With Yuffie and Aerith it's friendly, with Barret it's bro style. With Red it's kind of the same. And with the other three it's comedic relief. And the only romnatic with his canon love Tifa.

As you can see. From the concept, to the director's dialog. This date has reasons why it's portrayed this way. It's Cloud's growth. All of the dates are canon, and reflect the relationships with different characters, and do not contradict where the plot is going.

The Tifa's scene is quite canon. Your hallucinations are baseless delusions. Tifa and Cloud are a canon couple after FF7. Tifa's date is the most appropriate, as it is the most consistent in the game. Cloud wants to kiss her in Gongaga, and then kisses her on GS date afterward.

It's probably just at this stage. Monetization of any major platform is a matter of time.