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Editor's note: Kwaselow isn't like most gamers. Whereas everyone else focuses on the well known iconic characters we all know and love, Kwaselow can't stop thinking about icons of the past that never really succeeded. -- CTZ]
Since I started this series, people have differed with my definition of a videogame mascot. I define a videogame mascot as a character created for the purpose of having its own series, becoming a household name, and having merchandise all over the world. My readers, however, have been craving what they feel to be a true mascot. A character who, at some point, was the official mascot of a company. Since this is a week for giving thanks, I’d like to thank my readers by answering their call. Today’s Mascot That Failed is none other than…
Alex Kidd Since Alex Kidd was, at one point, and official company mascot, I'm going to go against the usual set-up of this series and describe each game in the series separately. Alex Kidd made his debut in 1986, and soon replaced Opa-Opa of the
Fantasy Zone series as Sega's official mascot (yes, Sega had other mascots in the past). Alex's last adventure was in 1990 but he has made cameos in other Sega games such as the Dreamcast classic Shenmue in 2000. Although he has not been seen very recently. So far, only one of his games, 1989's
Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle, is available for download on the Wii's Virtual Console service and Sega has not announced plans to release any other
Alex Kidd titles for download.
Alex Kidd in Miracle World Alex Kidd in Miracle World was the first game in the series. It was a platformer developed by Sega (if you need a list of other games they’re known for, you know nothing about videogames) in 1986 and was released for and bundled with the Sega Master System (some versions of the console had the game built in). The game followed Alex Kidd as he tried to save his brother, Igul (sometimes spelled Egle), from the evil Janken the Great. The game had 16 levels and rock, paper, scissors in place of boss battles (scissor me timbers). The game was highly successful (as most games bundled with systems are) and saw multiple sequels.
Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars was the next game in the series. It was a platformer developed by Sega and was released for arcades in 1986 and the Master System in 1988. The game involved Alex looking for the twelve signs of the Zodiac and fighting the evil Jiggarat (also known as Ziggurat). The game had 14 levels and was known for having a level inside a giant’s stomach a zombie that crapped out skulls, and recycling some of its own levels. The two versions of the game had some exclusive features. The Master System version featured unlimited lives (as opposed to the arcade version’s three), and the arcade version had two player co-op. The second player controlled a girl named Stella who has not been seen since.
Alex Kidd BMX Trial was the next game in the series. It was a racing game developed by Sega and was released in 1987 for the Master System with a special paddle controller. Unfortunately, the game was a Japan only release, so I don’t have much information about it but it definitely has bicycles.
Alex Kidd in High-Tech World
Alex Kidd in High-Tech World was the next game in the series. It was a platformer developed by Sega and was released in 1989 for the Master System. The game only had four levels but made up for it with plentiful ninja fights. Seriously, he fights ninjas. The game was actually the American version of A
nmitsu Hime: From Amakara Castle (based off the Japanese show Anmitsu Hime) with Alex Kidd replacing the sprite of the main character to appeal to American gamers. This game was released only one year after the release of
Super Mario Bros. 2, the American version of
Doki Doki Panic with
Mario characters replacing the original playable character sprites.
Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle soon followed and was released in 1989 for the Genesis. The game was about Alex living on the planet Aries which is now ruled by Igul. He learned that his long-lost father, Thor, was still alive on the Planet Paperrock so Alex went out to find his father (speaking of which, daddy is coming back soon, and when he comes back, he’ll have a fresh gallon of milk. I’m sure of it. DADDY! It’s been three years, and I’m still waiting). Alex could punch and kick and was able to use vehicles, including a pogo stick. The game returned to the formula of
Alex Kidd in Miracle World including the rock, paper, scissors battles. In the Japanese version, when a character lost at rock, paper, scissors, they would lose their clothes, with fig leaves covering their genitals. In the American version, losers were crushed by a weight.
Alex Kidd in Shinobi World
Alex Kidd in Shinobi World was the final game in the series and was released for the Master System in 1990. The game was a direct parody of
Shinobi and was about Alex trying to save his girlfriend from the evil ninja Hanzo. Recently, rumors have started running around that this game was originally
Shinobi Kid, but had Alex Kidd’s face slapped on it. The first boss of the game’s four levels is a rip-off of Mario who could shoot fireballs and shrunk when damaged and was originally called Mari-Oh. His name was changed to Kabuto to avoid being sued.
There are rumors that Sega wanted to make other
Alex Kidd games in which they’d parody their other franchises, including
Phantasy Star and
Golden Axe. Unfortunately, in 1991,
Sonic the Hedgehog was born and
Alex Kidd was thrown away. Chances are good that he’s become a raging alcoholic by now and would do anything for another shot at the glory days.
So why did Alex Kidd fail? Maybe it’s because Sega was too focused on Sonic to care about Alex anymore. Maybe it’s because people didn’t find parody games to be very intriguing. Maybe Sega had problems identifying him with anything other than the Master System (strangely, he had a game for Genesis, and his next game was for the Master System). Maybe, as odd is it sounds, they completely forgot about him. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s because rock, paper, scissors sucks. If Alex made a comeback, I’d probably rent the game and I’d probably enjoy it, but not enough to buy it.
Your thoughts?
Volume 1 Volume 2 Volume 3 Volume 4 Volume 5 Volume 6
Contest:
12:40 PM on 11.22.2007
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My point it, just because a mascot's time has past doesn't mean it's a failure.
Alex Kidd did not fail, but times changed and Sonic took over. He had a good run, just like Seinfeld.
Other than that, great write up. It's always fun to remember the Mari-Oh boss fight.
NO FORGIVENESS IN AMERICA.
While Tron has a point in general, in this case I'm going to counter with the fact that Enchanted Castle sucks balls.
Also, just because something runs for a long time doesn't mean it isn't a failure. Look at Richard Nixon.
Quasi-nudity = Evil.
Death by crushing = Okay.
That's why I hate America.
its funny i played the lost stars last week and i couldnt believe what an acid trip it was
but when i was a kid i was like yup im trying not to get smashed by teeth and fall through disintegrating bread inside the giant whatever
And Scissors, Paper, Rock is brilliant.
Guess I'll have to wait a while.
Fuck.
Blasto (The Incredibles?)
Jersey Devil (I think he likes the hockey team)