Think of it this way. This is not exactly a rework, since he said he might revisit the old game at some point. Therefore, there is no point in keeping the same model. Since the princess is different, the story is different (At least that's the impression I got), the model should also be different. Is the old princess iconic? Absolutely! But it makes no sense to keep the same princess, if its not a rework. And if the princess is not the same, then the model can't stay the same. She is similar, since the game is based on the previous game, but also a little different to make her unique. Personally, I can't say which one I prefer right now as I haven't seen much of the new princess.
