Many JRPGs of both the modern and classic era are linearly designed, but with the old games it could be excused as hardware limitations or made up for in other ways. Midgar in the original feels larger than it does in the Remake because so much of it is just corridors with debris and people standing around and talking over each other. It's more of a chore to navigate the slums - especially if you want to go to the Moogle Medal merchant - and by the time you unlock fast travel you're pretty much done with everything anyway. It's funny to me that much of this game is built on the foundations of Final Fantasy 13 but that game is divisive (it was always good, smh) and in many ways succeeds with its themes moreso than Remake; granted one's a full game and one's 'part one' or whatever but the similarities are there. 

I wouldn't be surprised if the world map was more like 15 which wouldn't be the [i]worst[/i] but it wouldn't really spark that same "oh shit" moment as leaving Midgar the first time in FF7. 

I dunno, maybe you just can't go home again. I understand what they did, I don't like it but I understand it.