Much Games Offical Strategy Guide Final Fantasy VII Strategy Guide Written by Ryan Bragg --------------- Legal Notice --------------- This strategy guide is an offical Much Games strategy guide and is legal copyrighted materal of Much Games. This guide may not be reproduced, redistributed or appear on any other website with out the express written consent of Much Games. See http://www.muchgames.ca/index.asp?action=copyright --------------------- Table of Contents --------------------- 1. Introduction 2. Walkthrough Disc 1 2.1 Mako Reactor 1 2.2 7th Heaven 2.3 Mako Reactor 5 2.4 Sector 5 Slums 2.5 Wall Market 2.5 Train Yard 2.7 Sector 7 2.8 Shinra Headquarters 2.9 Kalm 2.10 Chocobo Ranch 2.11 Mythril Mine/Junon & Shinra Boat 2.12 Costa Del Sol 2.13 Corel Mountain and Corel Village 2.14 Corel Prison 2.15 Gongaga Town/Cosmo Canyon 2.16 Nibelheim 2.17 Rocket Town 2.18 Gold Saucer 2.19 Temple of the Ancients 2.20 Bone Village 2.21 City of the Ancients 3. Walkthrough Disc 2 3.1 Corral Valley Cave 3.2 Icicle Inn 3.3 Great Glacier 3.4 Gaea Cliffs 3.5 The Crater 3.6 Junon 3.7 Mideel 3.8 Corel Village 3.9 Fort Condor 3.10 Mideel 3.11 Lifestream 3.12 Underwater Reactor 3.13 Rocket Town 3.14 Cosmo Canyon and City of the Ancients 3.15 Midgar 4. Walkthrough Disc 3 4.1 Northern Caves 5. Side Quests 5.1 Chocobo Breeding 5.2 Ancient Forest 5.3 Wutai 5.4 Getting Yuffie 5.5 Midgar and Nibelheim 5.6 Materia Caves 5.7 Gelnika 5.8 Waterfall 5.9 Ultima Weapon 5.10 Ruby and Emerald Weapon ----------------- 1. Introduction ----------------- Welcome to the Much Games offical strategy guide for Final Fantasy VII. In this guide you will see a complete Walkthrough and extra details on finishing the first Final Fantasy for PS One. -------------------------- 2. Walkthrough Disc 1 -------------------------- ---------------------------- 2.1 Mako Reactor No.1 ---------------------------- At the start of the game, you'll have 3 Potions, a Phoenix Down, and an Ether. You can't equip Materia until after you reach the 7th Heaven bar, by the way. Once you leave the train, check the body of the closest guard twice to get two Potions.Then head north. You'll be attacked by some guards. Take them out with your sword (you may win a Potion for killing them) and then move left to go outside.Now, talk to your teammates (Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie), then name yourself and Barret. Make your way to the northwestern door, and head up in the next room to enter the heart of the power plant. Talk to Barret, (who joins you) and then talk to each Avalanche member to open the doors. After opening the second door, head right to enter another chamber with a treasure chest (Phoenix Down). Then, go back and enter the elevator (you'll have to talk to Jessie first). Press the arrow switch to activate it. Work your way down the stairs and go through the door to the left. Then follow Jessie down the ladder. When she stops, search the area in front of her for a Potion (it's hard to see because of the steam). Climb down, cross the pipes, descend the nearby ladder, and take note of the Save Point before heading down the walkway. Pick up the Restore materia on the ground in the next area and set the bomb.An alarm will sound and you'll have to fight the boss, a huge scorpion-like machine. Boss Tips: Guard Scorpion LV: ?? HP: 800 MP: 0 Cloud's Bolt magic works well, while Barret should be attacking. The Search Scope won't damage you, it just warns as to who the boss will attack next. When you've done enough damage, the boss will start to shake and Cloud will warn Barret. From this point onward, don't attack the boss and heal yourself or simply guard until the boss attacks you. If you try to hurt it during this time, the boss responds with a damaging laser ray shot from his tail. A few more hits after it stops shaking and the boss dies. You'll get an Assault Gun when you kill it. You now have ten minutes to escape from the power plant.You'll need to make your way back to the upside-down T-shaped entrance hall where one of the Avalanche members is waiting. (If you've played the demo disc, know that you don't need to 'search' for the other members; just talk to Jessie to free her and then get out. Since Barret gets a new gun after the battle,be sure to equip it. Also, talk to the other members to open the two doors on your way back. ------------------ 2.2 7th Heaven ------------------ Items in this area: 1500 gil, All materia, Ether. Head west and go upwards. Talk to the kid by the fence, then head west again (there's a Save Point nearby, too). Talk to the people here, then check out the bar. At the top of the tallest building in the south- east is a bedroom. The kid here will let you spend the night for 10 gil. In the bar, you'll meet Tifa, who is also a member of Avalanche, as well as Marlene, who is supposedly Barret's daughter. After naming Tifa, Barret shows up when you try to leave and reveals the hidden base underneath the bar. After talking to Barret, Tifa shows up. Leave the base and you'll have a short intermission with Tifa. When you meet Barret afterwards, he'll give you 1500 gil. If you go to the Beginner's Hall above the Weapon Shop outside, you can learn more about playing the game. You'll also find that there inside the huge cage. The man in the right corner of this room has a Materia by his feet (All). Take it and a chest will drop down that has an Ether inside of it. If you haven't already noticed, the two buildings that were locked the other day are now open. When you're ready, go back to the train station to prepare for Avalanche's next mission. If you like, you can go to the far right to enter a train yard, but there's not much of interest there. ------------------------ 2.3 Mako Reactor 5 ------------------------ Items in this area: Hi-Potion, Ether x2, Potion, Tent, Titan Bangle. Board the train. When the timer appears after you talk to Tifa, talk to the homeless man in the back of the screen to get a Phoenix Down. In the second car, talk to the man closest to the 'front' of the screen and pick the top option to get a Hi-Potion. In the third car, a man will walk past you, snicker, and steal from you; follow him and talk to him again to get back the gil he just swiped. Keep going through each train car until Tifa jumps off one of the cars and you and Barret follow her. If this occurs on the last car, talk to the man at the very end to get a Hi-Potion. After jumping off, you'll end up in an underground railroad passageway. If you go south (towards the 'front' of the screen), you'll go through the same screen 5 times before coming to two guards who you can fight. When the battle's over, choose the bottom option to keep fighting or the top option to run away. You can fight the same battle over and over, so when you get tired of fighting, just pick the top option. An OK place to gain some experience, gil, and AP, if you think you'll need it. Anyway, it's a lot faster to just head north to where the green barrier is and go down the hatch to the west (examine it and choose the top choice twice or the middle option once). Pick up the Ether in the adjoining passage, climb down the two ladders, and talk to Wedge. Then go up the ladder near him to reach a room where Jessie is waiting for you. Take the Potion that's next to her and climb down the ladder on the far left end of the room to reach a chamber where you can find a Tent, a Save Point, and Biggs. Go up the ladder here to reach the No. 5 Reactor. The room you're in should be familiar. Slide down the pipe and then work your way back to the heart of the plant. After Cloud fiddles with the machinery, go back to the large room and climb up the stairs and into the elevator. It'll take you to a new floor. Grab the contents of the treasure chest outside (Ether) and then head to the left where there are three control panels. You'll need to hit your panel as the same time Barret and Tifa hit theirs (using the O button), so give it a shot. Instead of waiting for them to raise their arms, you'll have an easier time if you time it so that you hit your panel _just_ before they do. You can't use the panel if you didn't go back to the heart of the power plant. Afterwards, go through the opened gate (there's a Save Point here), and head north. In the T-shaped room, you'll be stopped by a group of guards, and then meet President Shinra. After that, a helicopter and a hydrofoil-like machine show up. The Shinra president leaves in the helicopter, but the huge machine attacks you and your friends. Boss Tips: Air Buster LV: 15 HP: 1,200 MP: 0 weak against Lightning This machine turns to face (and attack) whomever hits it. So, if one of your characters is low on life, have the person on the opposite side attack to draw the boss' attention away. Be especially careful of it's Big Bomber--it causes tons of damage (but also increases your Limit meter quickly). Remember that even if it's back is turned, it can use a weak machine gun attack on you. Use potions and the Restore Materia to keep up your HPs and use Bolt as well as your Limit Break attacks to take this machine out. You'll receive a Titan Bangle if you win the battle. ---------------------- 2.4 Sector 5 Slums ---------------------- Items in this area: 5 gil or Turbo Ether, Potion, Phoenix Down, Cover, Ether. After the battle, the boss will explode, sending Cloud off the walkway in the ensuing blast. When you awake, you'll find yourself in a church. Aeris is here, and you can name her after talking to her several times. Reno shows up afterwards with some guards. In the next room, Aeris falls down while trying to escape with Cloud. Tell her to hold on. You now have the option of fighting the guards using Aeris or trying to bean the guards on the head with barrels on the upper floor (if you miss, you'll have to fight using Aeris anyway). Remember, she starts off in the back row, so to increase damage, make her move up by choosing 'Change' at the start of each battle (do this by pressing left, then the O button). The correct order of barrels to drop is: the leftmost barrel (in the back), the far right barrel (in the back), and the far right barrel (in the front). Simply tell Aeris to hold on each time, examine each barrel, and choose the top option to drop it. This way, Aeris won't have to fight anybody. When Aeris meets you at the top of the chapel, she'll hook up with Cloud. In the upper area, climb up the second beam on the left and jump out of the hole in the roof. After you and Aeris make it back to ground level, head left to find a Save Point. To the northwest is a town. Be sure to meet the man in the pipe near the entrance. In one of the houses, you can also find 5 gil if you talk to the drunk man in bed, then examine the drawers nearby, however, if you don't take the gil, he'll give you a Turbo Ether when you return here after Sector 7 is destroyed. There are several stores here in the slums, including one that sells Materia. To the far,far right is a path that leads to Aeris's house and a garden. You can spend the night here once you've met Elmyra, Aeris' mother. When you wake up, look between the desk and the bed for a Potion and a Phoenix Down. Then, sneak downstairs (or Aeris will make you go back to bed) and leave the house (you can do this by not touching the walls and not running, either). In the lower flower bed to the right, you can get a Cover materia and an Ether. There's another Save Point near Aeris' house if you need to use it. Leave the town and go left to the hole in the wall. Aeris will be here waiting for you and will rejoin you. In the next location, work your way upward (by going across the hole-filled metal length, then down the iron beams and through the passage, then up the brown pipe and finally down the stairs and heading to the left). After Aeris leaves you at the playground, head east, then go north to arrive at the Wall Market. ------------------- 2.5 Wall Market ------------------- Items in this area: Ether, Phoenix Down, Hyper. Aeris rejoins you (again) here. There's a Save Point in the upper-right part of the village. The building in the lower left is an inn, where you can spend the night for 10 gil. To the right of it is the entrance to a brothel. The building in the middle has nothing in it but a computer. (If you touch it, a machine gun will fire at you and Cloud jumps away. You can't do anything here until later). Just above that building is an item shop. North of the shop is a sushi bar. Finally, there is a clothing store to the upper left and some sort of pottery store to the upper right. A path by the clothing store leads to another part of town. Here, there is a gym, a restaurant, and a weapon shop. In the northern area lies a large building. If you go east from here, you'll reach a dead-end area. Your objective in this part of the game is to sneak into the large building where Tifa is being kept. To do this, Cloud will have to dress up as a woman in order to get inside since men aren't allowed into the building. So, follow these steps to get the items you need to 'alter' Cloud's appearance. You may want to read this entire section before starting so that you'll know how your choices will affect the game. Go to the brothel and talk to the big guy with silver hair who's chatting with the bouncer at the door. Talk to him and pick the first option to inquire about Tifa. Go back to the building at the end of town (Corneo's mansion) and talk to the guy near the door. Aeris and Cloud will move away and have a short conversation. She tells Cloud that he'll have to dress up if he wants to find out if Tifa's okay. Return to the first screen, go to the clothing store, and talk to the store owner by standing near the bottom edge of the counter. She'll tell you that you can't get a dress unless you do something about her drunk father. Go to the bar in the second screen and talk to the lone man by the door. During the conversation, you'll have to make two decisions. So when you're asked a question, pick either the first or second choice. After you're done talking to the man, return to the clothing store. At the store, you'll see that the man from the inn is now behind the counter. Talk to him and you'll receive an item based upon your decisions: If you answered: first choice, first or second choice, you'll get the Cotton Dress. If you answered: second choice, first choice, you'll be given the Satin Dress. If you answered: second choice, second choice again, he'll give you the Silk Dress. Cloud will try on the dress, but won't actually wear it. Leave the clothing store and go to the second screen. Enter the gym and converse with the woman (heh) by the fighting ring. When you have the chance, pick the bottom option twice to start fighting, although if you want to practice, you can choose the bottom option, then the top one. Anyway, as soon as the message box disappears, start pressing the S, X, and O buttons repeatedly in that order. The object of the game is to go fast enough to make Cloud do more squats than the African gymnast, but you don't want to press the buttons too fast or Cloud can't keep up. It's not too hard to win since the other guy will often stop to scratch his head, but you only have 30 seconds, so get in as many squats as you can. If you are able to do more squats than the gymnast, you'll be given the Blonde Wig. If you and the gymnast have the same score, the lady will give you the Dyed Wig. If the gymnast does better than you, then the lady will give you the Wig. At this point, you can just return to the clothing shop and enter the stall; Cloud will dress up as a woman and you can return to Corneo's mansion to get inside. You can also choose to not change yet and explore more of the Wall Market, picking up items that you can use to make Cloud more 'feminine'. If you're finished, then skip down a ways to find out what to do next. Otherwise, keep reading (these events can be done in any order): Go to the pottery shop. When you have to choose an answer, pick the top one twice. (You can't talk to him unless you chatted with the guard at the north building). Then go to the inn and pay 10 gil to spend the night. In the middle of the night, you'll find yourself in front of the vending machine in the outer hallway. Pick any option (I hope you have enough gil). The next morning, return to the pottery shop and talk to the man to get an item: If you bought the first item (200 gil), he'll give you the Diamond Tiara. If you bought the second item (100 gil), he'll give you the Ruby Tiara. If you bought the third item (50 gil), he'll give you the Glass Tiara. (Note that the dialogue here was changed from the Japanese version, in which you were buying a 'gift' for the shopkeeper's girlfriend that he was too embarrassed to buy Why this was changed, I have no idea.) Enter the sushi bar and walk past the empty seat. When a message appears, choose the top option. Then choose any option, (you'll need 70 gil), followed by the middle choice ("the food was all right") to get a Pharmacy Coupon. Now go to the item store and talk to the man behind the counter. Choose one of the three options to get an item, then head back to the restaurant. Go to the bathroom and talk to the woman inside. Accept the first choice and: You'll get the Cologne if you traded the Coupon for the Disinfectant. You'll get the Flower Cologne if you traded the Coupon for the Deodorant. You'll get the Sexy Cologne if you traded the Coupon for the Digestive (medicine). Talk to the large man in the white shirt who's standing near the edge of the screen in the first area to get the Member's Card. He won't give it to you unless you talked to the guard by the door of the Corneo's mansion. Head right to arrive at the brothel. If you talk to the bouncer, he'll let you in once he sees the Card, but Aeris won't come with you (yes, they messed up the dialogue here, too). Inside the Honeybee Inn, you'll find that the doors on the right side are locked, but if you chose the bottom option, you can look inside them and peer around using the control pad and the O button. If you look in the upper-right keyhole, you'll see a familiar face...a small version of Cait Sith! If you go to the north room and talk to the farthest girl on the right several times, you can choose the top option to make her dance faster and faster. When you're ready (you better brace yourself), you can do one or the other: Examine the lower-left door and pick the top option twice. In the room, talk to the girl and pick the top option three times to take a soak with Mukki and his friends. Answer however you like while in the tub and Cloud will be given the Bikini briefs. Or, examine the upper-left door and pick the top option twice. Inside, talk to the ghostly Cloud near the stone tub and Cloud will have a psychotic episode. When you come to, all your HP and MP is restored, thanks to...Mukki :( Talk to him and choose the bottom option. Then talk to the girl and you'll get the Lingerie. After getting either item, you can return to the room where all the girls are and one will put makeup on you. All done? There's nothing left to do now but return to the clothing store and dress up as a woman. When you finish, go to the large building in the north and talk to the man by the food carts again. He'll let you into a posh-looking parlor. Now, go up the stairs and into the door on the far left after talking to the receptionist. Then, go down the staircase to the torture room (!) where you'll find Tifa and an Ether by the smoldering coals. Once she's joined you, head back up the stairs and go into the middle door. Inside is Tifa's kidnapper, the nefarious Don Corneo. He will examine each of you when you try to approach him. Who he picks for his 'friend' is determined by what items you collected in the Wall Market: He'll pick Cloud if you're wearing the Silk Dress, Blonde Wig, and have the 'best' extra items (the Diamond Tiara, Sexy Cologne, and Lingerie or Bikini briefs. He'll pick Aeris if you're wearing the Silk Dress, the Blonde Wig, the Lingerie and the Sexy Cologne (in addition to anything else you may have). He'll pick Tifa if you're wearing the Silk Dress, Blonde Wig, and one or two of the extra items not mentioned above (or anything worse than that). If Corneo picked Tifa or Aeris, then read below: In the next room, examine the item bag by the bed to get a Phoenix Down, and talk to the man by the television set after talking to the other henchmen. After revealing your true nature to the love-struck goons, they'll fight you. This is followed by another fight with the other three punks. Afterward, get Aeris from the torture chamber and then go into the middle door again (if Aeris was picked, then you'll meet Tifa when you go outside). When you're through intimidating Corneo, look behind his bed for a Hyper, then stand by your allies. He'll make you choose one of three options. No matter which one you choose, you'll fall through a trapdoor. If Corneo picked Cloud, then you'll end up in his room. Search behind his bed for a Hyper, then talk to him and answer anyway you like (if you try to make Cloud kiss Corneo, then maybe you need to get out of the house more....^_^;) Your friends will burst in and threaten him (yeowch!) and Corneo will ask you a question; pick any answer you like. ----------------- 2.6 Train Yard ----------------- Items in this area: Potion x4, Phoenix Down, Steal, Hi-Potion x3, Echo Screen, Ether x2. Once the cut scene with the Shinra flunkies ends, you'll find yourself in a sewer. Before talking to Tifa or Aeris, climb up the stairs to the south and go along the walkway to nab a Potion. When you try to escape, a blue monster appears attacks your party. Boss Tips: APS LV: 18 HP: 1,800 MP: 0 weak against Fire His Sewer Tsunami attack hurts all members, so use Potions and the Restore Materia to heal your wounds. Luckily, the Tsunami will damage him, too (he uses this attack as a counterattack before dying if he can manage it). When he does the reverse Sewer Tsunami, it causes less damage to him. Fire spells work the best on him. Use Cloud's Limit Break to harm the boss and use Aeris' Limit Break to heal yourselves. You'll receive a Phoenix Down for winning the battle. Climb up the ladder and head right. Go down into the sewage, then up the stairs. Grab the Yellow Materia Steal and go down the hatch. In the next room, go down the stairs, then climb up the side of the curved structure. Climb up the ladder and you'll go outside. There's a Save Point here. Check out the oil drum nearby by entering the train car (near the Save Point) to get a Hi-Potion. Get another Hi-Potion on the roof of adjacent car, then hop off onto the iron beam and check the oil drum to the north for an Echo Screen. Walk east, then south and enter the nearby train car to get a Potion. Climb up the ladder, head north, and climb down again. Go north once more through the train car, then exit to your left to find a second Potion. Then, go north to arrive at the next screen. Here, circle left around the car to get a Potion. Circle left again to find an oil can with an Ether inside of it. Go north and enter the train to the right to move the other train car out of the way. Climb atop the formerly blocked car to net a Hi-Potion. Now, ride the other train back backwards, climb onto the eastern train car, jump onto the train you just moved, and climb across it and the last car before going down the ladder to get back to the front part of the Train Graveyard. -------------- 2.7 Sector 7 -------------- Head left, the Avalanche members will be fighting atop the support pillar you first saw when you arrived at the base. After Wedge plummets to the ground, save your game at the Save Point and talk to the man on the left if you need to buy items. Climb up the stairs and you'll meet Barret, who is firing at the Shinra helicopter you saw back at the plant. Reno will jump out, and you'll have to fight him. Good thing Barret joins you. When you inflict enough damage, the boss runs away! Boss Tips: Reno LV: 17 HP: 1,000 MP: 0 This guy packs a wallop. He can imprison your friends using his golden Pyramid attack, and if he does this to all your members, you lose. To break the pyramids, attack your allies (they won't be damaged). Watch for his spark bolt attack (which can paralyze you) and use your Limit Breaks whenever possible. Ice works well on him. For some players, this may be the first battle they lose! You'll get an Ether for scaring him off should you win. ---------------------------- 2.8 Shinra Headquarters ---------------------------- Items in this area: Sense materia, Battery x3, Ether. After fending off the boss, Tseng will kidnap Aeris (and pimp slap her)! As he escapes, the entire city explodes and falls down a level, destroying it. Cloud, Tifa, and Barret all come to in the playground at the Sector 6 Slums. After Barret yells for Marlene, Wedge, and his other friends, he and Tifa join you in the next area when you try to leave. Go back to get a sparkling yellow Materia (Sense), before returning to Wall Market. The man in the pottery store will now sell you Materia, and if you go back to the parlor, you have the option of freeing one of Don Corneo's men from the torture chamber. Even if you got the Member's Card the first time around, you can no longer enter the brothel, by the way. When you're done, leave and go south from the playground. Return to the Sector 5 Slum and go to Aeris's house. Talk to Elmyra, her mother. You can spend the night in the upstairs bedroom once the intermission ends. Return to the Wall Market and go to the dead-end area near the parlor. (you'll see a bunch of kids run in there). Climb up the pipe, and you'll find yourself high above the town. If you haven't gotten them already, go to the 'Machine & Gun' store and talk to the man at the left end of the store; he'll sell you 3 Battery for 300 gil. You'll need them to activate the boxes in this part of the game. With that in mind, examine the box-shaped object in the lower right to try and start a nearby propeller. Head up, and you'll jump onto the propeller. From there, make your way to the other box and activate the painted barrier. Climb up it, and use the O button to jump onto the swinging metal pipe. Despite what Cloud says, jump when it is close to you (just as it stops squeaking). After that, climb up to the next screen. Here, climb up, then drop down to activate the next box and you'll find an Ether. Climb down the lefthand pipe and make your way back up again. Instead of dropping down, continue up, and you'll find yourself at Shinra's headquarters. Shinra Building: Items in this area: Elixir, Elemental materia, Star Pendant, Four Slots, All materia, Phoenix Down, Ether, Poison materia, Grenade x1~3, Talisman, Enemy Skill materia, Potion x4, Mythril Armlet, Protect Vest, Guard Source. There's a Save Point here. You have the option of either heading to the left and climbing up a stairwell (sneaking in) or barging in through the front door ('kick some Shinra butt!', as Barret would say). Going up the stairs takes forever, but it's free of enemies and you can get an Elixir that's lying on one of the landings. On the other hand, going through the front door and taking the