Honestly, I like Dragon Quest 2 better for combat strategy; in particular, status ailments are useful in that game. Plus, DQ2 is less punishing when you *do* die (provided you aren't playing the original Japanese release, where an endgame death requires a painful trip back to town, and a softlock if you decided to throw away the Jailor's key and rely on the Open spell). Also, the dungeons are less confusing, I think, and there is a trick to getting through that one floor with all the hidden pits (if you've played that game to the end, you *know* what I am talking about).

Also, one thing I don't like about PS2 is that, while there's a dedicated healer:
* She's slow, so the thief is going to be a better healer with decent healing items; also, the multi-target heals are expensive and the second-tier one comes way too late.
* There *are* decent healing items, making a healer less important, and none of them are in finite supply. (This wouldn't be so bad if the healer were fast enough to be good at her job.)
* She's the only one that can use a certain weapon that can paralyze, which is the sort of thing you need to be fast to use; as a result, that interesting weapon doesn't see a lot of use.

I could also mention that there's at least one dangerous enemy that was mistakenly placed too early in the game. (It's likely a mistake because there is a palette swap encountered later that is weaker.)

One other thing: In PS2, once you get past the first major section of the game and the overworld enemies get stronger, how are you supposed to level up characters who are still level 1?

Correct, not a port, but sharing the same name. I've played and beaten both.

I have the feeling the SNES version was going to be a wholly different game, then they slapped the Shadowrun name on it. Quite common in the game industry.

Well, Eschalon runs in a window...

a teeny teeny tiny window lol

Legend of Grimrock runs in a window if you are also into dungeon crawling rpgs,

Th Fall of the Dungeon Guardians has also a windowed mode and is on sale at the moment on Humble Bundle, you get a DRM free version and a Steam key. Not a milestone, more indie, but a fun game.

PS Is it just me or has Humble Bundle a lot and I mean a lot more DRM Free games than it used to have?

I wouldn't call it "superior" (or inferior). It is… different. The SNES game is great at being point 'n' click adventure (like Sierra titles) with creative dialogue system and some great (albeit few in the number of tracks) soundtrack… but lacking in combat and especially matrix (a minesweeper? seriously?) mechanics and overall Shadowrun vibe (too bright and colorful! Too clean!).
I am not that familiar with DQ/DW series (with DQ4 being the most played of them), but I remember brilliant STAIRS and DOOR menu options. :)
True, true. But the healer is also capable of equipping a pair of acid pistols making her actually decent against armored robots (unlike the thief), and the effect of tranquilizer rifle on the biomonster boss had always amazed me. :) Infinite healing items are a must for prolonged dungeon experience no matter the team as the TP supply can not last for long, but in case of dire need it is either mass heal, or a stock of super-healing items (hence abusing the thief's special ability). But well, granted, the doctor is one of the weaker combatants (along with the biologist). Can be used for extra added difficulty. :)
The BLASTER. You can imagine my friend's expression when a pair of them ambushed the team, effectively killing most of the fighters and his decision to stay and fight had led to fatal consequences. Add the fact that we played on the Chinese bootleg cartridge with broken save RAM (we could not save at all!) and you get our emotions back then. :D
It was not the only time we were PWNed royally (other times being three splitting slimes and a pair of extra lucky spitting cobras ambushing the team and putting to sleep both heavy hitters and a triad of flying swords again from the back). Later on… digital copy… I had experienced demon boss putting all of my characters into uncontrollable insanity (the game didn't bother to give me the combat menu so all I was able to do is watch the team being obliterated while dancing some rumba in front of the enemy!) with the sword refusing to shine… Yeah, the game can destroy you if it wishes so, sometimes. But every time it was so… fascinating!

And what the PSIV has for the player? Some random cultist boss spamming the team with FORCEFLASH'es to death only because…? Because the team (or, rather, the certain character) didn't attained level 14 (or was it 15?) at which that character learns plot-relevant technique (i.e. it gets mentioned in the cut-scene!), so instead of adjusting the scene so the character will not attempt to use the tech she doesn't know yet, the devs didn't know better than to inexplicably kill the characters with the dummy boss to prevent players from getting to the cut-scene! Very funny… not.

Eee… get them the best gear available (with two shields), put them to the defensive mode in the rear line and hope enemies won't decide to hit them? If it fails, then the revival is cheap (20 MST for a level, which still is at 1), and if it succeeds… problem solved (the EXP gain will be enough to advance a couple of levels and get decent amount of max HP).

Throw in a box of Twinkies and the weapon is yours!

