This is a game that, despite what people say, still stands the test of time.
Faxanadu has a very linear storyline. You play as an unnamed elf who returns to his home town at the base of the world tree to find his home in ruins. The walls are decaying, most of the people have fled, and dwarves are causing rampage. The minute you enter the town you find out that the King has summoned you. It appears the dwarves have dried up the wells, leaving virtually no water for the elves. The king asks you to restore the fountains and defeat the dwarves once and for all.
Here is where the quest begins. You will quickly learn you need a weapon to leave, as an enemy is blocking your way. Most of the enemies have predictable attack patterns. For example, the skull head you fight at first constantly triple-jumps then pauses. They may leave something to be desired, but at least you do receive items most of the time when an enemy dies.
When you kill an enemy, you receive experience points. The point system feels sort of like a "our password is too long as it is we can't add more to keep track of gold." Depending on your exp, you receive titles from the guru. These titles decide how much gold you receive when you reload your game.
The majority of the sound is good, save some sound effects that get REALLY annoying. The background music is always upbeat, which helps keep you from feeling sad, and they always get stuck in your head. The only sound effect problem is when you hit an enemy. It sounds like a cat screeching (twitch twitch...).
Graphics are more than what you would expect from the NES. Some of the enemies are very well done. The only problem here is that all the people you speak to suffer from SBS, or "Severe Blinking Syndrome." They blink every time their mouth moves.
But al in all this is a very good game. I'm currently playing it for about the third time, and I can't get enough. Even if you don't have a NES, this is a good game for emulation.