If you’ve played Alex Kidd in Miracle World, consider yourself one of the few. This Master System platformer was Sega’s “answer” to Super Mario and, well, it didn’t work out. He was soon replaced by a speedy blue hedgehog and has gone all but forgotten since, appearing in only very brief cameos in places like Sega Superstars Tennis and Shenmue.
Why’d we pick this one? Well it’s the opposite of Super Mario. Where that series met huge popularity and critical acclaim, Alex Kidd lies dormant in obscurity. It was one of Sega’s early salvos to compete with Nintendo, and we’re sure the lessons learned from this series helped to shape their next crack at it — Sonic. The Alex Kidd series also had an incredible amount of installments in its short, four-year lifespan — 5 in total (well 6 if you count a Japan-only BMX game), quite a lot for a character that never became a household name even across the Pacific. If you really wanted to stretch the argument, you could take the sheer number of disparate Alex Kidd in [insert world here] sequels made in that time and compare it to the mistakes Sega is making currently with its once-popular/once-good Sonic series.
Plus, Alex Kidd in Miracle World is a game not many of us ever played. So let’s give it a go, eh?
Available on the Virtual Console for 500 points.
We’ll be talking about this one in Episode 93. Leave your comments here or on our voicemail line at 713-893-8069.
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