Yeah, even though there's a time limit, it's not really inhibiting and it's actually a fun gameplay gimmick. I wouldn't want it for every Zelda game, but for a one-off with such a unique world/feeling.
It's sort of like Groundhog Day -- it's a three day time loop with the world ending at the end of the three days. Every single NPC has a set routine for those three days and most have an accompanying quest that you can gradually uncover over the course of those three days. There's a lot of overlap in quests, too.
That all being said, the first time I played it, I was really frustrated with the time limits imposed. The three days goes quick -- I think the entire three days takes 36 minutes. But once I discovered the Inverted Song of Time, you can slow time's flow down to like 1/4 of that, which makes the three days over two hours per cycle.
For example, I just did the first dungeon in about an in-game day, and that's with finding all of the stray fairies hidden around the dungeon. But I think frustrations with the game are valid -- in many ways it doesn't feel like a Zelda game. The tone, look, and concept is so incredibly different from normal Zelda games.
Also, good to know about Persona references. That helps motivate me to keep playing, even if minimal. Those kind of rewards help invest me with playing through multiple games in a series.
