Making the Cut - Part 2 (Golvellius 1988)

How does a game get released without battery saves when Zelda and Phantasy Star had it?

First up in 1988 we have Golvellius. Released for the Sega Master System, a lot of opinions are that it's a response to Zelda on the NES. I see more similarities to Zelda II honestly, but that game is released after and goes much further than anything here. Let's get on to the scale though:
  
(SMS) Golvellius: Valley of Doom - Rating(6)
1) 1 - Character advancement: stat or level increases
2) 0 - Combat: none
3) 0 - Items and equipment: none
4) 2 - Story: main story at the forefront; world full of hints and lore
5) 2 - Exploration: open world from the beginning, visited locations remain open
6) 1 - Quests and Puzzles: puzzles and riddles to solve

The game loses big RPG points for real-time weapon based combat, no levels (only health upgrades), and no economy of buying and selling. There aren't any decisions regarding items or equipment (get it all, use them automatically), and only a single attack in combat.

I felt a little sorry for it, so I called the world open (from what I can tell of videos it might be) although I have a feeling the dungeons are sequentially locked. Puzzle points were given because there is at least once when you need to take a hint from an NPC and apply it in the game world to unlock a dungeon.

The game itself doesn't look too bad, and there are still fans of it. If I had more time (and a Sega Master System), I might give it a chance. However, I'm not sorry to see it go, as I'd have to skip over it anyway.