For 1986, I can easily see how insane the design of this game is. A simple evolution of the adventure game genre, The Legend Of Zelda truly goes open-world exploration. As far as I could tell, every dungeon can be accessed here in any order, although obviously going out of order will cause struggles with power and simple accessibility to the levels themselves. I found it quite fascinating how door keys are simply found everywhere, and missing out of them can lock you out of certain areas in some levels. The dungeon designs themselves are easy to follow, but my main complaint is the lack of variety in major boss fights, due to some of them simply repeating themselves.

This really is unlike any other game I've played during this era, although it can't be helped being an aged product. I absolutely agree with the claim from others that a guide is needed to truly finish this game, especially the official game manual, even with hidden secrets and riddles in the overworld and dungeons pointing you to different locations to explore. The freedom of its design comes at the cost of confusion, in several instances. And if you're not careful, you'll absolutely get your ass kicked.