elevators in the back is faster, but you have to fight several battles along the way. Not only that, but you can chase around the Shinra staff before taking the elevator :) (or at least, you could in the Japanese version. They all ran away....) You can't use the circular lifts by the doors yet, but you can use them once you reach the 60th floor. If you go up the stairs, you'll see a door marked 'Accessories'. Inside the room, you can look at a monitor to see a short FMV sequence about Shinra's products (this is the 2nd most overlooked FMV in the game). There are two chests here, but the lady won't let you open them. She will sell you items, though. Remember, if you go through the front, check the control panel in the elevator (the one that goes haywire) after each enemy encounter in order to continue upwards. If you go up the stairs then change your mind and go back down, you won't have to fight anybody on the elevators, and the main area of the ground floor will be empty (an easy trick for not having to fight anyone :)). I advise that no matter which method you use, be sure to get the Elixir on the staircase. No matter what method you use, you'll eventually reach the 59th floor. Head southeast and kill the armored guards to get the Keycard 60, then take the lift to the 60th floor. Here, you'll have to head to the room in the upper-left and make it to the other side without being seen by the patrolling guards. In order to stay hidden from them, pause behind the gold statues, then lead Tifa and Barret across using the O button. If you mess up, not only to you get attacked (ambush-style combat), but you'll have to start all over again. However, after a while (if you mess up enough times), the guards won't reappear and you can just run to the end of the hallway. Keep in mind that the set of guards on the right half of the screen move faster than the ones on the left. Take the stairway up to the 61st floor. Talk to everyone here. A man who asks you about Aeris will give you the Keycard 62 if you answer "......". On floor 62, talk to the man in the room, Domino, and the man in white, (Hart) then check out the two library rooms. Answer Domino's question and he'll give you the Keycard 65. The problem with this is that the answer changes with each game you play. It seems like it would be easy enough to simply try each answer until you get it right, but you get an Elemental Materia for free if you answer correctly the first time. So, it's in your best interest to just reset and keep trying in order to get the materia. Hart will help you out if you need it, but he'll want you to pay him first. To get the answer, simply look for the misplaced file, and note the number of the file. Count forward that many letters, and write down that letter. After getting all four letters in this way, try to rearrange them into one of the words that Domino suggests is an answer. He gives you varying items depending on how many tries it takes you (you'll get lesser items if you mess up each time). The 63rd floor is tricky. You have to collect 3 Coupons from all three rooms, but you're only able to open 3 doors at a time. You can reset the doors by investigating the computer in the right-hand room, but that also resets the location of the Coupons. You can move around using walkways in the ducts; to enter them you have to climb into the black, box-shaped structures (there's one in the computer room). You can't do that unless you have at least one of the three items. To get the items, follow this procedure: activate the computer, then head to the top-right corner of the screen and open the gate farthest to the right. Head left and open the left-hand gate, then walk left and go south to enter the room where A Coupon is. Choose the top option to climb into the black box and use the walkway to get to the room where B Coupon is. Finally, go through the door in this room and open the door to the left, then go north to enter the room containing C Coupon. Then use the walkway to return to the computer room. Now if you want, you can just trade one of the Coupons for an item, but if you have all three then you'll get all three items. The trade setup works like this (choose 'Coupon Change'): Trade Coupon A for the Star Pendant accessory Trade Coupon B for the Four Slots bracelet Trade Coupon C for the All materia To get your items (depending on how many coupons you have) go to the computer and choose the bottom option, then the top. Keep in mind that you can only do this once. On the 64th floor, you'll find a Save Point and bedroom to your left. You can use the machines in the exercise room, or spend 250 gil trying to get a health drink. Yeah, perhaps it seems stupid to waste your gil when you don't get anything now, but if you come back later.... If you examine the lockers in the back room, you can find a Phoenix Down, an Ether, and a M-phone (HP Shout), but you can only take the first two items for now. Head to the 65th floor. Here, you have to open a treasure chest, then examine a broken section of the model in the circular room and choose the top option to repair it. This unlocks one of the other chests, allowing you to open it and use the part inside to repair another section of the model. When you have finished, you'll get the Keycard 66 from the final chest. You must fix the model in a counter-clockwise fashion starting from the bottom. The order of the chests you open goes like this: Upper-left room: bottom chest Upper-left room: top chest Lower-left room: left chest Lower-left room: top chest Upper-right room: chest Middle-right room: get the Keycard 66 from here when you're done. On the 66th floor, you can either run into the meeting hall as quickly as you can (if you took the elevator...it's a glitch, and was possible in the Japanese version, at least :)), or you can enter the stall in the bathroom located in the northwest corner of the floor. Choose the middle option, and you'll climb on top of the toilet and enter an air duct. Move forward to see what the Shinra members (Reeve, Palmer, President Shinra, Heidegger, Hojo, and Scarlet) are discussing. Climb back out, then climb up the stairwell after Hojo (the pony-tailed scientist) in the room to the right of the meeting hall. Note that you'll end up in the air duct even if you ran into the hall...heh, heh. On the next floor (67), talk to the people and keep following the scientist. After looking in the purple chamber (and after Cloud gets another headache), move beyond the crates and to the right to find a Save Point and a treasure chest with a Poison Materia inside. Enter the elevator to the north, and then watch as the scientist toys with Aeris. Now, choose who you want to protect Aeris, (either Barret or Tifa), and then you can name the lion-like creature (Red 13) that was attacking Hojo. He'll fight alongside you when the mutant boss shows up. Don't forget that Red 13 comes equipped with his own Materia! Boss Tips: Sample:HO512 LV: 19 HP: 1,000 MP: 120 Boss Tips: Sample:HO512-OPT LV: 7 HP: 300 MP: 48 Don't try to kill this guy's little guardians; he'll only create more. Instead, use Bolt or Fire on him and try Restore to keep up your own life power. Avoid using physical attacks, Ice <../materia/magic.php> , Poison.This means that Red 13 is better off using Fire against the boss than attacking. This battle is easier if you have Barret, who can inflict more damage. Don't worry about getting poisoned since you can get infected again when the boss uses the pink gas attack on your characters (there's no point in trying to de-poison yourselves). You'll get a Talisman should you kill the boss, and Grenades depending on the OPTs that you killed. Tifa or Barret return after the battle (depending on who you chose). You'll be asked to make a new party (but you can keep the old one you had before, if you wish). When you're in control of Cloud again, be sure to grab the yellow materia ( Enemy Skill that's left behind in the sample chamber). Then go up the ladder and head south. Talk to the man in the gray coat to get the Keycard 68. Go back down to floor 66 and try entering one of the lifts; you'll get caught by Rude (he's a Turk who you'll be running into constantly throughout the game). He and Tseng will 'escort' you to a meeting with the president of Shinra. Afterwards, you'll end up in the jail cells on floor 67. Here, listen to everyone, then go to sleep. The next morning, you'll find that your door is unlocked. Investigate the guard, then talk to Tifa. Check the guard again to unlock the doors, then look in on Barret and Red 13. After freeing your companions, return to the lab and talk to Red 13. Talk to him again after taking the elevator up to the 68th floor, then use the incline to reach the walkway again. Go all the way along it until you find two purple Potions, then climb back down and enter the door from the ground floor. The green bars of light won't hurt you; run through them and pick up two more Potions before climbing up the stairs to the 69th floor. Go out the center door to reach a Save Point. Then, run up either of the purple stairs. Check out the dead Shinra president, capture Palmer, then go through the door to the north to exit the room. Outside, talk to the man in white. He's Rufus, son of the Shinra president. The other characters will return to the floor below, and you must lead them outside (you can also choose to unequip Aeris' and Cloud's materia in case you want to juggle them around for the upcoming battles). Your team now consists of Red 13, Barret, and Aeris; don't forget to reequip your Materia (it seems as if the top option removes it....) Head to the lift (by taking the lower door). When you activate it, you are attacked by a huge gun-wielding machine while going down the side of the Shinra building. Boss Tips: Hundred Gunner LV: 18 HP: 1,600 MP: 0 weak against Lightning You can only use long-range attacks, so use Barret's attacks and his Limit Break as well as magic to harm this foe. Posion based magic inflicts no damage, while Bolt does the most damage. Red 13 is a sitting duck if he doesn't have any spell Materia equipped, so be sure to deck him out with some magic spells (he can still use his Limit Break). When you inflict enough damage, the boss starts to break down. After the second collapse, he starts firing heat blasts that damage all members, so be careful. After killing the boss, you must fight a flying machine. Boss Tips: Heli Gunner LV: 19 HP: 1,000 MP: 0 weak against Lightning As with the other boss, don't use Bio but do use Bolt. You may be weak after the last battle, so make use of Potions, the Restore Materia, andAeris' B1/1 Break (Healing Wind) to restore lost life. You'll win a Mythril Armlet when the boss dies. The scene switches back to Cloud. Heal yourself if necessary, equip Materia, then press Start. Rufus will then attack you. Feel free to adjust his equipment/Materia if need be before the battle. Boss Tips: Rufus LV: 21 HP: 500 MP: 0 Boss Tips: Dark Nation LV: 18 HP: 140 MP: 80 Kill the panther guardian first, then go after the boss. Although you can't do anything about the panther casting Barrier on Rufus, you can use magic instead to inflict damage. He can only hurt you with his shotgun, so don't worry about healing yourself after each round (just heal yourself when your life gets lower). Sock him with your Limit Breaks and he'll escape onto the circling helicopter after you've damaged him enough. Cloud will get a Protect Vest and a Guard Source when the battle ends. Leave the rooftop and head back to where Tifa is waiting for you. As Aeris, try to approach the front doors. After a short conversation, you and the gang will escape by motorcycle (and truck). Your team is now made up of Cloud, Tifa, and Barret. An option screen appears where you have the following options: Left: Attack Switch members Right: Attack Main Menu Start Return to game Be sure to re-equip Materia before returning to the game! Use the controller to move any any direction. Pressing S makes you slash to the left, and pressing O makes you slash to the right. The object here is to protect your friends in the truck from enemy cyclists. Eventually, you'll reach a dead end and fight the boss. The amount of life you start off with during the battle depends on how much life you and your friends lost during the high-speed escape. If a character lost all his life, he begins with only 1 point when the battle starts, but since the boss gets to make the first attack, they'll have to be revived using Phoenix Downs if there are any party members who survived. The boss is a spiked, armored robot with six wheels. Boss Tips: Motor Ball LV: 19 HP: 2,600 MP: 120 weak against Lightning This boss gets a free attack from behind...sheesh. Most of his attacks do little damage, but his Firethrower and flying fire sweep attacks can kill your party in a single blast (the fire sweep does around 220 damage)! The best way to beat this group is have your party consist of Aeris and Barret. Give the All and Restore materia to either Cloud or Barret, and give the other character Lightning. This way, you can heal with one character, attack with another, and then use Aeris' Limit Break to keep your life up at all times. Ice works better than Fire against the boss (for those characters that don't have Lightning equipped). Remember, your rows are reversed when attacked from behind, so put Cloud and Barret in the back and Aeris in the front if you want them to line up properly when the boss shows up (assuming that's who you use...I found that they worked the best). If you beat the boss, you'll get a Star Pendant. --------- 2.9 Kalm --------- Items in this area: Ether x3, Peacemaker, Guard Source, You'll find yourselves outside of the gate after beating the boss (you could also see this scene by going south from the church where you met Aeris the first time). Decide who will be in your group, then head towards the screen to exit and arrive at the World Map (the outside world). Outer World Controls: Triangle Menu Screen L2/R2 Change from overhead/side view L1/R2 Same effect as L2/R2 Turn left/right (during side view) Start Shows World Map Start x2 Shows Large World Map Start x3 No map is shown Select Same as Start Kalm Town isn't far from Midgar; you should be able to see it if you walk north a ways. Go into the inn to see the rest of the gang waiting for you. Cloud will talk to the others about Sephiroth via a series of semi-interactive flashbacks: You'll start off in a truck being driven by Shinra soldiers. After talking to the soldiers and Sephiroth (Cloud's former ally in the Shinra army and now a wanted criminal), the truck will be stopped by a dragon. You'll have to fight it, but Sephiroth (who is super- powerful) can kill it in two hits. In the flashback, Cloud's portrait is different; this 'Young Cloud' is of a low level, but Sephiroth is so strong that you need not worry about losing battles. However, you can't control Sephiroth's actions and you can't hurt him (because of your low level), either. Although Young Cloud comes equipped with an Pre-emptive materia and Sephiroth has several mastered materia equipped, you can't take them for your own (although you can if you use a Game Shark code...see section 14). Also, Young Cloud and Sephiroth can't use Limit Breaks (because they don't have any). After the battle, you'll end up in Nibelheim, Cloud's hometown. Talk to Sephiroth and the guards if you wish, then head north. If you want to look around the town, feel free to, but nothing you do during this part of the game has an affect on the rest of your quest (although is does affect the character's questions and reactions to Cloud's story). One thing you might want to do is go into Tifa's house (the large building on the 'southeastern' side of town). You can read her stuff, play the piano (if you play the 'Highwind' theme, Cloud will act like he remembers it from somewhere), or even search her closet (hey, they changed 'slightly-stretched underwear' to 'orthopedic underwear'. What's the big deal? :)) Also note that you can't get Vincent Valentine during Cloud's flashback because you can't examine the safe :( When you're done looking around town, go to the inn and head upstairs. Talk to Sephiroth and choose to get some sleep. The next day, talk to Sephiroth and get your picture taken, then sit back and watch the FMV. When you're in control of Cloud, head along the bridge and talk to Tifa, then talk to her again further along the bridge and it will break. After you've recovered, head northeast into the cave, then keep heading north. Eventually, you'll arrive at the Jenova plant. Enter it, head along the beams, then walk onto the wood platform and climb down the chains and go after Sephiroth. Talk to him in the next area, examine the chamber to the left of Sephiroth, then talk to him twice, once to make him move out of the way and once to make Cloud look inside the chamber. After Sephiroth goes ballistic, you'll return to Kalm Town. Pick the top option to save your game, or the bottom option to continue. Cloud's narrative starts off back at Nibelheim, where he enters the large mansion at the edge of town. Inside, climb the two staircases and head to the right. Enter the lower door and make your way into the next room; if you examine the circular part of the stone wall, a passage appears. Enter it and climb down the spiraling walkway until you reach the bottom; keep walking from here to find a library. Leave after Sephiroth finishes talking. After Cloud wakes up, return to the library. Sephiroth gives a little speech then he exits the mansion; return to the town square. Try entering the house to your right. Back at the Jenova plant, return to the area with the chambers after witnessing the struggle between Tifa and Sephiroth. Examine Tifa to carry her out of harm's way, then run up the stairs and enter the door that Sephiroth opened. After the FMV sequence, Cloud's flashback ends and you are returned to Kalm Town. On the second floor of the inn is a cabinet with an item in it that you can't reach. However if you keep trying to get it, Cloud will eventually knock the item down, which turns out to be a Megalixir. That's right, you can get a Megalixir at this early point in the game, so don't miss it! :) Note that you have to go to Kalm Town to proceed with the game; you can't make your way through the Mythril Mines beforehand, although you can visit the Chocobo Farm if you want to. As for treasure, there's an Ether in the door beneath the stairs in the house near the inn, another Ether in the cabinet on the second floor of the house to the right of that house, and a Peacemaker in the chest on the second floor of the third house (take the curving stairs). You can also look out of the window here (a neat little trick). If you take the normal stairs in the same house, you can get a Guard Source in the cabinet by the little girl. Finally, in the house on the other side of the town, there is an Ether in the door beneath the stairs on the north wall of the first floor. Oh, you'll be given the PHS (Party Hensei System) when you talk to your allies on the first floor of the inn; it allows you to switch group members whenever you want, providing that you're in the World Map or standing on a Save Point (there are a few exceptions to this rule). Note that in the house to the right of the inn, there's a chest you can't open on the upper floor. If anyone knows how to unlock it, I'd love to hear from you. ------------------ 2.10 Chocobo Ranch ------------------ Items in this area: Choco/Mog Materia, Megalixer Leave the town and head east to reach the Chocobo Farm. Talk to the Chocobo at the front end of the pen and choose the top option to see the big yellow birds dance; you'll get the Choco/Mog materia afterwards. Then, talk to Choco Billy (the man with the hat) in the stables behind the pen. Choose the first option, then the 4th option, then the top option again. Providing you have 2000 gil to spare, he'll sell you a Chocobo Lure materia, which lets you attract chocobos to ride. To catch a chocobo, wander around outside on the chocobo tracks (in this area of the game, you can meet them on the light patches of grass, too), until you are attacked. If a chocobo is one of your opponents, then kill off the other enemies and when the battle ends, you'll be riding the chocobo. If you attack the chocobo, it will hurt you and the other enemies, then escape, so you'll have to try again. Don't forget, you can only fight chocobos if you have the Chocobo Lure materia equipped. When riding a chocobo, your can move around normally, and you won't get attacked by enemies. You can press X to dismount, but if you do this, the Chocobo will run away and you'll have to catch another one. A little to the south and directly west of the Chocobo farm is a cave, but a creeping snake in the marsh before the cave entrance will rise up to attack you. Instead of trying to kill it now, go get a Chocobo instead, who can outrun the snake and enter the cave. Yes, you will still get attacked if the snake touches your chocobo. Note that you can run across the marsh on foot, but nothing special happens if you do so (and it's nigh-impossible to pull off without running into Midgar Zolom). Boss Tips: Midgar Zalom LV: 26 HP: 4,000 MP: 348 This boss has two deadly attacks: one is a tail swipe that knocks a team member off-screen and puts them out of commission for the rest of the battle. The other one is the Beta enemy skill, which inflicts around 1000-1200 points of damage (which spells instant defeat if your allies are weak, although you should try to pick up this skill if you have a Enemy Skill materia equipped). Along with his bite attack, this serpent can be a tough enemy if you try to fight him earlier in the game. It's easier if you try to defeat him after you have Cid's airplane, since you can use Limit Breaks and powerful summon and magic spells to kill it. Unfortunately, you get a measly amount of EXP, AP, and gil for beating the boss and what's worse, he reappears when you return to the World Map, so you're right back where you started. Note that if Midgar Zolom knocks one of your allies off-screen, the game won't end should the other members be killed; instead, you'll find yourself standing at the edge of the marsh. The first time you get across the marsh, you'll see a large snake impaled on a tree. Just exit the screen to continue playing. Also, if you get off your chocobo while on the patch of grass before the mine entrance, he'll stay there in case you need to return to the farm (this doesn't seem to happen all the time--I don't know why). If you're strong enough, you can get to the Mythril Mines without ever having to go to the Chocobo Farm. -------------------------------------- 2.11 Mythril Mine/ Junon & Shinra Boat -------------------------------------- Items in this area: Ether, Tent, Long Range Materia Mind Source x2, Elixir, Power Wrist, Shiva Materia, Grenade or Potion x6 or Ether x6, Enemy Skill materia, 1/35 soldier x2, Luck Source, Power Source, Guard Source, Speed Plus Source, Silver Glasses or HP Plus materia or Force Stealer, Ether, All materia, Wind Slash, White Cape, Ifrit materia. Inside the Mythril Mine, head northeast to find a green Ether on the stone steps. In the chest is a Tent, so be sure to grab it. If you try climbing up the brown vine on the western rock face, you'll find a purple materia (Long Range). Climb back down, return to the first area, then head left. Make your way southeast to find a chest with a Mind Source inside, then head west to reach the next area. Here, you'll run into some of the Turks again: Rude, Elena, and Tseng. Once they leave, walk north. There's a chest with a Elixir inside it and a Hi-Potion just to the north of the chest. Return to the area where you met the Turks, climb up the vine, and go through the door to exit the mine and return to the World Map. From now on, you can meet Yuffie in the forests and have her join you (refer to section 8 for details). Nearby is a rocky outcropping with a huge bird statue atop it, the Condor Fort. Enter it and choose the second option when talking to the man out front. After climbing up the rope, you'll find yourself in a town built into the rock itself. There is a Save Point, item shop, bedroom (you can sleep for free), and Materia shop here. Talk to everyone. Once you arrive at Junon, talk to the villagers, then go down the stairs to the shore. Here, a young girl named Priscilla is playing with a dolphin. Out of nowhere, a big flying boss shows up and attacks her, then your party. Boss Tips: Bottomswell LV: 23 HP: 2,500 MP: 100 weak against Wind There's not much to worry about; just attack with Lightning or Poison- based spells and keep your life up. Since this guy's flying, some characters can't attack him (like Tifa), while some can (Barret). Find out which guys should be casting magic and which should be attacking early on in the battle. On the other hand, if you have a Long Range Attack materia handy, equip it, since that will let you attack the boss. Sometimes, the boss puts an HP-reducing bubble around a character. It only disappears if you cast a magic spell upon it (this won't hurt the 'bubbled' person). If you have the Affect All materia, you can use this to cast a spell on the bubbled person and the boss at the same time. Before dying, the boss will attack with Big Wave, (he can do this normally, but always does one before he disappears) so watch out and make sure your HP is high enough to withstand an attack. You'll receive a Power Wrist when the battle is over. After killing the boss, you'll have to revive Priscilla. To do this, watch the lung-shaped meter that appears in the upper right. Press the square button once to make the meter start to raise. Just as it reaches the top, press square again to make Cloud breathe into the girl's mouth. It will take a couple of tries, but don't sweat it; she can't die. Afterwards, go to the house near the entrance to town and talk to the old lady standing there. Decide to stay the night. That evening, Cloud will have another bad dream. In the morning, leave and go to the house above the stairs (your friends will have gathered near it). Priscilla will give you the Shiva materia a gift for saving her life. Follow her to the shore, then talk to her a second time. Barret will show up and the girl will keep talking; when you have the chance, choose the middle option. Your goal in this part of the game is to leap atop the iron beam above the electrical tower so that you can sneak into the heart of Junon Town. Your controls are: X=Swim faster Square=Make dolphin flip in the air If you get to close to the electric blasts traveling along the tower, you'll get shocked and will have to try again (just pick the second option). The easiest way to get up there is to simply not move and press square. The dolphin will miss and deposit you near the bottom of the screen. However, you'll be perfectly positioned, so if you press square again, Cloud will land on the beam. Once you're on it, head to the left to get a good view of the flying airship 'Highwind'. Make your way south (towards the 'front' of the screen) to continue once you've climbed up the