No surprise to anyone that knows me but after finishing this for the first time, it quickly became among one of my favorites in the franchise!
I can't really say much wrong with it aside from some obvious, like that it's a little too hard to figure out what you're supposed to do in a dungeon (overworld's not so bad but it can also get tricky without the phone booth), the difficulty curve could've been a little smoother, and finally because of the previous points there's a few bumps in the pacing, though I don't think it gets as noticeable as in Majora's Mask (which I should stress, isn't bad at all regardless).
Everything else though? God tier Zelda magic, especially the setting and atmosphere. I'd be repeating what others have said but Koholint Island is such a magical place, and while you won't remember every detail to a T (unless your memory is much better than mine lol), the general gist and locale of it all does wonders to make navigation a comfy-ass experience. I wouldn't say completing the game and therefore leaving the adventure left me as bittersweet and lonely as OoT's and Wind Waker's, but the feeling is there regardless.
Also if you complain about inventory management you need to get some patience. Like, having to spend a few extra seconds quickly changing items is not the end of the world, especially if you make it so that all your essentials are near the top of the list. Now all the popups about getting the Guardian Acorn and Piece Of Power for the umpteenth time? THAT'S annoying, and is also mainly why I used the Link's Awakening Redux patch for this playthrough.
I can't really say much wrong with it aside from some obvious, like that it's a little too hard to figure out what you're supposed to do in a dungeon (overworld's not so bad but it can also get tricky without the phone booth), the difficulty curve could've been a little smoother, and finally because of the previous points there's a few bumps in the pacing, though I don't think it gets as noticeable as in Majora's Mask (which I should stress, isn't bad at all regardless).
Everything else though? God tier Zelda magic, especially the setting and atmosphere. I'd be repeating what others have said but Koholint Island is such a magical place, and while you won't remember every detail to a T (unless your memory is much better than mine lol), the general gist and locale of it all does wonders to make navigation a comfy-ass experience. I wouldn't say completing the game and therefore leaving the adventure left me as bittersweet and lonely as OoT's and Wind Waker's, but the feeling is there regardless.
Also if you complain about inventory management you need to get some patience. Like, having to spend a few extra seconds quickly changing items is not the end of the world, especially if you make it so that all your essentials are near the top of the list. Now all the popups about getting the Guardian Acorn and Piece Of Power for the umpteenth time? THAT'S annoying, and is also mainly why I used the Link's Awakening Redux patch for this playthrough.