Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX

Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX is a fan tribute to the classic SEGA game. It carries the original DNA in both the pros and cons. The art direction provides a beautiful graphic experience, however the level design and controls remain true to the original.

Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX does a fantastic job of taking an already good game and adding a gorgeous fresh modern coat to it. The art design is beautifully done, and the option to switch between the redesign and 8-bit graphics adds to the nostalgic experience. While this remake is faithful for better or worse, there’s no denying that the quirky and challenging world of Alex Kidd is a side-scrolling experience unlike any other.

This is a great remaster of the original Master System game, which updates the graphics but not the gameplay. This will be great for fans of the original, but not so much for those who expected a game that looks and feels new.

Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX is a beautiful reinterpretation of a classic. Although some elements feel outdated, it’s the perfect introduction to the franchise. Jankenteam has successfully rejuvenated the legendary hero, hopefully kickstarting a resurgence of the series.

If you're a fan of the original Alex Kidd in Miracle World, then this remake gives you just about everything you could want, and more, and you can add a good point or so to my score. If some of the rougher aspects of the original turned you away, the new unlimited lives option might be enough to compensate . . . or it might not. And if you've never played Alex Kidd before, then you might consider looking at the cheaper SEGA AGES version and decide from there if you want a bigger and better version of that. [Issue #54 – September 2021, p. 76]

Affectionate remake of a classic jump & run. It has a few problems though and despite a “classic” mode the original is nowhere to be seen.

Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX is a great remake and a good 2D platform title that provides a lot of fun. A visually and soundly renewed classic game that will delight both veteran and new players.

Despite the gameplay showing its age, it is what it is and I was enamored with it. It’s a wonderful refresh for a classic title like this, and hopefully, we’ll see a similar return of other mascot platformers from bygone eras in the same style.

A good remake of a legendary Sega videogame, the return of a legend from the days of the Master System. Despite an uninspiring longevity, it turns to be fun and overwhelming.

In an age where there’s an abundance of polished 2D indie platformers, Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX may not reach the same impact that the original once did. Nonetheless, this game is an adoring love letter by a team who undoubtedly shared a similar nostalgic childhood memory that I will always personally share and cherish. While a fancy lick of paint and some quality of life features will unlikely ever quite capture the magic that once made the original experience so special, Jankenteam has done its absolute best to beautifully repaint a classic that deserves to be remembered and retold.

Now, the argument over game length is one that's endlessly debated, and I'm firmly in the camp that says that fun is fun, and I certainly had fun revisiting the world of my onigiri-chomping namesake for a brief while. I could certainly see plenty of others finding it less compelling, however, because beyond the visuals, so very little has changed in 35 years. Yikes. 35 years. Presumably, Prince Alex is now King Alex of Radaxian by now. I'd better get back to my throne. Dammit, did I just say that out loud?

Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX is a love letter to an early Sega mascot, an unforgiving but very colourful platformer that will please old time fans of the genre.

A solid reworking of a brutal but characterful retro platform game, which offers a fascinating insight into the earliest days of the genre.

It's not perfect, as players may find the controls a little loose and the lack of change and additional features may make some question its worth, but it's nonetheless a good recreation of the fantastic Master System title.

Alex Kidd makes a return with mixed results. The aesthetic of Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX is very eye-catching and can make it fun to watch being played by speedrunners or those familiar with the series. For those looking to have a more classic experience, the swappable color palette available in the main mode and the unlockable port are worth a look. The release is rounded out with a boss rush mode to serve up a challenging 2D platformer that’s worth a try before the game shows itself as a product of its time.

Alex Kidd in Monster World DX is a faithful remake of the original, but the difficulty of a bygone era rears its ugly head far too often.

Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX converts an old classic into a new era and goes beyond the original formula, bringing new levels and game modes. The result is a fun game, with a great performance, and a good chance of appealing to both newcomers and veterans alike. While some of the game's original flaws remain unaddressed and the classic mode might not please everyone equally, this modern take on the original Alex Kidd game is a welcome addition to the Nintendo Switch catalogue.

