zlep: And the permadeath has finally found its time to shine (although even modern rouge-lites don't make you replay the previous two games to create a new party every time you kill your current one...)
BlackThorny: Hmm, I'm sure there could be a mod for saving or whatnot? Otherwise dying on the 5th game would make you play all 4 again?
Actually, they only used that game mechanic for the first 3 games, but... yes... yes, that's what it meant. When you import your party to a later game, they're wiped from the roster of the earlier one, so a party wipe in game 3 means starting from the first game again.
Any sane person trying to replay the game nowadays would back up their save directory, or use an emulator that can take "save states" separately from the game. But back in the 80s, your average kid on a Commodore 64 didn't have access to such arcane rituals. How anyone ever finished the third game back then I can't even imagine...