Alex Kidd In The Enchanted Castle – Sega Mega Drive (1989)
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.
Complete
2067
£12
The Simpsons: Bart VS The Space Mutants – Sega Master System (1992)
Bart vs. The Space Mutants is a platform game where the player goes into the role of Bart Simpson (from the TV show The Simpsons) and must stop the Space Mutants from invading Springfield. On each of the five levels, Bart must collect (or get rid of) the ingredients that the Space Mutants are planning to use to build their machine, such as purple objects or balloons. He also has to collect enough “proof” of the aliens existence (brown coins left behind when they are jumped on), so his family members will help him when he meets a boss (characters such as Nelson and Sideshow Bob). This won’t be easy since the Space Mutants are “using” human bodies as disguise. In order to discover who are the real Space Mutants, Bart must use his X-ray Specs. The ways Bart can get rid of those objects sought by the Space Mutants are numerous. For instance, in the first stage, Bart must get rid of purple objects. He can dye them red, cover them, wash them, etc. Some even involve a little puzzle solving, like playing a trick on Moe to make him get out of the bar. Bart also has some coins that can be used in many ways throughout the game, like buying things, getting devices operating, etc. Those coins are essential to solve some puzzles in the game.
