Preliminary: Wow the true integration of rpg elements in an action-adventure, a set ending, the fairy collection concept and blatant Zelda references (well, rather, Hydlide references that Zelda makes ha, because this came out first), the rpg maker esque look to it despite being so early, and the grind-focused gameplay! Just praying the controls are reasonable, which often PC-8801 games are questionable for (plus, several reviews of the NES version mentioned controls, but also called this a poor imitation of Zelda which isn't fair cuz it came out first in Japan). Fingers crossed, because this seems way more relevant to Zelda than even Tower of Druaga was. Welp, once I actually played it, as others have noted, it's incredibly tedious and grind-heavy (I usually like that, but the music + the sporadic controls make for not such a good time). Still, I can't deny an urge to keep playing, especially with this guide to reference... and the obvious Legend of Zelda connections are palpable, that maze blended into the world map, the secrets, the combat, I mean it's just outright tangible.
Look: 9/10
Reminding me of RPG Maker setting sprites, and a definite Zelda look. And Dragon Quest too. I mean cmon 
I also really like the UI, the enemy info display (the screenshot above it's a slime in the bottom right), I don't have any experience in that screenshot but the experience bar grows as you get your next level, and if I had been hit it would have some red in the Life bar, etc. Really cool and well-done. And for the Zelda vibe, I mean cmon: 
This probably really deserves an 8, but nothing has quite looked like this yet--and it's the start of so much. So its importance makes this worth standing out.
Sound: 6/10
I eventually turned it wayyyy down. A bit catchier/classic Speccy feel at 60% speed or so, well whatever speed it is that this video walkthrough mostly has it ha
Play: 8/10
The speed of this game must be a bug or joke right? I am quite impressed for such an early and non-arcade game for the enemies' remaining health to seem to be remembered when you leave screens, for their sprites to go back and forth between screens in such a large overworld, etc. And the way you see an image of the enemy, its name, and its health bar (staying up even if you walk away from that specific enemy, until you engage battle with another enemy). Brilliant for its time for sure. Thank goodness for the ability to save, this would be an outright no-go otherwise. And I'm impressed how much the PC-8801 was capable of. Navigation through the maze parts is really poorly done (the sprite sizes could have easily been manipulated to make the controls work better at edges or "doorways" rather than the clunky collision masks they went with), the RNG based movements for many of the enemies including bosses is really poorly done where they stay going to another screen repeatedly even tho you can't see them on that screen, and I had to put the machine at 50% speed for many of the tougher parts because the gameplay was undeniably poorly paced. Other clumsy/clunky features besides the controls include how some boss rewards don't spawn after you beat the boss. How annoying that must've been back in the day to beat the vampire type boss and nothing spawn, you leave the dungeon thinking there was no point to it, when really it was just a bug/glitch. Argh. Thank goodness for guides :-p
Pro-tip: A lot of guides and whatnot just tell you to hit enemies from the back, but indeed the side works too, and for that matter standing right at the corner of a wall you get to hit them and they typically can't hit you, or at least you get the first hit worst case scenario. So stand in a way that your sprite is up against the wall and can't move, but is a bit past the wall to count as hitting the enemy coming. Super useful near the end, but throughout too.
Feel: 9/10
I love that the Lamp you get from that first boss-esque Vampire lights up the other dungeons/non-overworld areas. And the classic field-is-safest while other sprites, such as forest, might deplete your health etc (kind of like with Dragon Quest Final Fantasy etc where there are different enemy rates depending on what you're walking through). I guess it's stuff like that that got me to push through despite the frustating pause function, the perma death (I mean after all PLATO RPGs did this same stuff--brutal grind and permadeath), frequent deaths for that matter, annoying navigation between screens and overly fast gameplay. The obnoxiously hard Wisp enemies that protect the Sword of course reminded me of Zelda Wisps. (Tho holy shit, that maze with the Whisps is so fricking hard... the amount of save/reloads.... but here I am... pushing through... not to mention the first Zeldas had plenty of insanely hard parts too). Pretty insane to feel like you have to save after damn near every fight during a grinding session (tho again, I suppose I could say that about Dragon Quests and Final Fantasys too... well, not quite). Pro-tip: do actually save, it's really fast to save and load, after each enemy when getting the next "threshold level" like in RPGs where it's tough at first, then those same enemies are easy. But holy shit, I got so lucky with the fairy-in-the-tree part, I got the fairy on the first tree I tried! I didn't have to deal with the stressful bee part after all! Yay when rng helps out rather than punishes. (Oh, apparently the fairies are always in trees, I was referring to the first fairy I got lucky with). The moving trees part for the fairy reminded me of Pajama Sam No Need To Hide When It's Dark Outside ha, cuz the trees move I guess?
3rd Night of Playing: Wow this is brutally hard, I just killed the Dragon after getting the third Fairy. So cool and Zelda-esque how that then drains the waterways, which even reveals some chests. Such a great action-adventure trope with this being the first instance as far as I know. Getting to Level 9 at the Dragon Castle felt like the RPG grinds that I love--I knew the mechanics, I felt ready, and I was willing to do it. It felt like it "paid off" to grind, in a way only an RPG can manage to do. This game really grew on me, as frustrating as it is it's also the "fundament" of so many of my favorite game elements. That being said, it did remind me of one of my fundamental goals of this chronology project: overcome certain aversions. And alas, I still probably would have preferred the grinds in this game if it were turn-based or more easily paused during the combat grinds, since I like to look away or go afk sometimes! There's no room for error in this brutal game! At least the save function, like I mentioned, is super quick and simple.
Attachment: 8/10
Here I am, again, torturing myself through another arduous game, mostly due to the legacy attachment and "harkenings" to future favorite game elements. And, well, I just can't deny I get hooked to platformers and action-adventures from these early day. If only joystick control were possible, and the controls/speed were a bit better done... and the Sound was decent... this could be a top-notch ultimate game to me.
Welp, I stupidly didn't save and then died at the first boss (the vampire type enemy in that castle, like everyone says be sure to attack only when his back is to you ha). Regardless it's on me... I gave up. Buttttt, I couldn't stop thinking about it and how if I just saved, it might be worth another try. Looking at the later parts of the game it looks really tedious, especially the final boss, like the worst and hardest elements of the first Zeldas... but here I am, loading up the NEC again. As I'm trudging/suffering along, I'm thinking to myself why? The controls are clunky, the secrets are obnoxious (the get hit by 5 fireballs situation is absolutely ridiculous), and the gameplay is tedious. Yet it's the first RPG with a heavy grind factor that I'm fully engaging with since the PLATO era.... and the influence on later important games is indelible... so what can I say... I like frustrating, tedious, clunky games apparently! Particularly when platformer or action-adventure >.< I'm learning a lot about myself from this chronology project, and it's not all logical or positive ha
Welp after hours of gameplay, trial and error frustrations like the PLATO era (and NES/Zelda era coming up), and plenty of almost-quits, here I am--saved the princess with the help of the Fairies and interdimensional Gems! 
Hm how to sum this up? Don't expect a chance to breathe! Death is around every corner, like with the PLATO RPGs, but also most early text adventures and CRPGs: a celebration of brutality. How often will I replay this? Not often. But that's like the first 2 Zeldas to me: special, intense feel that I get addicted to for a period, but then don't often want to re-experience the brutality and grinds and frustrations ha. Worth a playtest, and if you can overcome some of the clunkiness and grind-heaviness, worth a playthrough for the sense of achivement!
Completion: Main Story
Playtime: ~3 hours
