Initially released on Japanese computers in 1985, Märchen Veil got a Famicom Disk System port in 1987, combining it and its sequel together into one game. Visually and design-wise it's a bit reminiscent of other early Famicom action-RPGs, though the one that immediately came to my mind was Deadly Towers - not exactly a great start. Moreso because the very first thing I did was walk into what looked like a rock formation only to learn it was a cliff face; I fell off and died instantly, forcing myself to restart and sit through the opening cutscene again. Speaking of cutscenes, there are quite a few of them throughout the game, and they're fairly elaborate for the time period, with animation and scrolling dialog to tell its story. (Fittingly, the game's title roughly translates from German as "Folktale Veil".) The gameplay and animation is rather slow and choppy, with one button giving you a stubby jump and the other swinging your sword, which also fires out gear-like projectiles. Defeating enemies causes them to drop fairies, and collecting enough will extend your maximum health. Health itself can only be restored by destroying certain obstacles in the environment. Puzzles are also pretty cryptic, requiring a lot of wandering around and trial and error, and items aren't always obvious in their use until you just take a leap of faith at whatever obstacle currently stifles your progress and hope it gets you across; for example, the cape lets you fly while boots let you cross certain types of terrain. There are eight stages in total to experience in Märchen Veil, but given how primitive and unintuitive it is, I can't imagine the game had too many dedicated fans even when it was new, let alone in a post-Zelda world.
Publisher: Sunsoft
Released: 1987
Platform: Famicom Disk System