I played it a while back- it's definitely in the Zelda mold, which is not a bad thing, particularly if you don't have a GameCube. I don't like the fact that you have to keep giving your player food and water at regular intervals though, and your sword will break over time, so you have to keep replacing it.
The other aspect of the game is the town-building, um, thing.
I found that pretty enjoyable. The balance between hack & slash and building sim kinda gave me Actraiser flashbacks.