8888888888 8888888888 88888 88888 88888 88888 888 888 888 888 888 888 888 888 888 88 888 88 888 888 888 888 888 8 888 8 888 888 888 888 888 888 888 888 888 888 888 88 888 88 888 888 888 888 8888888 8888888 888 888 888 888 888 88 888 88 888 888 888 888 888 888 888 888 888 888 888 888 88 88 888 888 888 888 888 888 888 888 888 888 888 888 888 888 888 888 88888 888 888 88888 88888 888 88888 88888 =================================================================== F i n a l F a n t a s y 7 =================================================================== FINAL FANTASY VII FAQ v1.6 Part 1 of 2 - The Complete Walkthrough for the Sony PlayStation (import) Feel free to do anything you want with this FAQ as long as you don't use it for profitable/promotional purposes or use it to get prizes or recognition from game magazines, contests, etc. Please give credit where it is due should you use part or all of this FAQ in a guide of your own or use it in any way not mentioned here. The Final Fantasy series is (c) Square of Japan and (c) Square USA. If you have a question concerning this disclaimer, e-mail me--I have the right to do whatever I want if someone ignores the disclaimer :) This FAQ is divided into two parts: The Complete Walkthrough - The file you're currently reading. It contains a guide for the entire game, and has information on how to play the game as well as an item/shopping list. Extra Stuff You Should Know - You're not reading this one. This file focuses on secrets in the game. In addition it has extensive lists of materia orbs, limit breaks, monsters and speculation concerning FF7 rumors. Both of these files can be found at the 'main' address (cgfm2's homepage) Other sites that carry this FAQ may not have both files, or may have older versions of the FAQ (it was just one file until v1.6). If you're asking why I split up this FAQ, it's because it was too big for me to edit on my computer.... ^_^; Both parts will be updated under the same revision number--you can find out which file was updated by looking under the 'Revision History' section. Some sections can be found in both files, simply for ease of use and to create a more uniform appearance. =================================== CONTENTS - THE COMPLETE WALKTHROUGH =================================== 1. REVISION HISTORY 2. INTRODUCTION 3. WALKTHROUGH - DISC ONE a. Makoro Power Plant b. Midgar City c. Avalanche Base d. Return to the Makoro Plant e. Midgar City Slums f. Wall Market g. The Sewers / Train Yard Revisited h. Into The Sky i. Shinra Headquarters j. Escape! k. Kalm Town / Chocobo Farm l. Mithril Mine / Junon Town m. Shinra Boat n. Costa Del Sol / New Continent o. Gold Saucer p. Gongaga Town / Cosmo Canyon q. Return of Sephiroth r. The Inventor s. Betrayal t. The Temple u. Excavator's Site / The Forest v. Ancient City 4. WALKTHROUGH - DISC TWO a. The Cave b. Frost Village c. Lost in the Snow d. Frozen Mountain e. Junon Town Attacked! f. Where's Cloud? / North Corel Express g. Condor Fort h. Inside Cloud's Head i. 100 Leagues Under the Sea j. Underwater Adventure k. Cid's Rocket l. Midgar City Under Siege 5. WALKTHROUGH - DISC THREE a. Makou Pit 6. BONUS AREAS - Frog Forest - Vincent's Waterfall - Bonus Materia Locations - A Thief Among Us 7. PLAYING THE GAME - Terminology - Starting The Game - Controller Functions - Fighting Battles - World Map and the Area Map - List of Status Changes - Name Your Character - Visiting Towns and Shops - Having Fun 8. MAIN MENU 9. APPENDIX - Translations - Shopping List ====================================== CONTENTS - EXTRA STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW ====================================== 12. REVISION HISTORY 13. INTRODUCTION 14. SECRETS AND STRATEGIES - Getting Yuffie Kisaragi - Getting Vincent Valentine - The Safe in Nivelheim - The Sleeping Man - Piano Trick - Key to Midgar City - Kamedouraku Flyers - All 7 Fever - FMV Viewing Trick - Always Run from Battles - Raising Chocobos - Uncharted Isles - Game Shark Codes 15. MISCELLANEOUS - The Characters - Materia Orbs - Huge Materia / Master Materia - Materia List - Enemy Skill List - Learning Limit Breaks - Limit Break List - Translations - Shopping List - Monster List - Rumors and Speculation - The Documents 16. SPECIAL THANKS 17. AUTHOR'S NOTE +++++++++++++++++++++ 1. REVISION HISTORY +++++++++++++++++++++ VERSION 1.6 (June 20, 1997) Finished the Materia List and revamped the 'Rumors and Speculation' section. Changed the order of some sections and updated lots of other stuff, including the Translation section. The Disc One walkthrough is now completely rewritten--Disc Two should be done by the next revision or so. Also added the initial release of the monster list. If you haven't noticed, the FAQ has been split into two files, too. Also updated the 'Earn Lots of AP' Game Shark code. VERSION 1.5x (June 1, 1997) Added the 'Materia Select' Game Shark code, in addition to some info. about the hidden (or at least undocumented) Materia Orbs; you may want to take a look at the 'Underwater Breath' materia. Also updated the Rumors and Speculation section, Materia List and added all remaining master AP scores for the Materia Orbs. VERSION 1.5 (May 31, 1997) Added the 'Item Select' Game Shark code! Fixed up minor changes made in later releases of v1.4 so everything is up to date at this point. Also added master AP scores for most of the materia in the Materia List. VERSION 1.4 (May 29, 1997) New sections have been added: 'Shopping List' (to make help with purchases), 'Learning Limit Breaks' (self-explanatory), and 'Translations' (a list of items, etc. and their translated names). Several sections have also been updated (like the Enemy Skills List and Materia list). I am currently re-playing the game to fix mistakes and clear up any poorly written sections; Disc 1 is a little over half complete and I will work on the other discs soon. As usual, more corrections and updates have been made (especially for my translations :)). I've added some Game Shark codes that were submitted to me in the 'Secrets and Strategies' section, as well as more info on the FMV Viewing Trick. Finally, the disclaimer has been tweaked a little (hopefully for the last time :)). VERSION 1.3 (May 6, 1997) Updated the Enemy Skills List, Materia List, and Raising Chocobos sections. Added information on other Bonus Areas and Cosmo Canyon. Added the 'Kamedouraku Flyers' and 'All 7 Fever' tricks, as well as the 'Infinite Limit Break Use' and 'Start with Gold Chocobo' Game Shark codes. There's also a new section, the Limit Break List. General updates and corrections have been made throughout the FAQ. Now that I have many of the 'correct' names for the items, locations, etc., most of the names in this FAQ have been changed. The disclaimer has also been changed somewhat. Keep an eye out for a complete listing of monsters and their abilities; the initial release will be added to this FAQ in an upcoming revision or be released separately. VERSION 1.2 (April 20th, 1997) Complete overhaul of the Enemy Skills list. How to get the Bahamut Zero materia, info. on red sub and events at Cosmo Canyon added. New ASCII title, and a new URL added (for those of you who want to understand this game's storyline). VERSION 1.1 (April 14th, 1997) Added the FMV Viewing Trick to the 'Secrets and Strategies' section. VERSION 1.0 (April 12th, 1997) The Disc Three walkthrough is done, making this version the 'official' release (since it now guides you through the whole game). Added the 'Piano Trick', explained how to get the Alexander Materia and how to reach the lower chest in the east wing of Sephiroth's Mansion. Altered the Introduction and Revision History sections a bit, and updated the Enemy Skill List and Materia Orbs sections. Also added how to get back into Midgar City. VERSION 0.4x (April 7th, 1997) Various corrections/updates, among them the 'Character Select' code and info. on the Sleeping Man, as well as the monster in section 4a. VERSION 0.4 (April 6th, 1997) The walkthrough for Disc Two is complete! This FAQ now provides a complete guide for both Disc 1 and 2 at this point. The guide for Disc 3 is currently