A small difference there is also that while in the OG, Cloud is also clearly seen changing, in the Remake he's shown to actively make an effort to change. We see him reflect on his negative behavior, and try to force himself out of it, it's not just gradual without him noticing, it's the result of him interacting with people, reflecting, and adjusting.Yes, I really enjoyed how he started to soften and care about everyone there. It shows that Cloud is not an arsehole, and I quite like that. I think the most interesting thing to think about, is that Cloud arrived at Midgard but was very robot-like, in the way he's like "not interested" and trying to be cool and not caring. But this melts quite quickly, and he starts caring about everybody right away. And this is shown not only through Tifa and Aerith this time around, but also through the trio and Barret. As I see it, the sidequests can look not so interesting, but they force -Cloud- to get interested in what's going on around him, in people who are caring for him, etc. In that way, Remake is really very well-done.
It's like, he's becoming more humane as he deals with humans.
The most obvious examples of this are with the High-five with Aerith, and comforting Tifa. Aerith wants to high-five, he doesn't do it, she's hurt, he looks at his hand, he reflects, and then adjusts, and afterwards he's shown doing it without a struggle.
With Tifa she's in pain, he can't react, he looks at his hands, then adjusts, and forces himself to do the right thing.
Marle Chides him, he listens to Tifa in "alone at last".
He remembers the promise, and actively goes back on his earlier dismissal in order to be better.
But it's also extremely clear with the trio, which I didn't expect. Tifa tells him to play nice, and when going with Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge, when given the option not to hear jessies story, he goes "no, I wanna hear it". That's him actively trying to be better. When he goes from ignoring Wedge to telling him he should be proud, that's not Cloud being different, and acting the way he is now, no, that's still him out of his comfort zone, but actively going out of his way to BE out of his comfort zone.
Remake Cloud isn't being changed by other people, he's changing himself FOR other people. And in that drive, I see "real Cloud" wanting to come out.