Like many others, Thousand Year door is very near and dear to my heart. I've called it my #1 favorite game for ages. While I'm not sure that's true any more I still think it's an excellent game. I had concerns that they would somehow find a way to ruin it with a remake, and I'm pleased to report that they did not.

I have my gripes with it of course. I don't really know how something like this can't squeak out 60fps. It's not impossible to get used to, but it's certainly not preferable, especially in current year. The musical changes are a mixed bag. Some arrangements are extended and improved versions but the OST overall is more homogenized and many themes lack the oomf of the originals. Certain songs just feel like straight up downgrades.

My biggest issue is that the game feels more sluggish overall. Many menus and animations are far less snappy as a result of stylizing the game. I found this most obvious when trying to use Power Lift, which feels awful compared to the original.

Where the remake really shines is the new expressiveness in the characters and scenes. The paper and diorama theming is leaned into a little harder without totally losing the style of the original. The more egregious portions of backtracking have been remedied which is really nice, although the game still has its fair share. I don't know precisely how different the writing is, but it's still some of the best. Not many games can get me to talk to most random NPCs but this one sure does. There's a pinch of new content and I think it's really cool.

I'm happy with this remake although I would not say it's expressly better. Regardless, I'm glad people who never played it on the GameCube can try it out now in basically its full glory.