Honest opinions about the remake.

[SlySilentLynx]

So I'm assuming basically 99.9% of everyone here are people who played the original game first all those years back, so I just wanted to ask what everyone thinks of the remake so far by itself and compared to the original.

Personally I'm enjoying it so far and the new art they did seems a bit off imo but fitting.

[Rayniiie]

Tbh I liked Garry's old sprite more than his new one, but all of the others look so amazing and improved in this version! And even Garry's new sprite is growing on me now lol, it's really not a big deal. Plus I like how they made some of the puzzles more balanced/easier to understand (like how you can no longer skip most of the yellow area by knowing that the tree door's code is 166, and how it's significantly easier to keep track of what you have and haven't done in the brown/violet areas and what you're still missing in order to do). I also like the way of accessing the true gallery better in this version. Overall, I'm incredibly happy with how they did the new version ^^;

[Aitoronjas]

Honestly it was such a good remake. there are some things that i liked more on the original version (like the face of the girl in the painting when you first get the rose) but it was a nice remake overall.

[Court Jester]

Yeah, I think I preferred the heavier shading on the old dialog sprites as well. I do like the wider range of expressions, as well as the new mirror poses, so I'll live.

Bit surprised they swapped out the default RPG Maker sound effects for new ones. I thought it might've been a legal issue, but looking at the game files it's done in MZ(?). Not exactly a bad thing but felt pretty weird not hearing the stock monster_hiss.ogg any time a hand shows up.

Other than that, fond of the changes overall! I like that the dialog system adds more to read without changing the actual flow of the game, that they shortened some of the less-interesting hallways, and I appreciate that the chase sequences are more focused + less RNG than they were in the original.

[Snakes can love]

I'm so excited for new Ib content in 2022 that any changes would've been fine with me to be honest. However. I'm not a big fan of the new art, or the UI for that matter, but there's absolutely nothing wrong with it on its own. The one thing that I did notice the whole time while playing was the health bar. I absolutely love the changing portrait in the original with a new drawing for each time the rose lost a petal, but the new one is harmless. When comparing the two games, there's bound to be loads that the new one doesn't live up to in my opinion, but that's really just the nostalgia talking. My game always crashed when I got the little cutscene with Careless Carrie, and when it didn't here I was so relieved. So the fact that there's a bit more technical polish is absolutely a step up.

[SammiSafetypin]

I would say that, doing my best to be objective and put aside the fact that Ib has been my favorite game for years, it's still an excellent remake. I wasn't used to a few things, like replaced sound effects, but it probably makes sense that some stock rpgmaker sounds were replaced LOL. The new spritework is really really nice, and I like that the style was kept and merely improved. I loved being able to zoom in on stuff just to admire the sprite work. I'll admit I slightly miss the old portraits, but the new ones are really pretty so that's okay. Mary's angry expressions I think are a particular improvement.

Technical fix-ups are much appreciated-- back in the day I screwed up my saves and couldn't access the true gallery, and also my game would crash trying to read the Carrie Careless story. So the fact that the former is now a menu option and the latter doesn't crash my game are very very appreciated. I miss the old rose meter I guess? Beyond that I have little to complain about, stressful chases were made stressful-er in a good way, and I loved being able to control the nightmare sequence since it just made me feel even less in control. There are bits I miss for nostalgia's sake, but in the end it's probably a good thing the very RNG-based maze early in the gray area is gone, and so on. So I would say I'm very satisfied as a long-time fan :D

[RenoGT]

It's a good remake, but I don't really consider it a replacement for the original; it's more of a reimagining, in my opnion. Rather than one being better than the other, I just think they're different. It really feels like a remake made for old heads, though. Especially considering the new puzzles added (which are all great, by the way). I definitely prefer the original's graphics, though, and I also think that the original had better atmosphere overall. Still, it's definitely good, and I'll have to play to more to really cement my opinion.

[MGG]

As a huge fan of the original free release, it's worth a try.

There are more pros than cons with the higher production value and quality of life features that do a ton like the improved sprite work, zoom-in feature, audio control, and talk command for your partner just to name a few.

Though I feel the game flow for more casual playthroughs in the original is slightly smoother in my opinion. Mainly some puzzles let you tackle them in any order you please, while the original has more of a set order, plus some puzzles I liked are absent which is a shame. I also would have liked 8-way directional movement and hard mode but oh well.

But regardless, I still had a great time with this remake and will be returning to it for another 20+ playthroughs. It doesn't replace the original but I can recommend it alongside the original.