ladder. The next area has a higher and lower level. If you investigate the box-like switch, you'll be taken to the lower level. From there, head south to find a building. Can't find it? Well, there is a projecting roof nearby which has a door underneath it; just press against the edge and you'll enter a hallway filled with soldiers. In the halls, go up to find a locker room. Check out the half-open locker and choose to dress up as a guard. When the other soldiers enter and start singing, talk to the captain again and tell him you understand (or tell him no if you want to watch a little more), when you're ready to leave. Outside, take note of the Save Point before going through the lower exit. After the FMV sequence, follow the guards into the first alleyway. You'll come across a group of marching soldiers. The head guard will want you to join in and march with them perfectly, but it may take a couple of attempts before this event will end if you mess up badly. You also have to move your gun in time with the soldiers by pressing and releasing the O button.Depending on how high or low the TV counter was during this scene (the one in the lower right-hand corner), you will get the following: Percent Acquire Type 29% or lower Grenade Item 30-39% Potion x6 Item 40% - 49 Ether x6 Item 50% or higher 5000 gil Currency Afterwards, you'll have to stand at attention while Rufus and Heidegger talk to each other...press in any direction and the captain of the guard will tell you to get back in line. After the rest of the soldiers leave, the captain will give you an option; choose either option and you'll return to the locker room for some training on the next event. There, you can try to follow the captain's orders, if you wish. When he asks you a question, choose the top choice to try training again, or the bottom option to finish the training. Once the soldiers leave, follow them outside. Now's your chance to do a little shopping and treasure hunting. You'll run into Rude in the basement of the first weapon shop, but he won't recognize you in your Shinra guard uniform. Go through the third door and talk to the guard near the back of the room, then jump down to an area with several Shinra guards and some holograms. In the far corner of the room is a yellow materia(Enemy Skill). This place is similar to the 'House of Learning' back in Midgar where you could learn about the game's mechanics. On the second floor of the same building, you can get a 1/35 soldier and a Mind Source. In the room with the cats nearby is a Luck Source. On the third floor is a red Power Source and a green Guard Source. If you enter the fourth door (the first door on the other side of town), you'll find that that Elena, Rude, and Tseng of the Turks are here. It's a good thing that you're in that uniform :) Go through the sixth door to find a room with a soldier; you can check the silver trashbin or the opposite chair to get a message from the guard (yes, this is a glitch) and pick up a yellow Speed Source in the side room. On the floor above, you can pick up another 1/35 soldier. In the next area, Heidegger and Rufus show up again. You have to do your salute according to what the captain of the guard tells you to do (remember your training)! At the very end, all you have to do is be facing forward: pressing any button will make you do the 'spinning gun' salute. Unfortunately, the order of commands is random each time you play, so just do your best. Afterwards, you can press the following buttons to make Cloud do funny things: Square Scratch back with gun X Put one leg forward Triangle Shrug Pad Stand at attention Depending on how well you did during the salute, Heidegger will give you an item. Each 'button press' action was worth 10 points, and the final salute was worth 30 points. Changing direction was worth 0 points, but unless you were facing in the correct direction, any action you performed was worth 0 points. Also, performing an action was worth 0 points if you did it too late (although you'll get full points if you do the action early). Your total score determines what you will receive (notice that Rufus' reactions change depending on what item you will be given): Score Acquire Type 0 - 50 Silver Glasses Accessory 60 - 90 HP Plus Independent Materia 100 - 200 Force Stealer Weapon (for Cloud) After everyone else leaves, Red 13 (who was watching from just inside the boat) will talk to you if you try to leave instead of boarding the boat. Either way, you'll end up joining your friends in the boat's hull. Open the treasure chest to get an Ether, and be sure to pick up the blue materia (All). If Yuffie's in your party, she'll be blocking the way to the materia, but you can always get it later. Speaking of, if you're trying to befriend Yuffie for the 'date' sequence later, make sure you have a Tranquilizer to give her. Talk to the people here, then go up on the deck and talk to everyone else; you'll notice that some of them are your companions (don't miss Red 13 :)). The man in white will sell you items if you talk to him, or 'Invisible Alpha', a instant-use drink that restores your HP and MP. Once you're done talking to your pals, go back down and talk to Aeris, then return to the deck and go all the way to the left; one of the guards has left, allowing you to sneak to the front of the ship. Here, talk to Barret, who is spying on the Shinra members. After talking to him a couple of times, an alarm will sound. Go back to the center of the boat to find your friends. Then, assemble your party. If you want to change the setup, talk to your friends again. When you're ready, go downstairs and head through the door that the one guard was standing in front of. In the next room, watch out for enemies and climb up the ladder, the walkway leads to a chest with a Wind Slash inside. Did you get all the items on the boat? When you're ready, go and talk to the captain of the guards. It turns out that he's dead. Then, Sephiroth shows up, and summons a huge monster for you to fight before he flies away. Boss Tips: Jenova Birth LV: 25 HP: 4,000 MP: 110 Earth, Fire, and Ice magic work well against it, but don't use Poison. Attack with your Summon Materia and hit it with everything you've got. Keeping your HP up is a priority, since it can use lasers to attack one or all members. Only use physical attacks if you are running low on MP. The boss can cast 'Stop' on a single ally so make sure that you're not too dependent on any one character during the battle. Some Phoenix Tails will also come in handy, since the boss sometimes uses a laser that hits all allies (Terror Laser) twice in a row (which can inflict loads of damage). You'll get a White Cape when the battle is over. After the battle Jenova leaves behind a red materia pick it up before leaving the room otherwise you will miss out on the Ifrit materia. ------------------- 2.12 Costa del Soa ------------------- Ah, a tropical resort! Too bad the team doesn't have time for a vacation. That's okay though, when Rufus learns that Avalanche was onboard the boat, Heideggar will provide all the entertainment you could ask for. In the next area, go into the door to meet a shady guy who will sell you this room for 300,000 gil; you can sleep here for free anytime you want afterwards. Climb down the stairs in the bottom part of the room to reach a basement with a sleeping man. You can get a Power Source and a Motor Drive here, as well as a Fire Ring from the treasure chest. You'll meet Mukki (from the cabaret in the Wall Market) in the bar, as well as some of his friends. If you go down to the beach, you'll run into Hojo (the scientist you met in the Shinra HQ). You can talk to him if you want, but you won't get anything out of it. Note that if you stayed at an inn here before going to the beach, Hojo will be gone, however, you can stay at the villa, if you bought it, and he will still be there. After talking to him, any party members who aren't in your group will disperse around town. ------------------------------------- 2.13 Corel Mountain and Corel Village ------------------------------------- Outside of the town, head through the mountains and across the bridge. You'll find a cave-like entrance. Talk to the man on the hill, then keep heading north. Eventually, you'll reach a walkway that leads to a large Makoro furnace. Head south and follow the train tracks; there's no point in looking around here. Keep going, and you'll come across some curving tracks and a Save Point. As you walk along the tracks, you can get the following items: W Machinegun, Turbo Ether, and a Transform materia. These tracks are rickety, and when you walk across them in certain areas a message will appear telling you to press O so that you don't fall through them. It's better to let yourself fall, because you can then hold left or right and rapidly press O to land beneath the tracks. Then, press Up to climb back up. If you landed on the left side of the tracks, you can pick up a Wizard Staff. If you landed in the middle, you can't get anything, but if you landed on the right side, you'll find a Star Pendant. There are three places where you can fall through the tracks, so be sure to get these items. Take the upper rail path to the next area. Are your friends waiting for you on the lower track? If they're not, then go back and take the lower path. You'll get an option to summon them using the PHS system. Assuming they're there, take the upper path and keep walking until you find a wooden shed. Enter it and pick the top choice when you're prompted to make a decision. This will lower the tracks on the bottom path. Before returning to the lower rail path and following after your allies, you can walk to the end of the path you're on and climb the wall; you'll hear birds chirping if you're in the right place. After finding the nest, you can choose to take the treasure in the nest (the top option), or leave the birds alone (the bottom option). If you choose the top option, you're attacked. Boss Tips: Cocatrice LV: 17 HP: 420 MP: 0 This guy's easy; just attack until it dies. You'll get 10 Phoenix Downs should you kill it. You can get two Softs from it; one by stealing, the other by killing it with Morph (assuming you're using a GameShark code.) You'll get 10 Phoenix Downs after the battle is over. Cloud will then return to the train tracks. Keep in mind that this is a one-shot deal; whether you decide to take the treasure or not, you can only make a choice one time. As you're traveling along the lower rail path, you'll see a part where the track splits in two directions. Take the left path (the one that turns back). Walk north (towards the bridge), then right (under the first bridge). It may sound confusing, but you'll end up in a little shack where there's a bunch of items and a man resting on a bulldozer. There's a Mind Source and a Power Source here, and the chest has a Tent inside of it. Leave and follow the other path across the bridge in the next area to reach the town of North Corel. There's some merchants here at North Corel and an inn. You can also learn more about Barret here, whether he's in your party or not. When you're done shopping and chatting, go to the ropeway. After Barret has a flashback about his friend Dain, take the lift up to the Gold Saucer. You can return to the World Map by heading right from the bottom area of the town, but there's nothing to do out there (aside from saving your game or riding around on a Chocobo). You'll see a Save Point in the background of the first area of the Gold Saucer, but you'll need GP (not gil, like what you've been using) to activate it. Pay the man to get in (the first choice is for a one-visit entry free, the second choice gets you a 'Gold Ticket', which lets you enter the Gold Saucer as often as you'd like), and then choose the path of your choice after your companions separate. You can take a pal with you by talking to them. If you try to leave the Station Square (the area where you're at; all the areas in the Saucer are divided into 'squares'), Aeris will join you. As you explore the rest of the Gold Saucer, you'll discover that Shinra soldiers are snooping around, looking for Sephiroth. When you're ready to move on, go to the Wonder Square. Here, you'll meet Cait Sith, a would-be fortuneteller. He'll automatically join you since you only have two members (you and your friend) at this point. Go to the Battle Square and you'll find a bunch of dead bodies; the handiwork of 'a man with a gun on for an arm'. As you're talking to the one person who is still alive, Dio, the proprietor of the Gold Saucer, shows up and promptly blames you for the carnage. Cait Sith makes a dash for freedom, but after following him, the party is trapped. Dio and his henchmen then summon three large robots that throw you and your allies through the 'Gateway to Heaven' to a desolate area, the Corel Prison, which lies at the base of the Gold Saucer. ----------------- 2.14 Corel Prison ----------------- Items in this area: Silver Armlet, Ramuh materia. Here, you'll find Barret. After he runs away, examine the dead body and talk to the other guy before going though the southern gate. There is a treasure chest here (in the chamber at the base of the ladder), but it's already opened (anyone know if there's supposed to be something in it that you could have gotten earlier?) In the Japanese version of FF7, this is the place where you could have (supposedly) fought Test Zero, (not that it's important now). In the second area, talk to everyone here. The building to the far southeast is a bar, and a man inside will sell you items, and you can sleep in the front truck part of the big rig. After looking around here, enter the building to the east (it doesn't matter which entrance you take). Barret will show up once you're inside, as will Tifa and Aeris. After Barret's flashback (in which his best friend falls down a gorge and North Corel is razed to the ground), reassemble your team and go back to the first area. Examine the guard (who is dead), then either leave through the gate. If you exit by going through the area between the gate and the building to the right, you'll end up wandering around in a wasteland until a caravan (the same one that Tifa was captured in) shows up. When it does, pick the top option to get a ride back to the area beyond the gate or choose the bottom option to stay where you are (in the middle of nowhere...you'll have to keep wandering around until the caravan shows up again). Anyway, once you've gone past the gate, talk to the man out here and go to the right. Any other direction leaves you stranded in the desert (read the above paragraph again if you want to get back on track). This takes you to the caryard. Go up from here and you'll run into none other than Dyne (the guy from Barret's flashback). He tells Barret about Eleanor and Marlene (who is actually his daughter), then decides to attack Barret. In the battle, you're forced to fight using just Barret, so make sure you equipped him with good stuff beforehand. Boss Tips: Dyne LV: 23 HP: 1,200 MP: 20 The easiest way to kill this boss is simply let him hit you; his attacks increase your Limit meter quickly. Use the Restore materia to restore lost life, then hit him with the Big Shot Limit Break when your meter maxes out. A summoning Materia (like Shiva or Ifrit) is also a good way to inflict added damage. Just make sure you have all the MPs you need, and you can win in no time. The boss can pull off a final attack before dying, so keep your life up (but he can't do it if you kill him fast enough). You get a Silver Armlet for beating him. You'll find yourself back in the trailer. After talking to Mr. Coates, you'll be invited to become a Chocobo racer. In the elevator shaft, choose the top option to have the racing process explained to you, or pick the bottom one to skip it. In the room with the other men, check the alcove by the Chocobo poster for a red Summon Materia (Ramuh). Then, talk to the girl in pink (Ester) to start racing. Controls for Chocobo Racing Square Speed Up X Speed Down O Dash (uses up your Dash Meter) Select Switch between Automatic and Manual control R1+R2 Hold these buttons to refill your Dash Meter. The more you Dash, the slower your walking speed is, so conserve your Dash Meter for when you really need it. You have to keep racing until you win, so get good fast! Ester will explain the controls to you again prior to the race if you choose the top option, or you can conclude your conversation with her and start racing by choosing the bottom option. If you can't get the hang of it, then just keep racing using the Automatic Sequence mode until you get first place. Important: Remember this! You can refill your Dash Meter slowly by holding down + . You can increase your Chocobo's walking speed by holding + in addition to + . Keep this in mind if you ever decide to become a chocobo jockey later on in the game. After winning, you'll receive the Buggy as first prize, and can now roam freely about the overworld and even pass through shallow rivers! (Look for lighter-shaded fords along the rivers.) Your controls are set up in the following manner: Square Exit buggy O Enter buggy Trianagle Main Menu Select/Start World Map (press repeatedly to enlarge/hide map) You can run into enemies in the buggy, so be careful. Also, you can only return to the Golden Saucer if you take the ropeway from North Corel Town; you can't get there using the buggy. If you go across the river south from the Golden Saucer and look around, you'll find a house on a peninsula; you can't explore it yet, so ignore it for now. BTW, you can return to the desert if you get in the buggy, enter the desert surrounding the Saucer, and touch the houses at the base of the Saucer. However, you'll find that there's nothing to do here but wander through the desert--do so long enough and the same cart that Tifa was abducted in will pull up and offer you a ride back to your vehicle. Choose the top option to accept and the bottom option to stay where you are. And as the help menu indicates, it's possible to return to Junon Town and take the Buggy with you. After you've completed the scenario with Cid and gotten the Tiny Bronco, you can explore the house on the peninsula; you can also get Aeris' Level 4 Limit Break manual at that point in the game. ------------------------------ 2.15 Gongaga Town/Cosmo Canyon ------------------------------ Items in this area: Fairy Tale, X-Potion x2, Titan, Deathblow, Added Effect materias Ether, Black M-phone, X-Potion, Fairy Ring, Ether Turbo, Wizer Staff, Gravity materia, Elixir. You can get a second Elixir, a Magic Source, and the Full Cure materia here from Disc 2 onwards. Now, head south from the Golden Saucer across the river. You don't have to go to Gongaga town right now if you don't want; while you can still get the Deathblow and Titan materias later, you can't fight Reno or Rude, nor can you get the treasure they're carrying. In any case, go into the black structure surounded by a forest, if you want to go to Gongaga. Reno and Rude are here. After Elena shows up and alerts the other Turks to your presence, you'll be asked a question. No matter what your answer is, you'll have to fight Reno and Rude at the same time. Boss Tips: Reno LV: 22 HP: 2,000 MP: 80 Boss Tips: Rude LV: 23 HP: 2,000 MP: 135 Use Summoning spells to even the odds at the start of the round, then go after either one. Once you injure one enough times, he'll leave, then the other one will. It may be better to attack Rude, since he can heal himself and Reno, but then again, Reno can inflict more damage. In any case, this fight isn't too hard either way. You'll get a Fairy Tale and a X-Potion should you win the battle. After the Turks leave, head northeast, then go north to reach a pile of scrapped machinery. As you're looking around, Scarlet and Tseng show up in the Shinra helicopter and talk about 'Huge Materia' (which you'll learn more about in Disc 2). After they leave, examine the area where Scarlet was standing and choose the bottom option to get the Titan materia. Then go back to the first area and head left. In the second area, there is a Deathblow materia near the left path (which returns you to the World Map). If you take the north path, you'll arrive at Gongaga Town. Be sure to visit the stores (don't forget that you can climb up the pole in the Accessory Shop to reach a room where you can buy weapons) and get the treasure chests from the inn (X-Potion) and the old man's house (White M-phone). If you go into the far right house, you'll meet an old couple who apparently know Cloud (or someone just like him), and someone else named Zack. When you're done here, return to the World Map. Head southwest, then turn toward the river and go over the shallows, and then make your way up through the mountains to reach Cosmo Canyon. If you try to drive past the town, the buggy will short out, so you don't really have any choice but to enter the town (and you can't get anywhere else without the buggy, so even if you didn't drive it past Cosmo Canyon and entered on foot, it wouldn't matter. Note that if you leave the Buggy and enter Cosmo without having your vehicle malfunction, Bugenhagen won't mention that it was repaired to it when you leave). There's an Elixir in the 'Shildra Inn' near the benches; this is the same one the buggy repairman will tell you about if your buggy was broken and you paid him in order to tell you about the Elixir. When you approach the man at the gate, Red 13 will talk to him (he'll either bound up the steps past your party if he's not with you, or he'll just leave your party and start talking if he was with you previously). Everyone here knows Red 13 by the name 'Nanaki'. After Red heads up the stairs, talk to the guard and choose the bottom option to be let into the town (Red 13 will reappear to make sure you guys get in). If he was in your party, you'll have the option to make a new team; otherwise, you can look around town freely. Don't miss the Save Point located in the Tigerlily Arms Shop. In the Item Shop, there is a passage with a red rope across it that prevents you from checking out the room in the back. Keep this place in mind because if you return to Cosmo Canyon in Disc 2 or 3, the rope will have been removed and you can get an Elixir, a Magic Source, and the Full Cure materia orb from the back room. Before continuing your quest, go the the Shildra Inn. On the left side of the screen, hidden behind a bench, is a hard-to-spot Elixir that you'll probably want to hold on to. Eventually head up to the observatory, where you'll run into Red 13 and Bugenhagen, an old geezer who knows all kinds of things. After Red 13 leaves, go back down and talk to your friends in order to make a new party. Then talk to Red 13 in the room connected to the inn before returning to the observatory. Enter the side door, chat with Bugenhagen, and you'll see a short FMV sequence. When it's over, return to the large bonfire (the Cosmo Candle) to the right of the entrance. Your friends are here. Talk to everyone here, then chat with Red 13 a second time. Bugenhagen will show up, and you'll make a new group (with Red 13 as a permanent member). If you want someone else, just talk to another ally (it doesn't matter which one). Follow Bugenhagen back to the sealed door above the weapons shop and talk to him, then choose the top option. He'll open the door for you. Enter and climb down to the very bottom of the shaft, then head left. In the next area, head right and up until you see a hole facing left. Enter it and you'll be given an option. Pick the top one to make an opening appear nearby. Go through it, then head up and left. You'll slide on the oil and hit a spiked wall, reducing every member's HP by 500 points. To avoid it, tap on the controller in order to make Cloud inch is way across the oil (note that hitting the spikes can only reduce a person's life to 1 HP. However, if one of your members died beforehand, they'll be revived with 1 HP!) Then go south, through the hole, and head right to reach the Added Effect materia you couldn't get in the first area. Go back and carefully _walk_ along the edge of the path to avoid slipping across the oil. Then go right, up, left, down the stairs, and through the underpassage to reach a chest with an Ether inside of it. Then return to the stairs and go left, then down to find a second chest containing a Black M-phone. Then climb back up the stairs and head to the upper-left to leave this area. *If you enter any of the other three holes, you'll be given the same option, but if you choose the top choice, you'll be attacked. Doing this doesn't seem to alter the level in any way, but you're better off doing this after you've cleared the _whole_ area out instead of doing it right now; I'd rather be safe than sorry, in my opinion. There are five passages in this area; you only want to take the 2nd and 4th passages from the left. First, take the 4th passage. When you touch the web beyond it, you'll have to fight a giant spider (Stinger). When you've killed it, follow the path north to find a chest with an X-Potion inside. Then go back and take the 2nd passage from the left. Kill the Stinger that attacks you when you touch the web and then head left and down. As you're going through the tunnel, hold right and you'll find an alternate path that leads to yet another treasure chest. You'll find a Fairy Ring in it. Go back up to where the web was and walk north to find another web. Past it is the exit, but try holding left and Cloud will go along a passage hidden by the rock that leads to a chest. There's an Turbo Ether inside. When you approach the giant face in the next cavern, it begins to move and you are attacked. Boss Tips: Gi Nattak LV: 29 HP: 5,500 MP: 200 Don't worry about the Soul Fires this boss has with him; just use your Summon Materia, then concentrate on attacking and using Limit Breaks on the big guy himself. If your spell Materia has hit second level, then iCE and Lightning work nicely on him. You don't even need to worry about your life much; the boss can be taken down before any serious damage is done to your party. You'll get a Wizer Staff should you be successful in battle. For a very quick kill, try using a Phoenix Down or X-Potion, or cast Life on him, but be warned that it will take quite a few tries to get it to work. Grab the spell Materia (Gravity) that's left behind and follow Bugenhagen up the steps. After the sequence with Red 13 and his father, Seto, make a new party and leave the town. Red 13 will rejoin you when you try to leave. Oh yes, the Buggy will be working again when you leave Cosmo Canyon, and if it never blew up in the first place, well, it won't happen anyway :) -------------- 2.16 Nibelheim -------------- Items in this area: Luck Source x2, Elixir x2, Platinum Fist, Turbo Ether, Silver M-phone, Twin Viper, Enemy Launcher, Magic Source, Destruct materia, Rune Blade, Platinum Barrette, Powersoul, All materia, Elemental materia Sniper CR, Jem Ring, Counter Attack materia (if you open up the safe in the mansion, you can get the Cosmo Memory manual and the Odin materia not to mention a Key Item (Key to Basement). You can also get 