Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars
System: SMS
Release Date: July 1988
Developer: Whiteboard
Publisher: Sega
Genre: Platformer
Alex Kidd is back in action as he searches for the Lost Stars. Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars is a very simple platformer much like Wonder Boy. You are Alex Kidd and you need to recover all of the stars from the Aries constellation. Why it shows me collecting all of the zodiac signs, I have no clue.
This is an extremely simple platformer. Head to the right, jump over gaps, avoid enemies or shoot them if you have a shoot power up. You can get hit as long as you still have time left on the counter at the top of the screen. There are no boss battles at the end of any stage. You just have to go through 14 stages and make it to the exit of each one.
Disappointingly, there are only seven unique stages. They are all unique from one another in design and in some cases gameplay (see the water level), but they all offer the shoot item and task you in getting to the exit in time. Once you beat the first half, you play through each stage again with slightly more difficult enemy placements. It’s a fast game to get through, I think that’s the nicest thing I can say about it.
Graphics: 2.0
While the sprites are a little bigger than Alex Kidd in Miracle World, I don’t think they look any better.
Sound: 2.0
The music is a downgrade and the annoying scream any time Alex gets hit gets annoying quickly.
Gameplay: 1.5
This is such a simple game, I don’t understand who thought it was good enough for a home release.
Difficulty: 1.0
It took me about an hour to get through this one. It’s an attrition game with no limit on continues.
Fun Factor: 0.5
I really didn’t have fun with this outing of Alex Kidd’s adventures on the Master System.
Overall Grade: 1.4
Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars earns a D+. This is a super simple game that isn’t worth playing through more than once. Even then, that’s a stretch.