There's a huge difference, you know, if the game is run at its design resolution instead of pixel-doubled / upscaled. But for the '1 x' option to work you need special hardware (15-kHz video card - RGB monitor and cable), and the truth is you could get the very same result at '2 x' (640 x 480) by also using a scan converter with those or, better yet, if the TV has a deinterlace feature. I can't believe the author put that '1 x' mode (assuming it properly works) for 15-kHz users or for the sake of true pixel art, since he would have added a scanlines effect simulator for the non-native modes / hi-res users. Nevertheless, it's nice having the option there. It's quite common on low-res PC games, actually, since many of them just use your desktop resolution, which just needs to be at 320 x 240.
Said that --and mentioning beforehand I've only seen some screenshots--, I don't find any appeal in this game's visuals. I don't think it's "aesthetically terrible" or "badly drawn" either (at least in it's 1 : 1 form), just insultingly mediocre. When you take the elementary route, you need brilliant designs like, say, Rainbow Islands'.
I never had any interest in it and after reading your review (I only wonder why it got 2/5) I've almost lost the little interest I had in the remake. So I don't see myself ever playing it, sorry.