How did Cloud know President Shinra at Reactor 5?

[Jairus]

Going through that scene again, I was wondering why Cloud acted with such familiarity toward President Shinra, as if he'd met him before. I know he thinks he's done the things that Zack did, but I don't remember Zack ever meeting the President. As for the President, it's understandable why he doesn't recognize Cloud, but he still sees the mako glow in his eyes and says he's the one who left SOLDIER. But wouldn't he be aware of a supposed SOLDIER 1st Class who defected and know exactly who that was? As I'm sure he knew who *cough*Genesis*cough* was. As we know, there were never that many of them, so it shouldn't have been hard for even the President to know who they all were, by sight if not by name, and that Cloud didn't fit the description of any of them. Or did he know that Cloud wasn't who he thought he was?

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

We never see Zack meeting the President. On the other hand, we never see Sephiroth meeting the President either (except on the other end of a very pointy stick), and yet he must have done. I think in this instance it's fair enough to assume that the President reviewed the troops and probably met the First Classes, even if it was only like the Queen shaking his hand and making small talk for two minutes.

Cloud would knew who President Shinra was in the same way that I would recognise Donald Trump if I met him.

It was always a bit of a running gag in Crisis Core that Zack was the 'unfamous' First. And the President himself says he can't be bothered to remember who you are unless you're as great as Sephiroth.

 

[Jairus]

We never see Zack meeting the President. On the other hand, we never see Sephiroth meeting the President either (except on the other end of a very pointy stick), and yet he must have done. I think in this instance it's fair enough to assume that the President reviewed the troops and probably met the First Classes, even if it was only like the Queen shaking his hand and making small talk for two minutes.

Cloud would knew who President Shinra was in the same way that I would recognise Donald Trump if I met him.

It was always a bit of a running gag in Crisis Core that Zack was the 'unfamous' First. And the President himself says he can't be bothered to remember who you are unless you're as great as Sephiroth.

Yeah, that makes sense. I hadn't thought of him reviewing the troops like that, but it's certainly possible. And I can see how Cloud knew who he was, but it was just that the dialogue made it sound like it was more than just general knowledge, that he believed he had actually met him personally before.

 

[Roger]

They couldn't be bothered with putting President Shinra physically in Crisis Core, that don't mean anything.

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

I don't understand what you mean, roger.

 

[Roger]

I don't understand what you mean, roger.

There's no President Shinra character model in Crisis Core, so scenes with Zack meeting weren't in the cards.

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

So do you mean the game's designers wanted us to understand that Zack and the Pres never met face to face?

 

[Roger]

So do you mean the game's designers wanted us to understand that Zack and the Pres never met face to face?

I think Zack meant plenty of people that worked in the same building as he did over the course of his career at Shinra. Probably President Shinra included. He left home when he was 14, went to Nibelheim when he was 18, Crisis Core doesn't cover enough of Zack's life to even be considered indicative of his average day.

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

Yeah, that totally makes sense.

 

[jazzflower92]

Yeah, that totally makes sense.

I think Cloud is only remembering stuff that Zack remembered around the time of his hometown burning. This wouldn't have included meeting President Shinra.

 

[Clement Rage]

Counting the Genesis copies and a couple of Ravens, a lot of SOLDIER could have defected, no reason to know them all.

 

[Flutflut]

I'm sure President Shinra has had many TV appearances and press conferences before and his face is probably common knowledge. And Shinra himself said that he can't be bothered to learn everybody's name. So it's no surprise that he knew someone defected from soldier but not who exactly it was. So everybody knows who president shinra is, but president shinra doesn't really care who's in soldier...unless he's another sephiroth.

 

[Sephira]

Just like everyone above said, President Shinra's face was widely known due to TV and public appearances. It's just as if we were to meet whatever politician face to face because potato. We would, naturally, call him by his name due to knowing who he is, but he wouldn't know who we are, specially if he has met hundreds of people until then. We'd have to be really notorious (like Sephiroth) for him to remember us. And what Shinra Grunt/SOLDIER Member wouldn't know who President Shinra was? And then again, Cloud's memories were mixed with Zack's, so he perhaps acted like that following his "memories".

 

[Jairus]

I understand what you're saying and it makes sense, it's just that Cloud says, "Long time no see," implying that the president had seen him specifically before, though that thought of his would most likely have come from Zack's memories.

 

[Roger]

Cloud based his persona on a story his friend Zack told him, if Zack at some point told him a opportunity he had to meet the President, Cloud would incorporate it.

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

The President gives a reason for why he doesn't remember Cloud, but I think his failure to recognise Cloud is also a hint to the player that Cloud's story about himself is BS.

 

[ForceStealer]

It's awfully believable reason, though, haha. The bigger "hint" is when Sephiroth fails to recognize him on the Cargo Ship, but Sephiroth is just pretending to screw with him there, lol.