I kinda felt the same way, actually.
But then I realized, apart from the map being devamped to its gen 2 appearance, replacing all the Pokemon around Hoenn with gen 2's more or less completely rebalances the wild encounters, the trainer battles, the gym battles, the elite 4 battles
...the entire game. and it still feels nostalgic but...fresh.
I wouldn't mind having access to gen 3 Pokemon postgame though HINT HINT
But then I realized, apart from the map being devamped to its gen 2 appearance, replacing all the Pokemon around Hoenn with gen 2's more or less completely rebalances the wild encounters, the trainer battles, the gym battles, the elite 4 battles
...the entire game. and it still feels nostalgic but...fresh.
I wouldn't mind having access to gen 3 Pokemon postgame though HINT HINT