The scene isn't as cliché as it's force-fed to the players. There was no foreshadowing besides the theories about GF causing memory loss in the control panel. I wouldn't even count Irvine hesitating to shoot Edea as foreshadowing either, because it's never explained if it was because he knew Edea is Matron, or if it was really because he never shot a human being before. As Ryushikaze said, just Irvine dropping a random line once in a while about "the past" would have been better, even if it was confusing to the players and the rest of the cast prior to the flashback. Heck, even Cid could have dropped hints once in a while, whether it was intentional or accidental.

And again, as Ryushikaze said, no follow-up. They all just... kinda accept it and are the bestest buddies ever? Huh, yeah. I'm sure if I discovered four of my co-workers and I were childhood friends and we all forgot each other, I doubt we'd all become such close friends so fast. What's with growing up in different environments, defining our personalities over the years, etc... It could be possible, yes, but that wouldn't happen after two minutes.