I wasn't sure whether I was going to play this game or not, but then I read a review that argued very much in favour of this game. This is usually all it takes to convince me to try out a game, so I did just that. And boy, I do not regret doing that. This game was refreshingly different from any other Zelda I have played, and while it had some frustrating things, I did enjoy my time with it quite a lot, especially towards the end when I had mastered it. Let's first talk about the combat, because I consider that to be by far the strongest aspect of this game. In the beginning, it feels good, but not incredible. This, however, changes once you acquire the ability to do down thrusts and up thrusts. This makes the combat feel amazing, and at the most frustrating portions of the game, this was what kept me playing honestly. And the sense of achievement of having beaten a game that is this hard, but I digress. The level design is functioning, but not anything special. I was surprised over how easy it was to navigate most of the dungeons, even though they didn't have a map, and the rooms looked pretty similar. I say most because the Great Temple was actually so confusing that I decided to look up a map just to not have to waste too much time just searching it in vain. But I still really liked the ending portion of the game, and the boss of the Great Temple was definitely my favourite. Speaking of which, I find it interesting how in many NES games the bosses are easier than the dungeon or even some of the enemies. This was not the case for the bosses of the two last temples, but it was definitely true for the rest of them. But they were all pretty fun. Another thing I liked about the game was that the items you got in the dungeons were not to be used in the dungeons, but instead in the overworld. This is very fitting for the game in my opinion, because it is a 2D platformer instead of a "traditional" Zelda game. In that way, it feels almost like a Pokémon game, where you unlock certain abilities and are able to use them on things you have seen earlier in the game. But my favourite aspect about the game has to be the difficulty. This game is hard for a beginner, and you will struggle at first. But as you get better, you will see yourself plough through most of the sections that you used to have huge trouble with. The Iron Knuckles and the jumping bird enemies are my favourite example. In the beginning, Iron Knuckles are this huge threat that will probably kill you over and over again until you learn how to fight them, but once you do you simply destroy them. And while you do not exactly destroy the bird enemies as they are incredibly difficult, probably the most difficult in the game (I honestly died more to them than to any of the bosses combined), you learn to fight them more easily. After having finished this game, I just felt this huge feeling of accomplishment, as if I had just completed a humongous task, which I possibly also had. It was a great game all the way through, and while there are some flaws, such as some frustrating dungeon designs late in the game, and some incredibly annoying enemies, I had a blast honestly!