1 gil by playing the 'Highwind' theme on the piano. In Disc 2, you can get an Elemental materia and the 'Final Heaven' manual (refer to section 8 for details). Get in the buggy and continue past Cosmo Canyon. Head north to find a river with a shallow ford you can cross. Past it, the mountains are of a different type than what you usually see. Near them is a small town, Nibelheim. Look familiar? It's the same one Sephiroth and Cloud went to in Cloud's flashback. First, go into the inn. Talk to the black creature in the back to get a Luck Source. You can get an Elixir from another one of the creatures in the Item Shop, and a second Luck Source if you talk to the small creatures in the upper floor of the southeastern house. The large house to the east is Tifa's home, and you'll be given a Platinum Fist and an Turbo Ether if you talk to the creatures here. There's a piano in Tifa's room that you can fool around with, too (see section 8 for details). This next section is optional--you can just continue on through the mountains if you want. However, Sephiroth won't show up in the mansion after you reach Disc 2, meaning you can't nab the Destruct materia unless you get it from him during the first disc (read below for details). Now, go into the large mansion at the edge of town. Left of the entrance is a piece of paper written by a Shinra worker. It has several hints on it that clue you in to the combination of the safe on the upper floor. Here's where to find the safe numbers: Search the other end of the broken piano in the west wing. Open the chest in the greenhouse, then examine it again. Search the hallway in the east wing, north from the bedroom. Read the piece of paper and put the cursor on the blank space at the bottom. Head right and look for the sliver of light near the stairway, it's very hard to see. It's an opening that leads to the lower section of another room. There's a chest here, with a Silver M-phone inside. Go back out and go into the northern door beneath the staircase. In the adjoining hall, head right and and up to find a chest with a Twin Viper in it. To the left is a room with a broken piano (which you could have also reached by looking for the opening near the left 9staircase in the main room). Go up the stairs and head left. In the circular room is a chest that has an Enemy Launcher inside. There's nothing in the northern room except for a locked safe--you'll need the right combination in order to open it (see section if you don't know how). If you want to try your luck, examine it with the O button and choose the top option to enter the combination or the bottom option to quit. Open the safe (or not), then go right and into the right wing of the manor house. If you go up, you'll find a chest with a Magic Source inside. Then go into the lower room and examine the curved wall to open a secret passage. Go down the spiraling walkway, and then head right. If you got the gold key from the safe, you can open the northern door (refer to section 14 for details). Continue to the right to find a library. Then go north and you'll run into none other than Sephiroth, who will pelt you with a green materia before flying away. Be sure to get the materia (Destruct) before leaving the mansion. Once you're back outside, leave Nibelheim from the northern entrance and continue along until you see a passage leading into the mountains. In the next area, follow the path until it splits, and take the north path, which wraps around the back of a spire and leads to a chest with a Rune Blade inside of it. Now go back and follow the original path. You'll notice that just before the bridge, there's a path that curves away to the north. Follow it up into the mountains and when it curves south, take that path instead of continuing in the same direction. The path curves several times, but eventually you'll make it to the top of the mountain, where you can find a chest with a Plus Barrette. It may help if you press SELECT so that you can see yourself when a mountain is blocking your view, and if you can't seem to get any further, press in other directions (like down) to scale the back of the mountain. Go back down to the main path and head up the bridge. Inside the cavern, take the ladder down instead of the tubes, or you won't be able to get all the treasure in this area unless you climb back up and unfold the ladders from the bottom (is this possible in the US version? It wasn't in the Japanese one). You don't have to worry about the large boss near the door just yet. Feel free to make use of the Save Point, then climb back to the top of the area. Enter the pipe labeled '2' to end up on a rocky ledge. There's an item bag here with a Powersoul inside; get it and then press down to jump down to a lower ledge, then press down again to reach the floor. Climb back up one last time and go into the pipe labled '4' in order to reach the treasure chest on the bottom ledge below; there's an All materia lying within. Walk against the right edge of the ledge to drop down to the floor. Notice that the treasure chest is repeatedly opening and closing? It's just a glitch, one that (surprisingly) wasn't in the Japanese version. See the path heading south, just below the path that the boss is blocking? Follow it to go outside, then try to keep walking and you'll drop down to the lower ledge. Following the path here leads to a dead end, so enter the cave instead and take the righthand path once you're inside. Ignore the exit at the other end of the cave and work your way southwest, then go through the small hole. Walk up, then left, then down in order to reach the treasure chest you could see when you first came in here. Inside it is an Elixir. Now go through the exit to arrive at a wooded area. On the ground, to the left of the mass of crystallized Materia is an Elemental materia. Take it and proceed north, going through the opening to go back into the caves. Inside, head to the right, then go up as far as you can and walk left past the stone walls to reach a chest containing a Sniper CR. Then go back and take the rightmost passage. It goes south and leads you back to the outside. From here, head left (going right leads you to a dead end). You'll eventually end up at the Jenova Plant you visited in Cloud's flashback. There's nothing to do inside the plant, so continue beyond it to the door set in the rock wall. Enter it and you'll end up back in the chamber with the pipes again. It's true that you could have taken the door and done this entire sequence in reverse, but then you couldn't have scaled the ledge and you would have to go all the way back, instead of taking the express route like you just did :) Now climb down and examine the boss, and it will attack you. Boss Tips: Materia Keeper LV: 38 HP: 8,400 MP: 300 Don't use Fire-related attacks; it'll only heal him. Red 13's Limit Break B1/1 works well, as does Cloud's B2/1 Limit Break. I'd also suggest using the 'Choco/Mog' materia as much as you can--it's ability to stun this boss is very useful. Physical attacks should do the trick if you have good weapons; save your MPs for healing yourselves Cure2 combined with the All Materia are a good combination (remember to link them when selecting holders) if you want to stay alive, since the boss can inflict 300-800 points of damage with its stabbing/mauling attacks. Also, he can heal himself (around 1000 hp's worth), and use the damaging Trine skill, which causes about 500 points of damage to all those still alive. If Red's learned his B1/2 break or someone knows Haste, it would be a wise idea to use it at the start of the round. Since the Materia Keeper is one of the few enemies that can use Trine, it comes highly recommended that you have a Enemy Skill materia equipped so that you can learn this enemy technique. You'll get a Jem Ring should you be victorious. After the battle is over, examine the purple materia that is left behind in order to take it (Counter). Then follow the path outside--it leads back to the World Map. ---------------- 2.17 Rocket Town ---------------- Items in this area: Power Source, Yoshiyuki, Drill Arm, Edincoat. Head southwest, then turn north (you're making a big C around the mountains). Keep walking and you'll see Rocket Town up ahead. In the Accessory Shop, you'll recieve a message if you go to the left end of the counter and examine it (anyone know what it means?) If you go into the house farthest to the right, you can find a chest with a Power Source inside of it in next to the stove. Then talk to the old man standing near the house that's just left of the rocket's launch pad. Talk to him again, and he'll ask you a question. Pick the top answer and the view will pan up to show the rocket. Then the old geezer will give you the Yoshiyuki; it's a weapon for Cloud. Go into the house to the right of the old man. This is the home of Shera and Cid, although neither of them are around at the moment. There's a chest here with a Drill Arm inside it. If you go out the back entrance, you'll find a light airplane in the backyard--it's one of Cid's inventions, the 'Tiny Bronco'. After looking at the airplane, Shera will show up. When she leaves, go outside and head north to arrive at the rocket --climb inside it to find Cid. After chatting with him, name him. You can then ask him several questions; you have to at least ask the first one (top choice) in order to proceed with the game. Then leave the rocket and return to Cid's house. Shera will show up, then Cid, too. After Cid goes out back, Shera will explain how Cid was going to pilot his rocket into outer space some time ago, but aborted the launch when he discovered that Shera was still making last- minute checks and hadn't left the launch pad yet; she would be burned to ashes since the launch could only be aborted, not delayed. By saving her life, Cid's dreams were shattered, since he did not have the resources to repair the rocket, which tipped over after falling back onto the launch pad. Cid comes back into the house, then Palmer shows up--an employee of Shinra. Go outside and you'll run into Rufus and a Shinra guard, who have come to 'borrow' the Tiny Bronco. After Shera brings you back inside the house, go out the back entrance to find Palmer standing atop the Tiny Bronco. Talk to him and he'll attack you. Boss Tips: Palmer LV: 38 HP: 6,000 MP: 240 His Mako Gun causes a fair amount of damage since it has the effects of Fire 2, Ice 2, and Bolt 2, so make sure Aeris is in your party (for her Healing Wind ability) or that you have some Restore Materia. Use Haste and All on your party as well as Slow magic and/or Summon Chocobo on him to even the odds a bit. You'll want to have Cloud's B2/2 by now--it comes in handy. Your prize for beating Palmer is an Edincoat. After the boss gets wasted (he's not dead, though) your party and Cid will escape on the Tiny Bronco. Although it gets damaged during your flight, it can still be used to skim across shallow water and traverse rivers (although you can't go up or down waterfalls). Here are the airplane controls: X Exit airplane O Enter airplane Select/Start World Map (press repeatedly to enlarge/hide map) Rotate view (or return to side view if in overhead view) Change view You now have several options that are available to you: you can get Aeris' Level 4 Limit Break manual (see section 8 for details) or go on Yuffie's sub-quest (if you have her in your party, see section 6 for further information). Even if you don't have Yuffie, you can purchase some pretty good weapons and find some treasure chests lying around in Wutai, so you may want to stop there anyways. You can even go back and kill Midgar Zolom, if you've been itching to do so (you'll now have enough HPs to learn the enemy skill 'Beta' from it without dying). In any case, it would be a good idea to explore other areas and pick up items you missed/buy stuff you couldn't afford before instead of continuing on your quest just yet. I would suggest checking out Bone Village, to the north, since you can pick up the powerful 'Kjata' materia there as well as buy some useful bracelets and items. ---------------- 2.18 Gold Saucer ---------------- Items in this area: Protect Vest, Choco Feather, Elixir. Pilot the Tiny Bronco back to the Gold Saucer area. Go to the weapon smith's house on the peninsula near the desert and talk to him--he'll explain that you need the Keystone, which he no longer has. Get back in Cid's airplane, and leave it on the shore by the desert. You need to get to the Golden Saucer, so either walk or find a wild Chocobo and ride it back to North Corel. Then take the ropeway up to the Gold Saucer. Go to the Battle Square and look for an opening on the right side of the room labled 'Dio's Show Room'. Inside, examine the glittering object on top of the large stand; it's the Keystone. Dio, the big lug who threw you out of the Gold Saucer before, will show up and offer you a challenge: fight in the Battle Square and he'll give you the Keystone. When you have a choice, pick the top option to accept or the bottom option to temporarily decline. You'll now have to fight in the Battle Square using only Cloud. Keep in mind that even if you lose the very first battle, Dio will still give you the Keystone. If you want to try and see if you can win all the battles, then keep fighting. After each battle, the message 'GREAT!' will appear, followed by two options. Choose the right option to stop fighting, or the left option to continue fighting. If you choose to continue, a jackpot-like device will appear. You can stop it from spinning by pressing the O button, and whatever comes up when you press O will take affect prior to the start of the next battle. Depending on what you get, different things will happen to you, although certain accessories can render you immune to some of the more debilitating effects. Furthermore, the status ailments that you are afflicted with as a result of the jackpot stay with you from battle to battle, and you're forced to stop the jackpot after each battle, so you could end up being a poisoned, petrified frog in a few rounds, if you're not careful. If you last through seven battles, then the fighting ends. There's nothing else you need to do at the Gold Saucer now, but when you try to leave, you'll discover that the ropeway that the sky lift travels up and down is broken, leaving you stranded in the Saucer. Cait Sith will either show up (or leave your party, if he's already with you guys) and suggest that you all meet him at the Ghost Hotel. At the Hotel, you and your allies will chat for awhile. In the next scene, you'll find yourself in your room. At this point in the game, a character will come into your room and ask to go on a date with you. While it's usually Aeris, you can go on a date with Tifa, Yuffie, or even Barret. First, you'll go to the Event Square. Since you're the 100th person to come here that day, you and Aeris will be offered a role in the upcoming play. What you do here doesn't affect the game in any way, so just pick whatever options you'd like and watch one of the many humorous endings. If I wrote it out, it would ruin the fun, so.... Next, you'll ride the gondola in the Round Square. When your partner looks out the window, you can press left to look out, too, and see various FMV sequences showcasing the events at the Gold Saucer. After the date is over, Cloud and his date will return to the Station Square only to find Cait Sith sneaking around with the Keystone. He'll run away when Cloud yells at him, and you have to chase him around various sections of the Gold Saucer. (If you don't want to waste time doing that, then go to the Chocobo Square, enter it, and chase Cait Sith back outside). Eventually, Cait will stop at the steps outside of the Chocobo Square. The Shinra helicopter shows up, and Cait will toss the Keystone up to Tseng. When confronted by Cloud and your ally, Cait reveals that he is in fact a spy for the Shinra. He insists that he continues to travel with Cloud and his friends because he has taken Marlene as a hostage back in Midgar. Once Cait Sith leaves, you'll find yourself back in the Ghost Hotel. Check the iron maiden for an Elixir. Leave the room to meet up with your allies again. After a brief talk, Aeris will join your party, becoming a permanent member. Pick another ally and then leave the Saucer, since the ropeway is now repaired. Now that you're back at North Corel, leave and return where you parked the Tiny Bronco. Look at the World Map. See the tiny chain of islands near the bottom of the map? Just to the right of them and to the left of Mideel and the Fort Condor is a large island. If you go there, you'll see a large temple surrounded by a forest. This is your next destination, so land the Tiny Bronco at the shore and head to the temple. --------------------------- 2.19 Temple of the Ancients --------------------------- Items in this area: Trident, Mind Source, Silver Rifle, Turbo Ether x2, Rocket Punch, Luck Plus, Morph materia, Princess Guard, Ribbon, Trumpet Shell, Megalixir, Nail Bat, Work Gloves, Dragon Armlet, Bahamut materia, Gigas Armlet. At the top of the temple is a black creature, similar to the ones you met in Nibelheim. If you talk to it, it floats into the air in a flash of light. Inside the temple, you'll find Tseng the Turk. He was badly wounded by Sephiroth. He gives you the Keystone so that you can go after his attacker; examine the dais in the center of the room and you'll be transported into the depths of the temple. This area has a very confusing layout; it's a mass of stairs, walkways and passages. There are chests everywhere, and a kooky old man in a blue robe is also running around down here. From where you arrived, head up, then left, then up again and go down the stairs to the ground level. There's an opening just above you; go in it, turn to the right, then climb down the vines clinging to the wall beneath you. If you run underneath the long staircase nearby, you can reach a treasure chest that has a Trident inside of it. From there, head right, go down the stairs, then turn and climb up the wall using the vines. Head past the opening (which you can't enter at this point, anyway) and go up the stairs. The old man will dash away; ignore him for now and climb up the vines to reach a platform. There's a shiny pink item here (Mind Source). Take it and go down the stairs, then enter the door to your left to find a room with a treasure chest and the old man. Inside the chest is the Silver Rifle. Talk to the geezer twice and he'll offer his services to you: Purchase Items Restore HP and MP to maximum Save your game* Nothing * Choose the top option to decline or the bottom option to accept and save your game. Outside, go back up the stairs and down the vines, but this time, head down and to the left. You can pick up a green item here (Turbo Ether). Then go down the long stairway. At the bottom, climb down the smaller set of steps to your left, then work your way towards the southwest corner of the screen. There's a small patch of vines here that you can climb down. Be sure to open the nearby chest; there's a Rocket Punch inside of it. Now, go down the stairs and walk northeast along the path to find some more vines and the old man, who scampers away when you get too close. Climb up the vines, then go up the stairs next to you, go through the archway, turn east and go down the stairs, and climb up the long stretch of vines on the nearby wall. Head left, underneath the staircase, and you can nab a purple materia (Luck Plus). Now, go back the way you came (go right, down the vines, up the stairs and down and out through the archway so that you're back on the path that the old man was standing on, just above the vines). Walk to the east until the path stops, then head south and turn east again to enter the nearby door. As you enter, the old man will dash away. There are huge hollow boulders that are rolling down this walkway. To get past them, time your dashes so that the hollow part will be directly over you, causing Cloud to kneel as the boulder rolls over you. Then keep going until you reach a side path that leads to a pool of water. Grab the Morph materia near the pool, then continue along the walkway, avoiding the boulders. Once you reach the end of the path, they'll disappear for good, but remember that if you get hit by a boulder, you'll be dragged all the way back to the beginning of the path (ouch!) Alternately, you can wait until the boulders disappear and then go back and pick up the materia after the sequence with Sephiroth. Once the boulders are gone, Aeris will sense a powerful prescence in the chamber and return to the pool. Light will erupt from the surface of the pool, and you'll be able to see what I presume is a flashback of Tseng and Elena (both Turks) running around in the shrine. After Elena leaves, Sephiroth shows up and creates a double of himself. While he busies himself with attacking Tseng, the laughing double flies up into the air. After this sequence is over, Sephiroth's double will descend into the pool and then fly away. When you return to the end of the passage, the old geezer will be waiting for you, and will once again offer his help: Restore HP and MP to maximum Save your game Nothing When you're ready, go down the stairs. There's a huge room here with twelve doors labeled I to XII. In the center of the room is the ever- annoying talking clock. In the Japanese version of FF7, this puzzle was very tricky and I had a whole section written on it. But in the US version, it's a simple matter of moving the clock hands around; so I won't bother with it. There are twelve passages (labeled I to XII), and you get to explore them by setting the clock to various positions. Here's a list of what's in each passage: I When you open up the chest, you'll be attacked by monsters. You won't get anything for beating them, either. Boss Tips: JAMNESMY LV: 24 HP: 800 MP: 80 Boss Tips: Toxic Frog LV: 26 HP: 500 MP: 100 The Poison Frogs are weak against Ice, so use cold-based attacks/spells on them. Their attacks will turn you into a frog, but they attack so often that it's better for you to wait until they hit you again (turning you back into a human) instead of wasting a Maiden's Kiss or other restorative item. The woman (Gemini Sumi) is weak against Poison, so use one of the Bio spells on her for good results. The only point in fighting this battle is if you want to learn Frog Song from the frogs (providing you have a Enemy Skill materia equipped). II This passage is blocked off by rocks. You can't do anything here, so return and pick another path. III A treasure chest. It contains monsters, too. You won't get anything for defeating them. Boss Tips: 8 Eyes LV: 30 HP: 500 MP: 220 Both of these red, multi-eyed monsters are weak against Poison, so use the best Bio spell you've got, or simply attack to dispatch them. If you've got Morph equipped, you can morph both of them into Magic Source items, which is really the only point in fighting this battle. Although weak, either enemy can drain _lots_ of HP from you (around 1200-1400 points!) IIII Shouldn't this be IV? Anyway, there's a chest here, and Aeris's Ultimate Weapon, the Princess Guard is inside. V This passage leads outside to the gold chest you could see but not normally reach. Inside it is a Ribbon. VI Read below to find out what to do here. VII There's a chest here. A weapon for Cait Sith, the Trumpet Shell, is inside it. VIII You can get a Megalixir from the chest in this room. IX A passage blocked by fallen rock. X This is where you came in, bud! XI Yet another blocked passage. XII What a creepy room! You'll be seeing more of it soon enough. At some point, you should stand on the hour or minute hand and let the second hand approach. When it passes over you, it will knock you down into the pit below. When you land, you'll find yourself in a room with a treasure chest. Before you can open it, you'll be ambushed by two monsters. Boss Tips: Ancient Dragon LV: 34 HP: 2400 MP: 450 Using Demi or some Summon Materia will kill these dragons quickly. Even physical attacks work well. Either enemy can only attack for about 500 points of damage, or use a Southern Cross attack that hits one enemy for the same amount of damage, so they don't pose too serious a threat. You can also control them, even though they're bosses. You'll win an Turbo Ether for defeating both of them. In the chest is the Nail Bat, the strongest weapon Cloud can get during Disc 1. Take it and leave the room. You'll find yourself back at the door you couldn't enter earlier (in the area with the vines and staircases. Simply work your way back to the talking clock, and pick up any items you might have missed the first time around. PASSAGE VI Before going down this passage, make sure you've cleared out the other rooms since you won't be able to go back to them after the next event. When you step out into the open, the bouncing old man will see you and run away. When Aeris asks you a question, pick the bottom answer if you want to return and explore more of the clock puzzle room, or choose the top answer if you want to hunt down the old man. To find him, simply go through the passages; you want to end up going into a passage that he plans to come out of. You can go down to another set of passages by going to the left end of each ledge and pressing the O button to jump down a level. You can catch him without too much difficulty. Don't forget to take the chest lying on the lowest level; there's a pair of Work Gloves inside. As usual, beat the old man at his own game and he'll help you in return: Restore HP and MP to maximum Save your game Nothing Now that you've caught the old man, the large door on the top level will open. Go inside and head to the right. You'll encounter Sephiroth four times. Up to his usual evil, Sephiroth talks about the energy within the temple as he as swings his sword around, his every motion trailed by the double that he made earlier. After disappearing, Cloud will suffer from some sort of fit. Once he comes to his senses, the party examines a mural on the wall which shows a meteorite speeding towards the people of the earth. Aeris talks about the spell 'Meteo' which Sephiroth is planning to cast, when the party hears Sephiroth's voice. The temple starts to shake, and a large red dragon appears and attacks the allies. Boss Tips: Red Dragon LV: 39 HP: 6800 MP: 300 Slow the dragon and Haste yourself to gain the upper hand. Some Summon Materia will also even the odds, but don't use Kjata since it will heal the boss by about 2100 points. Also, Demi won't work against it. Limit Breaks and physical attacks should do the trick. You'll win a Dragon Armlet should you win the battle. Pick up the summon materia that's left behind (Bahamut). Then go back and examine the floating gold object on the dais. It's actually the Black Materia. You have the option of touching the Black Materia, it doesn't matter which answer you choose. At this point, if Cait Sith isn't in your party, you'll here a ringing sound and Cloud will answer the PHS phone. Cait will talk to him through the phone. If he is in your party, then he starts hopping around and talking to you. When he finishes, leave