I couldn't decide. This is hypothetical time machine stuff. The problem is that now I have read way too many crappy EU novels and seen the prequels that I can't judge accurately.

The tough thing is, Empire is a wonderful, brilliant film and a worthy sequel. The problem is that Star Wars (as it was envisioned and filmed in '77) is too self contained for a sequel. Making Vader into Luke's father was a necessary change to make a sequel (at least to make it interesting, at any rate) but it did so at the cost of changing the original story.