Dungeon Trawler

  I just beat Wizardry Gaiden I's second dungeon for the first time and thought I'd take the opportunity to rave about the game. — Wizardry Gaiden I: Suffering of the Queen (ウィザードリィ外伝I ～女王の受難～), released for Game Boy in 1991 and  fan-translated in 2014 , is an absolutely masterful DRPG. Maybe that isn't a surprise—looking at Mobygames, much of the team, including the director,  had previously worked on NES ports of the original trilogy . Gaiden I's biggest strength is its dungeon design, which compares favorably to every other DRPG I've played, including the first few floors of the original Wizardry. Each floor is not just a different layout but a different  kind  of layout: 1F's apartment complex gives way to 2F's outline of a yet-unenterable fortress, which yields in turn to 3F's long L-shaped monster condo. 4F is a tricky teleporter maze, 5F is a rambling cavern full of dark patches, and 6F is another teleporter maze (OK,). Then a dimensional rift tak...