The joystick controls brought this game up from good but frustrating, to a near-masterpiece for me. Without the frustration holding it back, I was fully able to enjoy the story, the characters, and the direction-based combat (which is actually pretty cool).

The dungeons are really good, especially in the latter half. The overworld areas feel like dungeons, which isn't always great since there's a pacing reason Zelda games have that separation, but I didn't find it hampered my experience all that much. The sky is fairly empty, but the little bits of content you do find around are fun.