Disclaimer: I have played both LBA and LBA 2. This remake is fine, and all things added up, I can recommend the game. It's good that the original story hasn't changed too much. The remake retains many unusual good features also found in the original game, which I like. The performance is very good, even on an older laptop computer.

The biggest improvement over the original game is the overall much better level design that is LBA2-like, but with modern computer power in mind. Levels are much bigger, and better refined. I really appreciate it.

Luna is a controversial character, and I don't like the temper she expresses; the implementation of Zoé is well done though, and I dare say that Zoé is a better-developed character in this remake. Overall, this remake has a better character design than LBA or LBA 2.

I can only guess, but in the original game, Twinsen was apparently supposed to ride on a horse. However, this was never fully implemented; the (blue) horse was present, you could talk to it, but you couldn't do anything with it. It's nice to see that in this remake the stable was replaced with a costume shop.

The voice actors, music, and sound effects are MUCH better when compared with the 1994 version of the game. Dialogues feel much more natural and less like a poorly translated version of something that only makes sense in French. This version can also be played in English. Playing in French just to understand the hints and jokes is no longer necessary.

The downsides cannot be left untold though. The controls are awful! Someone decided to implement screen-relative movement, which doesn't work at all when the game is played with a keyboard. Twinsen can only move in the direction of the arrow keys, i.e., in four distinct directions (0, 90, 180, or 270 degrees). Making smooth turns is impossible. Twinsen cannot make steps backwards in this version of the game! Back in 1994, we got infinite controls… This new control system becomes a significant problem when the level is designed at a 45 degree angle. Navigating the Temple of Bù is the most frustrating part because Twinsen cannot move in the direction of the level. The movement is in fact so bad that an aimbot had to be built into the game. Whoever designed this made a really bad decision! In 1994, Twinsen had an awkward movement, but well, that was 1994, and it was at least playable. Eventually, this was fixed in LBA2. Compared with LBA2, this remake is much worse in terms of movement and controls. Please give us LBA2 movement!

Speaking of the Temple of Bù: In the original game, the Temple was much bigger and contained bonus levels that were removed from this version of the game.

Why do enemies recognize Twinsen as the fugitive despite being disguised as a Rabbibunny? This makes little sense.

The art style is very reduced. In terms of animations, this game is well-made, but Yael Baroz' 1994 art style fit the game better. The art style found in the pre-generated cut scenes of LBA 2 would have made this perfect, and it's disappointing to see that this wasn't done. In certain areas of the game, e.g., the white-leaf desert, the graphics appear so reduced and low in texture quality that the 1994 vector graphics found in the original game beat what is presented in this version. The only reason why the original game is worse in graphics quality is the low resolution of 640x480, but if the original game had a 4K option, it would beat this remake's graphics, despite being 30 years older.

What I disliked the most in the original game was the poor travelling system, especially when using motor vehicles. This was improved in this remake. However, the amount of improvement is so low that it's negligible: The car in Proxim City was replaced with a proper level – every other motor vehicle remains the same as in the 1994 original game. Back in 1994, CPU power, programming and so on was limited, I understand that. But we have had 30 years of progress in video games that I somehow cannot see here. LBA2 – despite being a 1997 game – has better vehicle implementation. The inter-island travelling system is worse than in the original game. It is not possible to go from the Himalayai to Brundle Island; Twinsen has to go to Tippet Island first. This is also true for some other routes that should be possible, but aren't. Using the catamaran is quite cumbersome, and it can be difficult to trigger the travel menu, especially on Rebellion Island.

The playtesters apparently have not tried to play the game in reverse order. I can already see myself getting stuck on Rebellion Island. I also figured that certain scripts that should only trigger once may be triggered more than once. For example, the rebels in the Rebellion Camp on Rebellion Island tell Twinsen to free the colonel even if the colonel has been freed. The Rebellion Camp is also still quite lively despite Zoé and the other Rebels having set up a new camp in the Rabbibunny village. It would be easy to set up a script that deactivates NPCs on Rebellion Island if Zoé has set up camp in the Rabbibunny Village.

Why were the cars on Principal Island, Proxima Island, Rebellion Island, and the Himalayai kept? They could have been replaced with good level design. Why can we still not control the hovercraft or the tank? The tank is still a cutscene. LBA2 had a motor vehicle with a cannon (Twinsen's car), which would have been so cool to play around with in this remake.

The save-game system is a step back when compared with LBA 2. Please implement LBA 2 savegames.

Cut scenes still feel like they were coded by Sebastien Viannay in 1994-style, just like in the original game. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I don't think that this is necessary anymore with modern PC hardware power.

There are some glitches still in the game that luckily weren't too much of a problem in my first playthough. In my second playthrough, however, I managed to get stuck at Port Belooga. Neither the Pirate nor the Sailor talk to me, and since I'm out of fuel, I cannot go back to the Military Camp. This is a serious bug and renders the game unplayable. The entire soil at Port Belooga is flooded which it ought not to be. I reckon the level needs some more work. I also figured that leaving the last level is impossible. In fact, the level design is incomplete in a way that leaving the construction site and going back to the fortress cannot be done. At the point in the game where the road to the fortress should be, there is just nothing. Going back to where the fortress should be causes Twinsen to fall out of the level and drown. This makes unlocking some achievements impossible.

One of my favorite childhood games, beautifully remade and sensibly modernized.
Really hoping for a remake of the second game as well!

It'd be very hard to capture the original's feel. It's not as childish as the sequel, it's more serious, it dealt with ideas like dictatorship, censorship, oppression, etc. Even though it did contain some infantile elements (silly voice acting in part, animal-like characters), the game felt mysterious, even gloomy at times. Amazingly having just turned 30, LBA1 was unlike any other 1994 game I can think of. Higher resolution than most regular games, CGI cutscenes, 3D characters, moody and elaborate orchestral music, atmospheric sound effects (I still remember my first time hearing the ocean waves in Citadel port, or the Hamalayi snow crunching under Twinsen's feet, and being sooo immersed).

I don't think the remake stood a chance at fully capturing the feel or the multifaceted beauty of the original (because it was lightning in a bottle), although it does improve on its more frustrating elements (combat annoyances, bullets knocking you back, wall-hitting, Bu puzzles, no detailed maps, etc.) It brings back a more infantile tone, akin to LBA2, as it does feel aimed at kids way more than LBA1 was. The polygon count is low, I mean I was looking at the inventory screen and was struck by how even the original's items seemed higher-poly (or the cutscenes, which use ingame models, seem lower poly than the original's). Animations too, I give the upper hand to the original - in the remake, if Twinsen faces one way and you press the opposite direction, Twinsen just instantly faces the other way, with no inbetween frames, which seems janky. The music too seems less memorable than the original's - even though the melodies are largely the same, they seem less complex or elaborate somehow, less impactful, like there are some missing notes or something...

I know I sounded rather negative thus far, but the remake does have its own beauty too. I love the seamless islands, they look beautiful. Just looking at the Citadel or Principal island maps, I was struck by how pretty they looked. Twinsun Cafe on Tippet Island also looks stunning. Heck, some might even prefer the minimalistic stylization of the remake, which feels more deliberate as a style than the original's isometric repetitiveness.

Though a bit pricey I think, I do recommend it, because it's far from bad, and I love all things LBA. Most of all, I'd love for more people to (re)discover the original!