You are right, the first zelda was much more difficult. And that is what made it so rewarding when you found something new or finally beat a boss. I remember also trying to burn every single bush with the blue candle and having to go out of the scene and enter again to do one more try. Took hours, days sometime.

In opposite, the latest versions of the game are so easy. For example In Twilight Princess, I did not even die once versus the final boss... What a disapointment.