I’m working my way through EO1 with a LTM/AA party. Just snuck past the wyren in the 2nd stratum. I’ve played these games before when they first came out, but really enjoying them more now.
The QoL stuff that has been added (speeding up animations, a sensible skill tree display, and having the bestiary available in combat) make big differences to me. The later has made a party focused on elemental attacks more enjoyable.
The mapping as been surprisingly not painful. It was definitely more enjoyable on the DS, but it isn’t terrible on switch (even docked).
I’m really hoping this is a sign that the series may one day get a new entry (or a spiritual successor).
I felt the same way, but caved when I saw the multilanguage physical edition had English. No regrets so far. The QoL stuff added makes a big difference; I’d probably pick these over the original DS versions, despite no stylus mapping.