I'm going to disagree with you. I have found it takes less to make me happy as I get older. Moreover, my happiest moments are those where others are happy. I take no pleasure in harming others and I don't believe that's a unique perspective.
I think your coping mechanisms have made your life more difficult.
The first four dragon warriors/quests were surprisingly ambitious.
DW is one of the first console RPGs.
DW2 is in many ways the template for a generation of RPGs, with progressively gathering party members and opening up the map via gaining new travel modes.
DW3 is still amazing. The party creation and job system is done better than most other attempts at it. And returning the old world was so cool.
DW4 had a true multi-perspective narrative with a detailed story. Unlike anything else that had come out before.
Later DW/DQs stopped innovating as much and stagnated, much as the entire JRPG genre feels stagnant.