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rebirth has more content, but there's so many questionable design choices. annoying room designs, op items, items that just downgrade you, very obnoxious enemy designs, most of the new characters are either underwhelming or really horribly designed just to be a "challenge", and the soundtrack is... meh.
however the framerate is better, synergies work properly, and with the inclusion of modding most of these problems can be mitigated.
i would not say rebirth replaces the original, and is certainly not the definitive isaac experience... but it can be fun, especially with mods.
Calling the frame rate difference between the original and the remake ''better'' is an understatement. The original game's framerate can really drop in certain places, making the game appear in slow motion and it's really offputting controls wise. The game also, at best, runs at 30 FPS compared to the remake's 60 FPS. Not a dealbreaker necessarily, but the smoothness in control is very apparent.
The original game is buggy. Really buggy. Sometimes it's beneficial, sometimes it can affect your progress(IIRC you can permanently lose Endings on your stats screen if you die to The Sheol boss at a certain playthrough). There's a rare chance of instantly dying in boss rooms as well and this is far from the only gameplay affecting bug.
As for room designs, while there are rooms that can be extremely hard to avoid damage in, they seem to be far less common than in the original where there are rooms that seem basically impossible to do without damage. Sometimes, this issue can be mitigated with flight(which for doing the no damage achievements is basically mandatory unlike in the remake) but other times you just have to hope you get lucky.
Enemies that chase you in the original game are your worst nightmare, as outrunning them can be difficult(and it doesn't help that one type of them can regenerate if you don't focus fire on them for too long). Due to the better controls and overall smoother experience in the remake, the chasing enemies aren't as big of a threat.
In regards to op items, from what I've played, to beat the original game you either need the Guppy transformation and fast tears or an explosive weapon(Doctor Fetus, Mega Fetus, Ipecac). There are very powerful items in the remake as well, but I haven't found one that could take you through all the bosses.
On the topic of bosses, the remake(and its DLCs) bosses are far superior IMO. Stuff like The Womb 2 boss actually becoming somewhat climactic in the remake while being a joke in the original. The DLC bosses especially have a bullet hell sort of style to them, which makes the fight pretty tense. This is without mentioning that some bosses even have a counter to overpowered builds in the form of damage resistance, something that the original game lacks from what I've seen.
The music is subjective and is up to preference, so if that's an important factor for you then just listen to a few tracks as that'll help you get the feel that each soundtrack is going for.
The new characters(referring to the DLCs here as well) have far more variety than the ones in the original. Some of them have their own unique mechanics and none of them really feel ''horribly designed'' in my experience(though Magdalene and Samson are still basically Isaac with a twist that makes them worse).
There are definitely annoying enemies in the remake, can't argue with that. But the original has them too, perhaps in lesser numbers due to the lesser enemy variety in general.
As for synergies and modding, the remake wins. No competition.
I am not trying to downplay the quality of the original as it's still a very fun game to play even today. What I am trying to state is that, at least for me, the remake feels like a far more refined and finished version of what the original vision for the original game was. It has most of everything the original game has but it also just has so much more, especially when you factor in the DLCs. The original is a classic, but if you don't have any interest in its history or just want to play a fantastic game outright, I recommend the remake. If you want to start from the original and work your way up to the remake, that's great as well. Whatever your choice is, it's not a bad one as both are great games. Well, the original game is far cheaper so there's that. And the original game also has a special Hard mode that isn't present in the remake(the remake's hard mode is different). I heard it's garbage but I haven't played it yet, so I can't commentate on it personally. Both games also have worthwhile DLC, so that is recommended as well.
TL;DR: Both are great. Probably better off starting with original and them moving onto the remake.
Edit: forgot to mention that the original game, while also having framerate issues, is more demanding than the remake and doesn't have high resolution support. It also doesn't have Steam Overlay support and the achievements can glitch out, making you have to do a certain process to get Steam to register them. Keep that in mind if you decide to get the original and you don't see Steam achievements pop up. Also the game doesn't have native controller support unlike its remake, so keep that in mind as well.
