Alex Kidd in Miracle World

A remake developed by Jankenteam and published by Merge Games, titled Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX, was released on June 22, 2021.

• Title — Alex Kidd in Miracle World • Developer — Sega • Publisher — Sega • Designer — Kotaro Hayashida • Artist — Rieko Kodama • Programmer — Papa Kouichi • Composer — Tokuhiko Uwabo • Platforms — * Master System • Nintendo Switch • Released — Master System Nintendo Switch • Genre — Platform • Series — Alex Kidd • Modes — Single-player

• Illustration — Alex Kidd shatters a block with a fist punch, revealing a bag of money. Alex Kidd in Miracle World is a 2D platform game. The player must finish levels and overcome obstacles and puzzles in both scrolling and single-screen environments. Throughout the 17 stages, Alex faces many monsters and the three henchmen of Janken the Great, before facing Janken himself. Alex's punching ability is used to destroy enemies and to break rocks in order to access new paths and to collect items such as money which can then be used to purchase other items including vehicles such as motorbikes and helicopters. At the end of many stages, Alex plays jan-ken-pon (rock-paper-scissors) with one of Janken's henchmen. Alex dies with one hit, or by losing a game of rock, paper, scissors. The game has no save system, but by holding the directional pad up and pressing the 2 button eight times at the Game Over screen, the player will restart the level with three new lives, at a cost of 400 Baums (the in-game currency).

A young martial artist named Alex Kidd learns of a villain named Janken the Great who has defeated King Thunder of the city of Radaxian and who has kidnapped his son, Prince Egle (or "Igul"), and Egle's fiancée Princess Lora. Discovering that he is the lost son of King Thunder, Alex sets out to rescue the kingdom. On his quest, he defeats Janken's henchmen and retrieves various items which lead him toward Janken whom he defeats and sees turned to stone. Alex retrieves the crown, and the people of Radaxian are restored under the newly crowned King Egle.

Alex Kidd in Miracle World originally began development in 1984 as a licensed tie-in game based on the Dragon Ball manga series. However, during development, the Dragon Ball license expired and Sega CEO Hayao Nakayama ordered the developers to start the game over from scratch. The game was originally only available as a cartridge but was later built into many editions of both the Master System and the Master System II power base, enabling play without the use of a game cartridge. From 1990 onwards, a slightly different version was integrated into the US, Australian and European versions of the Master System II and also some Australian and European versions of the original Master System. There were two differences: firstly when changing targets in the game map, Alex is shown eating onigiri in the original version (and the 2008 Wii Virtual Console port), and a hamburger in the integrated version. Secondly, the original version used button 2 to hit and button 1 to jump; these controls were inverted in the integrated version. The game was released on the Wii via the Virtual Console in 2008. It was also released alongside Super Hang-On and The Revenge of Shinobi as part of Sega Vintage Collection: Alex Kidd and Co., which was released for Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network in May 2012. This version allows play of any region version of the game (the European version retaining a 50 Hz framerate) and the Master System II variation. The original version is included on the AtGames Sega Genesis Flashback HD compilation, a dedicated console with games from the Sega Genesis, Master System, and Game Gear. In 2019, a port developed by M2 was released through the Sega Ages label for the Nintendo Switch.

A remake of the game, titled Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX, was announced on June 10, 2020, and released on June 22, 2021. The game is developed by Merge Games and Jankenteam for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. The remake features new levels, new NPCs, alternate boss fights, and can instantly change between modern or retro-style graphics by using the right trigger button. Once the player completes the game, the player unlocks two additional modes: Classic Mode, which is an upscaled Master System port of the original game, and Boss Rush, where the player must defeat all the bosses at Rock Paper Scissors and follow-up battle without dying.