This. I always consider Canon what came first. In this instance if you lived through the mid 90s and were of a certain age (I was 12-13) Final Fantasy VII was a genre defining, monumental achievement in the industry. The game was released during the golden era of the JRPG genre too. Just based on that, most us of didn't expect  the FFVIIR to be as influential and monumental a piece, and it isn't. However, I am very disappointed at how the story was handled here, as it pretty much makes the original work irrelevant at least as far the Remake is concerned.

I suspected this could be the case, as Crisis Core introduced elements (Like Genesis) that made no sense in the context of the original work. With Nomura's (the director this time around) notoriously bad storytelling prowess my fears were justified. What boggles the mind, is that perhaps a deeper retelling of the original story was all that was needed, and Nomura decided to pull "Some KH bulls*t" with a story that is still remembered by most of the original fans as the pinnacle of what that genre had to offer. It was a story held sacred by fans, and to me it took the wind out of the sails in terms of my desire to play the game.

Perhaps I should treat it as a work of fan fiction, perhaps that way I might be able to overlook Nomura's lunacy, and enjoy some of what is there. But, I don't feel like rewarding Square with 59.99 of my hard earned cash (especially during times of Pandemic crisis) for ruining one of the greatest JRPG stories of all time. This is far fetched, but I wonder if Nomura has something against the series, had he been left to his own devices he would have ruined FFXV too, it makes me wonder.

Fave genre and played hundreds if not more. FFVII,IX and VI are in my tops.

I understand that you feel betrayed or feel tricked, but you got to remember back in 2015, when they said the Remake will be a multipart series, and that the first game will be set in Midgar. Everyone was under the false impression that it'll be a 5hr game, but later in that same year SE confirmed that each part will be comparable to a full Final Fantasy game. Midgar alone being the first part of a 30-40hr game is one big confirmation that the story is expanded upon, and in other words, changed. When you put 1 and 1 together you get 2. It shouldn't come as a surprise. What surprised me was how cool the changes are, it's unfortunate some don't feel the same.

I hope that you did not indirectly spoil anything. 

I am going into it as an alternate reality to the original canon game. It is its own game, that tells a similar story based on the original events from the first game, that unfold differently. It is not a remake nor a reboot, but a completely different game altogether that pays homage to the source material (albiet incorrectly labled).

This will make some people upset, some will be in denial, and some will embrace what it is and look forward to where the new story might take them. I for one am looking forward to seeing where this new adventure based on a game I loved growing up will take me.

I've been generally avoiding spoilers, but I'm personally SUPER excited to see what changes are made and how the story and characters are altered. I still have the original FFVII in all its glory, that continuity is never going away. to me, this is an AU version of the same story but with a different plot (as in, same themes, same characters, same world, different series of events). That's what I expected, that's what I wanted from day one, and it sounds like that's what I'm getting. 

Honestly, are there people out there who literally just wanted the same exact plot over again? 

All I wanted was to play the same story of the original game but expanded to be better, with modern gameplay and graphics of course. I don't want any alternative timeline or dementors bullshit. It's okay to expand the story while keeping it faithful to the original one, but adding this is so unecessary, and if what I read is true, the next parts won't necessarily need to follow the story of the original... Bah. Good for those who like this "remake", but this is clearly not a product for me.

Well,yeah since they marketed it as a REMAKE and not a reboot. They lied to people about what it is. Even Carefully giving out a demo that feels like the original game modernized.

Yes.  Yes there are.  That's why people wanted to buy a remake, because that's generally what remakes are.

There are also people like you who would like a different story, and good for them.  And if that's what Square wanted to make, good for them too.  But they should have been clear on that from the start. 

No worries there. The remake of the remake is going to make everyone happy and will be the ultimate key to understand all reality. To make this happen, Square Enix took controversial but necessary steps with this first remake. At least that gives me comfort.