
I enjoyed it, flaws and all. It gets much easier once you clear the first boss. I was into Greek mythology at the time so I dug it even though it played fast and loose with Greek mythology (a more recent favorite, Valkyrie Profile, does the same thing with the Norse myths). The instruction manual showed a female enemy character with bare boobs, which somehow never created an outcry.
Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters on Game Boy is a genuinely great game. They did away with the cheap falling and improved on the original in every way except ehe lack of color. Surprisingly, despite being Japanese-made it was US-exclusive until it was released on the 3DS. It made me wish Nintendo had made a Super Kid Icarus or a Kid Icarus 64.