Well, technically it IS a graphical upgrade, the lighting is more effective and natural and the textures are better. However on a personal level you might have been screwed by some element that changed which altered your precise appearance.

I got SUPER SUPER lucky, my character is completely identical to her original appearance to a T, except 2 tiny points but those 2 points make her look even better than she did before (lips are more naturally lustrous and hair is thicker and more realistic). So I am very lucky, not everyone got the same roll of the dice and when we stare at our character for 10 years even the tiniest detail which another person would not see can break that link. So really its not up to anyone to judge how someone else feels about how their character looks.