There are no Twinkies in Croatia, guess nothing for me:(

STAIRS: It can be annoying to have to use this command to climb stairs, but it's rather minor in the grand scheme of things. It's not as annoying as, say, having to choose a direction for the TALK command (which you did in the JP version), or write down a password to save the game (which you did in the JP versions of 1 and 2).

DOOR: If anything, this command was more of a convenience. DQ1 didn't need it, as you could just use the ITEM command and keys are the second item on your list, after herbs, but it was still there. DQ2 and DQ3 lacked the command; you had to dig through your inventory in order to find the key needed for the particular locked door you're trying to open, and the inventory wasn't as nice as 1's in that respect. 4 re-introduced the command, and it is very nice to have there; no more digging in your inventory. (DQ5 added an action button which, among other things, will automatically open the door in front of you (if you have the key), and DQ6 made it so that simply running into a door will open it.)

So, having to use STAIRS was a minor inconvenience, and having the DOOR command in the menu is better than the alternative.

Reminds me of Final Fantasy, particularly the PlayStation remake, with its Dark Mages. Basically, in the PSX version, you'd be ambushed by a group of up to 4 of them, and they would cast Fire 3 on you, which does around 100 damage to the entire party. If enough of them cast it, your party could be wiped out before you even have a chance to act! Then, if you somehow survive that, their next spell is a multi-target instant death attack. It's a good thing that version has memo saves.

The NES version of Final Fantasy had this enemy, but that enemy wasn't nearly as dangerous. There, theer first spell is a *single* target instant death attack with a lower success rate, and as long as at most one character is killed, you have a good chance of running away. (Note, however, that the NES version has no mid-dungeon saves.)

I would argue that these examples, both PS2's Blasters and FF1's Dark Mages (and Mindflayers, the other really nasty enemy, who paralyzes your party and can instant kill with a physical attack, and no equipment will help), might actually make the enemies in Dragon Quest 2's Rhone Plateau seem tame by comparison. (That includes the enemy with a spell that, if cast, *will* wipe out your entire party.)

I would call the SNES Shadowrun game inferior. There's no melee combat (except one ninja character in the arena), there's no real jobs other than 'fix your cybergear, follow main plotline'. The conversation system is similar to one of the Final Fantasy games where you need to see a keyword before you can ask it to others. Aiming in the game sucks and forces you to stand still, no real upgrades, no variation or options, nothing.

I wouldn't put it quite in the point and click category.

One of my favorite things in the Genesis version was to go hacking, diving, downloading files, selling files off and sometimes getting 50k or more. Missions from the Mr Johnsons, breaking into buildings to get a package or get a disgruntled employee out, exploring varied landscapes, ghouls, and random events that changed depending on what faction you joined.

I think he should go all-in and hook up the console.

Who's gonna notice?

That particular Final Fantasy game you are referring to is Final Fantasy 2, which is not a good representative of the series; in fact, I see that game as more of a SaGa 0. The game really does belong in the SaGa series.

Also, that particular conversation system is one that is often found in console ports of RPGs, and you see some of it even in computer versions of Ultima 7 and 8. In particular, I know it's used in Ultima 4 SMS (not NES), Ultima 5 NES (beware, awful game), Ultima 6 SNES, Wizardry 5 PSX (not SNES), and perhaps others.

So no, I don't think your comparison is really the best.

(By the way, if you play FF2, heavy armor is considerably worse than no armor at all. If you are actually interested in playing the game, I could share a few things about it that really should have been in the manual or tuturial.)

Eschalon is pretty fun so far... but whew it's difficult.

Are all 3 fun?

I had fun playing as a merchant... broke the game that way.

...

I don't know how you define RPG, and you say you aren't into the Spiderweb games so you might not like this, but if you just want a fantasy hack and slash roguelike, then Dungeon Crawl stone soup might be to your tastes (think Nethack).

It's free, it's roguelike (meaning every playthrough is RNG and is permadeath), it can be windowed and has zero sound. Unlike RPGs, it has no NPCs or dialog or quests, it's pure combat. Kill stuff, find stuff. You can download and play offline, or you can play on a server, allowing you to play the same game at home and at work. The game is still being updated (modern) and has a small folder size (my offline copy is 50 MB). Lastly, it's turn-based, so you can take as long as you like on a turn, stop at any point to work on a project, attend a meeting, go to the bathroom, etc, making it very convenient to play in spurts at work.

I have no idea how it compares to other rogue games, this being the only one I've played, so it may be good or bad, comparatively.

https://crawl.develz.org/