kidd Alex_Kidd_BMX_Trial_box_art
    Alex Kidd: BMX Trial

    Yep, this game was not released in the US. It was only released in Japan.

    Looking Back: Alex Kidd Alex-kidd-bmx-trial_00
    Alex Kidd BMX Trial is a game where Alex rides a BMX bike, and tries to exit without hitting the obstacles. The overall goal of this game is to try finishing the course as fast as you can.

    Looking Back: Alex Kidd Jappaddle
    The game also had a paddle controller included, which you could use to control your BMX.

    Looking Back: Alex Kidd Bmxtrial2
    ... To be honest, I have almost now idea how this game works. Since I live in Korea, I never actually got to play this game in a paddle controller. The game was Japan only, as I said before. Also, controlling this game with a keyboard/mouse by emulation was pretty much a torture, so I could never really play the game enough to understand it. Sorry guys, but I guess I have nothing really much to say about this game.

    Tomorrow, we will take a look at Alex Kidd: Hi-Tech World, which is one of the most boring games in existence. Yes, really. Until then, goodbye. Vote on the poll as well.

    Day 2 Over.
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    Post by Winters Thief Zero Fri Oct 17, 2014 3:35 pm

    Not just because you wouldn't recommend it, but the game looks boring as hell, especially compared to the original game. So I definitely wouldn't play it. I've never seen Hi-Tech World, if it's somehow even worse than this game appears to be, I don't know if I even want to. Razz
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    Post by Nessness Sat Oct 18, 2014 3:22 am

    Day 3

    Ness and Lucas didn't recommend The Lost Stars.. would you still play it?

    Yes! [ 0 ]
    No! [ 2 ]



    Ness and Lucas Talks #8 wrote:In the next episode, we're going to look at a game which is one of the worst action-adventure game ever. It was released for the Master System, by the way.

    Yes, the game we are going to take a look at is going to be this game. The game we are going to take a peek today is Alex Kidd: High-Tech World. Oh god, this game is terrible..

    Looking Back: Alex Kidd Alex_Kidd_in_High-Tech_World_Coverart

    Alex Kidd in High-Tech World

    After the gameplay change in The Lost Stars, you would assume that High-Tech World returned to Alex's original gameplay format in Miracle World. In fact, there's the word 'action' written in the cover. Also, the title shows Alex beating up a ninja. Right? Nope.

    Looking Back: Alex Kidd Alex-kidd-high-tech-world-m-systeme-001
    The game itself is an action-adventure game, no unlike The Legend of the Mystical Ninja. However, this game is one of the worst examples of an action-adventure game. Mystical Ninja would get ashamed by just getting to classified as the same genre as this game!

    Looking Back: Alex Kidd 88875-Alex_Kidd_-_High-Tech_World_(USA,_Europe)-3Looking Back: Alex Kidd AlexKiddsc03
    The game is divided into two sections. The 'exploration' section, and the 'action' section. The exploration section is bombarded with loads of cryptics things, and the action section is even worse than the action in The Lost Stars.

    Let's look at the exploration section first. The exploration section is normally based on talking to people in a giant area, finding out clues, and solving puzzles to go through. However, the exploration section is bombarded with bad aspects, which makes it a nightmare to go through.

    Looking Back: Alex Kidd AlexKiddsc05
    The first aspect is that the puzzles and the problems of this game are often really abstract. One of the puzzles of this game involves you PRAYING 108 TIMES ON A TEMPLE in order to get a travel pass. The game doesn't even give you clue to make you do this! And even then, praying 108 times on a temple is one of the most tedious things you could do in a video game! Even the triforce hunting in Wind Waker would be more fun than this..

    Also, some of the puzzles involve you just talking to random people, in the random area, at the right time. This has nothing to do with working out with clues (Yep, the game gives you nearly no clues about all of the puzzles, more on that later) and thinking things, which is something an action-adventure game has to do. Another problem is that nothing would happen if you didn't make it in the right time, so you will probably just pass that area. Sorry, but those 'random people in right time' parts are VITAL. If you miss them, you couldn't even get to clear the damn game!

    Looking Back: Alex Kidd AlexKiddsc02
    The most non-sensical part is that THE GAME GIVES YOU NEARLY NO CLUES. How could they do this damn thing on a damn Action-Adventure game? The entire game is pretty much based on TRIAL AND ERROR! Even some of the clues you get involves you talking to random people, in the random area, at the right time, just as explained above!

