Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle

Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle is an early platform video game for the Mega Drive video game console. It was first released in Japan on February 10th, 1989.

Plot
Alex Kidd having defeated Janken the Great now lives on Planet Aries alongside his true family.

His brother Prince Egle has been made the ruling king in the absence of their missing father. After hearing a rumor that their long-lost father, King Thunder(King Thor in this game), is still alive on Planet Paperock, Alex travels to the planet to search for him.

Here he comes across Ashra, the son of Janken the Great, who Alex suspects has kidnapped his father as revenge for his father's defeat on Planet Aries.

Gameplay
The player guides Alex through eleven stages by fighting and avoiding enemies and obstacles.

Alex can jump, kick, crawl or punch enemies, causing them to explode into gold coins, called Baums.

New items and vehicles are gained by playing Janken (Rock, Paper, Scissors) in gambling houses, including a motorcycle, personal helicopter, pogo stick and wizard cane which allows Alex to float in the air for a few seconds.

One hit from any enemy causes Alex to die instantly, same as in Miracle World. Unfortunately this also includes certain Janken Battles including the gambling house janken matches.

Regional variations
In the original Japanese version of the game, when Alex or his opponent lose a Rock Paper Scissors match, the loser's clothes disappear, leaving him/her naked with a fig leaf over his/her genitalia. In the Western versions, the loser is flattened by a heavy weight. Several levels were also renamed for the Western release.

Re-releases
Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle has been included in a variety of Mega Drive game compilations for newer platforms. The game is part of the Sega Mega Drive Collection (known in America as the Sega Genesis Collection) for the PlayStation 2, and PlayStation Portable and was also released on the Wii's Virtual Console on April 9, 2007 in North America and May 4, 2007 in Europe. The game later appeared in Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

The game is also available as a standalone unit on the Arcade Legends Sega Genesis Volume 2 Plug n' Play Joypad collection, released by Radica, and the Sega Mega Drive Handheld, a portable game console containing twenty games.

Trivia

 * This is the only title in the Alex Kidd series that King Thunder physically appears. He is mentioned in Miracle World and Miracle World DX alongside his wife, Queen Patricia, however. Miracle World DX also included some concept art of his design included in the Signature Edition Art Book.
 * Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle was the only Alex Kidd game to appear outside of the Sega Master System until Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX was released in 2021.
 * Ashra is said to have introduced Yakyūken, a form of Janken known as Baseball Fist to Planet Paper-Rock. By the 1950s in Japan it had become commonly associated as a strip version of Janken.
 * Ashra making the game popular on his planet explains why the Japanese version of the game involves Alex Kidd losing his clothes if he loses a match.