The original stood out more in terms of how impressive it was for the time. I was always very impressed with how much they managed to squeeze onto that Famicom cart.

As for making it more memorable, you know I can't really think of anything; I remember most of the major events of the game pretty well. I guess it would help a lot of people if there was a stronger narrative, though, so there is some kind of emotional investment tied with events. A stronger villain might help, too, as Zande is basically an absent antagonist for most of the game, and the Cloud isn't any better.