If it didn't have this kind of stuff, then people would be complaining about how linear it is. Like I said, you can argue over the quality of the side content, but side content itself is expected nowadays, and is expected throughout the experience.
You can't really make an RPG like OG VII where you're shuffled along a plot for most of the game and then have some major sidequests near the end, though I wish that were still acceptable. But the standards are different now, and this isn't OG VII.
The original game still holds up to a majority of the audience so I don't agree with this take. I've never met anyone who can even agree that FF7 is linear (even though it technically is) in a objective sense because of how open the world is after Midgar.
And again, if we left Midgar there'd be so much story wise to engage with from Kalm, The Midgar Snake, Mythril Mines, Fort Condor, and Junon that you wouldn't have need for all this because it'd have so much content and even with being "linear" would be great.
I'd argue the only reason you can't make an RPG like OGVIII anymore is because we have to bloat and pad out Midgar to justify not getting out of midgar now.
The real reason this content exists is because there's not enough content in Midgar to justify it, so they're adding this stuff in. There was a game that was released that didn't need this kind of bloat. It's the original. And just saying this is "mandatory" does not make it so. In fact I'd say it's the opposite. It's only mandatory because people keep saying it is.
Maybe the real problem was taking the most linear part of the game (midgar) and keeping it confined to the only part of the game we're getting in part 1. But nah it's probably the times they are a changin'
I think there wasn't a good option to end part 1 on after Midgar without this taking another three years. What's the next pivotal area? Junon? The boat? Certainly not Mythril Mines or Ft. Condor.
I agree about the tangential story beats. I do think this is a feasible way to get players to go back into the world, into different sectors, etc. But I do think it's too organized. On some level, I don't want it to be checkbox questing. But this is just gaming today. Even The Witcher has a quest log.
Witcher has a quest log but is open world as well. You needed a quest log to keep track of things because of how much there is to do and see, with minor amounts of treasure hunts being the filler/grindy/minmaxing stuff for equipment and stuff.
We already know FF7 is chapter based, and we have no inkling of an idea of how progress will/won't transfer as of now. The last game to do full equipment transfers across sequels was like...the .hack games on PS2 Quarantine saga.
The closest after that was ME but only for story choices. So even that worries me.
The thing is that optional VII was linear but it still GAVE you freedom once you leave Midgar. You didn't have to run straight forward if you didn't want to, and that light illusion of freedom helped a lot with making the game feel like a world and not a highway.
If this game wasn't stopping right at the end of the one part of FFVII that DOES feel like a narrative highway and people had the ability to explore the world I don't think linearity complaints WOULD be super prominent. Midgar's story is generally a bit too urgent TO let the player stop and dick around a lot.
Just like I said, it wouldn't be needed because the open ended second half would allow for these types of quests to at least feel less tacked on, but all I'm going to be thinking about when playing this game is how I'm here doing rat quests and other silly chores when I could be going to Junon or something. It's a bummer.
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