this chamber, let the old man heal you if you need it, then go back to the clock room. The only direction you can go in is straight up to passage XII. When you examine the door in the room beyond, yet another boss appears to finish you off. Boss Tips: Demons Gate LV: 45 HP: 10000 MP: 400 The bad news is that the boss can hit for lots of damage. The good news is that most of his attacks (especially the Cave-in and Demon Rush attacks) quickly max out your Limit bars. Now's a good time to try out the Bahamut materia, but most other Summon materia don't do much damage. Make good use of Aeris's B1/1 and Cloud's B2/2, and you'll want to Barrier and Haste yourselves. Luckily, this boss can't instantly kill you as a similar boss in FF2 could. You'll win a Gigas Armlet from this boss if you're victorious. It's been said that you can kill him using Life or a Phoenix Down...is this true? Once the boss is defeated, Cait Sith will have an animated conversation with your party. If he's not in your group, then he bursts out of the door and starts talking. He'll then return to the chamber where the Black Materia was and take it. Afterwards, the entire temple is destroyed. In the following scene, Cloud and Aeris go down into the foundation of the temple and retrieve the Black Materia, but Sephiroth shows up and forces Cloud to give the Materia to him. During this time, you control a ghostly image of Cloud as a child. If you stand in Cloud's path and keep talking to him, you'll prevent him from approaching Sephiroth, but there's no point in doing this since Cloud will continue to advance until you give up. After Cloud gives Sephiroth the Black Materia, he will attack Aeris (and you can't do anything about that, either). Cait Sith will show up (actually Cait Sith 2--the same person, but with a new robot body since the first one got trashed when the temple was destroyed. He sure got there fast, huh?) Then your other party member will leap down and prevent Cloud from killing Aeris. After what I take to be a dream sequence, you'll awake in, of all places, the inn at Gongaga Town, with Barret and Tifa by your side. Answer Barret's question any way you like, then go outside. Tifa and Barret will join your party, but you don't have to keep them as permanent members. Look for the Tiny Bronco on the southern shore near Gongaga Town. Also, Aeris has left your party for good. You'll also lose any equipment or materia she had equipped, apparently. Now, you need to go to the forest that you saw in Cloud's dream. First, get in the Tiny Bronco. ----------------- 2.20 Bone Village ----------------- Items in this area: Buntline, Kjata materia , Water Ring. Make your way up to the Northern Continent by going around the left side of the Western Continent after going along the river by the Gold Saucer. Head to the right edge of the continent, where you'll find a forest surrounded by mountains. In the middle of the forest is a big rib cage and a large skull. Approach it, and you'll find yourself in a excavation site where a bunch of archaeologists spend their time digging. Before doing anything else, you might want to head up the ladder and go through the hole in the back to reach the Sleeping Forest, the same one from Cloud's dream. Keep walking until you reach the second forest screen. If you stand here for a moment, you'll see a red Materia floating on the left side of the screen. It will switch to the right side and back again every few seconds. Try to predict where it will show up and use the O button to grab it. Your reward is Kjata. If you try to continue through the forest, you'll find that this screen repeats endlessly. So, go back outside. Before going on to the next part of the game, you may want to buy some bracelets and items; talk to the man sitting near the rib cage and pick the second option in order to buy things from him. What you need to do at this point in the game is commission one of the men to dig up the Lunar Harp for you. As long as you have it in your possession, you're able to pass through the Sleeping Forest. First, talk to the man sitting just outside of the rib-cage room. Pick the first option twice. The screen will fade out. When the screen fades back in, all the men will be gone. What you do is choose a place where you want a digger to stand and press the S button. It costs 100 gil to place a digger. Use the top option to place a digger, or the bottom option to quit. You can place up to five diggers. You'll quit once you choose the bottom option or after you've placed five diggers. Now, press the S button to set off an explosion. You'll hear a music cue, and the diggers will turn in different directions. Stand where you want one of the diggers to search through the night and press S again after clearing the dialogue box. You'll find yourself back at the bottom of the screen the next morning. The treasure chest nearby will be closed, and it may or may not hold an item, depending on where you chose to dig. The key to getting the right item is to watch the diggers after the explosion occurs. They'll all look toward the location of the item you need, so try placing them in compass-point style layout so that you can follow their vision to the place where the item lies. If you're really stuck, the Lunar Harp lies just a little ways to the west and ever so slightly south of the tent on the upper ledge. *Normally, the first option is used to dig for the Lunar Harp (all the diggers will look in the direction of the harp). The other two options are used to dig up other items (the diggers will look in the direction of the closest item/next item to be found). But not only do you not have to place diggers in order to find an item, but you can use any of the three choice to dig up the Lunar Harp or any other item--it's just that the diggers won't look in the correct direction if you don't use the first option, and you can't use the first option after obtaining the Lunar Harp. How do you know if you got the right item? Well, it will show up on the Key Item menu (where the important stuff like the PHS is kept). Also, if you talk to the digger sitting by the room, and choose the first option twice, he won't let you select and place diggers. Finally, try going into the forest. If the screen turns green, then you've got the right item. When you've got Lunar Harp, go into the forest. When you reach the second area, the screen changes to a green color, and the forest will no longer repeat. Beyond the forest is a rocky area. First, go under the tree trunk to reach the treasure chest with a Water Ring inside. Climb up the rocks near the pink mass of coral, then go through the fallen trunk and head north to reach the next area (you can't climb up the vine in the first area, so ignore it). Walk along the curving path and you'll find yourself back in the World Map, in the canyon near the forest. Head straight forward to the top-like object to continue your quest. If you have Vincent in your party, you can also get a weapon for him here, the 'Buntline'. Search for 'good treasure' and dig a few steps above the tallest latter a bit to the right. --------------------------- 2.21 City of the Ancients --------------------------- Items in this area: Magic Source, Aurora Armlet, Comet materia, Guard Source, Elixir, Enemy Skill materia, Wizard Brace. This area looks a lot like the floor of the sea; there's shells and coral everywhere. At the crossroads, take the left path. It leads to a stone building--inside of the building is a Save Point, and there's a chest on the upper ledge with a Magic Source inside it. There is a patch of glowing green light here that conveys the 'message of the Ancients', but I've never been able to do anything with it. Leave the building and continue past it, following the path east into the rock face. Inside, go down the stairs and head all the way right to find a chest with an Aurora Armlet in it. You can check out the blue crystal if you want, but there's nothing you can do with it at this point in the game. Return to the crossroads and take the middle path. Enter the shell building and climb the spiraling walkway to the very to to find a green materia lying on the ground (Comet), Go back to the crossroads yet again and take the right road. It leads to an area with several shell buildings. Go all the way to the right, then go north to enter the building before you. Climb all the way to the top level. There's a chest here containing a Guard Source. There's nothing else to do in this area but enter the last shell house; your friends won't let you take the path leading out of the city, and the main path leads to another part of the chamber with the blue crystal, but there's nothing you can do there. So, if you're ready to proceed, enter the shell house to the right of the main path. On the ground floor is a chest holding an Elixir. Take it and climb up the ladder. When you approach the beds, you'll be given an option. You can choose the bottom option, grab the yellow materia behind the headboard of the third bed (Enemy Skill), exit the house, then enter it again, approach the beds, and choose the top option to go to sleep. Or, you can just pick the top option the first time around, go to sleep, and when you wake up in the night, grab the materia (it's easier to see at night, too). Originally, I though this was a 'bug' materia (don't I feel silly now), but it's not. No matter what you decide to do, go to sleep when you're ready to. You'll wake up in the middle of the night. After Cloud's companions join him, return to the crossroads a final time and take the middle path again. When you enter the shell building, the fish floating in the middle of the spiraling passageway will have disappeared; there are blue steps in it's place. Go down them and you'll find yourself in an underwater palace. At the bottom of the stairs, leave the building and take note of the Save Point before going down both sets of stairs below. Aeris is here, and you have to get to her by jumping across several pillars. Press in the direction of the next pillar to get proceed, but you'll have to use just Cloud; your allies will wait for you back on the ground. Once you get close to Aeris, Cloud has another spastic fit and will draw his sword. You can press the controller and the buttons to make Cloud do different things, but pressing O three times will make him try to strike Aeris. Luckily, he'll come to his senses beforehand with some help from his friends, but Sephiroth then makes an appearance... Boss Tips: JENOVA*LIFE LV: 50 HP: 10,000 MP: 300 This boss is weak against earth attacks, so use Earth and Titan. Also, Comet, Bahamut, and Kjata all work very well. Physical attacks do a surprising amount of damage. The boss will cast Reflect on itself the first time you cast a spell on it, so be wary about using spells too often. Jenova*Life's attacks are not that strong (about 400-700 points), but it has an ultra-deadly blue bubble attack (Aqualung that inflicts 1500+ damage to each character. Be sure to have some Restore Materia handy. Considering it's the last boss on this disc, this is not a very hard battle. You'll get a Wizard Bracelet when you win the battle. Be sure to have an Enemy Skill materia equipped if you haven't gotten Aqualung already. After beating the boss, there's another FMV sequence, then you're given the option to save your game. Guess what? You just finished Disc One! -------------------------- 3. Walkthrough Disc 2 -------------------------- ------------------------ 3.1 Corral Valley Cave ------------------------ In the morning, the heads for the Corral Valley Cave and Icicle Inn. The team hasn't had a rest since Jenova-Life Boss fight, so use the beds in the next home for some rest. When you are ready, that the right path out of the area. Climb the twisting "conch shell" stairs, and then walk around the outside of the shell to reach the high ledge. You can reach the chest in this area by simply walking to the left of the stairs and around the base of the shell. Scale the cracked cliffs by going inside the crack, and then push up or down as if climbing normally. When you reach a ledge, you are asked which direction you want to go. You may need to exit a crack and the re-enter it to go higher. Tip: Climb down the long ladder on the left side. At the bottom you will find a "Magic Plus Materia." When you reach the World Map, head west and then wrap around the mountains to reach Icicle Inn. ---------------- 3.2 Icicle Inn ---------------- Go to the far end of town and talk to the man in purple standing near the trees. Pick the top option. Two Shinra members will show up, along with Elena (a Turk). After confronting Cloud, she will try to knock him out. To avoid her strike, press left, right, or up just after you see the transparent message box. If she does hit you, you'll wake up in one of the houses, but if she doesn't, then she'll roll right out of the town. It doesn't make a difference whether you get hit or not. After that's done with, go to town entrance and check out the house that's just to your right. In the back room, there's a boy, a cat, and a snowboard. Talk to the boy and the cat will leave the room, enabling you to take the snowboard by examining it. You'll need it for the upcoming event. Now, go to the inn, head to the upper floor, and examine the window in the lower left-hand corner to get an X-Potion. You can also check out the bar beneath the main room (look for a door near the reception area). Now, leave and enter the house on the far right (near the snowman). Take the items in the back room (an Hero Drink and a Vaccine), then examine the map on the wall in the main room. You can examine it by choosing the top option, but before you leave, you'll want to choose the bottom option to take it. Finally, go into the house on the left side of town, just to the right of the weapons shop. If Elena KO'd you, this is where you'll wake up :) If you go down the stairs and look by the windowsill, you can get another item (Turbo Ether). You can also take a look at the machinery on the ground floor to see a series of prerecorded videos dating back many years ago; they show Aeris' mother (Ifalna, a Cetra just like Aeris) and her father, a 'renegade' Shinra scientist named Gast. There are several videos, but watching them has no effect on the game itself, aside from cluing you in to Aeris' past. There's a device to the left that will allow more light into the room, but it doesn't have any purpose. Before you leave the town, you may want to buy weapons, Hi-Potions and Tents at the shop. Basically, you want to make your way through the mountains. You can collect balloons along the way, but I don't know what they do for you. There are also obstacles to crash into, like dead wood, pine trees, igloos, moogles, snowmen, rocks, ice boulders, and chocobos. I believe there are four different 'exit' paths; I'll take the left path twice and go from there in this FAQ. My characters came to in a white forest. Did yours? From this point onward, you can press Square to look at the map you took (but not in some screens), which shows where you need to go but not where you are. I spent hours trying to map this place out, only to discover that there's almost nothing of interest in this area. So, I've simply described each location and where it is on the map; getting there isn't much of a problem. Your ultimate goal, BTW, is to make it to the red check mark shown on the map. The locations are listed below : ENTRANCE (looks like a square at the bottom-center of the screen) Heading south from this area takes you back out to the World Map. If you return to Icicle Inn to heal yourself, you'll have to snowboard in here again. MOUNTAIN CAVE (small opening just to the right of the ENTRANCE) You can hop across the ledges to the top of the screen, but in the next room, there's nothing to do but choose to fall/not fall down an icy chute that has no effect aside from ejecting you back into the world map. The entrance to this cave is hard to see; it's in the lower-right area of the T-junction screen. You can also get here by going right from the LAKE CAVE area. FOREST (forest divided by Y-shaped paths) In the main forest screen, there's an item (Mind Source) at the foot of a tree near the upper left part of the screen. If this is where you landed after the snowboarding event, then it's just up and to the right of where you crashed. BURIED AIRPLANE (tail of plane sticking out to left of forest) Nothing here. LAKE CAVE (cave in the middle of the central lake) On the surface of the frozen lake, near the shore, there is a green item (a Potion). Be sure to get it. Then head to the left to reach a screen full of ice floes. Here, you'll have to jump on the floating ice chunks to get across, but the chunks surrounding the one you're currently standing on will submerge or raise depending on how they looked when you arrived there. If you mess up and they are all submerged, you'll have to start all over. The key is to make sure that you're not jumping onto a floe when the ones surrounding it are all raised, or else they'll all submerge and you'll fall into the water. To get on the ice floats, choose the top option, then use the O button and the controller to jump around. Enter the cave in the next area, grab the item bag (it contains a Safety Bit accessory), and leave. LONE TREE (pine tree up and right from the LAKE CAVE) Nothing here, either. ICE BOULDERS (northwest corner, left and below the STONE FACE) Go into the small cave entrance and grab the item in the northwest corner of the cavern (an Elixir), then go out the other entrance. RIVER LOG (above central lake, at mouth of river) There's nothing here. STONE FACE (left of the red check mark) Nothing here. Seem familiar? The stone face has also appeared in Secret of Mana and FF5j. STEAMING LAKES (south and east of the check mark) You can touch the water on the lefthand bank if you want. In fact, you should, since you can't get the Alexander materia any other way. (Keep reading for details.) Just maneuver yourself as close to the shore of the left lake as you can, and when an option appears, pick the top one. MOUNTAIN CROSSROADS (top of mountain east of the STEAMING LAKES) Once you reach the crossroads head to the upper right corner of the screen to go off the map. In the next area, work your way up and to the left. When this screen repeats a second time, look for a Blue Materia (Added Cut) near the beginning of the screen, in the upper-right part of the path. This road takes you to the Steaming Lakes area, but if you try to back the way you came, you'll see that the screen has changed. Put another way, you couldn't have gotten the Materia unless you took this path since the 'switching' road isn't marked on the map. If you're fast, you can reach the 'lost in the snowfield' section (the red checkmark) before anything bad happens. But if you waste your time in this area, you'll pass out. (This will still happen to you even if you reached the snowfield, but then returned to any part of the 'first area'. If that happens, go to the next section. If you made it to the snowfield area, then skip the first paragraph to find out where you are. Personally, my suggestion is that you follow the example in the FAQ and take the left path twice so that you land in the Forest. From there, you can go right to the Lake Cave area, then continue right past the Mountain Cave area (the T-junction), and up into the Mountain Crossroads, where you can take the switching path to the Steaming Lakes, and then head left into the snowfield. Not only is this a fast way to get through this area, but it also lets you pick up all the items along the way and get the Alexander Materia later on (since you touched the lake on your way out). Also, you'll start off at the bottom end of the snowfield when you first get there, so you can just head up to the cave to get the All materia (mentioned in the next section), then keep heading north to reach the old man's shack (if you're in need of healing and a Save Point). After talking with him, you can go to the Stone Face Area, head south to the Ice Boulders area where an Elixir is, then backtrack to the snowfield and go to the right in order to get the Alexander Materia before returning to the shack. Voila! You've just cleared out this entire area in only a few minutes! Remember, you will pass out eventually if you return to the first area--there's nothing you can do about it, even if you've already gone to Holzoff's shack. If you don't want to waste too much time backtracking just run around in the same few areas until it happens, then leave the old man's shack and continue exploring. Why this still happens to you after clearing out this area doesn't seem to make much sense, as it's more of a nuisance than anything else, but there's not much you can do about it. If you return to the first area after falling unconscious and wait around there again, you'll pass out a second time. In fact, this will always happen to you, so get moving! ----------------- 3.3 Great Glacier ----------------- If you passed out: You'll awake in the house of an old man named Holzoff. Go up the stairs and let the old man talk to you; choose the bottom option twice when he asks you two questions. When you wake up the next morning, check out the Save Point (since you probably haven't saved prior to entering the Icicle Inn). If you want to spend the night again, talk to the old man in the first room and choose the top choice. When you leave the shack, your friends will be waiting outside. Make a new party if you wish, (see below for directions) then head south. You may have noticed that you can talk to Holzoff from the ground floor even though he is above you. If you didn't pass out: Go directly through the snowy field to the shack (head north) so that you won't pass out. There, you'll meet an old hermit named Holzoff. Talk to him, and when he asks you a question, answer any way you like. The second time he asks you a question, choose the bottom reply. You'll spend the night at his shack, and when you leave the next morning, your allies will be standing around outside. Choose either choice when an option appears. Then talk to any member and pick the top option to accept a party change or the bottom option to decline, if you want to change your members. Outside, you'll be in a large snowfield. Use the button to set down spikes that you can use to track your location (since your direction changes when the wind picks up). If you want to explore the rest of that first area that you left/passed out in, head south. When you leave the first area from the Steaming Lakes exit, you'll see a rock formation with a cave entrance if you keep walking north. Inside, a Blue Materia (All) is lying near the tent. If you head east, you'll go through some snowy areas, then arrive at a cave entrance. Talk to the purple lady inside to enter a battle, but only if you touched the water back at the Steaming Lakes. Boss Tips: Snow LV: 32 HP: 4,000 MP: 160 weak against Fire You can't Control or Morph her, but you can steal a Circlet during the battle. Her cold-based attacks (Cold Breath and Ice 2) are nothing to worry about, but be careful if she Fascinates (charms) one of your own members. After the battle you will se a Red materia. pick it up to receive the Alexander summon. Eventually you will pass out and end up at the bottom of Gaea's Cliff in Mr. Holzoffs house. Take the time to save and make any party changes or equipment changes/materia changes. ----------------- 3.4 Gaea Cliffs ----------------- Once you've had your fun in the snowfield, return to the old man's house and heal up or save your game if you need to. Then, go north from the shack to arrive at the slopes of a icy mountain. Keep in mind that you can't explore this area at any time other than right now in Disc 2, so make sure to get all the items and other stuff. Now, get ready for some finger-smashing fun! The meter that appears on screen when you're outside is your body temperature: it goes down because of the cold climate. To keep your temperature up, you need to rapidly hit the S button. The highest temperature you can get to is 38, while the lowest is 27. Any less than that (26), and you pass out and find yourself back in Holzoff's shack. It sounds like keeping your heat up is easy, but you can only increase it when you're on one of the ledges, not while you're climbing up the rock face. So for those long climbs, you have to max out your heat and climb as quickly as you can. Luckily, your heat doesn't go down during a battle. Remember, it's not how hard you press the button, but how fast you press it, so try to get in as many presses as you can to max out your temperature. I had made a GameShark code for this part of the game in the Japanese version of FF7, because it was so hard. But in the US version, you'd have to really mess up to have your temperature dip below 34, even. That's right, here's another example of Square making an easier game even simpler. In the Japanese version, you destroyed your fingers trying to keep your rapidly-decreasing body heat up. ^_^ In this area, there's nowhere else to go but up, so climb along the rock face until you arrive at the cave entrance, pausing at each ledge to restore your body heat. Always keep an eye out for the red flags; they indicate which part of the wall you can climb. Inside, go through the two archways into the next cavern. Here, climb up the stairs and go through the south exit. In the adjoining area, walk all the way to the right to find a hidden chamber with a chest; inside it is a Ribbon. Then return to the main path and head north, then west, through the entrance. Cross the icy bridge in the third cavern and press the SELECT button to bring up the cursor; it'll help you navigate through the twisting passage before you. Once you reach the top, examine the boulder and choose the top option when it presents itself. This will make you push the boulder and free up the blocked passage beneath you. You can still move while the boulder is rolling--notice that you can stand right where it falls and you will recieve no damage (then again, Cloud is the same guy who can run around in the cold wearing a sleeveless shirt and not die of hypothermia...must be those corn flakes). Go back to the other room (where you got the Ribbon), and open the purple chest to the northeast; there's a Javelin lying inside it. Now, return to the room that you exited from the south (the one with the formerly blocked passage), and go north along the passage until you reach another exit. This leads to the upper path above the chest with the Javelin--keep following it and you'll find yourself outside. Build up your temperature, then climb up the wall. After going a short distance, you're given a choice (up, down, or right). Pick the top option (up), and head up until you reach a ledge. Keep climbing upward, and you'll be prompted with another choice (right or down). Pick the top option and head right to arrive at another ledge. Then climb up until you reach the next ledge; it has a path going left and an unmarked path that goes to the right (i.e. there's no flag by it). The right path is a dead end, so take the left path and keep climbing up along the wall (you'll find another ledge on the way) until you reach a second cave entrace. This large cavern is pocked with holes. There's an exit and a treasure chest, but they are too high to reach, at the moment. Don't miss the Save Point between the chest and the exit. Nab the other chest in the lower right corner of the room (there's an Elixir inside of it), then go north from the chest to find a passage that leads outside. Once you're out in the open again, head north, then go around the bend and head south and east. In the next room, examine the area immediately to the right to find a chest with an Fire Armlet inside. There are four huge icicles here that you need to knock into the holes in the lower cavern. This is done by 'fighting' them. Each icicle is guarded by several yellow bats. Boss Tips: Icicle LV: 30 HP: 3,000 MP: 300 weak against Fire, Earth, and Gravity Boss Tips: Evilhead LV: 28 HP: 740 MP: 45 The Icicle can counter with an Icicle Drop attack. It will do this to any person who attacks it, tries to steal from it, or the like. You don't have to kill the bats in order to win the battle (all you have to do is 'kill' the icicle), but since they can Silence your characters and recover HP when they attack you, you may want to get them out of the way before attacking the icicle. Or, use Beta to inflict damage on all of them at once. Killing the icicle is worth 500 exp, 0 AP, and 0 gil, so if you want some AP and gil, you may want to kill the Evilheads too (which, incidentally, you can Morph into Holy Torches). Each time you win a battle, you'll be given an option. If you pick the bottom choice, you'll drop down to the room below, while picking the top choice lets you stay where you are (so you can continue to 'fight' the other icicles. After knocking down the last icicle, choose to stay where you are so that you can get the chest on the far left (it has a Megalixir inside*). Then, go back along the path. Just before you reach the door, an option appears; pick the bottom choice to jump down to the room below. Note that it says you get a 'Last Elixir'! Yes, this is the power of the Square translators at work. 