Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX – The classic platformer returns

Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX is a remake of the original game released for the Sega Master System way back in 1986. That makes this game almost as old as me!

The remake does a great job of capturing the spirit of the game. It feels like it came from a different era. There is no tutorial at all and the intro cut scene is quite short. The game just begins and you’re immediately off on an adventure. The game is also pretty difficult and it is very unapologetic about it.

Every hostile thing in the world will kill you in one hit. While you do respawn at check points, you only have three lives to try and complete a level. If you expend all of them, you will need to restart the level at the very beginning. This isn’t as bad as it sounds because each level is quite short and the repetition of having to play it over again helps to build muscle memory.

The game is designed quite well in that the challenge in beating the level comes mostly from not knowing the optimal route to the end. The platforming and combating the enemies are relatively simple for the most part. Once I cleared a level, it was infinitely easier when replaying it.

Overall, Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX is a pretty solid platformer. The graphics look great and the platforming feels tight. Movement does feel very loose on the keyboard so a controller is recommended for PC players. The story and boss fights are lighthearted fun. The game created a sense of nostalgia and definitely brought to mind playing older platformers on the NES when I was a young lad.