It mostly did

Ittle Dew 2+ is overall a competent and worthwhile iteration on its predecessor. It's an unabashed Zelda-like with a silly and fun story, and a keen focus on gameplay fundamentals: block puzzles, varied enemies, magic items hidden in dungeons, secret caves with optional upgrades scattered around the world map.

My only real complaint against the first game was that it was short, and this sequel remedies that thoroughly. Not just with a bigger map and more numerous dungeons -- there are also more items and gameplay mechanics to keep that more-expansive content feeling fresh and fun.

There is a dark side to Ittle Dew 2's ambition, however: boss fights. The game's combat leans toward "unforgiving" in general, but bosses are especially heinous in the amount of damage they can both take and dish out.

One dungeon boss had me dying and retrying so many times that I almost broke my chair. I did eventually win, though, motivated by my desire to see my way through the game. And then I got to the eighth dungeon boss, a seriously nine-minute-long encounter where dying at the end makes you restart the whole thing.

Which is exactly what happened to me, causing me to immediately quit the game forever.

Mid-encounter checkpoints, or even just a lower difficulty setting, would have been enough to push me into this fight again -- maybe even to win it, and unlock some post-game content. But the game clearly wants me to suffer here, and to that I say: no, thanks.

Up until that point, Ittle Dew 2 was a true pleasure, and I'm very satisfied with how it improved upon the first game. Exploring the map looking for hidden chambers was a delight, as was solving my way through each dungeon. I've got no regrets about the hours I spent delving into this weird world.

I just won't get to experience the totality of its content, due to punishing boss design. Oh, well.

Better than: Anodyne, Cat Quest, CrossCode, Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas
Not as good as: The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
On balance, basically just as good as: Ittle Dew; more good stuff, tainted by frustrating bosses.

Progress: Gave up on the Passel fight.