Just a thought: Like so many other things, in the NES version the endgame is rather different, and I am wondering which version you prefer.

In the original version, and pretty much any version other than the NES version:
* You don't have to meet the requirements simply to enter the final dungeon; they're tested at the end.
* You must recruit all the companions in order to beat the game, and you take all of them into the abyss with you.
* As a result, you have to reach level 8, the level cap, in order to beat the game; there's no way around it. (It's a good thing there's quest experience for finding quest items, something the NES version lacks.)
* At the very end of the dungeon, after the last combat challenge of the game, there is a quiz; if you don't answer a question correctly, you're kicked out of the dungoen.

In the NES version, on the other hand:
* You can't even enter the final dungeon without being an avatar. (The final dungeon is set-up in such a way that you can't lose virtue; there's no random encounters in the dungeon in this version.)
* You do not need to recruit any companions. Furthermore, even if you do recruit companions, you have to do the final dungeon alone. (The dungeon has been simplified and made easier to make this doable, plus the fountains here heal you.)
* The minimum level to beat the game is 4, as that's the level at which ships start spawning in the NES version. (Good thing, as reaching level 8 is a pain in the NES version, where there's no quest experience.) (By the way, ships spawn *much* more frequently in the NES version.)
* When you reach the end, there's no quiz; much of the text is just given to you, including the answer to what would be the final question in other versions.

By the way, one other difference; you know that armada of ships that you probably won't pass without finding and using the wheel? All that is absent in the NES version, and the hull strength mechanic isn't even present here.

So, which endgame do you prefer?

Hello,
I remember and will always have my favorite version which is the version I played on my Tandy way back when. The PC version for me! I can still remember to this day having to drag the entire party, having to type in the correct answer, getting the screenshot at the end.

I happen to have experienced the NES version first, as that is the version I had growing up.

Interestingly enough, I tend to go between the NES version and the Sega Master System version, which is more faithful to the original except for not having 1st person dungeons. (Wondering why they did that? It can't be a hardware issue, as Phantasy Star has first person dungeons.)

By the way, regarding the NES version compared to other versions:
+ Some of the more annoying aspects, like food and having to mix spells ahead of time, were removed. (You still need reagents to cast spells, unfortunately.)
+ You don't need to memorize every spell's reagent requirements, and you don't need to memorize the mantras (and you don't need to look them up, either). (For spells you need to learn, you need to talk to the right person, then go to a place in Moonglow and tell the person there which reagents are needed for that spell.)
+ Combat is more consistent; attacks don't miss that often (and melee attacks never miss), and the damage range is small.
+ Game gives better feedback during battle; in particular, the game actually tells you how much damage your attacks do.
+ You can equip both a melee weapon and a bow at the same time. (Note that the Magic Axe and Wand need to be equipped in the melee slot, but can be used as ranged weapons if you don't have a bow equipped.) This makes melee weapons not feel like a waste the way they do on PC.
* You don't need to recruit everyone.
* Ships are much easier to come by. (Too bad they disappear when you cast Gate.)
* You don't need to worry about the wind when in a ship. (It still affects the balloon, but at least you get to recover MP as you ride without having to press the arrow keys.)
? Enemies are not visible on the world map, with the exception of ships.
? Ranged attacks can target anywhere, even through walls. (In the SMS version, ranged attacks can target anywhere within range, but are still blocked by walls.)
- You can be attacked even if you're standing still. (On PC, everything but the moongates are turn-based; on NES, this is not the case when it comes to random encounters.)
- Dungeons have been simplified, with many rooms re-used. Furthermore, there are no longer any traps or energy fields in the hallways.
- Can't use Blink to travel through the world map. (On NES, this spell lets you escape combat without losing virtue.)
- While you only need to get one key, it's expensive (2,000 gold).
- Money is harder to come by. Chests only give an average of about 40 gold, and towns and dungeon rooms have far fewer treasures.
- The game suffers from translation; the English NES version is actually a translation of the Japanese Super Famicom version, which in turn is a translation of the original. The resulting dialog is not as good as a result, and they mixed up the labels of the DEX and INT stats.
- For whatever reason, the English NES version cut some NPCs that were in the Japanese Famicom version.
- This doesn't bother me, but one thing that may bother some players: All the horses in the stable in Paws have died, so you can't buy one.

I prefer the computer version of the endgame. The fight against the armada of pirate ships was epic, and the quizzes along the way and at the end made me feel like my understanding of the virtues of the Avatar was truly being tested instead of just slaughtering my way through the final dungeon.

Plus, it was my first version. Commodore 64, but still fundamentally the same as most other computer versions.

The NES version still has you do quizzes along the way, where you have to choose the right virtue and place the correct stone. What's missing is the quiz at the end, after you place the black stone.

On the other hand, in the NES version, you can take advantage of the fact that the virtues are listed in the order you need them, and the stones are listed in the same order, which makes things easier in that version.

The Sega Master System (which is more faithful to the original, complete with needing all characters and having the final quiz intact) dealt with this issue by randomizing the order in which the virtues and stones appear in the list in the final dungeon.

One other observation: Remember that one room where you fight 8 enemies with the same classes as your party members? (Actually 2, but you only need to get through 1.) In the NES version, that room (and there's only one) is much harder,