    The second aspect is that you are facing a time limit in this game. The game begins at 9:00 am in the in-game clock. What you need to do is to reach the end until 5:00 pm. Instead of the timer really ticking down, 5 minutes will advance when you enter a room. Time will also slowly pass by while moving around.

    Generally, a time limit wouldn't really bother much on an action-adventure game. But as I mentioned before, Alex Kidd in High-Tech World got all of those cryptic puzzles. Exploring the cryptic castle and solving all of the cryptic puzzles take a load of time in this game, making beating the game in a time limit A TORTURE. If you saw somebody beating this game in time with releative ease, they 100% used a guide. Yeah, this game is nearly impossible without a guide.

    Looking Back: Alex Kidd AlexKiddHighTechWorld-SMS-Castle
    The fact that the map you need to explore is gigantic doesn't help the fact you've got a limited time either. The emotion you will feel when you get a game over by a time limit in the midst of working out the clues will be terrible.

    The final aspect is that there are some stupid instant game over areas which pop up at most unusual areas.

    Checking a computer which looks perfectly normal? The computer was actually broken, and gave you an electric shock. Game over. Wearing a cloth of armor? Alex was trapped inside the armor. Game over. Take one of the stairs of this game? Well, the lower part of the stairs was broken! Game over. Check the gun in the village? Police officers are here to arrest you! Game over.

    ..How am I supposed to know if they are death traps, anyway? The game gives you no clue about this, so you must pretty much use your sixth sense to avoid this. And this is another poor design, since checking all of the things is usually the right thing to do in those action-adventure games.

    Just like the time limit, the emotion you will feel when you get a game over in the midst of working out the clues by those stupid random death traps will be terrible. Remember, you must start the game from the beginning if you are unfortunate enough to meet this fate..

    And so, this was the exploration section. A boring mess filled with terrible time limit and death traps. Now, let's talk about the action section... which is just as abysmal..

    Looking Back: Alex Kidd AlexKiddsc03
    Basically, you have to jump and shoot enemies (yes, shoot, not punch) to go through this forest. The problems with this section is that, 1. I hope you didn't forget that Alex dies in one hit. And dying means you must restart from the beginning of the section.. You won't even get to respawn in the same area in this game, just because you have infinite lives in this game..

    Well, that's not the real problem. The real problem is that 2. The controls are just horrible in this area! Jumping is very tricky, Alex is amazingly slippery, The enemies and the projectiles are so huge in these areas that he is very easy to get hit, and if you combine this fact with the former problem, it causes a lot of problems. Oh god.. The difficulty in The Lost Stars is just a cake, compared to THIS.

    There's a lot less to go over in the action section than the exploration section, so I didn't go over as much. But don't get me wrong, this is just as ABYSMAL as the exploration section.

    Looking Back: Alex Kidd Anmitsuhimelo5
    It is because High-Tech World was not made to be an Alex Kidd game. High-Tech World was first released in Japan with a name 'Anmitsu Hime', which was based on a manga series with a same name.

    The game is pretty much the same, and Anmitsu's adventure is just as terrible as Alex's. Later, Sega decided to release this game in America, (Why? Just Why?) but they couldn't keep the game as 'Anmitsu Hime', since the Americans would know nothing about Anmitsu Hime.

    Poor Alex was deployed as a substitue for Anmitsu, and there we go- he was forced to be in a game which wasn't for him. Ugh.

    Anyways, this is the end of today's talk.. Tomorrow, we will take a look at Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle, a Megadrive game which actually has those features from Miracle World, like rock scissors paper. Until then, goodbye..

    Day 3 Over.
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    Post by Winters Thief Zero Sat Oct 18, 2014 9:38 am

    Well that looks pretty terrible, but I have to say, I do think the Lost Stars looks worse, since all you do is avoid enemies, and the level design looks really bland. At least Hi-Tech World has a bit of variety.
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    Looking Back: Alex Kidd Empty Re: Looking Back: Alex Kidd

    Post by Nessness Sun Oct 19, 2014 6:02 am

    Day 4

    Which game do you think is worse?
    The Lost Stars [ 1 ]
    High-Tech World [ 1 ]


    The Mega Drive kicked out, and it made the 16-bit era of video gaming begin. Of course, since Alex was Sega's mascot back then, he got to made his 16-bit debut by Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle. The game was actually one of the first titles for the Genesis.

