I don't mind the expanding in Remake as much as Rebirth tbh. Remake's does expand a lot of side character's, but they feel relevant to the story. Marlene, Avalanche trio, hell Yuffie's little side story, they're all good additions. EDIT: ALSO Wall Market! Best addition by far.

Rebirth is where I think it went off the rails a bit. The game really feels unfocused with a lot of the side quests, and it really drags a bit until you get to the last quarter of the game.

Maybe it'll feel better to revisit once we have the entire trilogy. But man, paying $70/ to play Rebirth feels a bit bad when it came out at the same time as the new Yakuza and Persona remake priced at the same point.