Alex Kidd in Miracle World
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| Alex Kidd in Miracle World | |
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 Alex Kidd in Miracle World Western box art |
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| Developer(s) | Sega |
| Publisher(s) | Sega |
| Designer(s) | "Ossale Kohta" (Kotaro Hayashida) |
| Series | Alex Kidd series |
| Platform(s) | Sega Master System |
| Release date | 1986 |
| Genre(s) | Platform |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Media | Cartridge, Built in game (with most versions of the Sega Master System & Sega Master System II) |
Alex Kidd in Miracle World is a platform game for the 8-bit Sega Master System video game console. It was first released in Japan on November 1, 1986. Due to the mass distribution of the version bundled with and built into some versions of the Sega Master System console, it became the most recognised game in the Alex Kidd series.
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[edit] Story
The story is that of Alex Kidd, who is looking for his lost brother, Egle (sometimes referred to as "Igul"), captured by the evil villain Janken the Great (Janken is romanized Japanese for the game Rock, Paper, Scissors, which plays an important part in the games boss fights). Throughout the game he has to face many different monsters, including the three henchmen of Janken the Great, through sixteen stages before he can face the evil villain.
[edit] Versions
Alex Kidd in Miracle World was initially available as a cartridge. From 1990 onwards, the game was built into certain revisions of the Sega Master System hardware, including some Brazilian, New Zealand, US, Australian and European versions of the Master System 2, and some European and Australian versions of the Master System 1. The later "built-in" version differs slightly from the cartridge edition—this can be identified by Alex's meal on the map screen between levels. In the original cartridge version, Alex is consuming a rice ball; in the built-in version, Alex is eating a hamburger. The other major difference is the controls—the cartridge version uses button 2 to punch and button 1 to jump. These controls felt unnatural to many people, and were swapped over for the built-in version. There were rumours deemed to be false of a version in which Alex is drinking root beer on the Map screen.
[edit] Janken (Paper, Scissor, Stone) Matches
A distinctive aspect of this game was the playing of a "best 2 out of 3" match of "Rock, Paper, Scissors" to defeat Janken's three henchmen, "Rock Head", "Paper Head" and "Scissor Head", and the ultimate henchman, "Hammer Head" instead of a more traditional physical boss fight in which winning depended on the player's skill. This meant that upon meeting such a boss, Alex had a fifty-fifty chance of losing a round. Towards the end of the game, all three of Janken's previously defeated henchmen return, and resort to a more conventional battle in addition to having a "Rock, Paper, Scissors" battle. A significant weakness was that each match would be identical, the enemy would choose the same position every time, so trial and error would be eventually 100% successful even across sessions.
Alex Kidd in Miracle World did not have a battery save option nor a password system, meaning that when all of Alex's lives and money ran out the game was over. However, all Janken matches throughout the game used a preset sequence, meaning that it was easy to remember the sequence from a previous play and act accordingly. This sequence however, remains intact only if the player never loses a single round. If and when the player loses one round at any time, the rest of the game's sequence will change unpredictably. In this case, it is advised to pick up one of the game's two "Telepathy Balls", which will from then on allow you to see your opponent's hand as it cycles through the Rock, Paper, and Scissors options, giving the player the opportunity to pick the right outcome. Even when the player resorts to using this, the match remains no cakewalk; a boss could change his decision at the very last second, making quick reflexive thinking necessary.
[edit] External links
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