My point was really just: If you want to play isaac, play the original. If you want to play some sort of fan game that tries to expand on isaac's gameplay (mostly by just ADDING AND ADDING things), then play rebirth. Not saying the original is perfect if you don't take the framerate issue into account, but it certainly understood what it was trying to do much more than rebirth and its dlcs.
I suppose I can describe my feelings on the games like this: I play original when i want something memorable and challenging. I play rebirth when i want stupid silly fun with crazy synergies + mods.
Nowadays, I don't care much for mods hence I am talking purely vanilla here(though the tinted rocks in the Womb levels could be a tad bit more obvious). From the challenges I've played, they're nowhere near as hard or as interesting as the ones in the remake and its DLCs(Meat 4 Evar would be a smooth ride if Meat Boy didn't get stuck at the top door in the Depths II fight, otherwise it's easy. 9 Lives is also easier than just playing the game normally as you start off with a Guppy item which helps with the transformation AND you can get other achievements in challenges, unlike in the remake). And even if you can get a lot more broken in the remake, the original still has its own game winning exploits. The difficulty thing is subjective but I can see why the original game could be considered harder. It probably is, but that's more a testament to how smooth the remake is and not how balanced the original is(and the original has questionable balance choices as well).
Overall, I'd summarize my feelings on the two games as this:
-Afterbirth+(and soon, Repentance assuming it comes out functional and not like the disaster that was the Afterbirth+ launch) is the game I play when I want interesting challenges, fun items and synergies, variety and overall enjoyment and a ''sense of progression''.
-The original I play to see where the remake came from and to observe and notice how much things have changed and/or improved in the remake. And it's a fun game to play in general, but it's just a lesser Rebirth in my eyes.
I don't think either of those games are without flaws and, in a way, I can see why people might even consider them different games. They could very well be, honestly. And I don't know how you define an ''Isaac'' experience, but in my eyes Rebirth, Afterbirth and Afterbirth + are all great ''Isaac'' experiences. Lots of poop, lots of humour and underneath it all, an extremely depressing story. I think both games are worth playing. But I don't think there'll ever be a point in which I'll prefer the original over its remake. Though if you do so, more power to you.
And as for OP, I stand by what I said. Either get the original first and then the remake, or if you want to get just one then go along with the remake. Just be warned that the original is buggy, occasionally laggy and has quite serious technical issues, though it's far from unplayable and it's still a worthwhile experience whichever game you choose.
Back in stone age yes binding of isaac was funny and you played it long maybe even 200H, because there was not much in said genre. But now? Even rebirth looks very outdated / imbalanced / badly implemented. I wouldn't touch rebirth, afterbirth or even repentance ( I'm suprised it wasn't released already feels like a project from 2018 )
If you want a more hellish challenge i can really recommend currently Enter the gungeon. Even though also abit older, but at least it got a great functional couch coop mode. The artstyle is better. The OST is better. It runs butter smooth and the unlock system is much more encouraging. And even the small NPCs got small lore and charm.
Enter the gungeon has flawless dual stick gamepad support.
https://www.gog.com/game/enter_the_gungeon
But now is flooded with roguelites. Graphic-wise there are alot better altneratives. Even that is more gorey /darker:
https://www.gog.com/game/blasphemous_digital_deluxe_edition
Or try Dead cells (beaufitul looking), A Robot named fight, Shovel knight (simple retro controls - alot of lore / story mode), hollow knight, hades. Myriards of alternatives. Besides all those games work flawlessly with gamepad. Both BoI feel very awkward with gamepad.
https://www.gog.com/game/dead_cells
This is on sale i think
Only buy flash binding of isaac, if you wanna research history and see how rogue-lites looked in their infancy :p
"Super nintendo" BoI afterbirth is not worth it at all. The market has much better looking / playing games. Afterbirth has not even legacy or anything. It is like a fan game with random mod workshop. Quick cashgrab for retro gamer.
