Honestly, when I was a kid, I didn't get the scenario. What the hell was genova ? Is sephiroth the good guy ? Then why is he trying to meteor us to hell ? And who is really cloud ?
But it didn't matter, because it was so incredible to play.
I had to replay the PC version later as a teenager to get it. Unfortunately this version was incredibly buggy.
The Cloud identity mystery was wonderful for me as a kid. It really had a lot of intrigue and mystique. Even when they explicitly explain it, something didn't seem to fit right. Something about imposter syndrome. Crisis Core helped establish a lot more context but the characters and settings really did feel like Kingdom Hearts 1.5.
As much as I love this game some of the story really starts to fall apart around those points. I used to think I was just overlooking something or some details were lost in translation but after playing more of the series it seems like convoluted plots are just kind of part of the Final Fantasy style.
note: I've only played the original game and the remake on PS4 and seen Advent Children.
But it didn't matter, because it was so incredible to play.
I had to replay the PC version later as a teenager to get it. Unfortunately this version was incredibly buggy.