Wow, this game is surprisingly long. I like the simple graphical style and while it did take me awhile to get used to the room transitions (and the persistence of objects beyond the edge of the screen), it did eventually harken back to the olden days of PC gaming. Some of the puzzles were fiendishly clever (the one where you have to stack the three statues comes to mind...), and I liked that the magic rod wasn't about attacking but was about manipulating the environment.
Some feedback:
- The more and more this game began to sprawl outward, the more I wanted a map. I also started to lose track of my goal as I progressed. I think after I dropped down the 2nd waterfall I was just sort of, "...what am I even doing now?" There just felt like too many directions that I could have gone to keep track of and it felt a bit overwhelming.
- Someone else mentioned this, but the music didn't mix well with the artwork, it would have been nice to keep that super low tech as well (don't get me wrong, the music was really good, it just didn't fit the classic theme). Also the lack of beeps and boops held this entry back as well.
- A minor nitpick, but some differentiation on butons that require something to be placed on them rather than just stepping on them / reset buttons as well as doors that open permanently vs. doors that only open when a switch is pressed would be a nice polish detail to add.
Overall the game was very impressive for what it was, and I was always amazed that it just kept going. I ultimately wasn't able to finish it just due to the immensity and my own inability to figure out what to do next, but I think it's a very solid entry and displays a lot of potential. Nice job!