GAME CLEAR No. 40 -- Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX

Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX (2021, Multiplatform)

Remake Of: Alex Kidd in Miracle World (1986, Master System)
Original Developer: SEGA
Original Publisher: SEGA
Remake Developer: Jankenteam, Merge Games
Remake Publisher: Merge Games
Clear Date: 7/5/2021
Clear Platform: PS5

Second clear of the lazy holiday! Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX was a game I knew I had to beat as soon as I heard it was happening, as the original game is one of the first things I ever set as a watch list item on my eBay account, but I procrastinated buying it for so long that a remake finally happened! I procrastinated Shin Megami Tensei III for a similarly long amount of time and was rewarded for my negligence there as well. A banner year for that sort of thing!

Anyway, I was initially dismayed to see that Miracle World DX was getting mediocre reviews, but when I dug in I noticed that the primary complaints were that the game was too much like the original, complete with all its jank. Fortunately, I’m pretty jank-immune, especially when it comes to platformers, so I was able to brush that aside and get the game anyway.

I beat it in an afternoon, and I had a lovely time! The game’s remastered art is very cute and charming, and the remastered soundtrack is equally well done. Like so many remakes and remasters, this game allows you to switch between the original and remastered graphics and sounds with a pull of the R2 button, allowing you to do easy A/B comparisons. I enjoyed spending a little time in both modes, but I definitely stuck mostly with the new presentation.

A surprise to me was that in Alex’s travels through Radaxian to defeat the evil Janken, there’s actually a decent amount of plot! I’d guess that a lot of this was spelled out in the manual and only added into the game itself in the remake, but it was definitely a pleasant surprise for a 1986 game. NPCs throughout the game offer advice to Alex, and all the bosses have pre-fight blustering. Alex even finds out a little bit about his past throughout the game. It’s nice and makes the game feel “alive” or “immersive” or whatever your favorite descriptor for that sort of thing is.

The gameplay as I understand it is basically unchanged, warts and all. Alex has a bit of a weird jump, a pitiful punch attack, and he dies in one hit. These are among the primary frustrations cited in many reviews I read, but I found these constraints to be invigorating. I had to be patient and deliberate with my platforming and combat. I’ll admit it was occasionally annoying to die suddenly or fail to hit an enemy with Alex’s very limited striking range, but for the most part I found the need for precision to be an exciting skill check.

Alex can also improve his odds by buying weapons in shops with coins found throughout the world or alternatively finding them hidden in blocks. These can be especially useful for the post-jankenpon boss fights, which can be tricky to manage with Alex’s pathetic punch, especially since spacing it is difficult and getting too close to the boss can mean instant death.

There are a couple vehicular and aquatic levels to spice things up as well, but this game is mostly a platformer. The biggest deviation from this is the boss fights, which all start with a game of “Jankenpon” (rock, paper, scissors). Losing will result in Alex dying, but fortunately the opponent’s choices are deterministic, so you can look them up if you so please. I did.

I was able to clear this game and restore Radaxian’s rightful leader to the throne in the space of an afternoon, and I had a great time doing it. I’ll probably give it another playthrough to get the platinum trophy. Doing so requires collecting all of the various collectibles scattered throughout the game (new to the remake), so that’ll be a nice incentive to deep-dive each level.

Other than that, though, there’s not a ton to this game that wasn’t in the original! The only reward for beating the game is a boss rush mode and a “classic” mode, which is basically just the original game in all its 4:3, finite continue glory. Better than nothing, but certainly I understand why some people might want more.

Anyway, I recommend it pretty highly. If you like platformers as much as I do, try this out. It requires a bit more patience than modern titles, but it’s a fun piece of history.