underway. VERSION 0.3 (April 5th, 1997) Began work on Enemy Skill and Summon Materia charts. Fixed up some misc. info. and other things in the FAQ, and added the Mini-Battle game strategy to the 'Having Fun' section. Added 'Body Heat' Game Shark code, and more information concerning the 'Character Select' code. VERSION 0.2 (March 31st, 1997) Fixed information on the 'bug' Materia (it's actually a Learn Enemy Skill Materia). Added the 'Character Select' Game Shark code, which among other things, lets you play with Aerith AFTER Disc One or even use Sephiroth! The Disc Two Walkthrough has just been started and will be added in good time. VERSION 0.1 (March 28th, 1997) First release. Bare-bones walkthrough for Disc One and other basic information. Still more to add and correct. Contains the 'No Time Limit' Game Shark code. Began construction of VERSION 0.0 on February 14th, 1997. +++++++++++++++++ 2. INTRODUCTION +++++++++++++++++ "The town of Makon is under the tight grip of Shin-Ra, the infamous conglomerate. The Shin-Ra Electric Power Company has been exploiting the life force of the planet, destroying its' precious nature. Meanwhile, the underground rebel force with a mission, Avalanche, managed to blow up Makon Furnace No. 1. Their goal is to destroy Shin-Ra and stop their atrocities. It turned out that Cloud, one of the former Shin-Ra soldiers, helped the explosion. Can just a handful of brave soldiers save the life of the planet? Shin-Ra is much too big an enemy to fight against. THE FATE OF THE PLANET IS ON THIS BATTLE." So begins Final Fantasy VII's saga, set in a futuristic world where swords and sorcery are combined with guns and machinery. This FAQ is designed to guide people through the game, providing not only a walkthrough for the adventures contained on each disc but also information on basic gameplay, secrets and tricks, and more. This FAQ is designed for the Japanese version of FF7. Therefore, some things in this guide may not apply to the English version of FF7 when it is released (presumably on September 7th, 1997). Furthermore, as the writer of this FAQ neither speaks nor understands _any_ Japanese, this guide is not 100% accurate. Although mistakes will be corrected in future revisions as soon as they are noticed, some parts of this guide are bound to be unclear on the subject or run the risk of supplying false info. Any Japanese names that you come across have either been submitted to me by someone else or I have translated them using a kana chart (and since I don't know the first thing about the Japanese language, my translations may not be correct). Now that I am doing item and name translations, (as of v1.3 onwards) this is more true than ever. If you see a translated name and would like to know the English equivalent, (assuming there is one) then please refer to the 'Translations' section for details. Whenever possible, I'll write NSS (Not So Sure) after anything that may be incorrect or unconfirmable. Furthermore, the I'll try to provide names of monsters, cities, locations, magic spells, etc. when possible, but many things may be referred to as 'the big brown hut', 'the four- armed red frog monster', 'the item' or 'the Materia'. This FAQ tries to be as understandable and clear as possible, but this is not always the case. In most cases, the names of places/objects/other stuff will simply be made up, or borrowed from earlier FF games (such as the names of spells/summoning materia/skill materia). Due to the size of this game, the FF7 FAQ will start off incomplete but be revised whenever it is necessary, and can be found at: www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Park/7990/index.html You can find revisions elsewhere (look at the top of the FAQ). While I update the FAQ whenever I have the spare time, I can't guarantee that other places will have the latest revision. Also, please don't e-mail me requesting a FAQ; the e-mail address I use isn't mine and I don't have the time to send out copies to everyone. However, if you notice any errors, have any information you'd like to add to the FAQ, or have some suggestions, then e-mail me via: cgfm2@hooked.net. I may not be able to use everything I receive, but whomever contributes something that is added will have their name included in the Special Thanks section. Comments and questions are welcome, and I'll try to answer a question in the next revision of the FAQ (assuming it doesn't already provide an answer or solution). +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 3. WALKTHROUGH - DISC ONE +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ (Note that the beginning of this game has been altered somewhat from the FF7 demo disc packaged with Tobal No. 1.) ========================================================================= a. MAKORO POWER PLANT ========================================================================= ITEMS IN THIS AREA: Poosyon x3, Fenikkusu no Bi, Kaifuku Materia, Asaretogan. At the start of the game, you'll have 3 Poosyons, a Fenikkusu no Bi, and an Eeteru. You can't equip Materia until you reach section 3b, by the way. Once you leave the train, check the body of the closest guard twice to get two Poosyons. Then head north. You'll be attacked by some guards. Take them out with your sword (you may win a Poosyon for killing them) and then move left to go outside. Now, talk to your teammates (Biggs, Wedge, and Jesse), then name yourself and Barett. Make your way to the northwestern door, and head up in the next room to enter the heart of the power plant. Talk to Barett, (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 (Fenikkusu no Bi). Then, go back and enter the elevator (you'll have to talk to Jesse first). Press the arrow switch to activate it. Work your way down to stairs and go through the door to the left. Then follow Jesse down the ladder. When he stops, search the area in front of him for a Poosyon (it's hard to see because of the steam). Climb down the cross the pipes, descend the nearby ladder, and take note of the Save Point before heading down the walkway. Pick up the Kaifuku 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: GAADOSUKOOPION (Guard Scorpion) LV: ?? HP: 800 MP: 0 Cloud's Sandaa magic works well. Don't worry about the boss' infinity- symbol-shaped ray and have Barett attack. When you've done enough damage, the boss will start to shake and Cloud will talk to Barett. 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 Asaretogan (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 the one member waiting for you at the top of the stairs and ladders to make him jump over you and then get out. Since Barett 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. ========================================================================= b. MIDGAR CITY ========================================================================= ITEMS IN THIS AREA: Poosyon. After the Avalanche members blow up the passage, head up the stairs. You'll meet Aerith here, but she won't join you yet. Since Barett's gone, you'll have to fight the enemies here alone. There's a Poosyon to the southwest of the circular structure (near the lampposts). Walk south. In this next part, you'll meet up with guards and have the choice of running (bottom choice) or fighting (top choice). After a few more encounters, Cloud'll jump onto the passing train and run into the Avalanche gang. After talking to them, walk to the 'front' of the screen and you'll jump off into another area. Talk to the people here and one of the members (Jesse) will show you a picture of the Makoro plant on the train's screen. Approach Barett and you'll end up going to the group's base. ========================================================================= c. AVALANCHE BASE ========================================================================= ITEMS IN THIS AREA: 1500 gil, Zentaika Materia, Eeteru. 