Although I really hate the Special Editions for ANH and ROTJ, ESB’s Special Edition is different to me. It doesn’t really change much from the film other than a few things like Ian playing the Emperor and showing the wampa creature, both of which in my opinion actually improve the film. Only the “Bring my shuttle” line being changed really bothered me.
I especially liked that they opened up Sky City, an idea that actually came from Kirshner himself. Though the matte paintings of the Theatrical Cut hold a special place in my heart, the CGI rendition of the city is still acceptable and thankfully it’s the only time a practical effect was replaced, which is another thing I love: One thing that pissed me off about ANH’s Special Edition was taking practical effect shots and replacing them with CGI, especially because the CGI looks worse than the original shots (Even for the Death Star battle, but for some reason most people actually think the CGI version of that one looks better) but ESB’s Special Edition doesn’t do that and while it still adds some CGI shots: No practical effect was replaced, something I really appreciate.