2012/4/1: Sega Master System: Alex Kidd in Miracle World, Marksman Shooting/Trap Shooting, Paperboy

[VideoGameCritic]

What do you think about these three new Sega Master System reviews?  Rest assured three more Alex Kidd reviews will be posted shortly!

[DPad1]

I completely agree about Paperboy, but disagree about Alex Kidd (I know you saw that one coming). That said, based on your comment about the game's controls being the opposite of Mario, it seems that you're reviewing the cartridge version. I happen to have the one that came built-in the Master System 2, which inverted the buttons to fit the more traditional scheme. I can't help but wonder how would that change may have affected your opinion about the game, if only by bumping the grade to D+.

[Irenicus1]

Just based on the picture alone; Paperboy looks much better then my NES version. I've never been all that interested in getting a SMS, but maybe now I am; at least a little bit anyway.

[Rev1]

LMAO, I actually saw Paperboy for the SMS at Vintage Stock (local used game shop where I live) but I wasn't sure if I wanted to pick it up because I knew a lot of the games ported to the SMS were poorly done. Now I'm debating driving back and picking it up, lol. Anyway, thanks for the reviews, they were helpful.

[mesk1]

I could not agree more with you about Alex Kidd.I mean,if this was Sega answer to SMB its no wonder the SMS was forgotten in America shortly after its release.After reading your review I had to fire up Alex Kidd and boy,does it SUCK @ss.
Horrible controls combined with a horrible story\lead character equals a lose in profits.Thankfully for Sega someone came up with Sonic,so Alex Kidd could be laid to rest.Hopefully to never be resurrected.

[N64Dude1]

Couldn't disagree more,sure the buttons were inverted,but that seems like a petty reason. I can't argue about Alex Kidd being completely uncharismatic,but the level designs were actually really good I find,and the motorcycle was great. The Boss Battles may not have been original,but they were still pretty decent. 

It's just too bad Enchanted Castle wasn't so good,despite being the one true sequel,it failed at level designs and frankly the controls were kinda rank,that said I was using a compilation on the PS2 for that one.

[Adamant1]

Having played both the NES and SMS Paperboys, I can absolutely verify that the SMS version is far superior.

I'll join the choir regarding Alex Kidd, though... I just don't see how you can dislike this excellent game so much. It may not be SMB, but it's still a very entertaining platformer.

[Oltobaz1]

Yeah, Miracle World is a classic. I'm not sure what's so wrong with the first level, though one could argue it's possibly too hard for a first stage. As for the

janken battles (stone/scissors/paper), I remember how cool it seemed the first few

times I played those. Compared to other games of its era, Miracle World has a lot going for it with its various styles of gameplay (primarely a platformer, but it does have these "vehicle stages", the Janken battles), it's a pretty rich game, what with its items shops and so forth. In general, the game does have a slower pace than games like Mario and Sonic, it's more methodical, and actually pretty rewarding. And don't get me started on its bright, colorful graphical atmosphere! Personnally, I'd welcome a remake...

[Ikaris1]

I usually agree with VGC's reviews, but my opinion about Alex Kidd is completely different. It' a classic, it's deep and various, I didn't find the collision detection or the controls to be that bad and I think that the rock-paper-scissors battles can't influence so much the grade: they're a very small part of the game, and after the first time you can write the right moves and then repeat them. But above all, I don't see the sense of complaining about the control scheme being the opposite of Mario.... why had it to be the same?! Miracle World is not a Mario rip-off, it's a unique platform, very very different from our beloved plumber, and in general I think that it's not fair to evaluate a game according to the structure of another. And with a two-buttons pad, it's easy to get used to any control scheme after a couple of games. I understand that Mario is easier to approach and that Miracle World can be less "friendly" initially, and everyone has their own tastes, but D seems too harsh a judgement to me...

[ShadowAngel1]

Uh...yeah, a D for one of the biggest classics on the Master System, a game that is usually loved by everyone.
Let's start with the crap, shall we?
I agree with the look of Alex Kidd, it's stupid and he's ugly.
I disagree about the controls. In what world do we live, where game developers aren't allowed to do the controls the way they want it? What's next? Complaining that the keys on the MS Gamepad are numbered instead of using A & B inverted like Nintendo did? That would be like saying "Uh this game sucks, because you exist a Menu by pressing X on the PS2 Gamepad, while a lot other games use O, this game sucks" or "Pro Evolution Soccer uses R1 as turbo button, while FIFA uses L2 - FIFA has to suck because the controls are different, how dare they do this!"

I think the very first level just shows how imaginative this game is. How many other scrolling Platformers were around in the mid-80s that used this? Most games were always left to right, Sega tried something new and i think it's works.

Also: The controls are good. Maybe your gamepad is broken? I played this game on various Master System systems (built-in and cartridge type) with several different gamepads (standard gamepad, SG Commander, Mega Drive gamepad, even tried it with the horrible MS Arcade stick) and while the standard MS gamepad certainly isn't the best, the game controls just fine. There's no delay, there's no skipping of input signals in any of the versions i played with any of the gamepads.
The collision detection also works fine. There are some enemy which seem to register no hits (the big frogs under water) but everything else? You're really the first guy who found a collision detection problem in this game. Funny.

The Janken Game is interesting. First of all, it's always the same pattern, so you figure it out quickly. In Level 7 you find the telepathy ball, which directly shows you what the opponent is choosing, making it really easy (but to counter this, the later bosses attack you for a second time and you have to beat them the classical way with your fist, guess you haven't played that far?!). Besides, not all boss battles are that way, there are also some "standard" boss battles thrown in like against Ox or lather the big bear. You haven't even mentioned the Peitcopter (there's more to buy then just the Bike) or the Speed Boat stage. Once again giving me the impression only the very beginning was played and not the whole way through. Which is obvious by missing out on talking about all the special items (A capsule, B capsule, Power Bracelet, the Cane which lets you fly, the Invincible powder). AKiMW is not SMB1 where you plow through the same 2 styles of levels, so already after Stage 2 you have seen all there is too, this game has quite some depth, challenge and even some strategical thinking (what to buy, when to use it, where to go, how to beat certain enemies)
How can one write a review, as small and uninformative as this is, without finishing the game?

You know what a real flaw of this game is you haven't mentioned? The fact that the Pause Button is on the console works really bad for this game, as the Pause Menu brings up the Map, several informations (numbers of life, score) and it's the place to select the items you collected (the mentioned capsules, the power bracelet and so on) and it's really awkward if you're not in reach of the console. That is something that absolutely needs to be mentioned, instead of complaints about not having the "Mario-controls" and the Janken games, which is laughable.

And it's also not a "Phantom", it's a Ghost.

At least i can mostly agree with the other two 'reviews', except a A- for Paperboy is two good. It's more in the B range, imo.