The game follows the action RPG style, which works best for zelda titles since this series was the pioneer of the action RPG. A thing that surprised me about the early SNES days was the lack of these types of games. Sure platformers are great and if you have enough patience a turn based RPG or strategy RPG are fine but lets face it, as a kid you have next to no patience. I found this type of gameplay most appealing. Apart from how to play the game the elements that set it apart from the rest was the ability to have an arsenal of weaponry, various upgradable equipment and a levelling system that didnt require you to train for hours on end. As soon as you beat a boss you got an extra heart for your health metre. The game isn't simple though but at the same time its not too hard. If you can't get passed a certain boss you can always look for secret items, upgrades and various other powers that might help you get past them, not to mention each boss has a certain weakness and if you can figure them out it they'll be easy enough to beat.
The graphics where very appealing at the time but now everyone has begun to move on from 2d into the world of 3d. The graphics are still pretty well done. One slight error though is that Link's hair has been coloured wrong. Apparently due to palette limitations. But whatever the case was his hair was pink. The sprites are superbly detailed and well done. But some points deducted for pink hair.
Music. I don't even know what to say. The music was one of the most inspiring elements of the game. The music in this game contain some revamped versions of the classic zelda soundtrack from the legend of zelda and.... i think Links adventure. I couldn't bare playing that one. Some day I'll get around to finishing it... someday.
Overall the game contains a lot of memorable elements. The story is well written and gives the character a proper objective rather than dropping you somewhere in the middle of Hyrule and expecting you to just walk into the first cave you see with no weapons or way to defend yourself... Ahem... moving on. The player feels as immersed as they can be in a 2d world. Its a great game and well designed. The dungeons have a great feel and the game itself is fun to just pick up and play.