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 Marin, who is supposedly Barett's daughter. After naming Tifa, Barett shows up when you try to leave and reveals the hidden base underneath the bar. Talk to Tifa, and then when you meet Barett the next morning, he'll give you 1500 gil. You'll also find that there is another Save Point in the second floor of the tall building, inside the huge cage. The man in the right corner of this room has a Materia by his feet (Zentaika). Take it and a chest will drop down that has an Eeteru inside of it. You can learn about the game's mechanics from the people in here (if you know Japanese, that is :)) If you check the Main Menu, you'll see that you can use Materia at this point, and that Tifa has joined your party. In addition, 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. ========================================================================= d. RETURN TO THE MAKORO PLANT ========================================================================= ITEMS IN THIS AREA: Eeteru x2, Poosyon, Tento, Chitanbanguru. Board the train. When the timer appears after you talk to Tifa, go through each train car until Tifa jumps off one of the cars and you and Barett follow her. 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 5-6 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. 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). Pick up the Eeteru in the adjoining passage, climb down the two ladders, and talk to the Avalanche member in this area. Then go up the ladder near him to reach a room where Jesse is waiting for you. Take the Poosyon that's next to him and climb down the ladder on the left end of the room to reach a chamber where you can find a Tento, a Save Point, and Biggs. Go up the ladder here to reach the Makoro Plant. The room you're in should be familiar. Slide down the pipe and then work your way back to the heart of the plant (where you set the bomb last time). After Cloud fiddles with the machinery, go back to the large room and climb up the stairs and into the elevator. This time, you'll ride it to a new floor. Grab the contents of the treasure chest (Eeteru) and then head to the left where there are three control panels. You'll need to hit your panel as the same time Barett 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 to hit your panel _just_ before they do. You can't use the panels 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 the president of 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: EABASUTAA (Air Buster) LV: 15 HP: 1200 MP: 0 This machine turns to face (and attack) whomever hits him. 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 his shockwave pounce--it causes tons of damage (but also increases your Limit meter quickly). Remember that even if his back is turned, he can use a weak machine gun attack on you. Use potions and the Kaifuku Materia to keep up your HPs and use Ikazuchi as well as your Limit Break attacks to take this machine out. You'll receive a Chitanbanguru if you win the battle. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ========================================================================= e. MAKORO CITY SLUMS ========================================================================= ITEMS IN THIS AREA: Poosyon, Fenikkusu no Bi, Kabau Materia, Eeteru. 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. Aerith is here, and you can name her after talking to her several times. Reno (of the Turks, a group of hired thugs that are currently employed by the Shinra) shows up afterwards with some guards. In the next room, Aerith falls down while trying to escape with Cloud. You now have the option of fighting the guards using Aerith or trying to bean the guards on the head with barrels on the upper floor (if you miss, you'll have to fight using Aerith 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 examine each barrel and choose the top option to drop it. This way, Aerith won't have to fight anybody. When Aerith meets you at the top of the chapel, she'll hook up with Cloud. In the next room, climb up the second beam on the left and jump out of the hole in the roof. After you and Aerith 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. There are several stores here, including one that sells Materia. To the far, far right is a path that leads to Aerith's house and a garden. You can spend the night here once you've met Erumina, Aerith's mother. The next morning, look between the desk and the bed for a Poosyon and a Fenikkusu no Bi. Then, sneak downstairs (or Aerith 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 the Kabau Materia and an Eeteru. There's another Save Point near her house if you need to use it. Leave the town and go left to the hole in the wall. Aerith 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 Aerith leaves you at the playground, head right, then up to arrive at the Wall Market. ========================================================================= f. WALL MARKET ========================================================================= ITEMS IN THIS AREA: Fenikkusu no Bi, Eeteru, Koufunzai. Aerith 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. a) 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. b) Go back to the building at the end of town and talk to the guy near the door. Aerith and Cloud will move away and have a short conversation. c) 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. d) 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. e) 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 Kotton no Doresu (Cotton Dress). - If you answered: second choice, first choice, you'll be given the Saten no Doresu (Satin Dress). - If you answered: second choice, second choice again, he'll give you the Shiruke no Doresu (Silk Dress). f) 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 by the fighting ring. When you have the chance, pick the bottom option twice. As soon as you clear her message with the O button, 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 Burondo no Katsura (Blonde Wig). - If you and the gymnast have the same score, the lady will give you the Cyapatsu no Katsura (?? Wig). - If the gymnast does better than you, then the lady will give you the Kuzege no Katsura (?? 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 the north building 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. g) 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 Daiya no Tiara (Diamond Tiara). - If you bought the second item (100 gil), he'll give you the Rubii no Tiara (Ruby Tiara). - If you bought the third item (50 gil), he'll give you the Garasu no Tiara (Glass Tiara). h) 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 to get a Kuupon (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 person inside. Accept the first choice and: - You'll get the Koron (Cologne) if you traded the Coupon for the first-choice item at the item shop. - You'll get the Furawaa Koron (Flower Cologne) if you traded the Coupon for the second-choice item at the item shop. - You'll get the Sekushii Koron (Sexy Cologne) if you traded the Coupon for the third-choice item at the item shop. i) Talk to the large man in the white shirt who's standing near the edge of the screen to get the Kaado (Card). He won't give it to you unless you talked to the guard by the door of the northern building. Head right to arrive at the brothel. If you talk to the bouncer, he'll let you in once he sees the Card, but Aerith refuses to enter. Inside the brothel, 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. You now have two choices: you can only do one or the other. They are: 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 Mukkii and his friends. Answer however you like while in the tub and Cloud will be given the Bikini Pantsu (Bikini Pants). 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...Mukkii :( Talk to him and choose the bottom option. Then talk to the girl and you'll get the Ranjerii (Lingerie). 