Pretty much every remake I can think of does primarily one of two things or both.  Bring the gameplay up to modern standards or bring the audiovisual package up to modern standards.  I cannot think of a single remake that has diverged so drastically from the original story.  

Look at it from another way.  Why has there been such a great demand for a FFVII remake for the last 20 years or so?  Obviously, there was some aspect of the product that people loved and wanted to keep. If no aspect of the game is the same as it was, then it's not really a remake, and it's not what people were demanding.  

There's a simple solution to this though, which is being honest with consumers.  No need for hints or making them infer there will be story changes.  Don't call it a remake if it's not "truly a remake" and tell them you're going to make major story changed.  

I'm sorry, there is no way you can argue that the particular changes made here are even vaguely necessary.  There is no way you can argue it was necessary to have the cast 

There may be changes necessary to modernize a story.  These are not the kind of changes people are complaining about.

The way I, a non-fan looking in from the outside, see it, the problem isn't that the story is different. Rather, the problem is that the story is different for needlessly complicated and contrived reasons (apparently there's time travel and alternate universes and stuff). That's what people mean when they say the developers have fucked up a perfectly fine story.

Just 2 cents from a non-fan looking in.

From one of your own link:

According to the head of the project with Tetsuya Nomura, the challenge is to create something that can be designed “thanks to the technological power and the quality of entertainment provided by the current generation”, all without forgetting “try to capture elements of the original with respect". According to his words, those who played it at the time will feel "new but familiar", while those less versed in the saga "will experience the charm of Final Fantasy VII, which thrills the hearts of many." Of course, with the latest technology.

Exactly as I pointed out in my earlier comment. Wishes.

I live in the real world.  Not the one in which everything has to be the way I want it in my head. 

I’m sorry, but I knew for a long time they were going to make the journey to many events be different, while retaining the core aspects of the game’s story. 

I knew they weren’t going to do a complete copy/paste of the original and call it a day. 

It is because I knew what to expect that I am not too concerned by the changes made. If I wanted to replay the exact same game, I already have it in many of my gaming systems.

I hope they have a good plan for Part 2 to make it all worthwhile and a compelling continuation. But until I see how they handle it, I am not going to call foul or complain about it everywhere I can and try to change the definition of the word remake.

I understand a lot of people are allergic to change. 

Me? It depends. But as for this game, again, as long as they get the story to where it needs to go, I don’t care if they change the journey and make things new and surprising. 

“The reunion at hand may bring joy, it may bring fear.
But let us embrace whatever it brings.”

And what about these lies from just two weeks ago?

"In terms of how faithful the remake is to the original Final Fantasy VII, from the perspective of the storyline, it is very faithful indeed," Toriyama said. "The major story structure is kept very close, so you will do the Mako Reactor bombing mission and then return to the Sector 7 slums."

Longtime series writer Kazushige Nojima echoed Toriyama's sentiment, adding: "Well, the main story is still the same, but I have added in many new scenes that happen between the main events of the original, which show how the relationship between Cloud and the other characters deepened. [For example], Cloud's childhood friend Tifa shows him a flat in Midgar, and they come to live in the same building. It is a Japanese-styled flat and the scene itself is quite sweet. So, I want people to look forward to [those additions]."

Producer and director of the original game, Yoshinori Kitase, also chimed in: "Of course, all the memorable elements and key moments from the original have been faithfully reproduced, and you can enjoy experiencing those again."

Again, these are absolute lies. Very faithful, my ass. I will not support false advertising or using the guise of a remake so Nomura can make more KH's bullshit. If you want to come up with excuses for  why blatantly lying to consumers is ok, you go right ahead, but don't act like they weren't BSing us from the start.

Ahhh well. You haven’t experienced it sooo... In the mean time, keep the outrage culture strong! 🤘👍👍

“Because Cloud... You... are a puppet.”

wtf? It's like you expect an exact 1:1 representation of the original with technology of today. They specifically said they've added many new scenes. The Bombing Mission was pretty damn faithful to me. The park scene was faithful. As well as many other things but with modern tech.

I don't know how many times you need to be told the same thing. People were expecting the story and characters to be expanded upon, maybe some extra sequences to be added, generally stuff that will add to and expand upon the original story.

This is just throwing out the original story and doing something almost completely different. I'm not sure if you've seen spoilers or not, but the latter part of this release completely jumps the shark. Now some my like this direction but the people who are unhappy with this are completely justified in there reasoning for not liking this new direction.

When all other remakes didn't do that, then the only one who was wrong is this game.

Second bolded: i don't care if it added or cut out something, as long as the main story was kept, then it is a remake. But nope, the major plot of the main story was changed, the "remake" which you claimed is not a remake anymore.

The definition you want us to believe is what you personally think the definition is by cherrypicking examples that do not matter.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

''A reboot is a way to reuse the concept behind a game/movie/etc. (backstory, gameplay mechanics, some characters/locations/plotlines) but otherwise rewrite the entire plot and characters. ... Typically, it means that all existing "canon" for the setting and characters is wiped clean''

''It has been described as a way to "rebrand"^[3] or "restart an entertainment universe that has already been established".^[1] Another definition of a reboot is a remake which is part of an established film series or other media franchise.^[4] The term has been criticised for being a vague and "confusing"^[5] " buzzword",^[6] and a neologism for remake,^[7][8] a concept which has been losing popularity in the 2010s''

''In general, the simplest way to remember the difference between a reboot and a remake is to remember that for a film to be a reboot, it should be resetting a chronology that's been established over multiple films. A remake is concerned with updating a single film, sometimes slavishly''

''With video games there are clear cut reboots with games like 2013's Tomb Raider, 2003's Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, and 2004's Ninja Gaiden (even though I don't believe it was marketed as a reboot) where both the gameplay and storyline saw revamps.

But then we head a murkier area where gameplay more or less gets rebooted, but there is still storyline continuity.

Take last year's Resident Evil VII where they revamped the gameplay and while it is still within the same storyline continuity, the setting is very much self-contained. Aside from a few nods to show that it takes place within the same universe, it pretty much can stand alone without any knowledge of prior titles (normally the goal of a reboot to attract new audiences).''

Dictonary:

verb (used with object)

FF7 remake still sticks close enough to the path the original took to be considered a remake and even reboot is kind of a branched off word for remake but by distinction FF7 is STILL a remake.

Wrong, a remake CAN have a changed plot if it still chronologically keeps other elements of the story intact with the same characters.