What's the point with that quite lackluster story in Endwalker?

[Theodric]

Very true, Final Fantasy VII is many things but a hugbox for comfort characters isn't one of them. How they will handle upcoming sacrifices in the story remains to be seen, but if nothing else at least the journey in the remake felt good to be a part of. I can't say the same thing for my journey with the Scions, who have no grit or uniqueness to them. In the first 5 minutes of the added dialogue in the remake between Barret and Cloud, the two of them show more personality than the entirety of Thancred during Endwalker.

Honestly? Even if FFVIIR chickens out on 'that' scene it won't bother me as much simply because it doesn't have a spiteful and gleeful habit of ensuring that the antagonists die horribly and lose absolutely everything around them.

Much as I dislike the recent direction of FFXIV it's good to know that there's still games with the aesthetics, character designs and tone that I enjoy.
Both the antagonists and the protagonists in the single player games manage to appeal to me quite a bit whereas in FFXIV the 'good guys' are so coated in sugar and inoffensive that it becomes all the more frustrating when someone who breaks the norm arrives only to be killed off, made to change their ideals or simply find themselves hidden away in side quests.

I just hope that FFXIV can strike a better balance between appeasing those of us who prefer the likes of Varis and other stoic and serious characters as well as those who want the 'HaHa He EaT buRgAR!!' scenes. Such elements wouldn't bother me nearly as much then.