pretty fun but a downgrade from the first game while not really making itself distinct. it wouldn't be far fetched to say this is the first game but worse. it's super short so i'd still recommend giving it a shot if you like the original but probably go for the NES version. you can really tell the screen crunch screwed up not only a whole lot of the original level design but the overworld as well. the new levels added in this version are nice but the new abilities you unlock from them aren't anything too special.

after choosing the enhanced gb port to play this game i just had try the original to compare. the gb port does have 2 extra stages but stick with this version, the graphics and colors really add a lot and the large overworld areas make a lot more sense when you move this fast (you move super slow in the gb version + screen crunch is a huge pain). no screen crunch for the levels does make them somewhat better and this version is more challenging as there are enemies that deal 2 damage.

comparisons aside, this game is still a significant downgrade from the first game. i'd still recommend it to fans of nes games and fans of the first game because it's really short and very solid after the first few levels that i really didn't like.