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It's been said by a good friend of mine below, but here's some general information about the game:

"Märchen Maze was an arcade game that utilized Namco's System 1 hardware. It also received arcade-perfect conversions on the Sharp X68000 and recently the Wii Virtual Console service. To my understanding, it's based on Lewis Caroll's Alice in Wonderland. While the gameplay is the same, the PC Engine version used a top-down view instead of the isometric view like the arcade/X68K versions."

Märchen Maze is a cutesy action platformer/shooter game by Namco (1988 for the Arcade ver, 1990 for the PCE, 1991 for X68000). You'll control Alice as she travels through Wonderland and navigates various landscapes from a candy paradise, a factory, a forest/treetop world and several more (there are nine worlds). Alice's default weapon is a Bubble Blower that she can use to knock enemies off the sides of the stage where they fall off and fade into nothingness. You can hold the attack button to charge her attack to different power levels...with a maximum shot being capable of plowing through multiple enemies at once. Enemies defeat you the same way you defeat them; by pushing you off of the level. So long as Alice has lives/balloons, she'll be able to rebound.

As you progress through Wonderland, you'll find that Alice can obtain numerous special items by opening gift boxes scattered around each level. She'll get extra balloons, rabbit shields (invincible, though you can still fall off the stage), super jump shoes (a lifesaver depending on how you use them) and a bubble blower that fires in multiple directions. You'll need all the help you can get too...because the enemies in this game are no joke. You'll be up against more firepower than you may know what to do with and the game will provide a moderate level of challenge. With cute and colorful visuals that may give you cavities and a simple but charming soundtrack, Märchen Maze was a great game that sadly didn't seem to catch on too well, though it was nicely made. Games like this remind me that games just aren't made like they used to be.