Märchen Maze is a platform/shooter arcade game that was released by Namco in 1988 only in Japan. It runs on Namco System 1 hardware, and was later ported to the TurboGrafx-16 and Sharp X68000 platforms. It is also loosely based on the Rev. Charles Lutwidge Dodgson's (who was better known as "Lewis Carroll") Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
Story
The game's story starts as Alice wakes up in the middle of the night, and the mirror opposite her bed fades out. Once it has faded back in, the Time Usagi (who is the game's equivalent of the White Rabbit) appears on the other side of the glass; he proceeds to tell Alice that his world has been taken over by the Queen of Darkness and that only she can save it from total destruction, then drags her through the mirror to make good on what he has said. Alice must now make her way through nine different isometric "worlds", blowing bubbles at enemies to knock them off the platforms and collecting various powerups along the way. The enemies, not to be outdone by a 10-year-old girl, retaliate by firing marbles at Alice which can temporarily stun her and cause her to fall off the edge of the platforms unless they are avoided or jumped over.
-
Title screen.
-
Opening cutscene.
-
TurboGrafx-16 cover art.
