Alex Kidd



Alex Kidd is a video game character. He is a monkey-like boy with big ears in a red jumpsuit and was Sega's mascot until Sonic the Hedgehog debuted in 1991. His games spanned various platforms, and appeared in the arcade and on the Sega Master System and the Sega Genesis home consoles.

The game for which he is best known, Alex Kidd in Miracle World, was released in 1986. It was rereleased in 1990 and was built into the Master System II model itself. Miracle World replaced the Snail Maze/Safari Hunt/Hang On (depending on the version) game(s) of the first model. This version reversed the attack and jump buttons from the earlier version to conform to that of other popular action games of the day.

Unlike the Sonic the Hedgehog series, where changes in game mechanics between games are minimal, most games in the Alex Kidd series differ dramatically from one another. The sole exception is Miracle World and its direct sequel, Enchanted Castle. While most games in the series were still platform-based, the only elements that tied the series together was the name and the title character. The fact that fans of the first game felt completely lost with the rest of the series may have been a contributing factor to the failure of this series.

Video game History
The Alex Kidd franchise included:
 * Alex Kidd in Miracle World, 1986, Master System
 * Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars, 1986, arcade, and 1989, Master System
 * Alex Kidd BMX Trial, 1987, Master System (Only released in Japan)
 * Alex Kidd in High-Tech World, 1989, Master System. (A modified version of the Japanese Master System game, Anmitsu Hime. Alterations include: altered sprites, English text, and a new story line.)
 * Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle, 1989, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis
 * Alex Kidd in Shinobi World, 1990, Master System (A modified version of the cancelled Master System game, Shinobi Kid. Alterations include: altered sprites and Character names)

Mascot Replacement
After 1990, Sega decided to abandon Alex Kidd in favor of Sonic the Hedgehog as its mascot. Alex Kidd himself has made some minor cameos since then...

Cameos

 * There is an homage to Alex Kidd in Altered Beast, where Alex and Stella (Alex's Girlfriend from the Arcade version of ''Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars's names appear on gravestones in the first round.
 * Alex Kidd's face can be seen hidden in the screen in the third round of Kenseiden for Master System. It is mold in the scenario, on the ground, near a dead end, next to a lava pit.


 * Alex appears several times as collectable toys in the Dreamcast game, Shenmue.


 * One of his most recent appearances was in the Dreamcast game Segagaga, where he works in a video game store. He also has a bit part where he narrates about his competition against a certain company's mascot before being forgotten.

Alex Kidd games on next-gen systems
Aceland Studios is currently attempting to gauge interest in bringing back the Alex Kidd series. To that end, Torbjörn Karlsson posted a link to an online petitionat the Wii60 website. The petition is an attempt to gauge interest in returning the Alex Kidd as a main protagonist in videogaming, unlike the brief cameos seen since the early 90's. It isn't clear if this would lead to ports of the old games, or entirely new games in the series. It's also possible that the petition won't have any effect at all. The petition can be found here.