SPOILERS FFVII:R Chapter 7 Spoiler Discussion

[Theozilla]

Then what was all that talk about broadcasting them from the reactor about? Heidi and Prez were just talking nonsense?

Yes and no. They were "live" in the sense that Shinra had announced to news broadcasting that Avalanche had invaded Reactor 5 and such, but the footage they gave the news was just stuff recorded from the Reactor 1 break in.



And while the Tank buster fight was being recorded by Shinra, it wasn't raw unedited footage that the public was seeing live. The plan was for the Airbuster to "execute" Avalanche and Shinra would then broadcast an edited version of said "execution" to the public, but since they actually did defeat the Aribuster, Shinra didn't broadcast the recorded fight presumably. At least that's my understanding of it.

 

[Theozilla]

Yes and no. They were "live" in the sense that Shinra had announced to news broadcasting that Avalanche had invaded Reactor 5 and such, but the footage they gave the news was just stuff recorded from the Reactor 1 break in.
View attachment 5975


And while the Tank buster fight was being recorded by Shinra, it wasn't raw unedited footage that the public was seeing live. The plan was for the Airbuster to "execute" Avalanche and Shinra would then broadcast an edited version of said "execution" to the public, but since they actually did defeat the Aribuster, Shinra didn't broadcast the recorded fight presumably. At least that's my understanding of it.
View attachment 5976

Though I can definitely see the argument that they were being broadcast live though, a lot of Barret’s dialogue (and one line from Heidegger) do create some ambiguity on whether or not they were being broadcasted unedited (albeit without audio) or if it was first being screened by Shinra.
If it was indeed a raw unedited broadcast, it definitely pushes the suspension of disbelief for Cloud and Tifa in addition, but I suppose one could argue they were being filmed from a distance so their faces themselves weren’t given much detail for viewers. Especially since their wouldn’t be any audio (since the President and Heidegger say plenty of incriminating things while speaking to Avalanche).

Though the fact that people in the Slums simply think that the Reactor 5 was simply bombed and make no mention of the failure of the Airbuster to execute Avalanche (at least that I can remember), I think the option Shinra didn’t do a live broadcast is still a very viable interpretation I think.

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

It can't have been a live broadcast. President Shinra would not have said such scathing things about the public (they know what mako is and they don't care) in a live feed. The broadcast probably cut to the studio for that part, and then back to the reactor when Airbuster was dropped in. The Airbuster prep team fell a little behind schedule, so maybe the whole purpose of the conversation between the President and Avalanche was to keep Avalanche in place while they were flying Airbuster in.

Inb4 someone argues that the President despises the public. Yes, he does; but he also has a very carefully cultivated persona as a benevolent leader, and that whole cult of personality thing going on. There are many things he says in private that he would never say in public, and he doesn't mind what he says to Avalanche, since he thinks they will be dead in ten minutes.

 

[Theozilla]

It can't have been a live broadcast. President Shinra would not have said such scathing things about the public (they know what mako is and they don't care) in a live feed. The broadcast probably cut to the studio for that part, and then back to the reactor when Airbuster was dropped in. The Airbuster prep team fell a little behind schedule, so maybe the whole purpose of the conversation between the President and Avalanche was to keep Avalanche in place while they were flying Airbuster in.

Inb4 someone argues that the President despises the public. Yes, he does; but he also has a very carefully cultivated persona as a benevolent leader, and that whole cult of personality thing going on. There are many things he says in private that he would never say in public, and he doesn't mind what he says to Avalanche, since he thinks they will be dead in ten minutes.

They could have also just cut the audio remember? One of my screen shots even has Cloud commenting on said notion.

 

[Cannon_Fodder]

The part that always confused me was that you watch the airbuster leave the reactor on an elevator, but then helicopters bring it in for the fight itself. Why did Shinra take the airbuster for a heli-tour of Midgar? Unless I'm missing something.

 

[Theozilla]

The part that always confused me was that you watch the airbuster leave the reactor on an elevator, but then helicopters bring it in for the fight itself. Why did Shinra take the airbuster for a heli-tour of Midgar? Unless I'm missing something.

Perhaps the where ever the elevator that had the Airbuster comes out doesn’t directly connect to the bridge in front of the Reactor? And thus needs to be airlifted for the last bit?

 

[Cannon_Fodder]

I hadn't thought about that possibility. Maybe my understanding of the layout is off, but they bring the airbuster in from the direction of the Shinra building which is the opposite direction from the entire reactor. In rewatching the clip though, maybe they bring it by helicopter for the spectacle, like it was airlifted out from Shinra HQ?

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

It can't fit through the doors.
It has Dalek problems.
Anyway it looked good.

 

[Mayo Master]

Spoiler: Story pics

 

[Mayo Master]

Spoiler: Air Buster

 

[cold_spirit]

Wow, those Airbuster screenshots are giving me that "I can't believe this game is a thing" feeling.

 

[Torrie]

I'm kinda rushing forward but the weekend is almost over and I won't be able to play much during the week т_т

Among the chapters 5, 6, and 7, this is probably my favourite bit of the journey towards and through Reactor 5. Everything is cyan blue, and neon, and hi-tech, even more cyberpunk than Reactor 1. Love it! You really do feel like a secret agent (...okay, not actually that secret, taking into account all the ruckus the party caused).

I can't believe the button pressing minigame has been expanded on in the Remake. It's funny to me that some things didn't make the cut, like seeing 7th Heaven's secret basement, but yet this minigame is now a full-fledged feature

It was an absolute joy to play. During the second procedure, the first thing I did was to fail, because I kept looking at the L and R arrows and they didn't show anything! Then I realised I had to look at... Tifa and copy her movements. Was going to complain about the camera angle which was somewhat obstructing the view, but then, after a couple more attempts, I noticed the instructions in plain sight on the screens. Dang It wasn't very easy anyway, and Barret told Cloud off for not knowing how to do it, to which Cloud replied with a frown that SOLDIERS had never been taught to do stuff like that. Tifa had to pull off a peacemaker, just like always. I'm aware there are different outcomes depending on your performance, but it was still charming to see.

Kicked the Airbuster's butt on the first try! The strategy could have been a bit better though. Just because I tend to use Cloud and Tifa most of the time, I equipped Barret with Elemental+Lightning, topped it with Auto-Cure, and basically left him doing his own things, just occasionally switching to him if I needed a long-range attack or a quick heal. Worked awesome for me, because he auto-cured the party in so many times of need throughout the chapter, so thanks, Barret!

 

[Shademp]

Thank you @Torrie for continuing to share your FF7R adventure