But you're still hungry.

I played the NES version. Another Falcom game, though this one is an adventure game set in Chichen Itza. (The map of the game actually, uh, looks like Chichen Itza!! I was so impressed.)

I played the Falcom Classics version for Sega Saturn. Well so…it’s a strange game. You do contact damage, like Ys, and it’s like, whoever is moving towards the enemy (has right of way?) strikes first, and then can move out of the way to avoid doing more damage, and oblique attacks are good like in Ys? To get stronger, you 1) bring power stones back to your house, +5000 strength per 2) get more XP and go back to your house, which brings your HP to your XP 3) trade in coins for HP (not as effective). Did I mention the numbers are really big? The max HP and XP are 999999. I think damage is based on your strength and opponent’s experience, so XP also acts as defense for you. You can only carry one item at a time. So you use your key to open chests. Then you drop your key to pick up coins and jars (to use magic). Then you pick up one power stone at a time and bring it back to your house (or teleport back to your house). Somewhere along the way when you're empty-handed, you pick up your key again. lol. Also, the positions of the items change over time because there are random ghosts flying around that sometimes pick up items and drop them in a random location. Enemies spawn from graves (there’s at most one enemy per grave at a time, I think). Annoyingly, some enemies take your money/magic jars/sword.

Dungeon Master – turns out playing a first-person dungeon crawler without an automapper = I get lost on the first level and can't even find the exit.

I was SUPER excited to play this when I read the manual. It's very clearly inspired by Star Trek and promises a massive galactic map, interstellar trade, lots of alien species who remember your interactions (ish), discovering new planets, and unfolding a broader story.

Metroid

I really tried to get through this game! I swear! PPSSPP says I have 22 hours on it (I'm playing the Tengai Makyou Collection there) and when I think about how I am still only about halfway through the game, I feel only a sense of impending doom. I will admit that most of those 22 hours were probably spent on fast-forwarded grinding, which is why Jiraia is level 45 despite having just beaten the spider woman boss thing, but let me try to explain some other reasons why I don't feel the game is fun anymore, some self-inflicted and some not:

I played the SNES remake (Dragon Quest I & II). The first “JRPG”! It's short and sweet, and you can see how it already has the core elements of future such games.

...is a 3D platformer where you, the unnamed main character, put on a suit with a grappling hook and grapple your way through a trash disposal portal to find your uncle. As you can probably tell, the game's original idea was the grappling hook mechanic and the story came later.

Played these in the last few days. A Short Hike is SO LOVELY. I remember trying to play it some time ago and not really understanding it (in particular I got extremely lost). But now I'm like, what could be more wonderful than playing a meditative game about hiking, exploring a mountain, slowing down your life, and interacting with lots of cute anthropomorphized animals???

Just finished. This picks up some unspecified time after Ys II. Adol and Dogi have been adventuring together and return to Dogi's hometown, where strange things are happening, and it's up to Adol to resolve them.

Unlike Ys I & II, Ys III is a side-scrolling platformer. No more bump combat, either: you have to actually stab people.