Missing Mascots: Alex Kidd

[Melf]

The Genesis is a digital graveyard of mascots that were unable to survive the jump to next generation consoles. As time has proven, not even the mightiest and most popular are immune. Take Alex Kidd, for example. Once the unofficial face of Sega and the star of a half dozen adventures, he was laid low by a Sonic boom in 1991. But did he really have to disappear? Was he just the victim of circumstance, or did Sega consciously kill him off? Our first installment of Missing Mascots (http://www.sega-16.com/2006/07/missing-mascots-alex-kidd/) examines this issue, and you may be surprised at our findings.

[djtwok]

I love Alex kidd in miracle world as well as Kid chameleon. Hope they come back one day, but no 3d please !

[Benjamin]

In my dreams where I control Sega, I launch a new Alex Kidd game to rejuvenate the company and put it back on top. Alex Kidd in Sega World both revives the character himself but also reminds consumers of all the great (and some forgotten) Sega franchises. It'd be such a great game. :(

[djtwok]

In MY dreams when i control sega i release shinobi and streets of rage collections with reworked 2D graphics and remixed soundtrack.

[MegaDrive20XX]

*listens for the screams of Alex the Kidd" poor lil dude..

[108 Stars]

The Alex Kidd-series just couldn´t keep the quality-standards Alex Kidd in Miracle World set; none of it´s sequels ever reached part 1.
And the Genesis-game looks like it was originally developed for the Master System.

Just like other great Sega franchises Alex Kidd got worse and worse because Sega didn´t want to invest enough time and manpower to improve with every title; just like Shinobi, where neither Shadow Dancer nor Shinobi 3 reached Revenge of Shinobi...or Streets of Rage, which had it´s greatest moment with part 2.
In Alex Kidd another point was that it didn´t even have a cool design...

[Joe Redifer]

In my dreams where I control Sega, I steal as much money as I can from employee's pensions and other company resources. The company goes bankrupt and becomes the next Enron and I become filthy rich. I get convicted and sentenced to a really long time in an ass-raping prison, but then I fake my own death to avoid the prison term and enjoy my $$$.

[Genesis Knight]

In my dreams where I control Sega, I release a killer new console code-named "Vengeance" that dominates Sony, sends Nintendo to its grave, and tosses Microsoft back into the PC garbage heap with photo-realistic graphics and Virtual Reality for all human senses including touch and smell.

I also release sequels to all the Forgotten Franchises. :p

[108 Stars]

These are noble dreams we all share...

[ary incorparated]

In my dreams i would make a streets of rage 4 with digitized music alla metal slug 5,yess hell yess and it features some nice new characters the whores are like we love em in that game and the knife concentrated dudes actualy now know how to hold their knife that was horribly in those games how the oranged hear dude holded its knife.and it would feature axle adam Blaze and a new bitch and a new dude.als it would have the graphics a snes never could match in term of animation and yes colours and it would be released on the genesis,and to today it would be a hloy grail and the good exsample of a new streets of rage unlike 3 that was i bit minor,It would be soo good that even snesfanboys drool and say swnes drool drool WWWWas better,yeah right eat SOR 4,and maybe a shinobi and i would burn the 32X for distraction like sead in the comercial or maybe release a nice game by the time for it or make a newwer 32X ala Sonic and knuckles hell then sega would ne arys remastered company.Only dreams can make that true sore.

[kevinski]

The gameplay in Alex Kidd games just wasn't all that great. It'd be cool to see Alex brought back and retooled a bit. The Janken games come to mind. I mean, the running around and stuff was easy enough, but having boss fights that were based entirely on luck? No. How about adding a bit of strategy?

[Joe Redifer]

I enjoyed Alex Kidd on the SMS (along with VG&CE's great guide to the game). Believe it or not I also enjoyed Lost Stars. I did not enjoy High Tech World and never had a chance to play Shinobi world. The article says there were 6 Alex games on the SMS, what were the other two?

I also enjoyed Alex on the Genesis back in the day. But when I tried it again about a year ago, I just couldn't get into it. The Master Sysem versions may have aged well, but the Genesis version sure didn't.

[CRV]

I enjoyed Alex Kidd on the SMS (along with VG&CE's great guide to the game). Believe it or not I also enjoyed Lost Stars. I did not enjoy High Tech World and never had a chance to play Shinobi world. The article says there were 6 Alex games on the SMS, what were the other two?

Alex Kidd in Miracle World
Alex Kidd: High Tech World
Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars
Alex Kidd in Shinobi World
BMX Trial: Alex Kidd (Japan-only)

Only five on the SMS. Six counting the Genesis game.

