is a video game character whose popularity peaked during the late 1980s and who was the protagonist of both a series of video games released by Sega and their fictional universe, as well as in numerous spin-offs such as novelizations and comics. Alex Kidd is the protagonist of several video games, spanning various platforms, and appeared in the arcade and on the Master System and Mega Drive/Genesis home consoles. Alex Kidd's popularity was at a peak with the release of the first game in the series, Alex Kidd in Miracle World in 1986. However, Sega wished to have a mascot to rival Nintendo's flagship character Mario, a task which Alex Kidd was not considered up to. In 1991, Sega introduced Sonic the Hedgehog. After this, Alex Kidd fell into obscurity as the development of new games in the series had stopped. Despite that, he has made cameo appearances in other games. A remake of the first game was released on June 22, 2021, making it the first main appearance of the character since 1990's Alex Kidd in Shinobi World. Character description Alex Kidd appears as a short boy with large ears and slightly monkey-like features, a red and yellow jumpsuit, and oversized hands. Sometimes he appeared as a teenager, with his age stated to be 14 years old in human terms. He is a member of an alien race known as the Arians, a species possessing an incredibly long lifespan, with Alex himself having lived many hundreds of years previously. Disregarding the various costumes he would wear in the later Alex Kidd titles, the initial appearance of the character would swing between garb loosely resembling a traditional Mandarin tunic or red-striped jumpsuit, sometimes overalls closer to the appearance of Mario depending on the localisation In the original game, he is an orphan who lives alone on Mt. Eternal, on the planet Aries (also known as "Miracle World"), where he has trained in the Shellcore technique. This technique enables an Arian to alter the size and toughness of their fists through sheer willpower, and enables one to shatter rocks with bare fists. After the disappearance of King Thunder (referred to in-game as "King Sander"), the planet Aries is thrown into disarray. A usurper, Janken the Great, kidnaps the next in line to the throne, Prince Igul (referred to in the manual as "Egle"), and his fiancée Princess Lora. Many of the