Alex Kidd in Miracle World Cheat Codes & Secrets
Complete collection of cheat codes, passwords, unlockables, and hidden secrets for Alex Kidd in Miracle World (1986).
No Password System — The Continue Mechanic
Alex Kidd in Miracle World uses no password or save system. Progress resets on power-off. After losing all lives, the Game Over screen appears; press Button 1 to continue from the beginning of the stage you died on. You receive a limited number of continues per session (typically 3), so life conservation matters more than in most contemporary platformers.
The game spans 17 stages including shop stages (Janken stages) — each session must be completed in a single run unless the stage select trick below is used.
Stage Select
At the title screen, hold Up + Button 1 + Button 2, then press Start. This brings up a stage selection screen on some regional cartridge versions. Use Left/Right to choose a stage number, then press Start to begin there. Note: this code is confirmed on the original Japanese Sega Mark III cartridge and certain early PAL releases; some NTSC Master System cartridges may not respond to it.
Janken Boss Battle Patterns
Four bosses — Gooseka, Bifat, Thor, and final boss Janken the Great — are defeated through Jan-ken-pon (rock-paper-scissors). Each match is best-of-three. Losing a hand costs one life. The good news: each boss telegraphs their move via a brief animation before the cards flip.
Animation Tells (all bosses):
- Boss leans forward: Scissors
- Boss raises arms overhead: Rock
- Boss spreads hands flat: Paper
Watch the boss during the countdown and make your choice at the last possible moment after reading the tell.
Known Sequence Patterns:
| Boss | Stage | Reported Sequence (hands 1–3) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gooseka | 7 | Scissors → Rock → Paper | Loops if match goes to sudden death |
| Bifat | 10 | Paper → Scissors → Rock | May vary on second encounter |
| Thor | 13 | Rock → Paper → Scissors | Pattern holds consistently |
| Janken the Great | 17 | Randomized | Rely entirely on animation tells |
Counter cheat sheet:
| Boss Plays | You Play |
|---|---|
| Rock | Paper |
| Paper | Scissors |
| Scissors | Rock |
Buying the Telepathy Ball from any shop before a Janken stage reveals the boss’s choice in advance on the selection screen, eliminating guesswork entirely. It is the single most powerful item in the game for progression.
Hidden Rooms and Secret Passages
Several stages contain walls that can be punched through to access hidden rooms with cash bags or 1-UPs.
| Stage | Location | Secret | How to Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stage 1 | Near the end, underwater section | Hidden room with large money bag | Punch the blank wall on the right side |
| Stage 2 | Middle platform section | Extra cash cache | Punch the low ceiling above the ground path |
| Stage 4 | Below the main path | Shortcut corridor | Drop off the left edge of the second cliff |
| Stage 8 | Rice paddy area | 1-UP | Punch the wall segment that appears slightly different in color |
| Stage 14 | Castle section | Large money cache | Punch three consecutive wall panels at head height |
Alex’s punch range is short — stand directly adjacent to the wall tile and press Button 1.
Money Bag Locations (Key Stages)
Baums (the currency) fund shop purchases. These bags are easy to miss:
| Stage | Bag Location | Baum Value |
|---|---|---|
| Stage 1 | Submerged in the river, center section | 400 |
| Stage 3 | Top of the tall tree near stage exit | 1,000 |
| Stage 6 | Inside a breakable block cluster mid-stage | 800 |
| Stage 9 | Behind a false wall in the cave | 1,200 |
| Stage 12 | On a floating platform only reachable by motorcycle jump | 2,000 |
Vehicle Acquisition
Three vehicles appear in the game. Two are purchasable; one is found in-stage.
| Vehicle | How to Get | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Sukopako Motorcycle | Buy at shop (costs ~1,000 baums) | Faster movement, runs through standard enemies, destroyed on contact with obstacles |
| Pedicopter | Buy at shop (~1,500 baums) or found in Stage 9 | Limited-fuel flight, bypasses ground hazards entirely |
| Jet Ski (boat) | Automatically given in water-route stages | Navigates underwater passages; cannot be steered vertically |
The Sukopako Motorcycle is the most efficient purchase early on — it trivializes several enemy-dense stages and pays for itself in time saved. Hold Right and it accelerates; it cannot reverse.