    Looking Back: Alex Kidd Alex-Kidd-in-the-Enchanted-Castle-1

    Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle

    Looking Back: Alex Kidd Large-1-640x350
    Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle returned to the original Alex Kidd gameplay introduced by Miracle World. Did it improve on Miracle World, or is it a flop not unlike The Lost Stars and High-Tech World? Let's compare this game with Miracle World to find out.

    Miracle World wrote:Looking Back: Alex Kidd Alex-kidd
    If Mario was a jumping action game, Alex Kidd in Miracle World was a punching action game. Your main way to defeat your enemies is to punch them. If Mario hit blocks by jumping them, Alex had to hit all of those blocks to get stuff from them. Punching the enemies and making them go down is pretty satisfying.

    Looking Back: Alex Kidd Alex-kidd-in-the-enchanted-castle-md-005
    So, how did Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle improve on the punching action? The main thing is that some of the blocks now fly away when Alex hits those blocks, adding to the fun action. It also helps that all of the sprites are now bigger, so the punches feel a bit more impressive. The hit detection which I criticized in Miracle World also got much beter. Enchanted Castle definitely improved itself as a punching action game.

    Miracle World wrote:Looking Back: Alex Kidd AlexKiddInMiracleWorld-SMS-Stage3
    Let me tell you a few things you can buy at the shops. There are motorcyles and helicopters, which you are able to use in the levels. These vehicles are often vital if you want to have fun going through the levels, so save up money and please buy them. Their controls are overall pretty good, so don't worry too much.

    There are some more items that will make your life much easier. There are bracelets that will make a beam fire in Alex's hands, capsules that would send Alex's friends to attack enemies, a magical cane that would make Alex float, and finally, an extra life. I highly recommend the bracelet, that item alone makes the game far easier. (Pretty much because this game doesn't have good hit detection) Overall, the variety of items made the game pretty fresh. It also made Alex Kidd more unique than the other games out there.

    Looking Back: Alex Kidd ME0000806448_2
    Enchanted Castle expanded the item use as well. I didn't say this in Day 1, but in Miracle World, you could only use the vehicles (motorcycle and helicopter) on the level you were in. But in Enchanted Castle, you could save up those vehicles and use them whenever you wanted to, in any level. That provided a bit more freedom on using the vehicles. You can also carry bracelets to the next level, if you didn't die. That was a welcoming change as well.

    But not all change was for the better, sadly. There are some parts in Enchanted Castle which was tackled worse than its prequel, Miracle World.

    Miracle World wrote:Looking Back: Alex Kidd Sms_alexmiracle
    Alex isn't the strongest hero ever, so he dies in one hit from everything. While you respawn at the area you last died, you could still get that game over screen.

    And trust me, it isn't easy to avoid all these enemies and obstacles. Some of the areas of this game is amazingly hard to pull off when you are playing this game for the first time. Combine this fact with the fact that you die in one hit, then you've got a big problem..

    Looking Back: Alex Kidd Alexenchanted
    Sadly, they didn't improve the problem that Alex dies in one hit. It's kinda sad because some other Sega series like Shinobi ditched the one-hit-death and added a health bar. But the real problem is that instead of respawning at the area you died, you now go back to start when you die! (Did they learn this from High-Tech World?) There are no checkpoints to help you, so traversing the levels in this game can become a very tedious job.

    The level design even got worse in this game... They seem to be either bland and generic, or try to bombard you with loads of obstacles and enemies. Miracle World had some frustrating moments as well, but there's more in The Enchanted Castle! (Did they learn this from The Lost Stars?)Combine this with the fact that you have to go back to the start even if you got hit once, then you've got a major problem.

    Miracle World wrote:Looking Back: Alex Kidd Alex286
    The next unique thing about Alex Kidd in Miracle World is the rock-scissors-paper boss battles.

    Face Palm!Facehoof

    Looking Back: Alex Kidd Alex_Kidd_in_Miracle_World_%2528SMS%2529_24
    Yeah, it is a luck-based boss battle, and you will feel utterly terrible when you lose those battles and lose a life. But it isn't so bad, considering that those bosses actually have a pattern on their fights, that you can memorize those patterns and pathetically beat them on your next try. The fact that you respawn at the boss when you die makes it also pretty easy.

