I think the formula for this is actually quite easy. The more you hated Final Fantasy XIII or Final Fantasy XV, the less you should play Final Fantasy VII Remake. I found it incredibly cathartic to play through Midgar again, to see the new stuff alongside the old, but I think ultimately what I loved the most was experiencing what a prestige game recreation looks like from a design standpoint. Like, there are people at Square Enix whose job it was to overhaul UI elements for precisely one 9-minute gag.

I watched this Tim Rogers video literally yesterday which has a lot of unbelievably lengthy explanations about points I largely align with. It really feels to me like Final Fantasy VII Remake is just another step along the path of Square Enix slowly conditioning fans into accepting the game that they actually want to make, which isn't an RPG at all. And, y'know, I think I'm happy to come on this journey with them—not just because I find its design fascinating, but also because I genuinely enjoyed the experience.