Someone mentioned online somewhere that it’s easy to miss, but the hint of Shinra causing a more massive explosion is referenced in the original (I think when they get back to 7th heaven). I might go back and play the beginning of VII just to see, but it’s just as likely that they weren’t expecting the explosion to be so big and to cause casualties because they weren’t thinking about the wider picture.

I can agree that the boss fight went on too long. They could have had a quicker fight with all the spectacle still attached. What was the compilation reference though, Wolf Kanno? I’m thinking I missed that when my dog was going crazy and distracting me at some point.