Yes, because more often than not remasters or remakes fall short in certain areas compared to the original game.
For example, the soon to be released Tales of Symphonia Remastered will be 30fps across all platforms. Without knowledge of the original GC release, this might seem ok. But those who know that the original Gamecube version ran at 60fps can tell this is a downgrade from a 20 year old game.
Majora's Mask 3D might seem like a great game for those without experience with the original, but for those who know that one to the very core it's clear that the remake has changed many gameplay features for the worst (Zora swimming, boss changes, Deku hopping, etc). It is objectively a worse game than the original in a lot of ways.
Pikmin 3 Deluxe might seem like a sweet deal and an absolute win over the Wii U original, but with the loss of the pointing controls that the Wii U offered through its backwards compatibility with the Wii, it essentially lost the best and most comfortable way to play. Again, something we would not know without previous knowledge.
Darksiders II Deathinitive Edition butchers the original's color scheme and lightning, making it look a lot more washed out and taking away its visual identity.
These are just some examples, but I could go on forever.
I think it's vital to know the original game in order to prevent companies from pulling scams and being lazy. Remasters should always improve upon the original releases, and in order to make sure this holds true, we need to know our past as a industry.
