For me it's a wash between the two games, although for nostalgic reasons I like the first game a tad bit more (it was one of the first games I had as a kid). The second game makes some improvements as others have mentioned (8 directions, multiple staffs, more stuff to do), but the first game excels in other ways. I think the writing in the first game is much better (Old Wise Mother and Dirth are poetically formulaic), which pulls me in a bit more. The characters is the second game aren't very memorable. I also like the look of the first game a bit more. The second game is a bit cartoony. And, I'm sure others will disagree, but I like the music in the first game better. The crypt music in the second game isn't very good, although the lava level music really stands out. Dirth's theme in the first game is awesome, some of the best hucard music. So I like the feel and presentation of the first game, while the game play is slightly better in the second. But I'm mostly nitpicking. Can't go wrong with either game.