I've been plucking my way through the original "Dragon Quest". If you take a look at the game's influences, none of them remotely resemble what we know today as a "JRPG". I'm going to mark the game down then as one of those rare genre-birthing moments.

It's really doing it for me too: the simplicity reminds me of my favorite Genesis RPGs while the atmosphere is cool, like how the music gets scarier and scarier the more floors you descend into a dungeon.

I did print out some maps though; the overworld and tomb dungeon in particular are very confusing to navigate without some kind of reference. I'll probably do the same for its sequel, after I beat the original and am ready to move on.

In other news, spent the entire day yesterday at the Minnesota State Fair. For those who don't know, it's the country's largest such event when looked at by daily attendance. The kids and I went on a Ferris wheel, and the whole party ate way more sugar and carbs than the average person probably needs in a year!