What was the hardest Zelda game of all time?

[Grey Acumen]

Zelda 2 is basically the hardest overall, but i feel that also because of many elements that make it an entirely different game than all the other Zelda games.
I'm not just talking about the side-scrolling part either; constantly regenerating enemies, no way to recover health in dungeons except ONE single fairy at best and then whatever magic you're willing to sacrifice on it, not being able to avoid enemies, very unclear hints at where to find items, no way to teleport from the starting point to anywhere else so that if you saved and quit you had to trudge through the entire game again, no useful items like bow, boomerang, bottles, hookshot, all of which I think could have made the game far easier if any of them had been present.
I've gotten over my hatred for Zelda 2, it is a good game, hell, an excellent game at what it is, I just still have trouble considering it to spiritually be a real Zelda game due to how many of core elements that I love of the main Zelda series are missing.

With Zelda 2 aside, I'd probably say either Zelda: OoT Master Quest for the 3d series, or if you want to use the top-down list, one/both of the Oracle of Ages/Seasons game(s), I beat one of the oracle games, but I'm still working on the other.