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Meet 'Airbuster', a techno-soldier. Our Weapon Development Department created him. I'm sure the data he'll extract from your dead bodies will be of great use to us in future experiments.

Air Buster, referred to as Airbuster in dialogue and the BradyGames guide, is a boss in Final Fantasy VII. Cloud, Barret, and Tifa encounter it outside of the Sector 5 Reactor during "To the No. 5 Reactor".

Stats[]

Formations[]

# Formation
364 Air Buster (Side Attack)
365 Air Buster (Side Attack)
366 Air Buster (Side Attack)

Locations[]

No. 5 Reactor
Outside Reactor 364 (fixed)

Battle[]

Field model of the Air Buster.

The battle is a Side Attack with Tifa and Barret on one side, Cloud on the other side, and Air Buster in the middle. Unlike most opponents, attacks to the back of Air Buster will deal five-times normal damage instead of the regular double damage. Air Buster turns to face whoever attacked it last.

Air Buster resists Fire. It will only use Big Bomber for the first four turns in "Program 1 Operation". After that, Big Bomber will be out of ammo and Airbuster enters "Program 2 Operation" and uses the weaker Energy Ball for the rest of the battle. It uses Bodyblow as a counter-attack that may be used either turning to face Barret and Tifa (high accuracy), or turning to face Cloud (low accuracy). Airbuster can hit one character from its behind using his Rear Gun attack. When Air Buster has below 20% of its Max HP, it can no longer turn.

Strategy[]

Using Limit Breaks against Air Buster's back results in a quick fight and the combined power of Cloud's and Barret's Limits can take down Air Buster in a single turn. If the party doesn't have Limit Breaks built up, they should use normal attacks against its back and use Bolt.

Air Buster turns to face whoever attacked it last, so Cloud should attack it first, so it turns its back towards Tifa and Barret who should attack in succession. Air Buster will turn its back to Cloud, giving him a free shot for more damage.

AI script[]

Start of battle

Declare BackToTarget

Declare Ammo = 4

Declare Program = 0

Declare SelectedTarget

Declare TurnBroken = 0

Declare Counter = 0

Declare FacingTarget = 0

Turn

BackToTarget = 0

If (Ammo > 0) Then
If (Program == 0) Then

Display Message "Program 1 Operation"

Program = 1

SelectedTarget = random opponent

If (Self is not facing SelectedTarget) Then
If (TurnBroken == 0) Then

If (Self is facing Cloud) Then: Use Turn to face Barret & Tifa

Else: Use Turn to face Cloud

Else

BackToTarget = 1

If (Self is facing Cloud AND Cloud is defeated OR Self is facing Barret and Tifa AND Barret is defeated AND Tifa is defeated) Then: Ammo = 0

If (BackToTarget == 0) Then

Use Big Bomber on SelectedTarget

Ammo = Ammo - 1

If (Ammo == 0) Then: Display Message "Big Bomber's out of ammo."

Else
If (Program == 1) Then

Display Message "Program 2 Operation"

Program = 2

SelectedTarget = random opponent

If (SelectedTarget == Barret OR SelectedTarget == Tifa) Then

If (Self is facing Cloud) Then: Use Rear Gun on SelectedTarget

Else: Use Energy Ball on SelectedTarget

Else

If (Self is facing Cloud) Then: Use Energy Ball on SelectedTarget

Else: Use Rear Gun on Selected Target

Counter - if attacked
If (Self HP < 1/5 * Self Max HP) Then
If (TurnBroken == 0) Then

Display Message "Turn Function non-operational"

TurnBroken = 1

SelectedTarget = last attacker

If (Self is facing Barret and Tifa AND SelectedTarget == Cloud OR Self is facing Cloud AND (SelectedTarget == Barret OR SelectedTarget == Tifa)) Then: Counter = 1

If (Counter == 1) Then

FacingTarget = 0

Counter = 0

Display Message "Counter Attack"

If (TurnBroken == 0 AND 2/3 Chance) Then
If (Self is facing Cloud) Then

Use Turn to face Barret & Tifa

Use Bodyblow*(High hit rate version) on SelectedTarget

Else

Use Turn to face Cloud

Use Bodyblow*(Low hit rate version) on SelectedTarget

FacingTarget = 1

If (FacingTarget == 0) Then: Use Rear Gun on SelectedTarget

Counter - if killed

Turn off Death Handling for Self

Use Destroyed

Notes[]

  • Turn to face Cloud and Turn to face Barret & Tifa are animations. They also serve as a toggle to who the Air Buster faces, which plays an important role in the script. Destroyed is also an animation.
  • Turn off Death Handling means that the usual death animation for bosses no longer happens.

Behind the Scenes[]

The designs of the Weapons and some Shinra robots in Final Fantasy VII are highly reminiscent of mecha from the Gundam franchise; the Air Buster resembles the MSN-02 Zeong. The resemblance is heightened in the Air Buster's VII Remake counterpart, which possesses the Zeong's signature weapons and is described as incomplete in similar fashion to the Zeong's own deployment.

Other appearances[]

Pictlogica Final Fantasy[]

PFF Air Buster

Air Buster appears as an enemy in Pictlogica Final Fantasy.

Final Fantasy Record Keeper[]

FFRK Air Buster FFVII

Air Buster's Big Bomber ability can deal a lot of damage, so make sure you're ready to heal, kupo. Good thing he only has four shots! It's still a good idea to heal up right away, though.

Dr. Mog's Advice

Air Buster appears as the boss of Mako Reactor No. 5 in Final Fantasy Record Keeper.

Target Score
  • Defeat without being KO'd
Abilities

Normal form

  • Attack: Deal physical damage to one target.
  • Bomb Blast: Deal moderate physical damage to one target.
  • Tail Gun: Deal special physical damage to one target.

Out of Ammo form

  • Atack: Deal physical damage to one target.
  • Energy Ball: Deal special physical damage to one target.
Additional Information

When Air Buster runs out of Big Bomber shells, it enters its Out of Ammo form.

Strategy

The Air Buster is not going to be a particularly easy battle at very low levels since, at this point, the party has only gained one or two levels from the start of their quest after beating the Guard Scorpion. What makes this battle frustrating is that the mech will counter just about anything physical with one of its attacks. And when it runs out of bombs, the Air Buster compensates by hitting harder. Have the White Mage ready to heal whosoever gets picked on, the Black Mage casting Thunder, and Tyro attacking with the strongest weapon found in the opening tutorial. Though it could be a long fight, Air Buster will fall. Cloud will join the party after the first visit; it may just be wise to warm him up here before taking on a new Record Realm. After all, four heads are better than three.

Elemental Attributes
Element Vulnerability
Fire Resist
Ice Normal
Lightning Vulnerable
Earth Immune
Wind Normal
Water Normal
Holy Normal
Dark Normal
Poison Normal


Final Fantasy Brave Exvius[]

Baknamy FFTA2This section about an enemy in Final Fantasy Brave Exvius is empty or needs to be expanded. You can help the Final Fantasy Wiki by expanding it.

Mobius Final Fantasy[]

MFF Air Buster FFVII
Impresario-ffvi-iosThis section in Mobius Final Fantasy is empty or needs to be expanded. You can help the Final Fantasy Wiki by expanding it.


Gallery[]

Etymology[]

The word "buster" means a person who breaks up something, e.g. crime busters, or something big or unusual for its kind. It derives from the verb "bust".

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