Oh wow. What a co-inky-dink. Yesterday I finally beat Dragon Warrior I (It only took me 17 years.) and started on Dragon Warrior II.
My impressions of it so far after being so used to the original: (And having never placed III or IV for more than a few minutes.)
While the addition of multiple characters fighting multiple enemies at once, the battle system has lost its charm. The enemies don't blink when hit or dying. The sound is so much worse when attacking.
The music is new, but the sound effects from the original were better. I miss the much better "Stay overnight at the inn" tune that plays in the original over what they changed it to in II and on. (Especially since they used this newer less cool sound in VIII.)
I too don't understand why they went from the really nice scenic backgrounds to plain black during battles. Sad they kept this even for III and IV! (Which I have checked on. Booooring.) In all respects, II, III and IV have nicer graphics that get better with each game, it's just all those little cool things the original had that make you wonder "Why the hell did they leave them out of the sequels?"
I pray one day a PSP release of all 4 or even 5 or 6 or even 7 of the original games will be made with nice updated graphics, still in 2D, looking like a cross between SNES graphics and what they did to Zelda: Four Swords for the Cube. (2D with 3D touches.) Maybe one day the wish will come true.