Love the atmosphere and graphics. Very old-school, but very fresh as well. The player character and wildlife are well-animated.
Due to the size of the world, it would have been helpful to have some kind of navigation aid, like a map.
I found it a little difficult to get started--the walking stick was near the beginning, but I didn't realize it. (Come to think of it, I had this same issue with the original Legend of Zelda. I didn't realize the sword was in a cave...)
Also, at one point after pausing my controls got stuck (the player was traveling right). I couldn't get them unstuck until I got killed.