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 Eeteru 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 Pants). - He'll pick Aerith 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 Aerith, then read below: In the next room, examine the item bag by the bed to get a Fenikkusu no Bi, 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 Aerith from the torture chamber and then go into the middle door again (if Tifa was picked, then you'll meet her when you go outside). When you're through intimidating Corneo, look behind his bead for a Koufunzai, 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 Koufunzai, then talk to him and answer anyway you like. Your friends will burst in and Corneo will ask you a question; pick any one you like and you'll still plummet to the sewers below. ========================================================================= g. THE SEWERS / TRAIN YARD REVISITED ========================================================================= ITEMS IN THIS AREA: Poosyon x4, Fenikkusu no Bi, Nusumu Materia, Haipoosyon x3, Yamabikoenmaku, Eeteru x2. Once the cut scene with the Shinra flunkies ends, you'll find yourself in a sewer. Before talking to Tifa or Aerith, climb up the stairs to the south and go along the walkway to nab a Poosyon. Before you can escape, a blue monster attacks your party. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- BOSS TIPS: APUSU LV: 18 HP: 1800 MP: 0 His dark wave attack hurts all members, so use Potions and Kaifuku Materia to heal your wounds. Luckily, the dark wave will damage the big blue guy, too (he uses this attack as a counterattack before dying if he can manage it). When he does the reverse dark wave, it causes less damage to him. Honou spells work the best on him. Use Cloud's Limit Break to harm the boss and use Aerith's Limit Break to heal yourselves. You'll receive a Fenikkusu no Bi for winning the battle. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Climb up the ladder and head right. Go down into the sewage, then up the stairs. Grab the Yellow Materia (Nusumu) 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 and an item on top of the nearby train car. Check out the oil drum by entering the train car (near the Save Point) to get a Haipoosyon. Get another Haipoosyon on the roof of adjacent car, then hop off onto the iron beam and check the oil drum to the north for a Yamabikoenmaku. Walk right, then south and enter the nearby train car to get a Poosyon. 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 Poosyon. Then go north to arrive at the next screen. Here, circle left around the car to get a Poosyon. Keep going left to find an oil can with an Eeteru inside of it. Hop on the train to move the other car out of the way. Climb atop the formerly blocked car to net a Haipoosyon. 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 Avalanche train yard. Head left. The Avalanche members will be fighting atop the power generator 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 Barett, who is firing at the Shinra helicopter you saw back at the plant. The same man who attacked Aerith in the cathedral will jump out, and you'll have to fight him. Good thing Barett joins you. When you inflict enough damage, the boss runs away! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- BOSS TIPS: RENO LV: 17 HP: 1000 MP: 0 This guy packs a wallop. He can imprison your friends using his golden Piramiddo (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. Reiki works well on him. For some players, this may be the first battle they lose! You'll get an Eeteru for scaring him off should you win. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ========================================================================= h. INTO THE SKY ========================================================================= ITEMS IN THIS AREA: Eeteru. After fending off the boss, Shon (is he a Turk like Reno?) will kidnap Aerith (and p**p slap her)! As he escapes, the entire city explodes and falls down a level, destroying it. Cloud, Tifa, and Barett all come to in the playground at the Makoro Slums. After Barett yells for Marin, Wedge, and his other friends, he and Tifa join you in the next area. Go back up to get a sparkling yellow Materia (Miyaburu), 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 Card the first time around, you can no longer enter the brothel, BTW. When you're done, leave and go south from the playground. Return to the Area 5 Town and go to Aerith's house. Talk to Erumina, 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 Zinkubatterii (Zinc Batteries) for 300 gil and 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. After that, climb up to the next screen. Once here, climb up, then drop down to activate the next box and you'll find an Eeteru. 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. ========================================================================= i. SHINRA HEADQUARTERS ========================================================================= ITEMS IN THIS AREA: Erikusaa, Zokusei Materia, Houshi no Pendanto, Foursurotto, Zentaika Materia, Fenikkusu no Bi, Eeteru, Doku Materia, Tendan x2, Tarisuman, Teki no Waza Materia, Poosyon x4, Misiru no xx, xx Cyokki, Gaado Appu. There's a Save Point here. You have the option of either heading to the left and climbing up a stairwell or barging in through the front door. Going up the stairs takes forever, but it's free of enemies and you can get an Erikusaa 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 :) You can't use the circular lifts by the doors yet, but you can use them once you reach the 60th floor. You can also look at one of the monitors on the ground floor to see a short FMV sequence of the silver car that Rufus rides around in during the Junon Town celebration (which is a little later on in the game). There are some chests here that a woman won't let you open, but you can get them later. 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. No matter what method you use, you'll eventually reach the 59th floor. Head southeast and kill the armored guards to get the Kaado Kii 60 (60th floor Card Key), 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 Barett 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. 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 Aerith will give you the Kaado Kii 62 (62nd floor Card Key) if you answer ".........". On floor 62, talk to the man in the room, Domino, and the man in white, (Hatto) then check out the two library rooms. Answer Domino's question and he'll give you the Kaado Kii 65 (65th floor Card Key). 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 a Zokusei Materia 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. You can buy hints from Hatto if you don't know the answer, for varying prices (NSS). The 63rd floor is tricky. You have to collect 3 Kuupons (Coupons) from all three rooms, but you're only able to remove 3 gates at a time. You can reset the gates by investigating the computer in the right-hand room, but that also resets the location of the items. You can move around using walkways, but 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 of the screen and open the gate farthest to the right. Head right and open the left-hand gate, then walk right and go south to enter the room where Coupon A is. Choose the top option to climb into the black box and use the walkway to get to the room where Coupon B is at. Finally, go through the door in this room and open the gate to the left, then go north to enter the room containing Coupon C. 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: - Trade Coupon A for the Houshi no Pendant - Trade Coupon B for the Foursurotto Bracelet - Trade Coupon C for the Zentaika 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. If you examine the lockers in the back room, you can find a Fenikkusu no Bi, an Eeteru, and a Megaphone (a weapon for Cait Sith), 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 Kaado Kii 66 (66th floor Card Key). 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: you can now get the Kaado Kii 66 from here. On the 66th floor, you can either run into the meeting hall as quickly as you can, 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 (Riibu, Parumaa, President of Shinra, Haidekkaa, Houjou, and Sukaaretto) are discussing. Climb back out, then climb up the stairwell after Houjou (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...strange. 