First Dragon Quest I've ever played, and boy was it a good one! Branching storylines across multiple generations, multiple paths/endings, a surprisingly heart wrenching story and fun characters. The dialogue was great - if often a little cheesy in some places - and the graphics were absolutely stunning with the cross-screen scenes. The monster recruitment was really cool, and added an extra layer of depth not often found in an RPG. The last dungeon was a crock and I don't understand why there wasn't a save or zoom point placed in there somewhere besides the entrance, and forcing me to choose between the canon familial party characters (which I did) or the carefully cultivated monster characters I'd been honing throughout the game (which I ultimately didn't) about 2/3 through the game left me wondering why the monster recruiting mechanic was even present at all. Those two points aside, this was an absolute treat and I'm honestly anticipating coming back to this one in a few years and trying a different story path.