More impressions:
- The game feels much faster/better paced now thanks to stuff like Bros. Attacks going much quicker, being able to easily swap which move you want to do & not having to switch who's in the lead, moves like High Jump being performed faster, being able to hold R to fast forward (which is super nice since the script is almost word for word the same & lets you get past some padded cutscenes quicker), etc.
- Having a map is nice, especially with the ability to use pins to mark locations, which is what I'll be doing for finding those buried beans early on when I don't have the ability to dig yet.
- Saving anytime is real nice as well.
- If I had to nitpick, it's a shame seeing some of the specially designed characters like toads, koopas, etc. be gone in exchange for the generic ones.
Either way, as someone who ADORED this game as a kid, first impressions have been great.