Yes, they really made vast improvements in this regard in 12. The remaster holds up beautifully, and the original on a CRT is a delight because it understood how to work within the limitations of the hardware, etc.

Also, just the scene direction in general is a lot better in 12—and that's something that comes with experience in the years between the two releases. I keep reminding myself that FFX came out less than a year after FFIX, so it's really building off those 32-bit RPGs.