This takes hacks/mods into account however it's still a top 10 SMS (and 8-bit gen) game without them. The first Alex Kidd was an ambitious platformer for its time with an inventory system, shops, dungeon levels with switch puzzles, optional side quests and unique quirks like how you remove the ghost enemies by destroying blocks that make it still stand out today. It's disappointing how even Sega fans in the US dismiss this one as a SMB clone when there's a lot more to it. The one thing that doesn't hold up, janken (aka rock, paper scissors), isn't even that prominent in the game and you can look up a guide to the order, which is actually static until you mess up once.