In an audio and visual sense, this DX remaster is absolutely amazing. But when it comes to gameplay and core design, it is exactly the same as the original. In other words, Alex Kidd has aged poorly and when it comes to reintroducing it to the modern age, it requires much more than a facelift. Fans of the original may enjoy it being true to the first game, but in truth, it simply should have been improved much more when it comes to its ancient mechanics and gameplay design.

The remake excels at presenting the experience with a captivating art style and good soundtracks. However, it fails to learn from the platformers of today and sticks with the outdated design of the original game.

The more I played Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX, the more I questioned who it’s supposed to be for. It leaves too much of the of-its-time original game intact to be a good choice for new players. It changes too many things that probably should have been left alone to work as a hit of nostalgia. With SEGA’s own fantastic SEGA AGES release of Miracle World available on the Switch for a fraction of the price, this game should have been free to take bigger chances on modernizing the gameplay as much as it updates the presentation. In the end, it’s a weird mid-point that may appeal to some (but not all) hungry Alex Kidd fans and very few others.

Both true to its original foundation and distant in its changes, Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX is arguably not the remake fans of the character could hope for. Some will think the progression is out of date, and they won't be wrong, but the biggest problem is imprecise controls and collisions with enemies. With its very colorful production and quality musical themes, the experience remains correct, but less striking than expected.

Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX from Merge Games and Jankenteam is a very niche product with very niche marketability. I imagine the game will be received well in territories where the Sega Master System held on to a longer life-span, such as Brazil and Europe. For the rest of the world though, there just isn’t enough here to bring Alex Kidd into the modern age.

Unfortunately, once the story mode has been completed, there is very little replay value, outside of unlocking a boss rush and 'classic mode'. There is definitely a hardcore challenge there for those who play without the helping hand of infinite lives, but those who don't should be able to get through the story mode in under an hour or so. Certainly, a great trip down memory lane for those old enough to remember the original, but newer players may find it somewhat frustratingly difficult and lacking compared to more modern 2D platformers.

While the remake part is great, with fantastic visuals and awesome music, the rest of Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX didn't age well, with cumbersome gameplay mechanics, some questionable level designs and annoying bosses.

Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX is a wonderful-looking game held back by its developers clinging to the gameplay of the original Master System title. Some quality-of-life improvements could have saved it from mediocrity.

Alex Kidd was more or less usurped by Sonic the Hedgehog as SEGA’s golden boy, and it’s not hard to see why. This platformer may have rendered some fun in 1986, but considering it’s a direct remake, it’s still a clunky platformer that has not aged well. If you’re an Alex Kidd fan, this is nothing short of a must-have, the QoL improvements make it a little more playable, and it’s one of the best-looking remakes on the Switch. If you need a satisfying platforming fix, it’s hard to recommend this classic title.

Sadly, Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX is too faithful to the original game, which didn't aged as well as a Wonder Boy Dragon's Trap, to mention another SEGA game remade. Sure, Jankenteam made a beautiful job and it's a pleasure to watch and listen. But it's also a quite irritating 2D platformer as it doesn't play very well and lacks precise controls and hitboxes.

We can't pretend this isn't a disappointment. After promises of updates and improvements to this classic title, what we've got is something that we'd honestly not recommend to either prospective new fans or enthusiasts of the original Alex Kidd. We're inclined to think this may have been something of a rushed release, but that's pure speculation based on some of the more lax features (there's a lot of new dialogue but almost all of it is awkwardly written, with typos and errors). Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX is not horrible by any means, and you might have fun with it until you run up against its irritating issues — unless you use infinite lives, in which case you'll finish the game in two hours, tops. If this was supposed to be Alex Kidd's big comeback, we're sad to say that we don't think we'll be seeing that Alex Kidd: High-Tech World remake any time soon.

While the new graphics are gorgeous and being able to switch between old and modern visuals is great, Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX feels like three different games haphazardly slapped together. The level design and controls are fundamentally at odds with one another, and with how frequently you’ll die combined with how long it takes to respawn makes this simply a frustrating experience.