I had a very similar experience to Donkey Kong Country, where the quality of the game didn’t quite match my personal enjoyment of the game, simply due to frustration with my skill level. I would say there was no point in which I felt the game unfair or that it had too precise mechanics, this was simply a me problem. Still a great classic with incredible level diversity, character design, music, the whole shebang.

Reviewed on Saturday, December 31st, 2022, 12:00am.

I think it’s becoming very evident in the wake of Breath of the Wild is how much the aspect of overworld exploration plays into my enjoyment of a Zelda game. So with this game, which is essentially hopping from one dungeon to the next, I found myself wanting a slightly different experience than what is offered. It’s not necessarily a knock on the quality of the game, as even by today’s standards the graphics and dungeon design are top notch, with the latter being particularly impressive, but it definitely wore on my as I was entering my thirteenth dungeon to fight Ganon. I do appreciate the game for what it introduced to the series, as puzzle-solving in dungeons is so fun for me, but it definitely has a few of the same hang ups as the first game: tough 2D combat and maneuverability combined with massive damage hits from enemies left me frustrated at times, and I was often feeling very in the dark on what to do next as the clues just weren’t laid out very well. I think this is really where the franchise starts to take shape, though, and that’s so exciting and wonderful.

Reviewed on Tuesday, January 17th, 2023, 9:39pm.