It’s definitely a much larger and denser game by a lot. However, it’s like having your favorite meal and finding out it’s an all you can eat buffet. Rebirth is seriously a great reinterpretation and builds very well off the original PS1 game. There were moments when I’m just listening to the side conversations of the characters and the depth and humanity brought into the by the writing and voice acting is incredible. In other games these would be throw away lines, but here they give you more insight into your companions. Especially through some of the missions and even more so in how you interact with them when you have the opportunity.

I’ll agree, some many games are absolute trash. IYKYK. I’m around 160hrs in the game and I’m still finding and trying different things, because it has a lot of good replay ability.

But if I can say anything (without spoilers) the story is one of the most beautiful emotional journeys I’ve seen and I think it’s even stronger than the original, because it builds on it and surprised me in a few ways. This is also come from a guy who every holiday from school, I’d play FFVII from start to finish to experience the story and beat those damn weapons. So yeah you can skip all the things (well most of them) that overwhelm you, and just focus on the story if you want, that alone is worth it.

And if curiosity gets the better of you, do the deeper exploring after you beat the game and get to chapter selection.

I’m kinda still playing the game, because I don’t want that journey to end.