The best platformer on Master System.
The graphics are fantastic! Alex looks way better than miracle world with much better facial expressions a cool shinboi outfit and it just look darn cool to see him swinging a sword and killing stuff, instead of just punching.
Bad guys are well detailed and varied with everything from gunmen, ninjas, guys with deadly boomerangs sharks, insane looking green things and many more.
Environments are very different too with a city, a harbour, the jungle, and other places. There are looks of small details like the shine on a gunmans sunglasses to a fish's scales.
Sound is just as good with the best master system music I’ve heard. Its just super catchy and suits the game perfectly. Sound effects are also great and work perfectly with the music to make the game sound good. Lots of the sound is reused from shinobi also on the master system, such as the sound for powering up, the extra life sound and others.
Gameplay is simple and fun platforming. You control Alex who is armed with a sword or darts and try to get to the end of each stage. Alex has some unique abilities like the ninja style wall jump on facing walls and the ability to grab onto a bar and swirl around it to become a fireball to kill enemies or burrow through blocks. Alex Kidd can look deceptively simple but it can get a bit taxing later. I have finished the entire game without getting hit though. :) Its hard to put the finger on what makes Alex so fun. The many abilities, great graphics and sound, cool enemies and other factors just combine to form the best platformer on Master System.
You’ll be replaying this one a fair bit just for sheer fun.
All up this is a must play platformer for any gamer, especially long term old school gamers. Get it.