    Looking Back: Alex Kidd Janken_final+alex+kidd+in+miracle+world
    Also, there is an item that will make you able to see your enemies' thoughts, and that item's power lasts until the end of the game. I won't consider it as a nice game design though, those fights often feel too unfair or too easy whether how you do this. Still, it was unique for that time, so I have to give this bonus points.

    Oh god.. Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle just made the rock-scissors-paper way worse than Miracle World.

    Looking Back: Alex Kidd AlexKidd_rps
    You remember that you can buy those special items from shops in Miracle World, right? Well, in Enchanted Castle, you have to pay the money, and win the rock-scissors-paper match to even get the item! This change wasn't neccessary at all. Though you won't die in this optional match, it's still bad that you lose money just by your bad luck.

    The boss rock-scissors-paper fights are simmilar to Miracle World, but as I mentioned before, you had to start from the beginning when you die by losing on these luck-based fights. I could somewhat stand the Miracle World boss fights, since you could just rematch with them right away. But instead, you have to go through the damn level again, just because you lost the damn rock-scissors-paper match! Heck, it doesn't help that all the boss fights are on the most tedious levels! (The castle, the forest, the mountains)

    Looking Back: Alex Kidd Compare-usa
    Also, bosses don't have patterns this time, you have to rely on luck to win this. The item which you can use to read enemies' mind still exists, but instead of its power lasting for the entire game, the item goes off when you play a rock-scissors-paper battle. Rock-scissors-paper was at least unique and managable on Miracle World. Rock-scissors-paper in The Enchanted Castle is nothing but a horrifying chore to go through. It truly deserves some facepalms now, so here we go.

    Face Palm!FacehoofFace Palm!FacehoofFace Palm!FacehoofFace Palm!Face Palm!Face Palm!Facehoof

    The controls also didn't get better other than the hit detection. The controls feel pretty slippery now, and the floaty jumps didn't get changed. Horrifying, since the level designs even got worse in this game, as I mentioned before.

    While Enchanted Castle was better than The Lost Stars or High-Tech World, it was a dissapointment compared to Miracle World. And it wasn't a good game in its own regard either. Let's go over the fun facts before ending this.

    Not Safe For Work:

    Looking Back: Alex Kidd 152EA9554E1FBB9617AC1D
    This game was also translated in Korean by Samsung. It's still pretty impressive.

    Unlike Miracle World, this game was a failure. While its sales were decent in Japan, the poor sales in NA and EU helped to kill the entire series. And who would buy this game, while there were many better Megadrive games at that time, like The Revenge of Shinobi or Columns? If only Sega could make this game better, poor Alex didn't have to suffer this fate..

    But still, there's one more game to go through. And that game is Alex Kidd in Shinobi World. The previous games, minus BMX Trial were three flops in a row. Is Alex Kidd in Shinobi World a great finale to a poor Sega Star, or will it be a flop too? Let's find it out tomorrow. Until then, goodbye.

    Day 4 Over
    Winters Thief Zero
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    Post by Winters Thief Zero Sun Oct 19, 2014 9:21 am

    I still find it weird that games were released by Samsung in Korea and couldn't be from Japan. (I mean it makes sense considering they wanted to be isolated from Japan, but it's just strange that they'd make a deal with Samsung to release their games there...)

    Anyway, it looks fine, but if it's not as good as Miracle World, it's probably not that good at all. Razz
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    Post by Gameguy1996 Mon Oct 20, 2014 3:27 am

    The Lost Stars was really good when I played through the whole game with my sister and I liked the fact that it did something different. I also played a bit of Miracle World and I always lost the first boss battle so i never beat the game. I'm glad I never played the other ones though since they don't seem that good. I think Shinobi World will also end up as a flop and will you also took about how Alex showed up as a playable character a few years back in Sonic Racing?
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    Looking Back: Alex Kidd Empty Re: Looking Back: Alex Kidd

    Post by Nessness Mon Oct 20, 2014 8:50 am

    Final Day

    Shinobi World..
    Will be a great finale. [ 0 ]
    Will be an another flop. [ 2 ]



    Sadly, Alex pretty much died after the failure of The Enchanted Castle. But Sega gave one last chance to Alex, and that game is Alex Kidd in Shinobi World, released for the Master System. Much like High-Tech World, Shinobi World was only released on the US/EU regions.

