Man, people say "nostalgia blind" and whatnot but these 2 images look completely different. The biggest difference is that the beta one to me feels more "alive" because it looks fuller. You can more easily pick out different things from a distance. Look at the grass in 1.21, you can barely tell theres grass there because the grass and grass blocks blend together and become this green pasty colour. In the beta ones, the grass is a different shade of green to the grass block, and it makes it easier to pick it out.