I think an ideal game starts easy then ramps up the difficultly. At this point you gain abilities that make the game easier and make you feel more powerful. Then the difficulty increases again at the end for the final challenge portion, that way you as a player feel like your have to master your new found abilities.
Like going over a big hill then when you get to the valley on the other side you have to climb a mountain.
This was one of my favorite games in when I was younger, almost 20 years ago now. I had no idea people were keeping it going. It makes me happy to see that it’s still alive.