2-1 is mainly worse because it was so much longer, with a plot that was no more intricate than 1-1's. In fact, it was mostly the same as 1-1's! It just felt dragged out as a result. Some nice moments, and a pretty fun villain, but it as just dull because it took so long while being less interesting overall.
Now, 1-1 may be simple, but it was an incredibly engaging, well paced introduction that drew you into the game very well. It being so short may have limited what it could do, but it used all that time effectively to tell a simple but interesting story, and an excellent introduction overall. It is still one of the weakest cases, probably second weakest, but I couldn't have asked for a better introduction to the series.
--
Something something something
^Poorly disguised anti-caps sig