I agree, it's time consuming AND really error-prone. Especially working with the keyboard, if I press space to sell/drop item #23 for example which is a robes, and the cursor jumps back suddenly to item #1 which is a Fire Horn... In this case, cursor should stay at #23 and the rest of the items slide up.

If it's a chest, and you already are happy with your gear and your money, just leave chests...get the experience and nothing else. Still, that leaves non-chest encounters and doesn't let you accumulate gear in case you think more/better gear might be had in Mangar's. Yes, an option for encounters with chests and without on the pickup screen allowing the player his choice of what to take--would be nice...;) Also, not a bad idea to maybe double the party cache to 80 or so items, up from 40.

In classic versions (specifically BT1 and BT2 2gs and BT3 C64, but probably other versions as well), you have this problem when adding members to the party. This can be especially annoying in the Appke 2GS version of 1, where if you want to remove one party member, you have to remove everyone (you can't just remove one member in this version), and then add everyone back (either individually or as a saved party), and have to go back to the menu each time.

Incidentally, in 8-bit versions of 1 and 2, you add party members by typing in their name; poor for adding characters individually, but perhaps better when adding a saved party. (If you've played Wizardy 1, 2, 3, or 5 on a computer (not a console), you may remember having to do this, but without the option of saving a party.)

This is only true when you've maxed out gear, and when you know you've maxed out gear. Plus, it blocks accumulatuion of very useful consumables...dragonwands and flame/frost horns. Dragonwands aren't critical once you have either a mage staff or conjurstaff...but they're still handy. I ran 3 casters and did a boatload of triple-casting in Mangar's. It was convenient from time to time to use a wand charge.

Doubling the cache size would make this problem that much worse. Heck, we've already got tons of spare slots compared to original versions. :)

An option to take/not take might be enough; it might feel more intrusive tho.

Another option would be to extend the subtyping that was done in spell selection, to the inventory window and to Garth's. I just created a thief and ran him up. Equipping him was annoying; no sorting going on, and pretty much as full an inventory as you can get, so fiinding the best that he can use in each type was more of a pain than it should be. Plus this would help present a clean, consistent interface across all the long lists.

In classic versions, the strongest general purpose multi-target attack spell was Mind Blade, which only did 10-40 damage when cast; late game, that isn't a lot (though, due to the way enemy HP works, if there are enough enemies it can be expected to kill at least some of them). On the other hand, the Dragonwand does 20-80 damage to the group that was targeted. Even the Fire Horn (16-64 damage) would outdamage MIBL.

With the remaster, from what I hear, adding Force Focus and Flame Column at their BT2 levels of power, Dragonwands are indeed less important. Remember, however, that Dragonwands got a significant power boost in BT2 and BT3, and they are now almost as strong as Fanskar's Night Lance (which you won't have right away, even if you transferred your characters); they even work in anti-magic zones (even in the IIGS version of 2), and in 3 they are great in Gelidia (where a lot of enemies are weak against it) and for new Chronomancers (who don't get any attack spells at 1st level and lose the ones they used to know)..

Anyway, the order, in terms of power, is:
BT1: MIBL < Fire Horn = REDE (on undead) < Dragonwand < FLCO < Dragonshield = Frost Horn < FOFO (but note range) < DMST (on demons) < Flame Horn
BT2: Frost Horn < Dragonshield << Dragonwand < NILA < Flame Horn < MAMA < [spoiler you don't get until the end[

Since we're speaking about inventory, in Bard's Tale 3:
* There are no stores. The only way to store items is to give them to characters who stay at the Refugee Camp; the shared inventory would interfere with that. (There's a storehouse, but you can't put items in; maybe letting the player store items there could fix this issue?)
* Harmonic Gems. Harmonic gems are a common item that, when used, restore all of the user's Spell Points. Needless to say, these are very useful, and you are going to want to carry a lot of them at all times. In fact, I remember giving multiple Harmonic Gems to the same character so I can get more refills if needed. I also remember having to discard or waste some because my inventory filled up. (One QoL improvement that might help; allow using Harmonic Gems directly from the party inventory without having to equip them first; this would be more convenient than having to keep equipping them. (For Legacy Mode, how about allowing them to be used by anyone outside of combat, and allowing the player to choose the target in that instance.)