The graphic nethack was, expressly by design, Diablo 1, which was much, much less about looting than its successors, and certainly loot would have zero effect on your character skill/build/play type in Diablo 1, which posters like Rock8man say is a big part of Diablo 3.
Diablo 2 had a much larger loot focus, but I agree with Rock8man that it wasn’t as much of the focus until 3. What 2 really added was a much deeper character development/build system, which Diablo 3 and other modern action-RPGs have as well, although maybe not even as deep
This game was super brutal too. One of the hardest games I’ve ever played - almost impossible - but that was primarily due to terrible balancing/testing. But it IS very similar to Diablo 1 (skip ahead in the video),
I actually played it as an adult-type person. My reaction must have been pretty “meh,” because I don’t have any specific memories of it and there are a lot of those old SSI games that I really miss.
I watched a friend in college get sucked into the Disgaea hole in college. My evening entertainment for a month or two was just ordering delivery food to her place and doing homework on the floor, listening to her curse at prinny stacks. It was amazing.