Worse(or at least more confusing) story and characters compared to the original, but more than makes up for it with the variety in combat that allows more creativity and skill expression. Enemies in the late game still tend to be a bit too tanky but that's no longer the sole source of difficulty and the vast majority of them don't spam heals. The super knockback mechanic is fantastic.
Oddly enough, some complaints about the 'low budget' feeling from the first remain, notably the lack of sound effects during the Glitch attacks(is this intentional, because, ya know, glitch? It comes off as cheap, regardless.) and lack of variety in character and background animations during the VN portion. All in all, it's a sizeable improvement in gameplay and a small downgrade as a VN, so a small improvement from the first overall.