Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars (Master System) Playthrough - NintendoComplete
145A playthrough of Sega's 1988 platformer for the Sega Master System, Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars.
Though it didn't appear on the Master System until 1988, the original arcade version of The Lost Stars was actually the second game in the Alex Kidd series, and it represented quite a departure from the gameplay in Alex Kidd in Miracle World (https://youtu.be/Xwzx_qUf8Bw ), the likes of which wouldn't be revisited until 1989's Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle for the Genesis (https://youtu.be/FdcMexKFt3w ).
Oftentimes The Lost Stars feels a spin-off of the original Wonderboy/Adventure Island games. You can only attack enemies once you've found a weapon, and your timer doubles as a life gauge that can be replenished by picking up various items scattered throughout each area.
Alex has to collect twelve "miracle balls" from six different stages, including a level made out of toys, the Technodrome, a forest filled with exhibitionists and pitcher plants, a poorly kept aquarium, the desert from Back to the Future Part III, the inside of a living lasagne, and a moon that's playing host to the Statue of Liberty for some reason. Once you've cleared every stage twice, you're treated to one of the least gratifying endings ever.
While The Lost Stars clearly plagiarizes its ideas from better known (and better made) games, I do think that it succeeds in its efforts more than it is typically given credit for. The graphics are excellent, credibly mimicking the look of the arcade game on the 8-bit console. The use of color is pretty striking - just look at how bright that first level is! - and I love the enemy designs. The controls are also good. They're stiff but reliable, which is certainly welcome given the level of challenge you'll find in the later stages. It's not impossibily hard or anything, but it does require a good bit of memorization and reflexes to see it through to its conclusion.
Then there's the sound. The arcade game's soundtrack (composed by Hiroshi Kawaguchi, best known for his work on Sega arcade games like OutRun and Afterburner) was amazing, and this Master System port makes a valiant attempt to reproduce the magic, but it is ultimately hampered by console's signature ear-grating PSG sound. That being said, if you have access to a Mark III system with an FM unit installed, you'll get to listen along with one of the best platformer soundtracks of its time. And who could possibly forget,
"I'M THE MIRACLE BALL!" *bloop bloop bloop bloop*
(Those bloops are what I like to think of as the Master System's musical impression of an escalator going up.)
You hear that bit of digitized speech at the beginning of every stage, and it's probably the one thing that everyone remembers about the game, no matter how many years it has been since they last played it. Well, okay, there's also the amazing digitized scream Alex lets out whenever he gets hit. That's pretty memorable, too.
The funny thing about those two voice samples is that they sound so much better than what you'll generally hear on the Genesis. They're loud, clear, and surprisingly free of distortion. Impressive stuff for a system that usually does its best to make you resent having ears.
I really liked Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars. It's a comfortable retread of familiar ideas, but what it lacks in imagination it makes up in personality. If you liked Wonderboy or Adventure Island, you'll probably enjoy this one, too.
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No cheats were used during the recording of this video.
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