i think they're trying to make it so that the modern day final fantasy player doesn't get their arsed kicked by the early FF style of, well, getting your arse kicked.

i think they are doing a good job of this and the remakes are really great games with much improved translation and presentation. also all of the extras are great adding depth to the plot. i thought FF2 in particular had an awesome extra quest.

i can see why hardcore fans don't like the lower difficulty. it'd be nice if each game had like a slightly nerfed mode and then a standard mode. but i think FF2 and 4 weren't easy by any means. FF1 was, tho.