Okay, Nintendo tried something new with this one. It was fine, but they made it too complicated for most people to beat. (Me not being one of them.) This was, without a doubt, the most difficult Zelda game I've ever played. Amazingly though, the final boss was fairly easy.
Like Dabombster said, it was one of the hardest Zelda games. If not the hardest. But it was pretty fun. I love a good challenge. The side-scrolling thing was....a new take on things. Interesting, to say the least.