'Last Elixir' was the Japanese name of the Megalixir item, and if you look at your menu, you will have gotten an extra Megalixir, not a new item called 'Last Elixir'. Didn't they do a good job on the translation? When the icicles drop down here, the floor of the cavern is 'raised'. After knocking down 3 of them, you can reach the exit, knock down all 4 and you can get the chest on the ledge in the upper left corner of the room (which contains a Speed Source). When you're ready, go through the now-avalible exit by hopping across the stones. This leads to the left side of the outer path. Be sure to examine the chest that's here to get an Enhance Sword, then follow the path as it curves back on itself and leads to the lower passage in the icicle room. Keep following the path, and you'll find yourself on the side of the mountain yet again. Grab the rock face and climb to the right. After a while, three options will appear (up, left, or right). Pick the bottom choice and keep holding right to make Cloud ascend the side of the mountain. When you reach the next ledge, raise your temperature and take the path that leads to the left. As you're climbing, another set of options will appear (up, down, or right). Choose the top option and keep climbing up. Once you've made it beyond the second ledge, you'll find a final cave entrance. This area has a hard-to-miss Save Point in it, and if you examine the nearby pool of light, your HP and MP will be completely restored, and all dead characters will be revived. Now is a perfect time to stock up on goodies--you can use the pool to stay healthy while fighting the enemies for exp, AP, and gil, and you can learn Bad Breath from the Molbors just outside (be sure to wear a Ribbon!) Plus, you can win Dragon Armlets from the Blue Dragons in this cave, which will halve damage taken from Fire, Cold, or Lightning attacks, and win M-Tentacles from defeated Molbols. There's a boss encounter coming your way, so make sure you're ready to do battle, then exit the chamber by going to the far right. In the adjoining hallway, you'll see one of those shrouded creatures (similar to the ones in Nibelheim) be thrown to the floor. Before you have a chance to examine it, you'll be attacked by a two-headed boss. Boss Tips: Schizo (right) LV: 43 HP: 18,000 MP: 350 Boss Tips: Schizo (left) LV: 43 HP: 18,000 MP: 350 In case you're confused, the 'right head' is the scaly one, and the 'left head' is the one with horns. Anyway, you should have the Aurora, Bolt, and Fire Armlets equipped on your members to reduce damage from the scaly head's Fire breath and the horned head's Ice breath. The Bolt Armlet will defend you against the heads' final attack, which damages all members for 1400 damage. Use MBarrier to up your defense, then Haste yourselves. Try using Earth and Comet spells, as well and summonings, like Alexander, Leviathan, and Bahamut to soften the boss up. However, don't use Poison (which does no damage) or the Kjata summon spell (which will heal both heads). Ice works well on the scaly head, and Fire works well on the horned head, but don't confuse the two since you will heal a head instead of hurt it. You may also want to use Elemental and attack a Fire or Ice materia attached to your weapon in order to attack with that sort of element (but don't attack the other head, for the same reason). In addition to breath attacks, the boss can also use a dual Ice/Fire breath attack, it can cast Quake 3, and has the previously mentioned final attack that it uses once when each head dies (and if you kill both heads at once, you'll still lose if both final attacks kill you off. When it's defeated, you'll get a Dragon Fang from the boss. ----------------- 3.5 The Crater ----------------- If you were badly beaten during the fight, you can always return to the room with the pool to heal yourselves. Otherwise, continue down the passage; it leads outside (Cloud sure moves slow out here, doesn't he?) Then climb the icy wall up to the top, where an automatic sequence will play. After it finishes, head along the side of the inner crater. In the next area, Tifa will talk with you if she's in your party; if she isn't, she'll promptly appear and insist on coming with you, which means you'll have to kick a member out of your current group. Head to the left. In the next area, climb down to the lower path and look for a red materia (Neo Bahamut) near the bottom edge of the screen. You can't do anything about the shrouded guy leaping off-screen, so ignore him. After getting the materia, you can hop up to a small island of rock where there is a Save Point. When you're done there, jump again to return to the top path, and walk to the left. You'll see a short intermission with the three heads of Shinra and several scientists heading towards the Crater in the Highwind, the airship you saw back in Junon Town. Once the intermission is over, walk left and you'll reach the first of three 'shield' screens. Talk to the two shrouded men, and they'll each leave behind an item when they die (an Ether and a Hi-Potion). To get past the flickering shield that's in front of you, stand as close to it as you can, then wait until the green aura is almost gone. Now, quickly run through it or you'll be knocked back when the shield's aura grows stronger. If you mess up, you'll be repelled by the shield and will be attacked by a monster: Boss Tips: Wind Wing LV: 36 HP: 1,900 MP: 350 For starters, you can steal a Hi-Potion from the Wind Wing, and you can transform it into a Phoenix Down. Even better, you can control it using a Manipulate materia and make it attack itself! In other words, this isan easy battle. If you happen to touch the shield from the other side, you'll get knocked back to the front of the screen, so be careful. In the next screen, more of those shrouded creatures are running around and dying. Ignore them, but don't miss the chest near the first left turn of the path; there's a Kaiser Knuckle inside it. Follow the path until you reach the next screen. The second shield is here, but unlike the first one, there's a surge of energy traveling along the shield that will knock you back even if the shield's aura is almost gone. So, wait until the energy surge has passed and the aura is nearly invisible, then dash across. If either defense knocks you back, you'll have to fight a second Wind Wing (see the above strategy). Beyond the shield, Sephiroth awaits. He'll cut down two more of those black creatures before turning invisible and toying around with Cloud. After he attacks the party, he'll summon a second version of Jenova in an attempt to kill Cloud and friends. Boss Tips: JENOVA*DEATH LV: 55 HP: 25,000 MP: 800 Jenova will try to Silence your members from time to time, and uses a Red Light attack often (usually after being attacked with magic). It causes little damage, but too many of these will really mess up your party. Jenova's last form of attack is a spurt of fire bubbles (even weaker than the Red Light attack). As you can see, this battle is not hard at all; just hack away with physical attacks, or if you think you have enough HPs, use Comet and cast Bahamut, Neo Bahamut, and Alexander. It's advisable that you wear the Fire Armlet or Dragon Armlet, since Jenova's attacks all cause Fire-based damage. Give the Fire Armlet to your best spell caster, and you can knock out Jenova and gain life back at the same time. You'll win a Reflect Ring when the battle's over. After the boss is killed, you'll get the Black Materia back (and it's actually black this time) Once you're back in control of Cloud, he confesses that since Sephiroth was able to manipulate him last time, he might try it again. Therefore, someone else should hold the Black Materia and stay here while Cloud and the others follow after Sephiroth. The first time I got here, only Red 13 would take the Black Materia. This second time, only Barret would. In the US game, they both offered to keep it...! Well, just give it to whoever will take it--simply choose the top option when it is available (you won't get an option if that character refuses to take it). Finally, talk to Tifa. When you're in control of Cloud again, head north. There's a materia here (MP Turbo, but notice that it's yellow when you pick it up!), as well as a Save Point and a chest containing a Poison Ring. If you go north from here, you'll run into the third and final shield. In addition to having all the defenses of the previous shield (the glowing aura and the moving energy surge), bolts of lightning will strike the ground repeatedly. Since the lightning strikes in short bursts with long pauses in between, wait for the shield's aura to fade, the energy surge to pass, and wait for a pause in the lightning strikes before attempting to pass through the shield. If you're hit by any one of those defenses, you'll have to fight a Wind Wing again (refer to the strategy section above). Once you're past the shield, head along the path. It leads to an exact replicate of Nibelheim. This next scene is sorta like a 'semi-interactive' flashback. You get to see Sephiroth run around in Nibelheim, but this time, there's another guy following him (Zack, the guy you heard about in Gongaga Village). Talk to your other party member, then to Tifa. In the next scene, Zack will look around Nibelheim (which has been reduced to smoldering rubble), and chat with Zangan, who was Tifa's mentor. (BTW, you can go to the Main Menu while Zack is running around. It's pointless, but I thought it was sort of amusing). Then, your party appears in a flaming building, and Sephiroth appears. Instead of attacking, he talks to the party. When you can move, talk to Sephiroth and he'll teleport around the room. When you're in control of Cloud once more, talk to Tifa twice. Sephiroth warps around some more, then shows Cloud a picture of him, Tifa, and Zack. After that, Cloud has another fit, and the screen fades out. In the next scene, Rufus, Scarlet, and Hojo (the scientist) arrive at the crater. Before them is a monster encased in ice. It's one of the five 'Weapons', which awakens and watches them, then starts moving. Following that, Sephiroth appears in the guise of Tifa and knocks out the other characters, then tricks whoever is guarding the Black Materia to go to the center of the crater. Your party will appear in the area where the Shinra members are at, and the person with the Black Materia gives it to Cloud, who then flies to the structure where Sephiroth is at (though you can move around up here, the game takes over your controls in a few seconds anyway). Once Cloud's given the Black Materia to Sephiroth, the whole crater starts to break apart and your party escapes on the Highwind along with the rest of the Shinra crew. ----------------- 3.6 Junon ----------------- When you come to, you'll find yourself incarcerated back in Junon Town. Without Cloud, you'll be taking control of Barret and Tifa for most of this section. As Tifa, talk to Barret. Rufus and Heidegger will show up. Now that you're in control of Barret, follow Tifa as the guards take her away (don't miss the Save Point), and prepare to execute her. Once Junon Town is attacked by the freed Weapon, one of the Shinra officials knocks out Scarlet. It's turns out to be none other than Cait Sith, who helps Barret fight the two soldiers who are guarding him. Why not make use of the new 'Exchange' materia option to fully equip Cait Sith before he joins you? Boss Tips: SOLDIER:1st LV: 34 HP: 1,300 MP: 100 Boss Tips: SOLDIER:1st LV: 34 HP: 1,300 MP: 100 Physical attacks will do the trick here, although you can control them if you want. If this battle gives you trouble, you need to gain some levels at some point in the game. Notice how the guard will run away and disappear after the battle? I guess that glitch went unnoticed...anyway, examine the door in the lower right corner of the screen and use the controller or the O button to make Barret try to pull it open. An FMV sequence follows in which the Sister Ray (the mako cannon) is readied and Junon Town prepares to engage the approaching Weapon. When it collides with the city, gas starts pumping into the chamber Tifa is trapped in. When you're in control of Barret, go and talk to Cait Sith. Then go out the door and when it closes, head right, then out the door. Outside, head down the road. If you got Yuffie, she'll be here masquerading as a newscaster; talk to her to make her join you, then continue to your left. Once the Weapon rises out of the water, continue to the left until you arrive at the Airport. Then, run to the center platform and examine the yellow box to be lifted to the upper level. From there, continue towards the airship by heading right. When you're in control of Tifa again, you have to pick up the key on the ground so you can free yourself from the gas chamber. Examine the back of the room by the left side of the chair to shut off the gas, then examine the door. After the Weapon provides you with an exit, climb outside and work your way down the front of the tower (don't worry about the guards). When you reach the bottom, head toward the upper left corner of the screen (note that the SELECT cursor won't appear over your head as it did in the Japanese version). In the next screen, make your way down to the frontmost cylinder of the cannon (spelled 'Canon'!), then press up to go along the front of it and end up on the cannon barrel itself (this can be a little tricky). Just as you reach the edge of the cannon, Scarlet. She'll start slapping you, so press the button to slap back (go Tifa!)! If you're fast enough, you'll slap her to the floor after 5-6 good hits. If she gets in more slaps, you get knocked over. Despite the outcome of the 'fight', Tifa will still be rescued by Barret in the Highwind. Once in the airship, head to the cockpit where you'll talk with Cid. When he finishes, talk to Red 13 and Cid again, then chat with the man piloting the airship. After that, go to the room marked 'Operations' and talk to the man there. He will let you assemble a new group with Tifa as the leader. From this point onward, you can return to this room and talk with the man to activate PHS, restore your HP and MP, or save your game. Now that you have a party, return to the cockpit and talk to the man again. Choose the top option, and you can control the Highwind! ----------------- 3.7 Mideel ----------------- Get in the Highwind and fly to the Southern Continent. Look around until you spot a forest with a small village nearby. Land in the grass, and enter the village, Mideel. Look around, and be sure to do some shopping; the items here are expensive, but well worth your money. When you're done, go to the weapon shop and examine the door in the back of the room. You will try to knock on it. Go outside and climb up the stairs, then walk along the floorboards behind the house where you can buy accessories. You should hear a sound. If you press to examine the floor, you'll receive a key. Return to the weapon shop and examine the door in the back again. When an option appears, select the top choice. You'll mess around with the door. When the shopkeeper asks what's going on, pick the bottom option, and he'll give you the Curse Ring accessory. (If you want to see your character act funny, pick the top option instead--works better with Tifa than with anyone else, IMO. Of course, you'll have to reset and try again if you want the Curse Ring.) There's a hyperactive kid running around here, buying everything. Make sure you talk to the kid in every store (see the price listing for Mideel if you want to know why). If you have some Mimett Greens on you, you can feed the kid's white chocobo (your character says that it wants 'Samolen Greens', but they really mean 'Mimett Greens'. More fun from the Square translators, no doubt!) Feed the chocobo a Mimett Green, then choose to scratch behind it's ear and you'll get the Contain materia. When you try to explore the north end of the town, Tifa automatically goes over to the cat in the middle of the screen. While playing with it she hears that a strange man has been brought to the hospital--inside is none other than Cloud, who survived the blast of energy back at the Crater. However, he's nothing more than a vegetable now. Tifa insists on staying by his side. Back at the Highwind, Cait Sith reveals that the Shinra are hunting for the four Huge Materia, which they plan to use in order to destroy the Meteor before it crashes into the Earth. Barret gets distressed when he learns that the Shinra plan to destroy to get the Huge Materia from North Corel then Cid becomes the new party leader! Despite his dorky running style, Cid makes a good front man. Once you're able to control him, go to the Operations room and make a new team. Before you go anywhere else, land and return to Mideel. You can now check out the house in the middle of the town, where an old man sits petting his cat. There's a large green item on the man's bed (an Elixir). If you try to leave, the cat turns out to be a ferocious dog! When an option appears, pick the top one to admit that you took the Elixir. However, the man will let you keep it. On the other hand, if you pick the bottom option, Cid will feign innocence, until the old man tells him that the Elixir was rotten (it's not). Either way, you still get the item. There's nothing else to do here (at least for now, anyways), so leave the town behind and board the Highwind. ----------------- 3.8 Corel Village ----------------- When the team reaches North Corel, head down the tracks to the Corel Reactor. They reach it just in time to watch Shinra drive away with the Huge Materia in the back of the train. Fortunately for the team, Cid can drive anything, so they steal a train and chase the Shinra train. To catch up to the Shinra train, you can alternate the levers left (D-Pad Up) and right (triangle) to speed up the train and align it with the enemy train. Try to get a slow rhythm going, and then build up your speed. Now you must stop the train. Move both levers down and then up, alternating back and forth until the train stops. With the train stopped, Corel is saved and you've received your first piece of Huge Materia. As a debt of graditude, the people of North Corel give you the Ultima Materia. Now go back to the Highwind and head to Fort Condor. ----------------- 3.9 Fort Condor ----------------- Tell the guard that you wish to help fight Shinra. Climb up to the middle floor and speak to the old man seated at the table about the impending battle. At stake is Huge materia #2, quite a prize. Climb the rope ladder to the northwest, next to an upward-pointing arrow. Go up a flight of stairs to the battlefield monitor and receive battle instructions for a real-time war simulation. If you're a real-time strategy gamer, what follows will be right up your alley. WAR GAMES You need about 15,000 gil to acquire and deploy sufficient troops, catapults, stoners, and prisoners. Place catapults and stoners to the rear, grunts in the front lines (directly next to the enemy), and the honor guards in between. Once you see what direction the enemy moves, marshal new troops and move old troops directly in their path. Hanging back is definitely an option here. If you lose the battle, fight a boss in regular combat mode. Either way, rush back topside to the door west of the battlefield monitor to retrieve the powerful Phoenix Summon materia once the egg hatches. Return inside to the old man at the table to receive Huge materia #2. Now fly back to Mideel to check on Cloud and Tifa. ----------------- 3.10 Mideel ----------------- Cloud is still in a bad way. Speak to Tifa. When the earth begins shaking, run outside to investigate. A fearsome black dragon, called the Ultimate Weapon, hovers over the village, and its wings cause considerable destruction. Suddenly, the dragon lands. Like the Shinra bullies, the dragon takes some damage and then flees the scene. In its wake, the village is destroyed. Tifa and Cloud try to make their way toward safety but fall into a dark void instead. Tip: After you defeat the Ultimate Weapon, return to the Gold Saucer. Put Cloud in your party, and equip him with the Ultimate ultimate weapon. He must also be able to use all Level 1 through Level 3 limit breaks. Put Cloud through the rigors of the Battle Square to win the Omnislash and the W-Summon. Use Omnislash, and equip the ultimate weapon and the W-Summon materia. After the lady at the desk invites you to participate in the Special Battle, you must win eight consecutive fights against eight bosses. (Consult some of the boss stat entries to pick up tops on fighting these biggies.) If you defeat them all, Cloud receives the Final Attack materia. ----------------- 3.11 Lifestream ----------------- Surfacing on an eerie floating platform, Tifa helps Cloud search his memory to find his true identity. Three Clouds appear around the platform. Approach the north Cloud first. Relive the Nibelheim incident for the third time in the game. Were Cloud and Tifa not childhood friends after all? Converse with the west Cloud next. Float skyward back to the time when Cloud made that important promise to protect Tifa forever. Now, speak to the east Cloud, and a new arrival - a baby Cloud-appears and transports you back to Tifa's house. From there, the dream moves to the rocky paths behind the City of the Ancients, across the bridge, and back to Nibelheim. Next, relive Sephiroth's near-murder of Tifa in the Jenova Project chamber. Learn that Cloud was a low-ranking guard - not a special protégé of Sephiroth's. As a guard, Cloud defied the evil deeds done by the villain. As it turns out, it was Zack, not Cloud, who accompanied Sephiroth and trashed the town. Back on the platform, the Clouds merge with yet another apparition. Tifa has done it! Cloud has reintegrated his memory and has rediscovered his true, gallant self. They awaken amidst their friends in a ruined Mideel. In the Operation Room of the Highwind, Cloud again takes command, just as in the good old days. He appears in the cockpit to cheers from the faithful. Return quickly to the Operation Room to re-form the party. Definitely save the game after this long interlude, and be sure to equip Cloud with new materia. Fly to Junon and head to the Underwater Reactor. The murky ocean depths await! ------------------------ 3.12 Underwater Reactor ------------------------ Enter Junon. For 10 gil, the naval base guard at the west end of town lets you enter. Take the moving platform up, and exit west. Your old stomping grounds, outside the base's locker room! A save point! Move west along the main drag past a dog to the base elevator. Head west still further to a small alleyway. Proceed toward the drill sergeant to the south. At the end of the passage enter the door 1 lift. Oops, there are a few guards here. Depart the elevator and take out more guards. From the elevator, go east, down through a door, west down two stairways, through another door, east down the stairs to a save point, and south into another elevator. Take the moving platform down, and exit west. Run north up the small passageway to an underwater tunnel. Run north through the tunnel. Straight ahead, there's the base's underwater reactor, and a massive submarine complex. Go closer by examining the elevator control, marked by a bright light. Run west along the submarine pen catwalk, past the gray and red subs. Through the west door is another save point. Go north up the passage to the pens. Annihilate the attacking guards, and then tackle those to the east. Go through the door to another catwalk. Follow it around to the east. Stop and inspect the strange contraption. That's the Huge materia #3 that they are loading into the red sub. Enter the east door. What have we here-the red submarine, Shinra bully Reno, and Carry Armor, a fearsome robot! Carry Armor: HP Body 24,000; 2 arms 12,000 each MP Body 200; 2 arms 100, 200 Best Attack Magic Remarks Destroy the arms first. Use Summon materia. Free captive heroes by killing the arm that binds. Rewards Prize: God's Hand The red submarine has departed the facility. Run east, north, and then west to reach the gray submarine ahead. (Don't forget to pick up the Leviathan Scales for use in Wutai.) Now move up the stairs to fight two sets of guards. Board the sub. Before you can use that inviting save point just ahead, however, you'll need to dispatch one more set of guards. Move onto the bridge, deal with the captain and his guards, and examine the pilot's chair. Shove off. UNDERWATER WAR GAMES The 10-minute time limit should give you plenty of time. Keep away from the tunnel's sides or the sub might get hopelessly stuck. Proceed slowly, and carefully line up your torpedo shots. Dodge incoming missiles and avoid the mines. Focus on the red submarine, and try to sink it. If you take out the red submarine, you can pick up Huge materia #3, and glide calmly into Junon's dock. If you don't, the heroes escape the sub and surface on Junon beach, next to Priscilla's playful