I want to say that it is a bit less dramatic, if only for the extended viewport. The narrow screen ratio of the SNES is a known handicap, and not just in EWJ.
However, I have played this game so many times, that I would be hard-pressed to remember what it was like doing a first blind playthrough.
FWIW, there are other games criticized for having this same kind of ‘cheap’ difficulty – where you are forced into leaps of faith and often cannot see the death trap until it is too late, for instance Rayman (from 1996). While I recall the difficulty, I also remember that it didn’t strike me as something unusual.
As far as the controls of EWJ – my conclusion was similar to yours – they are average at best. Take it directly from my review:
https://cloakedthargoid.wordpress.com/ewj-dos-windows/
>> Replaying Earthworm Jim after many years I was
>> surprised to realize that the controls are really
>> so-so. Not the controls per se, but the combination
>> of responsiveness, collision detection and platforming
>> mechanics. Firing or whipping need to be very precise
>> (and often appear to miss direct shots). Jim’s hitbox
>> feels very large and he seems to easily take damage
>> from different angles, which momentarily stuns and
>> bounces him around, making control difficult.
>> Platforming is also not easy: last-moment precision
>> jumps and catching ledges feels hit-and-miss. After
>> some practice, I usually get the rhythm right and the
>> game flows better, but I can never feel quite sure
>> whether the difficulty is intentional or due to
>> poor programming.