Extra Lives Farming
Stage 1 respawn trick: The starfish-type enemies near the river respawn when you scroll them off-screen and return. Each kill yields 100 baums. Buy 1-UPs from the shop (typically 1,000 baums each) and repeat. Slow but effective before tougher stages.
Stage 3 tree enemies: The jumping enemies at the base of the large tree respawn on screen-scroll. With the Bracelet equipped (fires a ranged power shot — hold Button 1, release), you can clear them from distance repeatedly for baum accumulation.
1-UP item locations:
| Stage | Location |
|---|---|
| Stage 1 | Punched from the hidden wall near the river exit |
| Stage 5 | Top of the mountain path, behind a crumbling block |
| Stage 11 | Shop — buyable for 1,000 baums |
| Stage 15 | Hidden room inside castle wall |
Useful Item Priority Guide
The shop system functions as a de facto cheat layer. Prioritize in this order:
| Item | Cost (approx.) | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Telepathy Ball | 3,200 baums | Reveals Janken boss hands — mandatory for low-skill runs |
| Shield Ring | 1,000 baums | Blocks one hit; resets on stage restart |
| 1-UP | 1,000 baums | Direct life purchase |
| Sukopako Motorcycle | 1,000 baums | Stage skip potential in several levels |
| Power Bracelet | 800 baums | Ranged attack, makes most stages significantly easier |
| Ikarus Wings | 2,000 baums | Short flight bursts, reaches otherwise inaccessible areas |
Beneficial Glitches and Exploits
Floor-clip (Stage 6): In the cave section, standing at the very edge of a narrow platform and punching downward sometimes causes Alex to clip through one tile of floor, depositing him on the platform below. Useful for skipping an enemy cluster. Precise positioning required — align Alex so roughly half his sprite overhangs the edge.
Enemy freeze (pause exploit): Rapidly pressing Pause (the physical button on the console) during enemy attack animations freezes projectiles in place. Unpause to resume normal movement while the projectile stays frozen for 1–2 frames. Not consistent across all regions but works on original hardware PAL units.
Janken forfeit save: During a Janken match, if you are about to lose the third hand, pressing Pause immediately before the reveal and then holding Button 1 + Button 2 + Start performs a soft reset on some cartridge revisions. You lose the boss encounter but retain your lives — useful if you have no Telepathy Ball and are guessing blind.
Motorcycle momentum carry: When the Sukopako Motorcycle is destroyed by an obstacle, Alex retains a brief window (~0.5 seconds) of elevated horizontal speed. Jumping immediately after the explosion carries him farther than a normal jump, occasionally bridging gaps that would otherwise require the Pedicopter.
Built-In ROM Version Notes
The Sega Master System II (1990, primarily European markets) shipped with Alex Kidd in Miracle World built into the console’s ROM, accessible without a cartridge by powering on with no card inserted. This version is functionally identical to the cartridge release but lacks the stage select code — the title screen handler in the ROM build does not read the Up + Button 1 + Button 2 input combination. All other secrets, glitches, and boss patterns apply identically.
The Japanese Mark III cartridge version (1986) is the original and most fully-featured; if emulating, use the Japanese ROM for the widest cheat code compatibility.
Easter Eggs and Developer Notes
The “Radaxian” lore screen: Completing the game without using any continues triggers an extended ending scroll that names the developers and includes a hidden message in the credits text congratulating the player for a no-continue clear. This does not affect gameplay but was intentionally added as a reward and was documented in Japanese game magazines at launch.
Stage 7 background: The castle turrets in Stage 7’s background contain a section of tile art that, when viewed in the game’s tile editor or memory viewer, spells “SEGA” in pixel art. Not visible during normal gameplay at standard resolution.