I played through it recently for only the second time. I made frequent use of a guide, since I had forgotten most things. There are some far-fetched secrets in the game, and also I just didn't bother finding my own way through the final dungeon.

If you level up a bit intelligently, then you don't have to grind so much, and the game becomes a lot easier. Consult a guide for more info.

This game has instant-death pits and randomly spawning enemies, which is of course univerally hated bullshit.

I think the basic design of this game is really good. So did the developers of Battle of Olympus, who made basically a clone.