I'm not sure about consoles, but a steam demo is now out:
Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX on Steam (steampowered.com)
My impressions (of the three levels of the demo):
- the controls are definitely less slippery. When you let go of the left or right button you come to a stop pretty quickly, even when running at full speed.
- however, jumping feels much more similar to the original. Trying to land on a one block platform is still a nerve-racking experience
- still one hit deaths (not a great fan of this)
- new graphics, music, animation, sfx all good (you can switch between modern and 8-bit style anytime you want by hitting the shoulder button)
- the block destroying puzzle gameplay is still fun, and I hope they lean into this in creative ways in later levels
- there was a janken boss fight (it would be frustrating to lose a boss fight due to luck, so I hope this is a bonus thing).
- the first traditional boss fight against bull has been improved (although it's still very simple)
Overall a positive experience for me, and I'll definitely buy it when it comes out. However, I don't think it will win anyone over who didn't like the original.