I think the devs have already thought extensively about it, and are not changing how they're making their game now. It's something they are acutely aware of. The dices are rolled.
Speaking of the LTD, I've wanted to make a post about chapter 11 and its nod to the LT since forever - you knew it was coming XD As I have said, the fact that the devs keep wanting new players to play the OG, be aware of the Compilation is to me one of the signs that they're not using the same tropes than in the OG. Not only LT-wise, but also the way the game acts. It's a subject I'll be touching in my analysis of chapter 11; because it's my belief that, unlike the OG by the end of the Midgar part, the Remake does give you the answer regarding the LT, and it does so as soon as chapter 11. There is definitely some smoke and use of illusion that's super interesting there, so let's go!
Chapter 11 is definitely a nod to the LT.
@odekopeko noted that there was some tension with Cloud and Tifa that started in chapter 10, in the sewers, when Cloud was evasive in his reply about Aerith and how come she was there. This was something interesting because... the girls did make friends after this, but the tension remained unanswered until chapter 11. It's also something that can only exist because Cloud and Tifa's relationship is "more than friends" at this stage. They both have feelings for each other, but Cloud doesn't remember nor understands them (I have another thread more general about Cloud, feelings and Jenova that I want to tackle) but all he knows is... that he doesn't want Tifa to misunderstand his relationship with Aerith. I think it is very clear in the way chapter 11 clears things out on the cloti side.
The first scene is when they fall in the wagon. I've seen a lot of people argue that Cloud asks Aerith how she is, but I do not think this is true:
This is the scene that he sees right after the fall (this is his POV), and there is absolutely no way for me that he only asks Aerith when clearly Tifa is still on the ground. I am of the opinion that Cloud isn't an arse, at least not in Remake, so when he sees this, he asks both girls how they are. Aerith chimes in with "Me I'm OK. Thank you", which leads both Tifa and the player to think that Cloud only asked Aerith. The tension between Cloud and Tifa grows as she coldly pass by - she did get hurt - which freezes Cloud:
Tifa is already at that point, and we can see that
Cloud is still looking at the place where Tifa fell, and Aerith wondering why he's not moving. The reason is pretty simple (because Cloud is a simple man); he's failed to protect Tifa. It's like, his number 1 priority, and he failed it. And now Tifa is pissed because she thinks he cares more about Aerith than her. To Cloud, it's big. In the sewers, the reason why he was so evasive, why so that Tifa wouldn't get bad ideas about his relationship with Aerith. However, this failed and made her more suspiscious. Now we're taking up a notch.
Next thing we know, and Aerith, seeing how scared of ghosts Tifa is, takes Cloud's arm and goes "Don't worry! We have an awesome bodyguard! It's going to be ok!" - please note that even though Cloud's heart rate goes up (oh no there's a cute girl right next to me!!! She's taken my arm, what do I do???"), he's looking straight at Tifa there. He wants to see her reaction, and clearly, he still doesn't want her to misunderstand. Then Tifa reacts by taking his other arm - heart rate goes up
- and clearly he's surprised by her reaction. The first angle is interesting, because we see him looking at her, but he agrees and the scene proceeds.
Next is "Tifa's turn". When the wagon falls on the three of them, he is closer to Aerith than Tifa. He's slightly on the right (where Aerith is), but this is where the next picture shows him:
He's not even showing a slight hesitation, he's heading straight to the left, where Tifa is. I want to add that he did help Aerith with his arm too (she was actually the one more in danger, closer to the wagon...), but he covered Tifa with his whole body. And this time, when he asks "Are you okay?", we see who he is looking at:
He's asking solely Tifa if she's ok, and Aerith still chimes in. I think this perfectly shows that in the first scene, Aerith answered because there was no reason for her to not answer. It's the same here, yet here he is specifically asking Tifa, showing her his care for her. He was able to protect her - be her hero - but also he wanted to show her that no matter what she was the important one. And the LT is answered in chapter 11 alone - where Cloud shows by his attitude to Tifa that she is "the one".
Now there's a specific thing that I talked with Peko; it was highlighted randomly by the Youtuber Materwelonz, who said during her playthrough "this game is very fast, it's almost as if it doesn't want you to sit down and think about the information they just gave you". I found this comment really interesting, and somehow put it in a corner of my mind. It is while thinking about chapter 11 again that I got around it again; by then, they had announced Ever Crisis; we had the creators claiming new fans should try the OG. It made me suspiscious. Back then I felt it, that they did not wish to push clerith like they did in the OG to further the illusion. Aerith breaks it in her own resolution that his feelings were not real. She laments it herself but she understands it and warns herself against falling for such a boy.
But, there wasn't even the need to get her resolution to get that feeling, because chapter 11 answers that, even though Cloud himself is not aware of his own feelings. But the thing is, in Remake, the illusion is maintained through the speed of the game. Remake is a very fast-paced game, because it does not want you to sit on information in general. There are breathers, like the one with Aerith on the roofs of Midgar - it is an important moment because we get to know Aerith, and the devs really wanted us to get attached to her. So it's one way they did it, we see her, her childish "t'es méchant !" to Cloud (meanie in English I suppose?), her fear of the outside, etc. We get to know her, specifically.
So to come back to chapter 11, the two "are you ok?" scenes are very fast; the first one gives a wrong impression, it furthers the idea that Cloud only asked Aerith and that Cloud may be more interested in Aerith than Tifa. Both players and Tifa are led to follow the illusion. The second save shows Cloud answering that problem that began in chapter 10. It all goes too fast for the eye to truly understand this - I had to slow down to the max to see Cloud just running immediately towards Tifa - however we see Cloud specifically looking at Tifa, for a long time. She answers, Aerith answers, and both Cloud and Tifa are still looking at each other. The broken trust is repaired, the story can go on. Even if you buy into the illusion, the fact that Cloud wanted to answer Tifa's concern is really clear - we see him frozen, we see him going all out to protect Tifa, we see him asking her specifically as if to show her that yes, she matters the most. The illusion simply entertains you with Aerith, and if you go over those scenes quickly, as the game demands, you feel that clerith and cloti have had similar scenes. The illusion is there because of the speed of the game, but the illusion does not hide which girl has Cloud's feelings, who he absolutely wants approval from. If you truly think about those scenes, the illusion can shatter. If you go like me in slomo through these scenes, then there will be no illusion.
The illusion being pushed by the game's speed is also true for the rest of the plot; you need to pause and think about what the characters say, to rewatch, to think about it truly, to absorb what they say. Or else you're just following a gust of wind, going too fast to truly understand wtf is going on. I think the way they push the illusion of Cloud being a Soldier is really well done - you can see the game slowing down for moments they want players to focus about, but then going fast when they want to further the illusion going on. It's not only about Cloud; they don't really want you to think for example that Red XIII only has a fraction of knowledge, he states things as he understands them, not necessarily as they are. And it's the same with all the characters, we get very biased views.
PS: I do have more screenshots if you want me to be more specific, choices had to be made because I only get 5 pictures
