Noxar
IIRC it is actually a different physics engine than BotW. BotW couldn't handle all the physics interactions in TotK. That's what's so impressive about the game. Physics-based games are rare, especially for AAA-developers, because it's just a lot of work. In TotK everything just works as you'd expect. You're just looking at it from a gameplay perspective while ignoring the technical achievements.
Simon's Quest doesn't deserve to be called a bad game. The music and graphics are quite good for the NES and the open structure of the game was quite novel and many elements like the leveling system became staples of the series from SotN onward. The thing that really holds it back is the terrible english translation which makes the puzzles way harder than they need to be.
I had the same experience with the game. It has a really cool world and story but as I finished the game, because I guess I wanted to be able to say I've finished one of the classics, I felt mostly just annoyed. There were moments where the game felt truly magical but the controls were constantly stopping me from getting immersed. It's one of those unfortunate instances where everything else is great but it fails for me in the most important aspect of a game which is the gameplay.
Sure there aren't that many cards but those cards are so well balanced. Every single card has its uses so you're constantly presented with interesting decisions. It feels like almost every other roguelike has dead time where you're just going through the motions whereas in slay the spire you're making decisions from floor 1.
I've played Persona 4 and 5 and am really looking forward to P3 Reloaded but it's not quite the same enjoyment I found in those games as in the mainline SMT games. Party composition is not as much of a thing in Persona. I've seen Etrian Odyssey mentioned a few times before in the Megaten fandom so it seems like something I'd be into. The mainline games I've played are Nocturne, SMTIV and SMTV. I'm definitely playing Strange Journey next and then maybe Digital Devil Saga.