Keep forgetting to reply to this. I really like this style. But I think the sketch has something the pixel art lacks, in that it's more stylistic and abstract. What I like about this is the roughness, the angularity. Ultimately it's about your vision, but I personally hope you don't make this any more photorealistic. I'd prefer less, if anything.
I also really love the idea of keeping the 'Hawaii 84' as a mirror image, to demonstrate that it's a self portrait. I don't know if that's very over-used in art, I haven't seen it before. It just strikes me as cool and creative.