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 Doku Materia inside. Enter the elevator to the north, and then watch as the scientist toys with Aerith. Now, choose who you want to protect Aerith, (either Barett or Tifa), and then you can name the lion creature (Red 13) that was attacking Houjou. 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: SANPURU:HO512 (Sample: HO512) LV: 19 HP: 1000 MP: 120 SANPURU: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 Ikazuchi or Honou on him and try Kaifuku to keep up your own life power. Avoid using physical attacks, Reiki, or Doku. This means that Red 13 is better off using Fire against the boss. This battle is easier if you have Barett, 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. You get two Tendans and a Tarisuman should you kill the boss. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tifa and Barett return after the battle. When you're in control of Cloud again, be sure to grab the Yellow Materia (Teki no Waza) 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 Kaado Kii 68 (68th floor Card Key). Go back down to floor 66 and try entering one of the lifts; you'll get caught by Ruudo (he's a Turk who you'll be running into constantly throughout the game). He and Shon 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 Barett 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 Poosyons, 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 Poosyons 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 leader, capture Parumaa, then enter the door to the north to exit the room. Outside, talk to the man in white. He's Ruufausu, the son of the Shinra president. The other characters will return to the floor below, and you must lead them outside (I don't know what the difference is when Tifa makes you choose an option when you're waiting by the door). Your team now consists of Red 13, Barett, and Aerith; don't forget to re-equip your Materia, then 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 HQ. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- BOSS TIPS: HANDOREDDOGANNAA (Hand Red Gunner?) LV: 18 HP: 1600 MP:0 (weak vs. Ikazuchi) You can only use long-range attacks, so use Barett's attacks and his Limit Break as well as magic to harm this foe. Doku magic inflicts no damage, while Ikazuchi 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 break, he starts firing heat blasts that damage all members, so be careful. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- After killing the boss, you must fight a flying machine. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- BOSS TIPS: HERIGANNA (Heli Gunner) LV: 19 HP: 1000 MP: 0 (weak vs. Ikazuchi) As with the other boss, don't use Doku magic but do use Ikazuchi. You may be weak after the last battle, so use Kaifuku, Potions, and Aerith's Limit Break to restore life. You'll win a Misuriru no xx when the boss dies. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- The scene switches back to Cloud. Heal yourself if necessary, equip Materia, then press Start. Ruufausu will then attack you. Remember, Cloud doesn't have any Materia equipped, and he can only use Materia that members in the other team aren't using, so be sure you have the spare Materia orbs you need (I think the number of orbs you have is changed depending on what option you choose just before Tifa leaves Aerith and you fight the two previous bosses -NSS-). ------------------------------------------------------------------------- BOSS TIPS: RUUFAUSU (Rufus) LV: 21 HP: 500 MP: 0 DAAKUNEISHYON (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 xx Cyokki and a Gaado Appu when the battle ends. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Leave the rooftop and head back to where Tifa is waiting for you. As Aerith, 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 Barett. An option screen appears where you have the following options: S Left Attack X Switch members O Right Attack T Main Menu Start Return to game Be sure to re-equip Materia before returning to the game! ========================================================================= j. ESCAPE! ========================================================================= ITEMS IN THIS AREA: Houshi no Pendanto. 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 Tails if there area any live party members left. The boss is a spiked, armored robot with six wheels. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- BOSS TIPS: MOOTAABOORU (Motor Bore) LV: 19 2600 MP: 120 (weak vs. Ikazuchi) This boss gets a free attack from behind...sheesh. Most of his attacks do little damage, but his flamethrower 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 Aerith and Barett. Give the Zentaika and Kaifuku Materia to either Cloud or Barett, and give the other character Ikazuchi. This way, you can heal with one character, attack with another, and then use Aerith's Limit Break to keep your life up at all times. Reiki works better than Honou against the boss (for those characters that don't have Ikazuchi equipped). Remember, your rows are reversed when attacked from behind, so put Cloud and Barett in the back and Aerith in the front if you want them to line up properly when the boss shows up. If you beat the boss, you'll get a Houshi no Pendanto. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ========================================================================= k. KALM TOWN / CHOCOBO FARM ========================================================================= ITEMS IN THIS AREA: Eeteru x3, Piisumeekaa, Gaado Appu, 'Summon Chocobo & Mogli' materia. 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 Aerith 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 T 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 Head northeast to reach Kalm Town. 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 a Sensei Kougeki 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 8). Also, Young Cloud and Sephiroth can't use Limit Breaks (because they don't have any). - After the battle, you'll end up in Nivelheim, 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. One thing you might want to do is go into Tifa's house (the large building on the 'southeastern' side of town). Choose the top option when you're prompted to, then go up the stairs and choose the top option again. Approach the piano in the nearby room and pick the bottom option; Cloud plays a tune on the piano that you can play yourself when you arrive at Nivelheim later in order to get Tifa's Limit Break manual (see section 8 for details). 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 twice and choose the bottom option. 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 Nivelheim, 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. Note that you have to go to Kalm Town to proceed with the game; you can't make your way through the Mithril Mines beforehand, although you can visit the Chocobo Farm if you want to. As for treasure, there's an Eeteru in the door beneath the stairs in the house near the inn, another Eeteru in the cabinet on the second floor of the house to the right of that house, and the Piisumeekaa (Peacemaker; a gun for Vincent) in the chest on the second floor of the third house (take the curving stairs). If you take the normal stairs in the same house, you can get a Gaado Appu in the cabinet by the little girl. Finally, in the house on the other side of the town, there is an Eeteru 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. 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 'Summon Chocobo and Mogli' materia afterwards. Then, talk to Guringurin (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 Yose' 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 Yose 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. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- BOSS TIPS: MIDOGARU ZUORUMU (Midgar Zolem?) LV: 26 HP: 4000 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 Teki no Waza 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 Shoukan and Mahou 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. