I've played E.T. on Atari, and it is indeed a trout show, but I also agree that the Atari had a lot games just as bad or worse.

The DQ thing really comes down to whether you like Toriyama's art or not. Personally, I feel his art tends to showcase what DQ is really like, with a certain amount of whimsy to them. Whereas the generic D&D style covers of the NES entries can throw you for a loop when you see all of Toriyama's cutesy monster designs in game.