The ultimate critique here I think, is if the body of work (i.e. the game) is an expression of genuine creative passion or merely a deliberated corporate and profit-driven exercise of minimalist effort. People look for that core of authenticity and go from there, not just in terms of it's themes, but the actual expression of the final product.
I don't think anyone is expecting a workers revolutionary manifesto in the shape of a video game to sail out of a Japanese corporate video game company in 2020. If they are, then they're highly mistaken and expecting blood from a stone. I think the real thing players are looking for, is an authenticity of experience, and something beyond a rote or derivative work/product. An interesting, challenging and engrossing experience that gets them stimulated and thinking among themselves. It's what separates memorable, popular and acclaimed games from derivative AAA titles that last a year before they're traded out for the next.
The FFVII of today certainly doesn't turn a blind eye to the harsh realities of it's world. I don't believe FFVII-R's surreal, and lofty fantasy themes regarding it's own meta-plot, are necessarily to the exclusion of it's more poignant and real-world relevant topics. Is it a lot to juggle? Sure, but that's never stopped FFVII before with it's wacky, whimsical RPG antics in 1997, and never stopped any other FF since. We're confronted with the same conflict of humanity vs. nature, the on-the-nose critique of depleting natural resources, the underclass struggle against what's essentially a corporate fascist world ruling regime, and the search of true identity within the psychological maze of personal trauma. Add to that the intentional disinformation and public smearing that the main characters have to endure, the tragedy of losing it all to forces far greater than the individual, all while weighing doing immediate good for the people hurt by their fighting versus staying the course to achieve their larger goals. Oh, and revenge. When you look at how the Remake handles the characters it brings to life amongst all these elements, you can plainly see this is not the work of a phoned-in project looking to cash in on itself. They reflect a wider humanity and character than we've seen before, and it's certainly more than what we had to work with in the comparable section of the game. Barret's character has been given the respect and wholeness that could only be interpreted before. Cloud's ego is far more fleshed out with the cracks of his cool persona highlighted in humorous and interesting ways. Aerith's vibrancy, Tifa's emotions and friendship, and the wider look at how they all interact are features that highlight the most of what FFVII is, regardless of what some magical fairy show we take Chapter 18 to be. That's all still going to be present, and to somehow think it won't ignores the reality of game development and the writing behind it in the first place. This was ultimately all intentional. How much it all fits together in the Remake is something that will only be apparent once we see the characters go through more and more of this plot, so we can do a relative comparison to actually see what the work itself communicates. There's still so much of FFVII that is left to cover, and trying to gauge how much of the Remake will still be in line with itself when we've only barely scratched the surface of it's coverage, is like astrology at this point.