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- The first time you reach here, 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, either). ========================================================================= l. MITHRIL MINE / JUNON TOWN ========================================================================= ITEMS IN THIS AREA: Eeteru, Tento, Enkyori Kougeki materia, Maindo Appu x2, Erikusaa, Pawaa Risuto, 'Summon Shiva' materia, Tendan or Poosyon x6 or Eeteru x6, Teki no Waza materia, 1/35ths Shinra Doll x2, Rakku Appu, Pawaa Appu, Gaado Appu, Supiido Appu, xx Megane or HP Appu materia or Foosuiitaa. Inside the Mithril Mine, head northeast to find a green Eeteru on the stone steps. In the chest is a Tento, 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 (Enkyori Kougeki). Climb back down, return to the first area, then head left. Make your way southeast to find a chest with a Maindo Appu inside, then head west to reach the next area. Here, you'll run into some of the Turks again: Ruudo, Iriina, and Shon. Once they leave, walk north. There's a chest with a Erikusaa inside it and a Haipoosyon 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. 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, then leave and go northwest through the forest to Junon Town by the shore. Once you arrive at Junon, talk to the villagers, then go down the stairs to the shore. Here, a young girl named Purishira is playing with a dolphin. Out of nowhere, a big flying boss shows up and attacks her, then your party. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- BOSS TIPS: BOTOMUSUWARU (Bottom Swayer?) LV: 23 HP: 2500 MP: 100 There's not much to worry about; just attack with Ikazuchi or Doku spells and keep your life up. Since this guy's flying, some characters can't attack him (like Barett), while some can (like Cloud). Find out which guys should be casting magic and which should be attacking early on in the battle. 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 Zentaika 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 a 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. If you want, you can equip characters (like Barett) with weaker weapons so that they can attack the boss, but it may not be worth it. You'll receive a Pawaa Risuto when the battle is over. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- After killing the boss, you'll have to revive Purishira. To do this, watch the lung-shaped meter that appears in the upper right. Press the S button once to make the meter start to raise. Just as it reaches the top, press S again to make Cloud breathe into the girl's mouth. It will take a couple of tries. Afterwards, go to the house near the entrance to town and talk to the person there (for some reason, choosing the top option won't make Cloud go to bed, but if you go back in the house and try again, he will go to sleep). During the night, Cloud will have another bad dream. In the morning, leave and go to the house above the stairs (your friends will be gathered near it). Purishira will give you the Shiva summon materia, a gift for saving her life. Follow her to the shore, then talk to her a second time. Barett 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 S Makes the dolphin flip you into 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 S. The dolphin will miss and deposit you near the bottom of the screen. However, you'll be perfectly positioned, so if you press X 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. 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. 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 the second option to dress up as a guard. When the captain of the guards asks you another question, pick the bottom answer. Then, leave the locker and take note of the Save Point before heading through the door (follow the other soldiers). Now that you're outside, go 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, so it may take a couple of attempts before this event will end. 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 counter was during this scene (the one in the lower right-hand corner), you will get the following: PERCENT NAME TRANSLATION TYPE 21% = Tendan (Bomb) Item 37% - 39% = Poosyon x6 (Potion) Item 45% (?) = Eeteru x6 (Ether) Item (I'll figure out the rest later....) Afterwards, you'll have to stand at attention while Rufus and Haidekkaa 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 Ruudo 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 (Teki no Waza). This place (I believe) is similar to the 'House of Learning' back in Area 7 Town where you could learn about the game's mechanics. On the second floor of the same building, you can get a 1/35ths miniature Shinra guard doll and a Maindo Appu. In the room with the cats nearby is a Rakku Appu. On the third floor is a red Pawaa Appu and a green Gaado Appu. If you enter the fourth door on the other side of town, you'll find that that Iriina, Rudo, and Shon 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 trashcan for a message and pick up a yellow Supiido Appu in the side room. On the floor above, you can pick up another 1/35th miniature Shinra guard doll. In the next area, Haidekkaa 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: S Scratch back with gun X Put one leg forward T Shrug Pad Stand at attention Depending on how well you did during the salute, Heidekkaa 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 NAME TRANSLATION TYPE 000 - 050 = xx Megane Accessory 060 - 090 = HP Appu (HP Up) Independent Materia 100 - 190 = Foosuiitaa (Force Eater) Weapon for Cloud 200 = (I'll figure out this one later....) 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. ========================================================================= m. SHINRA BOAT ========================================================================= ITEMS IN THIS AREA: Eeteru, Zentaika materia, xx Ri, Howaitokeepu. Open the treasure chest to get an Eeteru, and be sure to pick up the blue materia (Zentaika). 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. Once you're done, go back down and talk to Aerith, 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 Barett, 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 xx Ri (a weapon for Yuffie) 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: JENOBA*BIRTH (Jenova*Birth) LV: 25 HP: 4000 MP: 110 Daichi, Honou, and Reiki magic work well against it, but don't use Doku. 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 Howaitokeepu when the battle is over. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ========================================================================= n. COSTA DEL SOL / NEW CONTINENT ========================================================================= ITEMS IN THIS AREA: 'Summon Ifrit' materia, Pawaa Appu x2, Mootaadoraibu, Honou no Yubiwa, W Mashingan, Eeteru Taabo, Henshin materia, Wizaadoroddo, Houshi no Pendanto, x no x x2, Fenikkusu no Bi x10, Maindo Appu, Tento. Grab the red Materia (Summon Ifrit) after the battle and wait for the boat to dock. Talk to the people here and then go up the stairs. A short automatic sequence follows. In the next area, go into the door to meet a shady guy who will sell you this room for 30 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 Pawaa Appu, and a Mootaadoraibu here, as well as a Honou no Yubiwa from the treasure chest. You'll meet Mukkii (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 Houjou (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. 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 Mashingan, Eeteru Taabo, and a Henshin 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 Wizaadoroddo. If you landed in the middle, you can't get anything, but if you landed on the right side, you'll find a Houshi no Pendanto. 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 (NSS). 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. