Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle (Genesis)

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Description

Alex Kidd, resident of planet Aries, is the king's brother. One day he comes across a rumor that his long lost father, King Thor, is alive and somewhere on the planet Paperock. Of course he immediately travels to said planet to find his father.

Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle offers standard platforming action in which Alex explores side-scrolling levels and has to avoid touching enemies. He has two standard attacks to his disposal: punching enemies on the ground and kicking them in the air. He also uses items to make his life easier, e.g. a pedicopter with a gun, a pogo-stick for reaching higher ground or an invulnerability cloak. After usage Alex puts those items into his inventory but he loses the active item when dying. Coins are acquired from defeated enemies or treasure chests.

Just like in Alex Kidd in Miracle World, the mini game Janken, also known as rock-paper-scissors, plays an important role: bosses are not defeated by shooting but by beating them in this game of chance. New in comparison to the predecessor is that Janken also needs to be played to purchase items in shops: After paying for the item it is only given to Alex if he wins the mini game. The result of failure is death.

Screenshots

Promo Images

Alternate Titles

• "アレックスキッド　天空魔城" -- Japanese spelling
• "Alex Kidd: Tenkū Majō" -- Japanese title
• "알렉스키드 천공마성" -- Korean spelling

Part of the Following Groups

• Alex Kidd series
• Console Generation Exclusive: Sega Genesis

User Reviews

Whoever thought of this game was a lunatic	emmamomocat (33)
Don't let the 1st level fool you. This game is a platforming classic.	Emperor MAR (2613)

Critic Reviews

Player One	Nov, 1990	90 out of 100	90
Sega-16.com	Aug 31, 2004	9 out of 10	90
ASM (Aktueller Software Markt)	Apr, 1989	9.8 out of 12	82
VideoGame	Apr, 1991		80
Amstar	Nov, 1990	14 out of 20	70
Raze	Jan, 1991	68 out of 100	68
Retro Archives	Oct 23, 2020	11.5 out of 20	58
Oldies Rising	Jul 28, 2011	10 out of 20	50
HonestGamers (Staff reviews only)	Dec 19, 2003	4 out of 10	40
Random Access	Nov 17, 2013	1.5 out of 10	15

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Trivia

Console release

Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle is the first, and, so far, only, home-version game in the series which was not released for the SEGA Master System.

Version differences

The original Japanese version has a more adult atmosphere. In the American version, characters losing the Janken battles get crushed by a weight. In the original version, those characters simply lose all their clothes. Also, the first town is called Bikinitown, but in the US version they changed it to Rookietown.