Bard’s Tale - worth playing?

I recently wrapped up the original Wizardry trilogy (on Famicom, I have a soft spot for that version because I first played it on NES and they’re really good ports) and have resumed my play through of Might & Magic on Apple II. I’ve been mapping by hand because I find it so very oddly relaxing and enjoyable. I’m really really enjoying it and plan on moving through the rest of the series over time. The wide open world and exploration is just fantastic.

The other classic blobber is Bard’s Tale, which I briefly played on NES 35+ years ago and never revisited. Is it worth playing as part of my return to classic CRPGs? People complain about the difficulty but I assume if I handled Wizardry and M&M original style that’ll be a non-issue. If I do, what’s the preferred version? I’m trying to stick with actual hardware - don’t have a C64 however (Apple II, Atari 800, IBM PC).