Another early sequel that veered way off the path set by the original game. I think this is one of the weaker results of that experimentation.
While it's easy to see how this may have been influenced in part by Dragon Quest, the hybrid approach here makes the world feel way more disjointed than the first game. The combat itself could get frustrating, and dying was very punitive. Combined with the fact that the change in combat rendered the actual overworld almost entirely pointless made this change in design feel like a step backwards.
The game still excelled in the music department, and while it looked better than the first game, it was actually falling behind some of its other action RPG contemporaries in the visuals department. Commendable for trying some new things, as the Zelda series would continue to do, but in this case it didn't click for me.
While it's easy to see how this may have been influenced in part by Dragon Quest, the hybrid approach here makes the world feel way more disjointed than the first game. The combat itself could get frustrating, and dying was very punitive. Combined with the fact that the change in combat rendered the actual overworld almost entirely pointless made this change in design feel like a step backwards.
The game still excelled in the music department, and while it looked better than the first game, it was actually falling behind some of its other action RPG contemporaries in the visuals department. Commendable for trying some new things, as the Zelda series would continue to do, but in this case it didn't click for me.