I’ve played OoT MQ on both the N64 and 3DS, the only differences is that the map is mirrored from the original game & the puzzles are different, they become more cryptic and less obvious (hidden switches behind walls you can’t see, I remember hitting a wall triggering a switch opening a door when I was in the water temple). Have you played MQ on the previous remake (3DS) and original (N64)? If so, is it harder than the original game?
Can’t you just assign them to a c button? I feel like that’s how I did it, but it was like 30 years ago almost…
Boots were equipment, not an item. You couldn’t assign them iirc. You might be thinking of a later game.
The 3DS version made that QOL improvement.