dolphin. Once in Junon, re-enter the naval base to the west. Retrace your steps from the last time you entered the base. Take the moving platform up, and exit west. Move west past the elevator to the small alleyway. Step into the door 1 lift, exit, and attack two guard groups playing with the barking dog. Pet the dog and it conveniently moves away from the door. Enter. The red submarine has returned! Pet the dog twice more along the sub's gangway, hop into the sub, and intimidate the guards. On the bridge, spare the crew, if you wish. Take the bridge. Guide the sub to the Junon surface pen. ------------------------ 3.13 Rocket Town ------------------------ Rocket travel is next, because the meteor must be destroyed forever. Head back to Cosmo Canyon and Red XIII's mentor to put the four Huge materia to good use. Heal up at the inn and save the game outside town. Return to the town and head north. Fight your way up the rocket ship gantry. Cid enters the party. Choose a third party member, head up the ladder, and then run east and into that waste of skin and bones, Rude Rude HP 9,000 MP 240 Best Attack Melee Remarks They're all powder puffs. Concentrate on Rude and the accompanying Attack Squads will go, too. Always the wimp, Rude eventually runs off. Step into the rocket ship and go north to the ship's bridge. Without warning the ship's engine roars to life, and the vessel breaks free from its moorings and soars skyward. Tip: Acquiring Huge Materia #4 is optional. After a long conversation with Cid, enter the door on the right and scale the ladder. Activate the eerily lit case and discover the codes that appear. With much fanfare, the case opens. Retrieve Huge materia #4. Head back down to the ship's entrance. An explosion rocks the ship, trapping Cid beneath a huge piece of metal. Cid's assistant, the trusty Shera, appears and adds her strength. Once everyone frees Cid, the heroes follow Shera to an escape pod. The pod jettisons, and the rocket slams into the approaching meteor. WHOOOM! Unfortunately, the rocket could not destroy the meteor. The scene shifts to the Highwind's bridge. Fly to Cosmo Canyon in the West Continent's southwest to visit Bugenhagen. ------------------------------------------- 3.14 Cosmo Canyon and City of the Ancients ------------------------------------------- Find Bugenhagen up in his observatory. Everyone gathers round as he celebrates the acquisition of the precious Huge materia. Once the rest of the party departs, Cloud and Bugenhagen go up to view his new proud possessions. As they come back down, they find everyone on the Highwind's bridge. Bugenhagen, now aboard, suggests traveling to the City of the Ancients on the North Continent. Sounds good! Land right next to the city, the only place on the planet where an airborne vehicle can land other than on grass. North Continent: City of the Ancients Go west at the crossroads, and then proceed to the shrine by way of the house with the save point. Bugenhagen floats over to the blue crystal. Wind around, over the bridge, to meet him. Bugenhagen inserts the Key to the Ancients into a music box carved into a stone pillar, and a waterfall drenches the area around the crystal. Tip: Cactus Island, in the chain of islands not far from Cosmo Canyon, is a great place to pick up plenty of gil. Once again at the blue crystal, watch Aeris appear in a significant vision. Back across the bridge, the heroes hear more interesting news from Cait. Shinra is harnessing all the remaining energy in Midgar and intends to use a gigantic new cannon named Sister Ray to destroy Sephiroth. Rush back to the Highwind parked outside of Bone Village. Before entering the Highwind, however, the Diamond Weapon surfaces and heads toward Midgar. Now on the Highwind, hovering over Bone Village, the heroes ponder the upcoming battle. On to Midgar! ------------ 3.15 Midgar ------------ Hang in the air over the Sister Ray cannon, now in place in Midgar, and view the Diamond Weapon monster as it approaches. Land the ship and advance toward the Diamond Weapon. Shinra is draining all of the energy from Midgar into the cannon. As the city goes dark and begins to break up, the cannon fires. Diamond Weapon HP 50,000 MP 3,000 Best Attack Magic Remarks Bolt and Ultima work. Maximum attack after countdown in the 3,000 HP range. Prize Rising Sun (Steal) The monster returns fire as the gang in the Highwind flies by. Before it succumbs to the Sister Ray cannon, the monster's attack blast disintegrates the shield encasing the North Continent. Once the Highwind is over the crater, the scene shifts back to Midgar, where Hojo is up to his old tricks, trying to fetter the remaining energy for selfish purposes. Parachute into Midgar. Make sure you're over the city before doing so! Your goal: Hojo and the cannon. UNLIMITED ITEM DUPLICATION WITH W-ITEM B This materia has an amazing side-effect: it duplicates items usable in battle-for free! Select this command, then the first item, and then the second item. When you cancel the second item and choose another, the first item is duplicated! In the east passageway, use the save point. Cait Sith, Tifa, and Cid surround a wooden door in the ground. Talk to Cait, who opens the door. Prepare for tough fights as you descend a ladder, some stairs, and then another ladder. Run east and fall through the collapsed walkway. Ascend two long ladders, wind north, and then head east into a metal chute. Land, open the two treasure chests, and move down the ladder. Once you're west of metal chute #42, run up the stairs to a save point. Crawl north in the next passage and down a ladder into a tunnel. While roaming around the tunnels, keep a lookout for the W-Item materia. When you advance north, your three favorite Shinra Turks, Elena, Reno, and Rude, show up. (If you completed Yuffie's sub quest, you can avoid this fight.) ELENA, RENO, AND RUDE HP 30,000, 26,000, 24,000 each MP 200-300 each Best Attack Magic Remarks Use Summon materia, especially Phoenix. Have one hero heal while the others fight. Rewards Prize: Elixir (Big deal!) EXP: 18,000 AP: 2,000 Gil: 18,000 After the Shinra do their usual disappearing act after taking damage, crawl back to the save point. Continue north. When you see Yuffie, Cid will take you back to Shinra Tower if you forgot to do something there. Otherwise, take the left fork in the tunnel. Now climb up the grillwork to the street where a towering robot, Proud Clod, who is controlled by Heidigger and Scarlet threatens the heroes. PROUD CLOD HP Head, Chest, Heidigger, and Scarlet, 20,000 each. MP 300 each Best Attack Magic Remarks Use Barrier, Haste, Slow, and Summon. Rewards Prize: Ragnarok EXP: 7,000 AP: 1,000 Gil: 10,000 Due north is a save point. Climb the ladder to Cait Sith, and then follow him up several stairways. Advance east along the catwalk to Hojo, who's furiously working at the cannon's controls. Before approaching the mad scientist, heal up and get ready for some rock 'n' roll! HOJO, HELLETIC HOJO, AND LIFEFORM HOJO NA HP First Visage: 13,000 body, Second Visage: 26,000 body, arms 24,000, 5,000 each. Third Visage: 24,000. MP 150-300 each Best Attack Melee Remarks Concentrate on defeating Hojo. Ignore the others-when he goes, they go. Comet works. Rewards Prize: Power Source EXP: 28,000 AP: 2,700 Gil: 8,200 Hojo is history, but only seven days remain before the meteor slams into the planet, and Sephiroth lives on. Back on the Highwind, now rocket-powered, Cloud and the others reaffirm their resolve to eradicate Sephiroth. Your quest is reaching its final stage. Sephiroth waits for you at the bottom of the Northern Cave. Expect to spend some terrifying moments there as Final Fantasy VII hurtles towards its thrilling conclusion. Before the final battle, finish looking for Final Fantasy VII's hidden places, which hold mysterious characters and unique items and materia. -------------------------- 4. Walkthrough Disc 3 -------------------------- -------------------------- 4.1 Northern Caves -------------------------- The final chapter of Final Fantasy VII begins with the Highwind hovering over the infamous Northern Cave. To save the planet, the party must descend to the cave's harrowing depths, defeat Sephiroth, and destroy the approaching meteor. You must carefully prepare the heroes for battle. By now the heroes should be very strong and have most major spells at their disposal. Good luck! The Caverns Climb out of the airship and down into the Northern Cave. Run south and wind down the spiraling stone rim. The first chest you encounter contains an invaluable Save Crystal. This special, one-time-use item creates the only save point anywhere in the Northern Cave. You can activate it whenever you like, but choose wisely! Ledges abound in the next chamber. On certain ledges, you are given the option whether to jump or climb up. Work your way down to the bottom of the screen, pass under a rock arch, and exit to the east. The next area has more ledges. Move east and down to the hole in the rock on the third ledge. You come to a clearing covered with dirt. Go east and then west to another cavern with ledges. Now jump west, east, west, east, and, finally, west to the bottom of the screen. Emerge atop a ledge. Down below, the rest of the heroes wait. Clamber down the two rock needles. Tip: The lower path is less of a challenge than the upper path. Either way, when you get lower into the Northern Cave, you can backtrack and see what you missed. Choose to take the left path, along with the other two heroes you select for the party. (Actually, the path is to the right from the heroes' perspective, but left or south on your screen.) The remaining heroes take the right path. In the next chamber, choose the upper path to the jungle. The Jungle The upper path begins in a jungle featuring a mossy lake filled with vines, reeds, and other plant life. Walk to the north along the vines, jump on the rocks, and go in the water. Stay submerged and follow the vine path around to a north exit. The jungle continues here. The Shield materia, most likely the last Spell materia you need to complete your set, is in this area. Also look for the W-Magic materia. Progress east along the main vine path that winds around to the north and exits to the east. A grassy crater with blinding light inside greets the party. Advance due west through a rock exit. The other path yields no spectacular items, but it seems to be a bit easier. The Floating Steps Both paths lead to the bottom of the Northern Cave, a steep drop-off rimmed by a rock ledge. A dozen floating stone steps lead down into menacing, intense light. Everyone gathers again. Talk with the others. Cloud collects the items the group has found along the way. Tip: If the Save Crystal is still gathering dust, use it here. If you proceed down the steps, you've passed the point of no return. If the party perishes here, your last saved game will be all the way back on the Highwind. Time to descend the floating steps. After an unsettling rumble from deep within the cave, you are given a chance to form the party that will fight its way down to the bottom. Tip: Between battles on the steps, you can access the Main menu screen. Expect the battles to get tougher as you get closer to the bottom of the floating steps. However, not every step results in a battle. Just so you know, if there's a combat in store, it will occur the moment you touch down on a step. At the bottom of the floating steps is a levitating rock platform. The penultimate boss, Jenova*Synthesis is here. JENOVA*SYNTHESIS HP Body 40,000; arms 12,000 each MP 600 each Best Attack Combined melee and magic Remarks Pummel away. Combine W-Summon and Knights of the Round, and then have the next hero Mime. After destroying the boss, the mantle crumbles beneath the party. Down, down, into a black void you fall. The party lands on a strange floating globe. Familiar music filling the background can mean only one thing. From out of the intense light steps... Sephiroth: Everyone floats helplessly in space as Sephiroth surfaces. This is going to be one tough battle. (Actually, more than one!) No matter how hard the heroes try, Sephiroth keeps them at bay by casting a defensive spell that produces a powerful stream of light. It's party time, for the last time! You will be given one last opportunity to choose the final party or parties, equip weapons, deploy materia, and prepare items for the final battles. Change limit break levels if necessary, unless a hero has one ready to unleash. Make sure everyone has revival and regeneration capabilities. By now everyone's weapons and bangles should have plenty of materia slots. Leave no slot empty. Consider materia that greatly enhance the party's magic, hit point, and attribute scores. Use effective materia combos. Finally, don't forget to heal up and top off magic points after those arduous fights down the floating steps. BIZARRO SEPHIROTH HP 40,000, 10,000 a piece for the remainder MP 300+ each Best Attack Combined melee and magic Remarks Pummel away. Cast high-level defensive spells first. Monster heals at 6,000 HP a pop. Have one character constantly heal or cure. Cast Phoenix, especially if any in the party perish. Melee the Head, destroy the Left and Right Magics, and then concentrate on the Core. With Knights of the Round, W-Summon, and a couple of Mimes, this could be a laughter. Switch teams to your advantage, based on their respective strengths and weaknesses. Ready for another? Even if you had split parties for the battle against Bizarro Sephiroth, you get to choose your strongest party for the next battle. SAFER SEPHIROTH HP 70,000 MP 250 Best Attack Combined melee and magic Remarks Cast defensive spells right away. Have one character constantly heal. Hammer away with Phoenix, W-Summon, and Knights of the Round. As you might expect, this monster causes serious damage, often more than 2,500 hit points to all heroes, or it may wipe out all their status protections in a single blow. Because Sephiroth's closing hit point total is relatively low, however, this battle is reasonably winnable as long as you keep your head. Our favorite villain returns to his normal form for one last mano a mano with Cloud. Both antagonists have around 5,000 HP. Luckily, Sephiroth's first shot doesn't kill Cloud. But Cloud now has his Level 4 limit break, Omnislash, even if he didn't earn it before. Cloud sends Sephiroth to the great beyond with a single tremendous blow. As Sephiroth fades into memory, Midgar and the meteor explode in a spectacular blast. Fortunately, the dependable Highwind rescues our heroes out of the Northern Cave just in time. They all watch from on high as good energy flows back into Midgar, resurrecting the city and making it a nice place to live once again. Aeris' dream lives on! Final Fantasy VII really ends! So check out the Side Quest section to aquire new weapons, more items and the best materia in the game. -------------------------- 5. Side Quests -------------------------- ---------------------------- 5.1 Chocobo Breeding ---------------------------- Chocobos have been a mainstay of the FINAL FANTASY series from the very early going. In addition to featuring their traditional function as a mode of transport, "FINAL FANTASY VII" adds the elaborate element of breeding Chocobos with specialized skills and attributes. After taking the Highwind from Junon on Disc 2, head for the Chocobo Farm to begin your career as a Chocobo breeder. You'll find the front paddock empty and a CHOCOBO LURE MATERIA on the near-right corner. Head into the house and talk to Choco Bill. He'll offer to rent out up to six Chocobo Stables @ 10,000 Gil. He'll also tell you about the Chocobo Sage, a being purported to know the secret to breeding special Chocobos. Purchase at least four stables and head out to catch some Chocobos. Chocobos can be found anywhere you see tracks on the World Map. Equip Chocobo Lure Materia (the more the better) and walk around near the tracks until you encounter a Chocobo in battle. Feed it some greens if you're worried about it running away and defeat the flanking enemies to capture the Chocobo. Dismount [X] and send the animal back to the stables. When you've sent four Chocobos to the paddock, you'll have to return to the Chocobo Farm and decide which ones you want to keep. Head for the barn, talk to Choco Billy, and select 'Moving Chocobos'. Use Billy's appraisal of the Chocobos to help you make your decision, and move the keepers into the stable [O]. Chocobo Husbandry If you intend to breed a special Chocobo, you'll want to train your Chocobos at the Chocobo Races. If you want to have any hope of reaching Class S, you'll have to build up the vital statistics (Speed, Intelligence and Stamina) of your Chocobos by feeding them greens. Different greens effect different attributes, and more costly greens have a greater effect. Talk to Billy and select 'Feeding Chocobos' (you should be able to decipher his apparent accent and figure out which greens are which with little difficulty). When feeding your Chocobo no longer has any effect, you've maxed out its statistics and you're ready to head for Chocobo Square at the Gold Saucer. Breeding Special Chocobos Your first step should be a visit to the Chocobo Sage's House, nestled in a hidden valley west of the entrance to the Corral Valley Cave in the Icicle Area. Talk to the Chocobo Sage and you'll begin the long and tedious process of drawing out the details about the special breeds of Chocobo. You'll also want to purchase from him at least one of each of the best greens (if you're unable or unwilling to use the W-Item cheat, you'll have to drop a small fortune on vegetables if you hope to get the best breeds of Chocobo). On your way out, talk to his pet Chocobo and you'll receive an ENEMY SKILL MATERIA. Talk to Chole in the stables and she'll record everything the Sage tells you. You'll learn about the Mountain Chocobo and the River Chocobo, each with the ability to cross its namesake terrain. To breed these types of Chocobos, you'll need to mate two 'great' Chocobos (or one 'great' and one 'good' Chocobo) with the Carob Nut. 'Great' Chocobos can be found near the tracks in the Rocket Launch Pad and Mideel Areas and 'good' Chocobos can be found near the tracks in the Gold Saucer Area. The only way to acquire a Carob Nut is by stealing one from the vicious Vlakorados in the Icicle Area. When you have an appropriate male and female Chocobo and you've raced them both to Class S, talk to Choco Billy and select 'Mating Chocobos'. (NOTE: You'll be happy to know sex isn't determined until you move your Chocobos into the stables. Save your game outside the farm and, if you don't get the sex of Chocobo you're after, reset and try again.) Select the prospective parents and use the correct nut and you'll have an excellent chance of breeding a special Chocobo. The next time you visit the Chocobo Sage, you'll hear about the Mountain-River Chocobo. Race a Mountain and a River Chocobo (one male, one female) to Class S and mate them using another Carob Nut and you'll have a great chance of breeding a Black Chocobo. Eventually, you'll learn about the ultimate breed of Chocobo, the Gold Chocobo, which can take you ANYWHERE on the planet. You'll need to mate a Black Chocobo and a 'wonderful' regular Chocobo (of opposite sexes) using a Zeio Nut. 'Wonderful' Chocobos can only be found near the tracks in the Icicle Area southwest of Icicle Inn. The only way to acquire a Zeio Nut is by stealing one from a Goblin, a creature that can be found in the forest on Goblin Island, located northeast of the Chocobo Farm. You can also learn the GOBLIN PUNCH Enemy Skill from it. With a little luck, when you race the prospective parents to Class S and mate them, they'll produce a Gold Chocobo. ---------------------------- 5.2 Ancient Forest ---------------------------- Items to get: Supershot ST Spring Gun Clip Slash-All Materia Minerva Band Typoon Materia Apocalypse Elixir The Ancient Forest is located high on a plateau southeast of Cosmo Canyon and it cannot be reached without the help of a Mountain Chocobo until after you've defeated Ultimate Weapon. Inside the forest, you'll find an elaborate puzzle filled with powerful items and Materia. Your task will be to figure out how to use the things that can be found in the forest to grab the treasure and make your way to the opposite side. The forest is inhabited by a wide variety of creatures. The tiny jumping insects can be used to draw frogs out of holes in trees or to temporarily close pitcher plants. When a pitcher plant is closed, Cloud will be able to stand on it until it digests the insect and opens again. Frogs can be used can be used to close pitcher plants as well; however, as they cannot be digested, the plants will spit them out eventually. If Cloud is standing on the pitcher plant when this happens, he will be thrown along with the frog. The giant flytraps will snap at Cloud if he gets to close, damaging your entire party. The only way to safely pass is to pick up a wasp's nest and drop it into the flytrap, permanently closing its jaws. Pick up the insects in the first area one by one and gather them near the pitcher plants above the giant flytrap. Pick up an insect, go to the highest ledge, and release it into the nearby pitcher plant. Quickly grab another insect, return to the ledge and jump onto the first plant, and release the insect into the second plant. Go back and pick up the third insect and throw it into the last pitcher plant and you'll be able to cross to the opposite side of the gorge. Approach the flytrap from the right, gingerly inching your way toward its center, until you can pick up the SUPERSHOT ST. Head right, jump the gorge, pick up the SPRING GUN CLIP and proceed to the next area. Pick up an insect and use the springy vine to jump to the high ledge nearby. Stand as far to the right as possible and release the insect into the pitcher plant. Jump to the right and you'll land safely on the other side of the giant flytrap. Head right, pick up a frog, and go to the ledge between two pitcher plants. Release the frog into the left plant, jump on top of it, and wait to be thrown to the ledge above. Grab the wasp's nest, jump down, and throw it into the flytrap on the left. Pick up the SLASH-ALL MATERIA, pick up the frog and return to the ledge, and release it into the pitcher plant on the right. Wait to be thrown over the huge flytrap on the right and proceed to the next area. Put insects into the two pitcher plants and use the springy vine to catapult yourself into the canopy. Head down the tree trunk to the left and pick up the MINERVA BAND you may have spotted earlier. Return to the canopy and make your way to the tree to the right. Stand at the end of the broken branch in the foreground and use the vines to jump to the right. Pick up the bag containing the TYPOON MATERIA and return to the broken branch. Head down the tree trunk and make your way to the right along the vine to return to the forest floor. Pick up an insect and release it into the right-most pitcher plant. Jump to the ledge above and grab the wasp's nest, jump down, and throw the nest into the giant flytrap. Pick up the other insect, release it into the pitcher plant left of the flytrap, and jump to opposite side of the gorge. Head to the left and grab an insect, release it in front of the hole in the nearby tree, and grab the frog when it jumps out. Head right and throw the frog into the pitcher plant and wait for it and you to be spit to the right. Pick up the frog again and put it in the right-most pitcher plant. Wait to be thrown over the gorge to the right and proceed to the next area. Open the two chests to find the APOCALYPSE and an ELIXIR and exit the cave at the far end to leave the Ancient Forest. ---------------------------- 5.3 Wutai ---------------------------- WUTAI: Materia Hunter Items to aquire: Magic Shuriken Hairpin MP Absorb Materia Swift Bolt Elixir Peace Ring If you've completed the Yuffie Kisaragi Optional Quest and she's in your party when the Tiny Bronco splashes down during your flight from Rocket Town, she'll make a suspicious suggestion to head west. If she's said enough to pique your curiosity and you're interested in picking up an unbelievable number of valuable items, travel to the world's west-most island and disembark at its southern tip. Before you venture north into the mountains, consider taking the time to explore the area. Track down a Razor Weed and learn its MAGIC HAMMER Enemy Skill. Comb the beach and fight a few Adamantaimai to learn the DEATH FORCE Enemy Skill and steal a supply of ADAMAN BANGLES (you'll need them very soon). When you're ready, begin the hike north Before you can get to the bottom of her unusual behavior, you'll be accosted by Shinra soldiers. During the battle, you'll be inexplicably limited to using normal attacks and items. After you defeat the Attack Squad, you'll discover the reason: Yuffie has stolen all your Materia! You'll have little choice but to proceed north without it and hunt her down. Before leaving the Wilderness, take the time to re-equip your party. As Materia slots and growth rates will be irrelevant for the time being, equip your strongest weapons, don your set of Adaman Bangles, and get to Wutai on the opposite side of the mountains as fast as you can. When you arrive in Wutai, you'll catch a fleeting glimpse of the traitorous pickpocket before she vanishes. Talk to the person wandering near the path in the far-left corner of town and you'll be told to seek Lord Godo. Proceed to the next area and enter Lord Godo's house on the right. Use the guestroom to rest for free, draw the curtain in the near-left corner, and open the chest at the opposite end of the secret passage to find the MAGIC SHURIKEN. Take the hallway to the right, enter the near room, and examine the wall in the near-left corner. Open the chest at the opposite end of the secret passage to find the HAIRPIN. Enter the far room and talk to Lord Godo until Yuffie shows up. After she runs off, return to the town and head for Turtle's Paradise in the near-left corner (refer to the Turtle's Paradise Optional Quest for further details about activities related to this fine drinking establishment). Talk to the Turks, go outside, and enter the Item Store in the far-left corner. As soon as you open the chest and hold aloft the MP ABSORB MATERIA, Yuffie will appear and snatch it away from you. Go to the Old Man's House in the near-right corner of town and pull back the dressing screen to send the little hooligan scampering again. Find the quivering jar outside Turtle's Paradise and pound on it until Yuffie pops out, captured at last, and leads you to her house to return the Materia. Follow her into the next room and pull the lever on the far side of the room. Pull the lever again to release your teammates and head for the area outside Lord Godo's house. Pass through the gate on the left and strike the gong to reveal a hidden door. Enter and you'll discover Yuffie and Elena have been captured by Don Corneo. Open the chest on the right to find a SWIFT BOLT and the chest on the left to find an ELIXIR and chase Corneo up the stairs. Defeat the Attack