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- TIPS: KOKATORISU (Cocatrice) LV: 17 HP: 420 MP: 0 This guy's easy; just attack until it dies. You'll get 10 Fenikkusu no Bis should you kill it. You can get two x no x from it; one by stealing, the other by killing it with Henka (Morph). ------------------------------------------------------------------------- You'll get 10 Fenikkusu no Bis 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 Maindo Appu and a Pawaa Appu here, and the chest has a Tento inside of it. Leave and follow the other path across the bridge in the next area to reach the town of North Corel. ========================================================================= o. GOLD SAUCER ========================================================================= ITEMS IN THIS AREA: 'Summon Ramuh' materia, x no xx. There's some merchants here at North Corel and an inn. You can also learn more about Barett here, whether he's in your party or not. When you're done shopping and chatting, go to the sky lift. After Barett 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-time entrance, the second choice will let you enter as often as you'd like), and then choose the path of your choice after your companions separate. If you try to leave the Station Square (the area where you're at; all the areas in the Saucer are divided into 'squares'), Aerith 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 Sephiroth. As you're talking to the few who are 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. Here, you'll find Barett. 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 second area, talk to everyone here. The building to the far southeast is a bar, and a man inside will sell you items. After looking around here, enter the building to the east (it doesn't matter which entrance you take). Barett will show up once you're inside, as will Tifa and Aerith. After Barett'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 Dain (the guy from Barett's flashback). He tells Barett about Erenoa and Marin (who is actually his daughter), then (for what reason, I have no idea), decides to attack Barett. In the battle, you're forced to fight using just Barett. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- BOSS TIPS: DAIN LV: 23 HP: 1200 MP: 20 The easiest way to kill this boss is simply let him hit you; his attacks increase your Limit meter quickly. Use the Kaifuku Materia to restore lost life, then hit him with the Heavy Shot 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 x no xx (a bracelet - 34/4/22/2c/2s) for beating him. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- After Barett's friend dies, you'll find yourself back in the trailer. After talking to Kooshi (Coach?), 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 (NSS), 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 (Esuto) to start racing. Your controls as a Chocobo racer are: S 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! Esuto 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. After winning, you'll receive the Bagii (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: X Exit buggy O Enter buggy T Main Menu Select/Start World Map (press repeatedly to enlarge/hide map) L1/R1 Rotate view (or return to side view if in overhead view) L2/R2 Change view You _can_ run into enemies in the buggy, so be careful. Also, you can only return to the Golden Saucer if you take the sky lift 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 dirt pit 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, you can explore the house on the penninsula; you can also get Aerith's Level 4 Limit Break manual at that point in the game (see section 14 for details). ========================================================================= p. GONGAGA TOWN / COSMO CANYON ========================================================================= ITEMS IN THIS AREA: Fiiariteiru, Ekusupoosyon x2, 'Summon Titan' materia, Hissatsu materia, Tsuika Kouka Materia, Eeteru, Burakkumegahon, Ekusupoosyon, Fiiariringu, Eeteru Taabo, Waizaaroddo, Juuryoku Materia (later you can get an Erikusaa, Majikku Appu, and a Fulkea materia) Your next goal should be to head south from the Golden Saucer across the river to a forested area. Go into the black structure (it's called Jungle, for some reason). Reno and Ruudo are here. After Iriina shows up and alerts the other Turks to your prescence, you'll be asked a question. No matter what your answer is, you'll have to fight Reno and Ruudo at the same time. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- BOSS TIPS: RENO LV: 22 HP: 2000 MP: 80 RUUDO LV: 23 HP: 2000 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 Ruudo, 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 Fiariiteiru and a Ekusupoosyon 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, Sukaretto and Shon 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 Sukaretto was standing and choose the bottom option to get the 'Summon Titan' materia. Then go back to the first area and head left. In the second area, there is a Hissatsu 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 (Ekusupoosyon) and the old man's house (Howaitomegahon). 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 Zekkusu. 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....) 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 Erikusaa, a Majikku Appu, and the Fulkea materia orb from the back room. Eventually head up to the observatory, where you'll run into Red 13 and Buugen Haagen, 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 Buugen Haagen, and you'll see a short FMV sequence. When it's over, return to the large bonfire to the right of the entrance. Your friends are here. Talk to everyone here, then chat with Red 13 a second time. Buugen Haagen 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 Buugen Haagen 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. Then go south, through the hole, and head right to reach the Combination materia you couldn't get in the first area (Tsuika Kouka). 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 Eeteru inside of it. Then return to the stairs and go left, then down to find a second chest containing a Burakkumegahon. 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 Ekusupoosyon 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 Faeriiringu 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 Eeterutaabo inside. When you approach the giant face in the next cavern, it begins to move and you are attacked. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- BOSS TIPS: GI*NATATAKU LV: 29 HP: 5500 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 Reiki and Ikazuchi 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 Waizaaroddo for winning the battle. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Grab the spell Materia (Juuryoku) that's left behind and follow Buugen Haagen up the steps. After the sequence with Red 13 and the other creature (his father, who was transformed into metal or something?), make a new party and leave the town. Don't worry, Red 13 will rejoin you when you try to leave. Oh yes, the Buggy will be working again when you leave Cosmo Canyon. ========================================================================= q. RETURN OF SEPHIROTH ========================================================================= ITEMS IN THIS AREA: Rakku Appu x2, Erikusaa x2, Purachinafisuto, Eeteru Taabo, Shirubaamegahon, Shiinvaipaa, Enemiiranchya, Majikku Appu, Shoumetsu Materia (and if you open up the safe, you can get a Kosumomemorii and the 'Summon Odin' materia, not to mention a Key Item (the gold key), Ruunbureido, Purachinabaretta, Oobaasouru, Zentaika Materia, Zokusei Materia, Sunaipa CR, Jyueruringu, Kauntaa Materia. 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, Nivelheim. 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 Rakku Appu. You can get an Erikusaa from another one of the creatures in the Item Shop, and a second Rakku Appu 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 Purachinafisuto and an Eeteru Taabo if you talk to the creatures here. There's a piano in Tifa's room that you can fool around with (see section 14 for details). Now, go into the large mansion at the edge of town. Left of the entrance is a piece of paper written by the Turks (?). It has several hints on it that clue you in to the combination of the safe on the upper floor (but it's useless if you don't know Japanese :)). So, 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 Shirubaamegahon 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 Shiinvaipaa 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 staircase in the main room). Go up the stairs and head left. In the circular room is a chest that has an Enemiiranchya within it. 