[NeoZeedeater]

Sega didn´t want to invest enough time and manpower to improve with every title; just like Shinobi, where neither Shadow Dancer nor Shinobi 3 reached Revenge of Shinobi.
What did Revenge do better than Shinobi III? Aside from maybe the music, Shinobi III improved every aspect and had more variety.

Back on topic, that's a cool article(nitpick - Shinobi World was the last Alex Kidd game as it came out a bit after Enchanted Castle).

I have been wishing for another Alex Kidd game for a long time. Miracle World was the best and most ambitious for its time although I think Shinobi World has aged the best. The Lost Stars never did it for me. High-Tech World was neat for something different. I liked Enchanted Castle although not as much as Miracle World. BMX Trial is one of the coolest 8-bit racing games.

[CRV]

What did Revenge do better than Shinobi III? Aside from maybe the music, Shinobi III improved every aspect and had more variety.

IMO, the music in Shinobi III far exceeds RoS (which is overrated because it was done by Yuzo Koshiro).

[108 Stars]

Shinobi III had a less realistic look to it, which is a matter of one´s personal taste. The music in Revenge of Shinobi was better and imho the controls were a bit better too.
I think that Bio-monster-stuff kind of ruined the atmosphere.

[radjago]

The theory that he was replaced as mascot by Sonic holds little water, since Alex was never officially given the job. Even as a brand that Sega revisited more than others during the 8-bit era, the official link in the U.S. between the two was never really established. Sega of America made no attempt to promote him as their mascot, and in fact gave him more or less the same publicity they gave most of their other original properties.

There was an official link. Alex Kidd in Miracle World was built-in to the Sega Master System II in the US and Europe. I can't think of a way to promote a game property more than including it with the hardware.

[Melf]

Back on topic, that's a cool article(nitpick - Shinobi World was the last Alex Kidd game as it came out a bit after Enchanted Castle).
Heya Neo, glad to see you here! :)

You're right about SW, so technically there were only 5 MS games when Enchanted Castle was released. I've updated the article to reflect that.


There was an official link. Alex Kidd in Miracle World was built-in to the Sega Master System II in the US and Europe. I can't think of a way to promote a game property more than including it with the hardware.

That was the Master System II, which was released in 1990, a full year after the Genesis (and Enchanted Castle) had come out. By then, Alex already had 6 games out. I don't think Sega considered him anything by then, and included MW with the console because it was a solid game. I doubt it had anything to do with Alex as a mascot.

[Joe Redifer]

You're right about SW, so technically there were only 5 MS games when Enchanted Castle was released. I've updated the article to reflect that.

Four (4) (IV). Actually 3 if you don't count BMX Trial. When the hell did that one come out in Japan? Unless you know of some mystery Alex Kidd game or two that nobody else does.

Also, I fail to understand why the article didn't go into a ranting tirade over the fact that the jump and punch buttons in Miracle World were ass-backwards.

[Melf]

Lol, you're right. I was counting SW. Fixed.

[j_factor]

Also, I fail to understand why the article didn't go into a ranting tirade over the fact that the jump and punch buttons in Miracle World were ass-backwards.

Backwards compared to what?

[Joe Redifer]

Compared to the norm. 99% of all platform games have their jump buttons to the right of the action buttons. Many early SMS games had this backwards and no option to switch. Truly disorientating.

[NeoZeedeater]

Heya Neo, glad to see you here! :)
The forums seem to have shaped up nicely. :) The last time I posted here must have been on an older version of the boards. I have always read the main site's content fairly frequently though. It's one of the best gaming sites around.

[ary incorparated]

Maybe bit off toppic but who knows if there is a gamgear to megadrive converter or the possibility,i dont think its possible cause the gamegear has a pallet of 4K+ colors HUH and why using so minor,same for GBC also 4K+ colors and why using so less of them,why they didnt inplant this in a genesis,snes.A 8 BIt console that even surpasses snes really strange and genesis only having 1K colors and somthimes lacked why hadnt sega inplanted 4K colors in a genesis pallet and so in a gemgear?????.Gameboy color suckes compared to gamegear hell yeah.

[j_factor]

Compared to the norm. 99% of all platform games have their jump buttons to the right of the action buttons.

The only two-buttoned platform game before Alex Kidd in Miracle World was Super Mario Bros.


Many early SMS games had this backwards and no option to switch. Truly disorientating.

I don't really see how one way is forwards and one way is backwards. Some games have jump on the left button, some games have jump on the right button. If people can get used to the N64 controller, surely people can get used to switching two buttons around.

[Melf]

It can be a problem though. That's why I bought the PS2 version of Mega Man Anniversary instead of the GameCube one. The GC buttons are reversed, and I simply could not get used to it.

[Joe Redifer]

I'm having a hard time believing that Alex Kidd in Miracle World was the 2nd platform game EVER.