Squad, go outside and talk to Reno, and head for the Da-chao Statue located down the path in the far-right corner of town. Take the path that leads over the center figure's left shoulder and cross to the left behind its head. Take the near path to find Corneo and his captives, and defeat Rapps. RAPPS: Rapps is a formidable opponent. It can use strong physical attacks and Aero3, an extremely potent magic attack that can cause upwards of 1500 points of damage to any single party member. Consider choosing the two characters with the most HP to join Cloud during this battle and begin with everyone at full-strength. Equip their strongest weapons and armor with the highest Magic def. Equip the Fury Ring on your strongest team member (most likely Cloud), in effect dedicating that person to attacking full-time. The primary responsibility of the others will be counteracting Rapps' attacks with curative items. Each time you're hit with Aero3, respond with an X-Potion (or a Phoenix Down + X-Potion one-two if the situation calls for it) immediately. However, it's a good idea to completely fill the Limit gauge of one if not both 'healers' before the fight begins to give them a chance to lop off a healthy chunk of HP if they get the chance. Use one Limit Break at a time. WAIT until the first character is ready to take over medic duty before unleashing the second Limit Break. If you're willing to risk it, use any subsequent spare moments to hurl strong attack items at the enemy. [PEACE RING] After the battle, Yuffie will hand over the Materia and re-join the party. But before you return to whatever mode of transport brought you to the island, consider heading back into Wutai for a second helping of Optional Quest loveliness. Proceed to the Pagoda of the Five Mighty Gods Optional Quest... WUTAI: Pagoda of the Five Mighty Gods HP Absorb Materia X-Potion Turbo Ether Ice Ring Elixir All Creation Leviathan Materia On the distant side of Wutai, at the far end of the path outside Godo's House, stands the Pagoda of the Five Mighty Gods. It's a rite of passage for local warriors who wish to prove their battle prowess to climb the Pagoda and challenge the Gods of Power, Speed, Magic, War, and Omni in a series of one-on-one duels. Return to Wutai after ompleting the Wutai Materia Hunter Optional Quest and Yuffie will be allowed to take the test*. Make sure she's in your party and properly prepared to fight on her own, then head for the Pagoda and talk to the master of each floor to initiate combat. [*NOTE: You'll now be able to climb the stairs in the Cat's House (located just below Yuffie's House) and open the chest at the near end of the second floor hallway to find an HP ABSORB MATERIA. You'll also have the opportunity to patronize the Weapon Store (between the Old Man's House and Turtle's Paradise) and purchase the MURASAME @ 6500 Gil, the DIAMOND KNUCKLE @ 5800 Gil, the CHAINSAW @ 6300 Gil, the AURORA ROD @ 5800 Gil, the GOLD BARRETTE @ 6000 Gil, the SLASH LANCE @ 6500 Gil, the BLUE M-PHONE @ 5500 Gil and the SHORTBARREL @ 6400 Gil. At the very least, consider purchasing the RAZOR RING @ 6000 Gil for Yuffie.] All five Gods have the same status vulnerabilities and therefore can be approached with a more-or-less universal preparation and battle strategy. The Gods are weak against Slow and Stop; equip [Time]-[Added Effect] in Yuffie's weapon Since frozen opponents cannot evade D.blow, you may wish to equip the Deathblow Materia. Equip at least one Counter Attack Materia and an Enemy Skill Materia with Magic Hammer, White Wind and Big Guard (one without Trine if you intend to take advantage of Godo's ability to use it). The Gods are also weak against Poison status, consider equipping Poison Materia. Fill any remaining slots with Plus Materia. Begin each battle with the Big Guard Enemy Skill to endow yourself with Haste, Barrier and MBarrier; then follow up by completely siphoning your opponent's MP with Magic Hammer. In the meantime, any attacks against you will have a good chance of eliciting a counter attack that can cause Slow and, with luck, Stop. Poison your opponent by casting Bio if you feel it's necessary and maintain your HP with White Wind or X-Potions (what a pleasant coincidence the Bizarre Bugs in Wutai so readily drop them). If all goes well, you'll be facing a paralyzed sluggish adversary with steadily waning HP as you turn to physical attacks for the remainder of the fight. GORKII: Gorkii can cast Demi2; you may wish to supplement your preparation with the [Gravity]- [Elemental] defensive combination. He also has the ability to cast Reflect on himself. Should this happen, skip the MP-draining step and proceed directly to physical attacks. [X-POTION] SHAKE: The first four Gods have an additional weakness against Paralysis. You may wish to chuck a handful of Dazers at Shake for the sure-fire freeze if his attacks start to get the better of you. [TURBO ETHER] CHEKHOV: Chekhov will take copious advantage of her ability to cause Paralysis unless you equip the Jem Ring before confronting her on the third floor. Without the effects of Stare Down, she won't have a prayer against you. [ICE RING] STANIV: Staniv's War Cry can cause Sadness; equip the Peace Ring if you don't have any Hyper to cure yourself before the battle with Godo. [ELIXIR] GODO: Godo is the only God that puts up a respectable fight. It has three faces, each with a distinct fighting style and set of skills. The red face can use the Trine Enemy Skill and wields the Beast Sword, capable of doing a decent amount damage. The white face can cast Bio2, Demi3, and magic that severely drains your HP. The yellow face can cast Sleepel and Cure2 (most likely, it can do so often enough to comfortably keep pace with the damage you incur). To prepare, outfit your armor to protect you from whichever element you feel threatens you the most (probably Gravity) and equip the Headband to stay awake at the wheel. Godo has A LOT of MP. The MP disposal phase of this battle will take a fair amount of time and require great discipline (but in the end it'll prove well worth the effort). You'll probably want to maintain a Big Guard (to replace exhausted barriers), White Wind (to restore HP or cure Poison) or X-Potion, Magic Hammer, rinse, repeat cycle. Use Limit Breaks at convenient moments whenever they become available as your Limit gauge should fill repeatedly throughout the battle. When all your hard work is done, Godo should be Slowed and incapable of anything but the Beast Sword, which won't be enough to stop you. When you win, you'll receive Yuffie's Level 4 Limit Break. [ALL CREATION] When you pass the test, Godo will give you the LEVIATHAN MATERIA and share a private father-daughter Kodak moment with Yuffie. ---------------------------- 5.4 Getting Yuffie ---------------------------- Yuffie can be found wandering around in any of the world's forests. You'll encounter her as you would an enemy and she'll be identified as Mystery Ninja. Defeat her in battle and you'll be taken to a field where Yuffie lies prostrate near a Save Point. DO NOT USE THE SAVE POINT or do anything else that will cause you to leave the Field Screen and lose sight of Yuffie. If you do, she'll vanish and steal a fistful of Gil. If you wish to convince her to join your party, you must talk to her and say all the right things during the ensuing conversation. Listed below are the appropriate responses to Yuffie's comments. "One more time, let's go one more time!" [Not interested] "You're pretty scared of me, huh!?" [...petrified] "I'm really gonna leave! REALLY!" [Wait a second!] "You want me to go with you?" [...That's right] "All right! I'll go with you!" [...Let's hurry on] ---------------------------- 5.5 Midgar and Nibelheim ---------------------------- Items to aquire: Key to Sector 5 Premium Heart Sneak Glove Final Heaven After you've recovered Cloud from the Lifestream near Mideel, you'll find a man who's lost his key standing outside the gate to Midgar. It's his sneaking suspicion he lost it while he was on an excavation tour. It's a good bet you're familiar with the place he's talking about. Pilot the Highwind to the Icicle Area and head for Bone Village. Talk to the 'guy in the tent' and start diggin' for 'Normal treasure'. There are at least three different places the KEY TO SECTOR 5 could be (near the former location of the Lunar Harp, near the top of the ladder, near the nose of the crashed jet; there are probably more), so it's a good idea to place all five staff members strategically covering the entire site. Relatively speaking, the margin for error is much smaller than for the other items. (NOTE: You just have to dig in one of the correct locations, not necessarily the one the workers are pointing to.) When you have the Key, return to Midgar and let yourself into the Sector 5 Slum. If you haven't spotted the Turtle's Paradise publicity flyer in the boy's room yet, no would be a good time to check it out. Make your way to Wall Market and enter the Item Store. Examine the vending machine that was so hostile toward you during Disc 1 and you'll receive Tifa's best weapon, the PREMIUM HEART. Visit the Weapon Store and talk to the man who sold you the Batteries and he'll sell you the SNEAK GLOVE @ 129,000 Gil. If you're undertaking this quest at your earliest opportunity, it's likely you'll find this sum pretty steep. However, you'll really appreciate this accessory when it comes time to steal those REALLY important items later in the game. Now go to Nibelheim. Nibelheim: Go to Nibelheim with Tifa in your party. Go to Tifa's house and examine the piano in her bedroom. Play the tune from the story Cloud told at the Kalm Inn: [X]-[S]-[T]-[L1/R1 + T]-[L1/R1 + S]-[X]-[S]-[T]-[R1/L1 + X]-[O]-[X]-[S]-[X] and Tifa will pick up the sheet music for it. (NOTE: It's the Highwind theme!) Inside, she'll find a letter from Zangan containing FINAL HEAVEN, her Level 4 Limit Break. Before you leave, consider visiting the library in the basement of the Shinra Mansion. You'll learn a lot more about the relationship between Cloud and Zack in a flashback that illuminates the events between the Nibel Reactor incident and Tifa's discovery of Cloud at the Midgar Sector 7 Train Station. In the far room, you'll also find a series of official Shinra reports concerning the same events. ---------------------------- 5.6 Materia Caves ---------------------------- Items to aquire: HP<->MP Materia Mime Materia Quadra Magic Materia Knights of Round Materia As you explore the world, you're likely to spot four mysterious caves in remote locations impossible to reach by ordinary means. You won't be able to reach the Materia Caves without the help of the special breeds of Chocobo. North Corel Area Materia Cave This cave is directly north of North Corel and it can only be reached on the back of a River Chocobo. Ride the Chocobo into the Highwind, fly to grassy field near the Corel Area entrance to Mt. Corel, and ride the Chocobo across the shallow river. Enter the cave and touch the glowing crystal to receive the HP<->MP MATERIA. Wutai Area Materia Cave This cave is located at the end of a narrow peninsula in the middle of the Wutai Area's east coast and can only be reached on the back of a Mountain Chocobo. Set down in the Wutai Area and ride the Chocobo over the mountains to reach the cave. Examine the crystal to find the MIME MATERIA. Mideel Area Materia Cave This cave is located at the northern tip of the smallest of the Mideel Area's three talons and can only be reach on the back of a River Chocobo. Land the Highwind in the Mideel Area and use the shallows to reach the cave. Examine the glowing crystal inside and you'll receive the QUADRA MAGIC MATERIA. Round Island Materia Cave This is the most remote of the Materia Caves and it's located on a tiny island that doesn't appear on any map and can only be reached on the back of a Gold Chocobo. Ride the Chocobo toward the northeast corner of the map and dismount outside the cave. Enter the cave and touch the throbbing crystal to receive the KNIGHTS OF ROUND MATERIA. ---------------------------- 5.7 Gelnika ---------------------------- Items to aquire: Heaven's Cloud Megalixir Escort Guard Conformer Double Cut Materia Touph Ring Ziedrich Megalixir Spirit Lance Hades Materia Outsider Highwind The Gelnika, a plane that crashed while transporting Shinra's best and most highly- lassified weapons, lies entombed at the bottom of the inland sea. Once you've acquired a Shinra Sub, you'll be able to dock with the wreckage and plunder its secret cache. Take the Sub west from the submarine dock at Junon to the southern tip of the natural bay between the Gold Saucer and Costa del Sol, dive to the ocean floor, and examine the plane to go aboard. Open the chest at the left end of the first hallway to find the HEAVEN'S CLOUD. Take the far door to enter the Research Room, head for the far-right end of the catwalk, and open the chest to find a MEGALIXIR. Open the chest at the top of the stairs to find and ESCORT GUARD and head for the lower level. Open the chest obscured by the pipes in the far-left corner to find the CONFORMER, Yuffie's best weapon, and pick up the DOUBLE CUT MATERIA in the far-right corner. Return to the hallway and head left. If you undertake this quest before parachuting into Midgar to stop Hojo from firing the Sister Ray, you'll encounter the Turks. RENO & RUDE: Equip yourself to absorb Fire, Ice and Lightning attacks (Tetra Elemental, Minerva Band with [Lightning]-[Elemental], etc.) and to protect against Confusion (Ribbon or [Mystify]-[Added Effect], especially on someone equipped with Slash-All or Double Cut) and you should be well protected against the Turks. Equip Steal Materia and consider equipping the Sneak Glove (if you have it) to help you snare the TOUPH RING from Reno and the ZIEDRICH from Rude. Begin with Big Guard and Regen on your party, then mug your opponents. When you have everything you need, unload on the Turks to boot them off the plane. Take the far door to reach the Cargo Room and open the chest to find a MEGALIXIR. Open the chest in the far right corner of the upper walkway to find the SPIRIT LANCE and head for the lower level. Grab the HADES MATERIA near the helicopter and open the two chests on the near side of the hold to find the OUTSIDER and the HIGHWIND, Cid's Level 4 Limit Break ---------------------------- 5.8 Waterfall ---------------------------- Items to aquire: Death Penalty Chaos In the very center of the western continent, a waterfall pours itself into a circular lake completely surrounded by mountains. Unless you have a Mountain Chocobo, the only way to reach this sanctuary is by submarine. Once you've acquired the Shinra Sub, take it northwest from the dock at Junon to where the river between the Corel and North Corel Areas empties into the inland sea. Dive and head south to the end of the long tunnel. Surface and dock at the rocky ledge on the western shore of the lake. Visit the Waterfall Cave with Vincent in your party during Disc 2 and you'll meet Lucrecia; formerly a Shinra scientist, Vincent's beloved and the natural mother of Sephiroth. You'll learn about the love triangle between Vincent, Lucrecia and Hojo; and the circumstances which led to the experimentation on and genetic alteration of Vincent. Return to this location with Vincent in your party during Disc 3 and you find the DEATH PENALTY, Vincent's best weapon, and CHAOS, Vincent's Level 4 Limit Break. ---------------------------- 5.9 Ultima Weapon ---------------------------- After you face Diamond Weapon on the coast north of Midgar, you'll find Ultimate Weapon in a sulking hover over the lake in the Junon Area. Even though it seems to have no interest in attacking you (or anyone for that matter), go ahead and ram it with the Highwind to initiate combat. In addition to its previous repertoire of attacks, it can also use an unnamed Lightning-based attack. For near-complete protection, equip the Tetra Elemental to absorb Lightning and Earth and the [non-elemental Materia]-[Elemental] defensive combination to absorb the effects of the Ultima Beam. As it did during your previous encounter, Ultimate Weapon will fly off after only a few rounds. When this happens, you'll have to chase it across the World Map and ram it repeatedly until it settles on a new destination (you'll know you've sufficiently bashed it when it stops trying to evade you and makes a bee-line for its next target). If you're lucky, you'll catch a glimpse of its course as it flees. If not, know that it could be cruising around almost ANYWHERE in the world (and at times it may seem as though it's deliberately hiding from you). When Ultimate Weapon comes to rest at last, ram it one more time to re-initiate combat. You'll have to act quickly if you want to steal from it (either a CIRCLET or a REFLECT RING, depending on your location). Consider equipping [Steal]-[Sneak Attack] and the Sneak Glove on your designated pickpocket to take care of business before the fight gets underway. Begin each battle with Big Guard, then turn to your best attacks to whittle away at its HP. When you've caused a critical amount of damage and Ultimate Weapon wearies of the pressures of conflict, it will head for its place of final repose, the plateaus east of Cosmo Canyon. When you deliver the fatal blow, Ultimate Weapon will use the SHADOW FLARE Enemy Skill against its slayer, you'll receive Cloud's best weapon, the ULTIMA WEAPON, and the beast will come crashing down to the earth below, altering the landscape to allow you on-foot access to the Ancient Forest nearby. ---------------------------- 5.10 Emerald and Ruby Weapon ---------------------------- Ruby Weapon: After you lay Ultimate Weapon to rest, Ruby Weapon can be found with its head poking out of the sand somewhere in the desert surrounding the Gold Saucer. You'll have to ram it in the melon with the Highwind to make it jump out of the sand and engage you in combat. But before you do, make sure you've made the necessary preparations. Ruby Weapon seems extremely resistant to physical attacks, so you'll need to plan a primarily magical assault. Ruby Weapon's Achilles' heel is its weakness against Paralysis. You'll want to gather a healthy supply of at least 30 Dazers (if you don't have one or you're unwilling to use the W-Item cheat, the best way to get them is by mugging, morphing or defeating Boundfats in the Corral Valley) and put them at the top of your inventory. If you have Knights of Round or Master Summon, you'll be able to use an attack pattern similar to the one described for Emerald Weapon. If you haven't the patience or the passion for breeding a Gold Chocobo, you'll have to find another way. A powerful option (and thankfully one that takes a very short time to execute) is the highly-underrated ???? Enemy Skill. It always delivers damage equal to the difference between the users MaxHP and current HP. If you don't have it on at least two Enemy Skill Materia, head for the Shinra Mansion and stand motionless in front of some Jerseys on the second floor until you learn it. The first thing you should know about the actual battle is that Ruby Weapon will be completely invulnerable until it sinks its claws into the sand and its Tentacles appear behind your party. Before it does so, it's extremely like to use its Whirlsand attack to eliminate one, probably two of your allies from the fight. To avoid this unsavory situation, nominate a point man and start the battle with the other two party members knocked out. This will prompt Ruby to bury its claws immediately. Ruby Weapon has a wide variety of very strong attacks in its arsenal; one of which is Fire-based, others can cause negative status. It's a very good idea to equip yourself to absorb Fire and resist status effects (i.e. the Ribbon). Equip the Enemy Skill Materia with ???? on the unconscious individuals and boost their MaxHP to 9999 by equipping HP Plus Materia. Equip your point man with Time or a third Enemy Skill (with Big Guard) and consider equipping at least one Counter Attack Materia and [Time or Hades]-[Added Effect] in his/her weapon on the off chance of inflicting Slow. You may also wish to add [Phoenix]- Final Attack] for the sake of safety. Fill any remaining slots with Plus Materia and you're ready to start the fight. Ruby will open by burying its claws. Hit it with Dazers, cast Haste, and play it safe by waiting with a full ATB gauge until Ruby recovers. Hit it with another Dazers and use a Phoenix Down to revive one of your fallen allies. Wait with a third Dazers at the ready and skip to the ally who was resurrected first to use another Phoenix Down on the remaining party member. Throw the third Dazers and use Big Guard to endow the rest of the party with Haste. At last it's time to begin the attack. Use the point man to keep watch on Ruby Weapon while the others unload a relentless string of ????. They should both be in critical condition and the attack should be quite effective. In between Dazers attacks, have the point man summon Hades or use normal attacks to try to slow Ruby down (it's best to make only one attempt between shots of Dazers). There's a good chance your vigil will slip at some point and Ruby will get the chance to attack. If it knocks out one of your attackers, simply paralyze Ruby and use another Phoenix Down. On the other hand, you may wish to turn the situation to your advantage. If the Ruby Flame heals one of your attackers enough to reduce the effectiveness of ????, you may wish to deliberately elicit a counterattack against that character as it can rob that person of the majority (but only a percentage) of their HP. With persistence, your attack should previal. Defeat Ruby Weapon and you'll receive the DESERT ROSE. Take it to the Mourner of Kalm and he'll trade a GOLD CHOCOBO for it. Emerald Weapon: You may spot Emerald Weapon swimming around the inland sea after you acquire the Shinra Sub, but you'll want to avoid it at all costs until you're properly prepared to fight it. Select three characters with strong multiple-strike Limit Breaks (i.e. Cloud = Omnislash, Cid = Highwind, Barret = Ungarmax, etc.) to be in your attack party and equip their best weapons (if you don't have them, consider getting them). It'll help you greatly if your party members are at relatively high Levels, at least 60 or so. Equip your best armor; such as the Mystile, the Aegis Armlet, or the Ziedrich; and plan your attack. Emerald Weapon is extremely fast and incredibly powerful. In addition to its repertoire of devastating attacks, it has four Eyes that, when open, can attack repeatedly and drain about 1/2 your HP or MP with EACH hit. Emerald's signature skill and the attack that should have the greatest bearing on your preparation is Aire Tam Storm, which deals 1111 points of damage for every Materia orb equipped. On top of all that, you'll have to face a 20-minute time limit unless you have the Underwater Materia equipped. If you haven't done so already, your first order of business should be getting it from the Mourner of Kalm (see the Underwater Reactor episode for details). Prepare your defense by equipping HP Plus and MP Plus Materia to boost those statistics to the maximum and equip [Phoenix]-[Final Attack (mastered)] to rescue you in case your entire party gets wiped out (which is almost a given). The cornerstone of your attack will be [Knights of Round (Level 2 or higher) or Master Summon]-[MP Turbo], W-Summon and Magic Plus Materia (mastered) equipped on the character with the highest natural Magic statistic. Equip [Mime]-[Counter (mastered)] and another Magic Plus Materia (if you have one) on the character with the next highest natural Magic statistic. Equip an identical set-up on the remaining character if you can manage it and, if you're extremely well-outfitted, you'll want to add a third Mime (or a Master Magic) Materia to the first character's set-up. Consider giving everyone an Enemy Skill Materia with Big Guard (and Angel Whisper if possible) and fill your remaining slots with Speed Plus Materia, Mega All Materia or anything else you want to acquire the vast amount of AP you'll get from defeating Emerald Weapon. You may want to limit yourself to eight Materia orbs for each party member to keep Aire Tam Storm from becoming an automatic instant death for your entire party, especially if your Final Attack Materia isn't quite mastered yet. Also, if you're using weapons with no Materia growth, make sure you arrange your Materia so those most in need of AP are in your armor. Last but not least, consider heading into battle with everyone's Limit Break full. When you're ready to fight, jump in the Shinra Sub and ram Emerald to initiate combat. Your very first move should be to use Big Guard to endow the party with Haste and set up both Barriers. Already, Emerald Weapon will probably have clobbered someone; use an X-Potion for your next move. If your Limit Break is available, now is the time to use it (if not, or if you want to avoid the hassle, skip directly to the Knights of Round phase of the attack). For as long as you can sustain it, skip the other characters and mimic the Limit Break. You should be able to Mime at least once (more if you successfully counter attack with it). Break off as soon as anyone else with a full Limit gauge nears death, as you'll lose it if that person gets knocked out. When you've exhausted your Limit Breaks, make sure the character with Knights of Round has at least 510 MP and use W-Summon to attack with Ultimate End twice in a row. With MP Turbo and Magic Plus, each hit should cause close to 9999 points of damage to Emerald (and the Eyes if they're open). Use Mime for your next move and you'll copy BOTH summons at no MP cost. What's more, you'll also copy the MP Turbo boost. You should be able to Mime the double- ummoned fully-boosted Knights of Round a few times without the need to recover (again, even more if you manage to counter attack with it). Your allies' ATB gauges should completely fill in the interim between the two summons. Play it safe and keep at least one character at the ready for medic duty at all times. If your string of mimed Knights comes to an end (due to a need to administer first aid or a surprise kill resulting in the Phoenix Final Attack) and Emerald is still standing, use a Megalixir (or something less dramatic if you can get away with it) and start the whole process again. If two per battle is your limit for Knights of Round, you'll have to move onto something else (fear not, Emerald should be near the end). If you've kept everyone alive, there's a good chance someone's Limit gauge will be full. In that case, revisit the Limit Break Miming strategy outlined above. If not and the Eyes are open, skip to a character with the Mega All Materia and use Slash All in an effort to destroy them all at once. Mime the Slash All if the others don't have the innate ability. If you simply cannot defeat Emerald Weapon at this time, try again when your Knights of Round Materia is at a higher level. Defeat Emerald Weapon and you'll receive the EARTH HARP. Take it to the Mourner of Kalm and he'll trade a MASTER MAGIC MATERIA, a MASTER COMMAND MATERIA and a MASTER SUMMON MATERIA for it.