You’re assuming the bloom lightning in the original was done completely on for the sake of making things look “magical” and not due to technical limitations while trying to simulate an optical effect. This game was one of the first (and few) PS2 to implement some form of pseudo-HDR. It’s designed to give a bloom…

It’s not just games. This happens in all areas of software development. I recognize so much of this from while I worked at certain software companies. Mismanagement, crunch time, not listening to developer feedback. Even the crunch and burnout.