O'Five, since you have never played Adventure of Link, I feel I would be a bad friend if I didn't highly recommend you give it another shot. It is a bit like the first Metroid game in that it is insanely ridiculously hard starting out until you manage to collect some gear and health upgrades. But once you persevere and get into it a little ways, it is no longer insanely ridiculously hard, but just ridiculously hard... and well worth playing.
In these crazy days of roms and emulators, there is really no excuse not to play it. And if you find it way too difficult, then I would forgive you for using an emulator's save state feature if it made the difference between you playing it through to the end or giving up on in after half and hour or less like most people seem to do with that poor under appreciated game.