>>719088671
You have to remember that you are supposed to read the manual before playing the game, they also even included pic related that covers vast majority of situations where players get stuck.

Aside from that, they even have a helpline, plus you would talk to friends about the game (or use message boards if playing it after the fact). That's just how games of the era were, a product of its time, but ALTTP gave players a lot of tools to succeed.