Mechanically speaking this is an upgrade both in gameplay and story compared to Zero 1. They even made grinding weapon experience a lot less tedious thankfully. However when it came to enemy placement and level design I feel they got worse from the first game. So many instances of enemies on a wall or ledge to hinder you from going forward and getting blind sided way too often. Lots of bosses just doing a butt load of damage more than what's expected of the Zero games. It was just a frustrating experience and it didn't feel hard, it just felt tedious to play through