Märchen Maze
| Märchen Maze | |
|---|---|
|
Arcade flyer | |
| Developer(s) |
Nihon System Namco SPS |
| Publisher(s) |
|
| Platform(s) | Arcade, X68000, PC Engine, Wii (Virtual Console) |
| Release date(s) |
Arcade
PC Engine
X68000
Wii Virtual Console
|
| Genre(s) | Platform/shooter |
| Mode(s) | Up to two players, alternating turns |
| Cabinet | Upright, cabaret, and cocktail |
| Arcade system | Namco System 1 |
| CPU |
Motorola M6809 Hitachi HD63701 |
| Sound |
Yamaha YM2151 Namco CUS30 DAC |
| Display | Horizontal orientation, raster, 288 x 224 resolution |
Märchen Maze (メルヘンメイズ Meruhen Meizu) is a platform and shoot 'em up 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 X68000 and PC Engine platforms, as well as released for Virtual Console.[1] It is inspired on Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. In it, a girl named Alice enters a mirror world to save it from an evil queen. "Märchen" is the German word for "fairy tale".
Gameplay
The player must take control of Alice, as she makes her way through nine isometric stages. Alice is able to blow bubbles at enemies to knock them off the platforms and she can collect various powerups along the way. Holding the fire button down generates bigger bubbles, but if it is held down for too long, it will burst and she will start blowing a new one. The enemies retaliate by shooting marbles at her (which can cause her to fall over the edge of the platforms unless they are avoided or jumped over).[2] The seventh, eighth and ninth stages are palette-swapped versions of the second, fourth and first ones respectively, but they feature different enemy types and bosses.
Plot
One night, Alice falls asleep while reading a fairy tale picture book and is awaken by a call from within a wall mirror. A rabbit appears in the mirror and tells her that his country and eight other lands has been conquered by an evil witch known as the Queen of Darkness and Alice is the only child who has love and courage to restore peace. The girl is pulled inside the mirror world and given a magic straw to attack with soap bubbles. After the Queen is defeated, Alice wakes up thinking it was just a nightmare, but finds the phrase "Thanks [sic] you!" written on the mirror and on a cake.
Reception
The PC Engine version of the game was given a total score of 25/40 from four reviewers at Famitsu.[3]
Legacy
In 1998, the Naniwa (the game's equivalents of Tweedledee and Tweedledum) went on to lend their name to one of the new stadiums (the Naniwa Dome), for the Namco System 12-era World Stadium games, but they did not appear in the Namco All Stars' lineup. In 2002, Alice was featured as a secret playable character in Family Tennis Advance. In 2005, Yujin released gashapon figures of Alice and Tokei Usagi (the game's equivalent of the White Rabbit) as part of their "Namco Girls" collection, even though the latter is male. The game's music is included in several of Namco compilation soundtracks.
References
- ↑ Gantayat, Anoop (2009-08-20). "Namco Pushes Virtual Console Arcade - IGN". Uk.ign.com. Retrieved 2015-11-06.
- ↑ "バンダイナムコ、「メルヘンメイズ」。VCAにて9月29日より配信開始 - GAME Watch". Game.watch.impress.co.jp. Retrieved 2015-11-06.
- ↑ "メルヘンメイズ まとめ [PCエンジン] / ファミ通.com". Famitsu.com. 2014-11-27. Retrieved 2015-11-06.
External links
- Official website
- Märchen Maze at the Killer List of Videogames
- Märchen Maze at the Arcade History database