To me, this is the perfect remake. It modernises the graphics while staying true to the art style of the original game, and keeps core gameplay mechanics intact while introducing some small new ones that don't intrude on the nostalgia. The quality-of-life changes are great (early hidden treasure finder, restoration item shortcut, equip item after buying) and the changes to timed hits make landing them all the more satisfying.

The rescore is excellent, and as much as I love the original version of the soundtrack—which you can switch to at any time from the menu—I couldn't bring myself to do it, as some of the new arrangements were just too good. It's still a pretty easy game and I'd have enjoyed the addition of a 'hard mode' beyond the additional post-game boss fights, but it's still an iconic game I struggle to find issues with beyond some small occasional framerate issues— and the fact they didn't keep the name of Exor's mouth component as Neosquid.

I enjoy this as a remake so much that I'll probably play this instead of the original, in future. ArtePiazza should definitely be given more remakes.