Its visual presentation is less than eloquent (just compare it visually to Faxanadu, a similar-styled game that came out merely months after this title), it's outrageously frustrating and a lot of game design elements are questionable at best. Overworld enemies spawn out of nowhere to pick fights with you and they're hard to avoid. If you avoid too many enemy fights, you won't be leveled up enough to make it through rough sections such as Death Mountain. Some enemies are way too overpowered, taking a stupid amount of hits to take down and having an AI that feels omnipresent. Dialogue is badly written and translated. I have a lot more negative than positive things to say about this game, but I still got incredibly invested in it and couldn't put it down until I beat it. It's much less cryptic than Zelda 1 (still better off having a guide, but it's much more doable without as much mindless wandering as the prequel), its controls are very tight and satisfying to master and some of these bosses reach a Mega Man-esque level of difficulty, epicness and satisfaction. If you have an opportunity to play through this, then you'll probably find something to enjoy about it despite some of its horrible flaws.