I played through this game with the context of having grown up with its ugly, difficult-for-the-sake-of-being-difficult NES brother known as "Adventure Island". AKA...the hardest game I've probably ever beaten not just for NES but in general.
This version is so much easier on the eyes and while it's true that there's a lot of repetition in terms of recycled level chunks, the enemy placement is a lot more forgiving. On top of this, there's no need to cheat just to continue the game. There are also a few locations that Adventure Island didn't have, such as cloud, waterfall and volcano stages which definitely helps the experience feel not nearly as monotonous.
I think my biggest criticism stems for the game's length. It goes on for perhaps one world too long (9 worlds instead of the standard 6 to 8 you'd expect), and although there's a hidden tenth world for collecting all of the dolls (some of which are basically "Nintendo Power" type situations for no reason at all such as randomly slamming into rocks), I don't see the point in going for it.
This version is so much easier on the eyes and while it's true that there's a lot of repetition in terms of recycled level chunks, the enemy placement is a lot more forgiving. On top of this, there's no need to cheat just to continue the game. There are also a few locations that Adventure Island didn't have, such as cloud, waterfall and volcano stages which definitely helps the experience feel not nearly as monotonous.
I think my biggest criticism stems for the game's length. It goes on for perhaps one world too long (9 worlds instead of the standard 6 to 8 you'd expect), and although there's a hidden tenth world for collecting all of the dolls (some of which are basically "Nintendo Power" type situations for no reason at all such as randomly slamming into rocks), I don't see the point in going for it.