Shocked at just how many seeds for great games to come were sown here - and yet, the marriage of all these excellent elements was botched real bad in this one. There’s no two ways about it: this world sucks to run around in. Doesn’t matter how elegant the presentation is when there is no incentive to tread off the beaten path at all.

Near the end of my time I was exploring almost out of pity. "Such a classic game shouldn't be steamrolled through so quickly", I thought to myself, deciding to plunge into the optional depths of the bottom of the castle. Cue long cut and paste hallways full of boring to fight enemies, cue forgettable boss fights that barely challenge me at this stage, and cue underwhelming secrets that provide no satisfying payoff.

I knew I was only halfway done in reality, but by the time I had everything I needed I was checked out. I had had my fun a few hours ago, now I was just plodding to the exit. What an odd place for a game of this stature to end up in.