It was pointless to have the Buggy break down...

[MJN SEIFER]

I just suddenly thought; The Buggy breaking down was to "force" you to stop at Cosmo Canyon, right? Well if Red XIII wanted to go to the canyon anyway, then there is no need for the story to make them go there by accident. I'm I the only one to think this?

[Rantz]

In the PC version it didn't break down if I recall correctly, and it worked just as well I guess. But I think in the PlayStation version they used the broken buggy as a reason to why the party couldn't leave the canyon before it was fixed. I'm not sure how they handled that in the PC version.

[Jiro]

I don't know many people who would have thought, "Hey, there's a town coming out of the rock! Let's ignore it!"

Then again, it is possible to miss if you are unlucky. The breaking down worked for why they stayed there, but I think Nanaki asking for them to stop would have worked just as well. I know I'd be curious as to why my team-mate wants to stop.

[TheSpoonyBard]

If the buggy didn't break down there would be nothing to stop you driving straight past Cosmo Canyon onto Nibelheim, even if Red said he wanted to go there. With the way the world map is laid out, temporarily disabling the buggy means the only place you can go is Cosmo Canyon.

[Skyblade]

The buggy does break down in the PC version. The only way to keep it from breaking down is to get out of the buggy before you reach the break-down point and walking to Cosmo Canyon.

[Elly]

Spoony's right, there are a few people that just would have skipped it thinking it's irrelivant like the first visit to Fort Condor is pretty much irrelivant (and you honestly do not need to visit it till later) and are just in a hurry to get through Clouds Story which picks up in Nibelheim... some people like to play games on their terms, forcing the buggy to break down makes you play it on Squares terms, as you're now trapped and can't even backtrack... and yes it does break down in the PC Version as that is the one i'm playing now and just recently went through that chapter about a week ago, and it broke down on me like it did in the PSone/PSX version... luckily my game did not crash there like so many others claim it does...

[Rantz]

Uhm, I'm positive it didn't break down for me, and I stopped right outside the canyon. Then again, I played a modded game, so it might have something to do with that.

[Jessweeee♪]

What? It's never broken down on me ever. I did not know that it would do that. I was about to call you crazy but then other people seem to be going along with it so it must be true

[Rantz]

Which version(s) have you played, Jess?

[Jessweeee♪]

NA Playstation. Though I don't think I realized that I was supposed to go to Cosmo Canyon right away the first time I went through, so something must have happened. Pretty sure it never broke, though.

[Elly]

went back to my Gongaga save and drove the buggy back to Cosmo Canyon, and took a screenie...

i'm totaly taking advantage of having 150 Save Slots...

[Jessweeee♪]

Pretty colors o:

[Wolf Kanno]

Yes it is silly, though its more reasonable than Rufus coming to Rocket Town just so he can commandeer the Tiny Bronco to look for Sephiroth; even though Rufus has the Highwind and a fleet of other ships and massive army to do this... That whole scene still bothers me.

[Skyblade]

Yes it is silly, though its more reasonable than Rufus coming to Rocket Town just so he can commandeer the Tiny Bronco to look for Sephiroth; even though Rufus has the Highwind and a fleet of other ships and massive army to do this... That whole scene still bothers me.

Besides the Highwind and the Tiny Bronco, the only aircraft we see are Gelnika, which are transport craft, and definitely not designed for comfort. If you're head of a worldwide dictatorship, you should get to travel in style and comfort. Hence the Tiny Bronco.

[Big D]

Heidegger has a throwaway line about how "the long-range airship [the Highwind, I assume] is still being prepared".

As for the buggy - I guess you can simply bail out and run to Cosmo Canyon before it breaks down, though I don't remember what effect - if any - that has on the events and dialogue that follow.

:edit: And having the vehicle break down means that the rest of the party's forced to visit the Canyon and accompany Nanaki, rather than having him be all "ok g2g cya!" and running off home, leaving the others to continue on their way.