I played some more this morning, got the the Dungeon 3 boss and he was kicking my ass. Just have to get used to the pattern, I guess. I think I figured it out. But instead of doing that I decided to explore the "overworld" some more.
I got some awesome items. The bell letting you know there is a treasure in the room, the gas mask (oh thank you!), the green and purple rings, the double jump shoes, and the blue necklace thing. I'm totally going to kick some ass now.