Alex Kidd in Miracle World hits Switch
Now with ro-sham-bonus content
Sega’s bizarre answer to Super Mario Bros, 1986’s Alex Kidd in Miracle World was one of the first videogames I ever played, if not the very first. Gripping that Sega Master System pad tightly in my stupid little child-fingers was an alien experience to say the least, and the utterly bizarre universe presented to me by Sega only compounded my confusion.
Gradually I was able to get my head around it, but not without encountering ever more madness; boss battles that consist of "rock-paper-scissors" matches, later trivialised by collecting a hidden "Telepathy Ball" that lets you read minds. A collectable capsule that spawns numerous tiny clones of Alex Kidd himself, bum-rushing enemies and bosses. A gateway to a secret world full of treasure hidden within a basket that was previously occupied by a large octopus. Codebreaking symbols, unlocalised from the original Japanese right-to-left layout. It's complete abstract, esoteric lunacy and, now that I think about it, explains everything about my entire approach to the hobby of videogames.
Anyroad, it's coming to Switch in all its nostalgic glory as part of M2's exceptional Sega Ages line. Interestingly, it sounds as though the game has been "polished up" to an extent; new art will appear in fresh interstitial screens prior to major levels, support has been included for the Master System's Japan-exclusive FM sound unit, and a five-second rewind feature is available for giant idiots who can't even beat a fairly easy videogame for children. Or, more reasonably, people who don't want to lose a run to rock-paper-scissors.
Alex Kidd in Miracle World hits the Japanese eShop for Switch on February 21st. No doubt a worldwide release will follow in the next couple of months. Here’s hoping they follow it with a re-release of the still-tremendous Alex Kidd in Shinobi World.
