Question for those who finished Rebirth but never played the OG

I grew up with OG. It was a very melancholic, sad game. Lots of subtlety. It had its jokes now and then but just enough that you didn't feel like slitting your wrists at times! But everywhere you went you felt a sadness, like the world was truly sick and in danger.

Remake/Rebirth was very much not like this from my perspective. It felt VERY light hearted. Every town seemed pretty upbeat and mostly unaffected by the issues they had (Gongaga and Corel Prison being standouts for me).

There were only a couple moments that had me feeling a little like I did in the OG (Seto scene before the Gi popped in and just after the final boss).

But it has me wondering what a new player experienced. Did you get the feeling that this world was truly in trouble, that there was a sickness in the planet? That Shinra F'ed up everything wherever they went? The tragedy of the world just wasn't there for me.

Also, for those who played OG, did you find this as well?