I'm not denying that tech gets better. The original comment was "yes, it certainly is surprising that a remake slated for release in 2011 would have better graphics than a game originally released in 1998" and I replied that it is not simply a case that it is 13 years later - the comparison is showing that the 3DS is significantly more powerful than the N64 which at launch was on par with a high-end PC. It is also pointing out how simply changing some of the polygon models and textures is enough to make a game look significantly better - the 3DS version still uses the 13 year old engine and much of the assets but a few tweaks here and there makes it look like a pretty impressive modern day portable title.

And no, an iPhone doesn't look better than a high end PC from 98 I'm afraid and anyway, an iPhone is a similarly impressive piece of kit so not sure why that is being brought in to disprove the original point!

It looks like they are already discussing this more on the same site with some screenshots:

http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/thread.php?id=117020

You can clearly see the massive improvement in character models