I’ll admit, sometimes I don’t do enough research when I see a game before I decide I want to play it and review it. Sometimes I mistake something in a trailer, for something completely different. Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX isn’t at all what I expected it to be. I am trying to be fair to it despite that, but… I have some serious issues with the game.

Before I get into this too deep, Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX is a remastered version of Alex Kidd in Miracle World from 1986. It has all new visuals, new levels, and the ability to switch between retro visuals and the newer ones. You play as Alex Kidd, going up against an Alien overlord who has turned the world’s inhabitants to stone.

I have some serious gripes with the game and many of them stem from the fact that it feels very dated in a way that isn’t necessary. Alex Kidd can only punch, jump, and duck in his initial form. You can get power-ups by hitting question mark blocks or purchasing them in shops, but they are unreliable and the game doesn’t tell you what they do. In fact, the question mark blocks can also spawn a creature that kills you immediately, so it is riskier than it should be.

Did I mention that Alex Kidd dies in one hit? Yeah, there is no health bar, no hearts, you take any damage and you die immediately. There are limited lives by default, and if you run out then you are required to start a level over. However, you can turn on infinite lives if the game grows too frustrating. This is specifically useful during boss fights, which take one of two methods.

Either you fight a traditional boss fight, having to learn enemy patterns and hit them several times, or you play a version of Rock, Paper, Scissors to defeat the boss. Both types of boss fight are annoying because repeated deaths can cause you to have to redo the entire level. After a certain point, you get an upgrade to let you predict the rock, paper, scissors choice of your opponent, but until then it is maddening.

Now, I should mention that this is a 1 for 1 remake as far as I could figure out. There is very little mechanically that was changed aside from boss fights, only things added to enhance the experience. So, if you loved the original, or you find yourself enjoying difficult platformers, you will likely enjoy this. Personally, I found the game to be beautiful, the music to be fun, and the concept to be interesting.

However, the controls are very slippery, so precision platforming is almost impossible. The one-hit-kill is absolutely atrocious and paired with the lives system, it becomes an exercise in frustration. Overall, this game is generally crafted specifically for the sake of nostalgia and not much else. In fact, I really wish the developers had considered a few more quality of life upgrades to go with the optional infinite lives system.

There are also other modes you can unlock as you play, such as Classic Mode and Boss Rush mode. Nothing is told to you in-game about how the bosses work, how the new modes change things, or even how the game itself really plays. So, I can’t say much more than this game leaves a lot to be desired.

In my opinion, this was not the best way to endear a new generation of players to the Alex Kidd brand. However, if you’re someone that loved Alex Kidd in Miracle World, then maybe this is something you should look into. I may not be the target market for it, but I can appreciate when nostalgia drives sales.

A Nintendo Switch review copy of Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX was provided by Merge Games for this review.

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Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX

$19.99 USD

4

Score

4.0/10

Pros

• Cute Visuals
• Interesting Rock, Paper, Scissors Boss Concept
• Fun Music

Cons

• Controls are Slippery/Floaty
• No Tutorial/Direction
• One-Hit-Death
• Feels Outdated for No Reason