[NeoZeedeater]

Ghosts 'n Goblins and Wonder Boy are a bit older than Alex Kidd and had their jumping set up like Super Mario Bros.. j_factor has a good point though. The vast majority of platformers prior to Alex Kidd used a single button and the two button standard was really new. If anything the standard at the time was pressing up on the joystick to jump as when the NES and SMS first arrived it was the era of the C64 and other computers.

[Joe Redifer]

I think the reason nobody complains about it any more is because most people play on emulators and it is extremely simple to remap the buttons into a more workable configuration. People looooove their emulators.

[Mendicant]

I agree. I Looooove my emulator.

[David J.]

I always thought the recent 3D Sonic games would be perfect for Alex Kidd.

Nowadays people want length in their games, and the Sonic games where more known for speed, while the Alex Kidd games where longer, and slower.

[Ed Oscuro]

Some nit-picks for the article:


The Sega Technical Institute, founded and run by Marble Madness creator Mark Cerny, was almost exclusively charged with this assignment, and they came up with several new characters like Greendog, the Ooze, and Comix Zone.
How about Sketch Turner, Roadkill, General Alissa Cyan, or Mortus?

Also, I'd say that the "death knell" for Alex and Stella was the fact that Team Shinobi killed them off in Altered Beast ;) Hell, they came up with a few nifty sets of characters (the Golden Axe and Alien Storm teams) that were every bit as interesting as Anmitsu Hi...er, Alexin...er...that kid. Oh, what was I saying? No article about Alex Kidd worth its salt overlooks the Altered Beast reference.


There was an official link. Alex Kidd in Miracle World was built-in to the Sega Master System II in the US and Europe. I can't think of a way to promote a game property more than including it with the hardware.
Does this mean that everybody's favorite orange and yellow snail is an official mascot, too?

[Melf]

Thing is, Enchanted Castle came out alongside Altered Beast, and another game was later released on the Master System, so Alex wasn't actually killed off there. Stella did seem to bite the dust though.

[Joe Redifer]

There was no orange and yellow snail. It was white. And hidden.

[Ed Oscuro]

Thing is, Enchanted Castle came out alongside Altered Beast, and another game was later released on the Master System, so Alex wasn't actually killed off there. Stella did seem to bite the dust though.
Seriously though, why the article leaves that out is kinda beyond me. Everybody should know about it!


There was no orange and yellow snail. It was white. And hidden.
http://www.vgmuseum.com/images/sms/02/snailmaze.html ;)

Also of note, I've heard that later MS IIs had Sonic as the built-in, thus replacing Alex even on the SMS.

[Joe Redifer]

Well it's white when you play it through an RF connection. Plus it's hidden so it can't count as any sort of mascot, like I said earlier.

Also, who cares if Alex's name is on tons upon tons of gravestones in Altered Beast? It just means that a whole bunch of people named Alex are buried there. And who the hell is Stella? Maybe Altered Beast himself is Alex.

[Ed Oscuro]

All joking aside, I'd like to know if the system manual (or box) for the Master System with Snail Maze gave clues about starting up the game (apparently the MS2 did, though it doesn't seem that there's a simple selector button on that console to do it).

[Melf]

I don't think Stella ever existed! Alex was a cross-dresser, and that's why they canned him! :p

[Joe Redifer]

There were no clues about Snail Maze in the SMS manual. Best game ever, though.

[B - Mark]

I like Alex Kidd, but he is more marked as the Master System mascot than Sega mascot.

Other problem is the game engine.
After Alex Kidd in Miracle World, each game had a different game play.
The game play of Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle is near to the Alex Kidd in Miracle World, but is inferior than Alex´s 1st game.

I have a catridge Alex Kidd in Miracle World.
I won my game in the 1990 Christmas.

In Brazil, the Tec Toy haven´t forgotten Alex Kidd.

In the “Master System 3 – 112 Super Jogos” are 4 Alex Kidd Games built in :
- Alex Kidd in Miracle World
- Alex Kidd the Lost Stars
- Alex Kidd High Tech World
- Alex Kidd in Shinobi World

In the “Master System Handy” have Alex Kidd in Miracle World are built in this console.

In the “Super Mega Drive 3 – 71 Super Jogos” Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle are built in this console.

Here is the links about Alex Kidd in internet:

Article about Alex Kidd and his games in internet.
http://hg101.classicgaming.gamespy.com/alexkidd/alexkidd.htm

Informations about Alex Kidd in the Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Kidd

The site OPCFG – The Organization Present for the Preservation Classic Forms of Gaming had a article about Forgotten Video Game Heroes and Heroinies.
Alex Kidd is one of the heroes cited in the article.
http://hg101.classicgaming.gamespy.com/opcfg/heroes.html