I bought DS in 1993 and really liked the game. Until then I had only played Neutopia, Cosmis Fantasy, Dubba Dungeons, Final Lap Twin Quest (which is a fantasic RPG if you want a break from beasts and boobs),and the existing Phantasy Star /Dragon Warrior games at the neighbors.
In 1993, it was a pretty innovative RPG for the TG. You could manual distribute attribute points when you leveled. The encouter system wasn't random. And the side quests took the edge off straight up leveling. It had a varied enough soundtrack that wasn't too repetative. It also had pirates. And the moon mace was bad ass. I spent (spend) a lot of time wondering if Sonya's "Cuffs" matched her "Collar."
For me, DS finished behind CF2 and Ys 1-2,4. Adding cut scenes really would have added to the experience, but not have connected with me as a youth the way other RPGs (and yes, Final Lap Twin Quest) did.