He was the boy who would be king, but he ended up being the guy who got replaced by a blue hedgehog with a massive ego. If you grew up in the 80s, especially if you lived in Europe, Australia, or Brazil, Alex Kidd wasn't just some obscure retro character. He was the face of your childhood. He was built into the hardware of your Master System II, literally waiting for you to turn the console on without a cartridge.
But there’s a lot of myth-making around Alex.
People love to call him Sega’s "failed" answer to Mario. That’s not quite right. Honestly, when Alex Kidd in Miracle World dropped in 1986, it wasn't even trying to be a Mario clone. It was actually supposed to be a Dragon Ball game. Yeah, you read that right. Goku was the original star. When the license fell through, Sega’s developers, led by Kotaro Hayashida, had to scramble. They turned the Power Pole into a giant fist and kept the Rock-Paper-Scissors (Janken) because, well, that’s just how Goku rolled back then.
Why Alex Kidd in Miracle World Was Actually Ahead of Its Time
Most platformers back then were simple. You ran from left to right. You jumped on things. You reached the end.
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Alex changed the vibe. You weren't just running; you were shopping. You collected bags of money to buy motorbikes and "pedicopters" (those weird pedal-powered flying machines). You had a world map that actually made the Kingdom of Radaxian feel like a real place, not just a series of disconnected levels.
The Janken Problem
Let’s talk about those boss fights. Most people remember them as pure, frustrating luck. You face off against a guy with a literal stone for a head, and you have to win at Rock-Paper-Scissors. If you lose? You die. Instant game over.
It feels like RNG, but it's not.
The bosses actually have set patterns. If you memorize them—or if you're lucky enough to find the Telepathy Ball item—you can see what they're thinking. It’s a bizarre mechanic for a platformer, and honestly, it’s probably the reason the series eventually stalled. It broke the flow. One minute you’re expertly navigating a castle, and the next, you’re playing a schoolyard game for your life.
It was weird. It was very Japanese. And it was exactly what made the game stand out from the "safe" design of Nintendo's hits.
The Mascot That Never Officially Was
Here is the kicker: Alex Kidd was never officially the Sega mascot.
I know, it sounds like heresy. But Sega was a mess back then when it came to branding. They had a character named Opa-Opa (a sentient living spaceship from Fantasy Zone) who was technically their first mascot. Alex was just the most popular guy they had until a group of designers decided Sega needed something with "attitude."
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Enter Sonic.
Sonic was everything Alex wasn't. Sonic was fast. Alex was... floaty. Alex had a bit of a slippery movement style that made precise landing feel like walking on soap. Sonic was designed for "Blast Processing" and 16-bit speed. Once the Genesis (Mega Drive) took over the world, Alex was basically shoved into the attic.
The Weird, Broken Sequel Trail
If you only played the first game, you might think the series was consistent. It wasn't. Sega didn't seem to know what Alex was supposed to be.
- Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars: This was an arcade port that felt like a fever dream. Alex looked different, the gameplay was faster and weirder, and it ditched the shops.
- Alex Kidd in High-Tech World: This one is the ultimate "fake" game. It was originally a Japanese game called Anmitsu Hime based on a manga about a princess. Sega just slapped Alex's face on it for the Western release. You spend half the game solving puzzles in a castle and praying at a shrine 100 times to get a travel pass. It’s barely a platformer.
- Alex Kidd in Shinobi World: This is actually a hidden gem. It’s a parody of Shinobi, and it plays beautifully. It proved that the character could work in different genres if Sega actually put the effort in.
Is the Kidd Still Relevant?
In 2021, we got Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX. It was a love letter from fans who grew up to be developers. They kept the slippery controls—which was a bold, possibly insane choice—but added a "Retro" button that let you swap graphics instantly.
It sold over 200,000 copies in its first few months. That’s not Mario numbers, but for a "dead" IP from 1986? It's huge. It showed that there is still a massive hunger for that specific brand of 8-bit challenge.
People don't love Alex Kidd because he's perfect. They love him because he represents a time when games were allowed to be experimental and slightly janky. He wasn't a corporate-polished icon; he was a kid who punched rocks and ate onigiri (or a hamburger, depending on which version of the Master System you owned).
How to Experience Alex Kidd Today
If you're looking to dive back in, don't just grab a random ROM. You need the right context.
- Start with Miracle World DX: It’s on everything—Steam, Switch, PS5, Xbox. It has the "Boss Rush" mode which saves you from the frustration of restarting the whole game because you lost at Rock-Paper-Scissors.
- Play Shinobi World: If you can find a way to play the Master System original, do it. It’s arguably the best-designed game in the entire franchise.
- Check out the cameos: Alex shows up in Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing and Sega Superstars Tennis. It's clear the developers at Sega still have a soft spot for him, even if he's no longer the headliner.
The reality is that Alex Kidd didn't fail. He just occupied a specific window in gaming history where Sega was still finding its soul. He was the bridge between the arcade-heavy 70s and the character-driven 90s.
Go play the original. Even with the slippery jumps and the unfair boss fights, there’s a charm there that modern, "perfect" games often miss. Just remember: Stone-Head always starts with Rock.
Next Steps for the Retro Gamer:
Check your modern consoles for the Sega Ages version of the original game. It includes a "helper" mode that shows you the boss's hand before they play, which makes the game significantly more playable for anyone who didn't spend their entire 1987 allowance on the cartridge. Once you've mastered the punch, look into the fan-made translations of the Japanese-only titles to see the parts of the story Western audiences missed for decades.