Well, about initial goals, i believe that they didn't expect to reach them so soon, so they came with them, just to earn some time and think something better or to see what people would like to see as stretch goals. Now about the art direction, it reminds very much Vagrant Story and i like that, also you can't judge a games art direction with only 4 concept art pictures. Last about the thing of Iga being a sexist, while he has told that a female protagonist is weak, he might not have done a game before OoE that was having a female protagonist, not because he didn't want it, but because maybe Konami didn't gave him the green light.
Thus the canceled Resurrection for the DC, just saying.