Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle (Genesis) review"Enchanted, much like getting hit by a car while trying to change a flat tire in a downpour is enchanted." |
Before the hedgehog named Sonic burst onto the televisions of Sega Genesis owners, Alex Kidd was Sega's mascot. He starred in six games released between 1986 and 1990 before being relegated to the Island of Misfit Toys, only making a recent reappearance because someone decided there might be money in remaking his old games because retro sells.
Maybe Alex was a viable mascot in the days of Master System and maybe some stuff he starred in was actually considered good — I don't know; I never played those games. But I have played Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle and can definitely say that Sega NEEDED Sonic to dethrone him with the hedgehog's series of excellent and engaging platformers. Poor Alex just didn't have the pizzazz, gumption or…well, much of anything to remain relevant in the 16-bit generation. Either that or the poor folk working on this game were sadly unable to keep up with the times. While Enchanted Castle isn't bereft of good ideas, it was too simplistic, bare-bones and run-of-the-mill to maintain my attention for any tangible amount of time.
While plot is never a big deal in these games, which often peak at "hero must save girl and/or world from villain", this game's is especially stupid. Alex must fight through a number of levels in an attempt to find his lost father. In the final level, which is also the only one that's particularly lengthy, interesting or engaging, he fights a demonic boss, only to find said boss was dad's servant and pops hadn't disappeared — he was just on sabbatical, chilling out while everyone else in the world was wondering what's what. I'd apologize for, like, totally spoiling the plot, but I'm a fan of alliteration and think it's totally cool I finished that sentence with five straight "W" words. At least, that's more awesome than about anything in this game!
Community review by overdrive (September 03, 2021)
Rob Hamilton is the official drunken master of review writing for Honestgamers. |
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