With all due respect, I don't think many other roguelikes/roguelites have captured the essence that makes Isaac so unique. Gungeon, Slay the Spire, and other games of that kind are definitely great, but they lack the adaptability, variety, and sheer amount of content present in Rebirth.
The reason so many people pump hundreds of hours into Isaac is because it's a game that expands in depth and scope the more you play through it. There's always another completion mark, challenge, or secret to hunt for. The skill curve of Isaac almost entirely comes down to decision making and risk taking; balancing resources is the name of the game. Additionally, Isaac focuses first and foremost on making runs incredibly distinct. With other roguelikes, attempts often bleed together without a ton of difference. Isaac's wild array of items and consistent use of RNG makes almost every run unpredictable and exciting; you'll be sure to remember all of the crazy events you saw in a single run.
Anyways Kinda a pointless post here, but I feel like it's incredibly misguided to present Isaac as some prototype for other games that came later down the line. The games certainly aren't for everyone, but it's silly to act like they're no longer worth experiencing
Also Afterbirth+ is the best version to play. No question about that.
I can't believe you said playing a seemingly highly skill-based game that depends on RNG is a good thing. But I guess that's the idea of roguelites, so take this with a grain of salt.
Unpredictable? Yes.
Exciting? Highly unlikely if you're sane.
You can even stretch it a bit and say it's borderline gambling.
Yes, I think it's intrinsically part of Isaac's identity. While your gambling comparison paints the game in a rather negative light, it does at least capture the essence of the thrill that comes from uncertainty. I really don't see how it's any different from playing a game like XCOM, or heck any tabletop game in the vein of D&D.
I don't think you completely understood what I meant. The game is certainly RNG dependent, but winning is barred behind making smart decisions and adapting to what's thrown at you. As I said, the challenge of Isaac is internalizing the game's rules through experience and being able to optimize your rewards on any given run. Learning the best use for bombs, keys, cards, pills, items, devil deals, etc. is a huge aspect of what divides experienced players from beginners. The game's mechanical depth expands the more you play it, and even hundreds of hours in I was still discovery new details and tweaking my play style. That is a valid representation of skill, even if it's not what you're looking for in a game.
As you said, RNG is an inherent aspect of all roguelikes; every game in the genre that I've ever played has had individual runs where I've lose because of a bad dice roll. There are certainly fair critiques of Isaac's design (many of which are being addressed in the newest DLC Repentance), but pointing to the randomized elements at face value is not really an insightful way of approaching discussion.
Makes me feel as if I didn't tried hard enough to 'master' it or whatever the hell people say that's just a variation of "git gud". It's a grotesque loop enough to make me put this game at rest, hopefully for good, because the game was expensive and buying more DLC is just a retarded option for me now.
Ask yourself: Why are you doing this? Why is it fun to keep trying, over and over, like OG arcade games back in the day?
That's why I compared it to gambling. Everybody aspires to get that one completion mark with that one character, THRICE. For the sake of completion.
It's addictive, for me, to the point I can't play anything else on my library.
I don't know a single soul who plays Isaac and say to themselves the game's replayability is awesome because of all the stuff you can do, no way.
It's because of all the stuff you HAVE to get. You're so close to the dragon, after all.
Probably because nothing seems to have the same appeal anymore, anyway. Eh.
Hey dude, if you're getting that frustrated with the game then it's totally fine to stop. That's not a joke, I legitimately don't think you should play the game if you don't enjoy it. I don't really understand why anybody should take a masochistic approach to games in which you squeeze every bit of content out in order to feel like you didn't give up or waste your money.
I'm sorry if anything I've said has come across as a blanket "get gud" response; I really hate people who do that in an unhelpful manner. Talking down to people who are struggling with a game is just kinda rude, and that wasn't my intent.
I know, it's cool.
This experience just makes me think everybody pretends the game doesn't constantly screw you over and over.
The masochism/gambling comparison is about the REAL objective of the game (The one everyone strives for, wanting or not), and the possibilities of the game itself. No good, great or the best chance can compensate for the bad, horrible and worst chances the game can give you.
...You sure the supposedly final DLC is fixing this?