RotCH (or any of the versions: 1983, 1995, 2006, etc.) is really similar in terms of:
- MC is an anti-hero that is misunderstood by others for their heretic/unorthodox ways
- plot talks about their journey, from childhood to adulthood and how they resolve their conflicts 16 years later (YES, both have a time-skip of exactly 16 years)
- themes of friendship, justice, righteousness, family, revenge, etc.
what's different is that there's romance in RotCH
- MC is an anti-hero that is misunderstood by others for their heretic/unorthodox ways
- plot talks about their journey, from childhood to adulthood and how they resolve their conflicts 16 years later (YES, both have a time-skip of exactly 16 years)
- themes of friendship, justice, righteousness, family, revenge, etc.
what's different is that there's romance in RotCH
Both tell the same (kind of) story but the 2006 version is soooooo much better! Liu Yi Fei as Xiao Long Nu is an infinitely better choice of casting than that Michelle girl. The 2006 version is so heartfelt and addicting and Huang Xiao Ming (especially in the later episodes) is the perfect man for Yang Guo.
The 1st one to this trilogy is Legend of the Condor heroes. I liked it a lot. It was funny and had a great story line. I haven't seen the other versions but this is one should be a definite watch. The 2nd one to the trilogy is Romance/Return of the Condor Heroes. I liked the 2014 version a lot even though most people gave it a bad review. I've seen both Romance and Return of the Condor Heroes and both had its pros and cons.