    Looking Back: Alex Kidd 256px-AlexKiddInShinobiWorld
    Alex Kidd in Shinobi World

    Looking Back: Alex Kidd 25530-119224-AlexKiddinShinobiWorld1jpg-468x
    Just as its name says, Alex Kidd in Shinobi World is a crossover of Alex Kidd and the Shinobi games. So, the gameplay resembles the Shinobi games a lot more than the original Alex Kidd games.

    Looking Back: Alex Kidd 18hescschtjkfjpg
    There are some things that resemble the Alex Kidd games though, like the swimming sections or the breakable blocks. There are also entirely new things, like Alex being able to grab on poles, twisting on them, or even turning into a fireball. (Just imagine the Burning ability from the Kirby series)

    Looking Back: Alex Kidd 4322518093_f89294118f
    The game itself is very fun to play. Alex attacks with a sword, which you can upgrade by collecting power-ups. There are also things like shurikens you can throw at enemies. The main thing to do is to slash enemies with your sword, and get to the end of the level. Also, this is the only Alex Kidd game where Alex can withstand more than one hit (excluding the Master System version of The Lost Stars), so the game is more generous than the other games and well.

    Looking Back: Alex Kidd 88878-Alex_Kidd_in_Shinobi_World_(USA,_Europe)-2
    The level design is also great. There are lots of enviroment that Alex can encounter with. And unlike The Lost Stars or The Enchanted Castle, the game didn't bombard you with all of the obstacles and the enemies. Also, the level themes are nicely varied, which I really liked.

    And you know what? Shinobi World is my favorite Alex Kidd game. Sure, it wasn't really an Alex Kidd game, it was a crossover with the Shinobi series. But I never really felt a fatal gameplay problem on Shinobi World.

    Bad controls? The controls are much better in Shinobi World.
    Unfair deaths? Though you return to the start when you die, who cares if you can finally withstand more than one hit?
    Bad Level Design? As I explained before, the Level Design of this game is great!

    Heck, I think the only problem which I had while playing this game is that the game is too short. (There are only 12 stages, and the game is much easier than the other Alex Kidd games.) The rest of the game was amazing for a Master System game.

    The sad thing is that the game made me get interested on playing the Shinobi games more than getting more interested on the Alex Kidd series itself. So, this great game did no help to the series, sadly. But still, it's all right. Our poor Sega Star at least got a nice great game after facing with three flops! Alex Kidd in Shinobi World will be perfect for you, if you want to play a great game which you can finish in little time.

    Since we covered all the games in the series, let's summarize them once more.
    Alex Kidd in Miracle World can give you some frustration, but if you get over them, you will get to experience one of the most innovative platformers of all time.
    Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars is pretty boring, and it even had some unfair difficulty. I overall don't recommend you to play this.
    Alex Kidd: BMX Trial? I still hardly know about this game, sadly.
    Alex Kidd: High-Tech World is one of the games that you have to stay away from playing. I'm dead serious.
    Alex Kidd in The Enchanted Castle was better than the other two flops, but still, this game is less fun than Miracle World, and gives more frustration than Miracle World.
    Alex Kidd in Shinobi World is a great game to play, so try to play it at least once. The game isn't that long anyway.

    So, what happened to Alex after finishing his adventure in the Shinobi World? Sadly, when Sonic the Hedgehog came out (which was even developed by the Alex Kidd devs), its gameplay was proved to be far better than the most Alex Kidd games. It was also much more successful than The Enchanted Castle. So what did Sega do?

    .
    .
    .

    They decided to ditch Alex Kidd..

    Looking Back: Alex Kidd Segagagaa
    In a game called Segagaga, Alex appeared as a cameo, working as a cashier. He even tells the player the story about him getting kicked out and replaced by Sonic the Hedgehog. Isn't it just sad when a former video game star now has to work on a damn store? Alex even said Sega forced Alex to work on that store.. It's just so sad.

    Looking Back: Alex Kidd Hqdefault
    He also appeared in games like Sega Superstar Tennis and Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing. The sad thing is that he was kinda 'squashed in' as a player character in Superstar Tennis. Just look at his model! Sega had no symphathy for Alex.. At least, All-Stars Racing had a much better model. I also liked how Alex raced on his motorcycle.

    Anyways, we looked at Alex Kidd, the forgotten game star this week. Thank you for reading this talk, and we will return with better talks later on. See you then.

    Talk Over.

    NEXT
    Kanto or Johto? Which Pokemon region is the better region overall? We'll settle it on the next Matchup episode. Stay tuned.
    -Ness and Lucas Talks #12: Kanto v. Johto

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