I enjoyed my playthrough. Even though I never played the original and can see how it may have been better in many aspects, making people pissed about change of tone, cut content etc. It was still a good game that made me look forward to Rift Apart.
When I finished it, I wanted to go back and play the older games but they don't make it easy. They desperately need a modern compilation. I got one working in a PS2 emulator