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 14 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 Majikku Appu inside. Then go into the lower room and examine the curved wall to open a secret passage. Go down the spiralling 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 libarary. 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 (Shoumetsu) before leaving the mansion. Once you're back outside, leave Nivelheim from the northern entrace and contine 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 Ruunbureido 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 get a chest with a Purachinabaretta. 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. 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 labled '2' to end up on a rocky ledge. There's an item bag here with the Oobaasouru 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 a Zentaika materia lying within. Walk against the right edge of the ledge to drop down to the floor. 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 Erikusaa. Now go through the exit to arrive at a wooded area. On the ground, to the left of the mass of crystalized Materia is a Zokusei 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 Sunaipa 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: MATERIAKIIPAA LV: 38 HP: 8400 MP: 300 Don't use Honou-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 'Chocobo and Moogli' 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. Kealra and Zentaika 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 Tryne 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 Tryne, it comes highly recommended that you have a Teki no Waza materia equipped so that you can learn this enemy technqiue. You'll get a Jyueruringu should you be victorius. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- After the battle is over, examine the purple materia that is left behind in order to take it (Kauntaa). Then follow the path outside--it leads back to the World Map. ========================================================================= r. THE INVENTOR ========================================================================= ITEMS IN THIS AREA: Pawaa Appu, xxxxx, Doriruaamu, Ejinkooto. 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 Pawaa Appu 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 xxxxx (a weapon for Cloud - a56 d100 2s). Go into the house to the right of the old man. This is the home of Shiera and Cid, although neither of them are around at the moment. There's a chest here with a Doriruaamu 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, Shiera 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. Shiera will show up, then Cid, too. After Cid goes out back, Shiera will explain how Cid was going to pilot his rocket into outer space some time ago, but aborted the launch when he discovered that Shiera 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 falling rocket. Cid comes back into the house, then Parumaa 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 Shiera brings you back inside the house, go out the back entrance to find Parumaa standing atop the Tiny Bronco. Talk to him and he'll attack you. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- BOSS TIPS: PARUMAA LV: 38 HP: 6000 MP: 240 His gun causes a fair amount of damage since it has the effects of Faira, Blizara, and Sandara, so make sure Aerith is in your party or that you have some Kaifuku Materia. Use Haste + Zentaika on your party and 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. You'll receive an Ejinkooto when the battle is over. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- After the boss gets wasted (heh, heh), your party and Cid will escape on the Tiny Bronco. Although it gets damaged during your escape 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) L1/R1 Rotate view (or return to side view if in overhead view) L2/R2 Change view You now have several options that are available to you: you can get Aerith's Level 4 Limit Break manual (see section 14 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 Uutai, so you may want to stop there anyways. You can even go back and kill the big snake you had to flee from in section 3k, 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 the excavators' site to the north, since you can pick up the powerful 'Summon Kujata' materia there as well as buy some useful bracelets and items (see section 3u for details). ========================================================================= s. BETRAYAL ========================================================================= ITEMS IN THIS AREA: xx Cyokki, Chyokobo no Hane, Erikusaa Pilot the Tiny Bronco back to the Gold Saucer area. Go to the weaponsmith's house on the penninsula near the dirt pit and talk to him--he'll explain that you need the Kiiston (Keystone), which he no longer has. Get back in Cid's airplane, and leave it on the shore by the dirt pit. 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 sky lift 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 Kiiston. 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 Kiiston. 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 Kiiston. 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. Depening on what you get, different things will happen to you, although certain accessories can render you immune to some of the more debiliating 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. Refer to the 'Having Fun' section for a complete explanation of how the Battle Square works, but keep in mind that although you will earn Battle Points during the battle, they are reset to zero when the battle ends since you end up in the Show Room (and the way things work you lose all the Battle Points you earn if you leave the main room at any time). Should you make it through all the battles, Dio will give you a xx Cyokki and a Chyokobo no Hane, in addition to the Kiiston. 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 scence, 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 Aerith, it's been confirmed that you can go on a date with Tifa instead, if you were nice to her and mean to Aerith throughout the course of the game. It's also been hinted at that other characters will want to go on a date with you, but this hasn't been confirmed yet. Both times that I've played through this part, it's always been Aerith who comes to ask Cloud to go on a date, so I'll write the next section with her in mind, although you may end up with someone else. First, you'll go to the Event Square. Since you're the 100th person to come here that day, you and Aerith 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 Aerith 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 Aerith will return to the Station Square only to find Cait Sith sneaking around with the Kiiston. 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 Kiiston up to Shon. When confronted by Cloud and Aerith, 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 Marin as a hostage back in Midgar (right? That's what it seems to say). Once Cait Sith leaves, you'll find yourself back in the Ghost Hotel. Check the iron maiden for an Erikusaa (notice the sound it makes; it sounds just like Norstein Bekkler's laugh [the guy from Chrono Trigger!]). Leave the room to meet up with your allies again. After a brief talk, Aerith 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 Condor Fort 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. ========================================================================= t. THE TEMPLE ========================================================================= ITEMS IN THIS AREA: Toraidento, Maindo Appu, xxxx, Eeteru Taabo x2, Rokettopanchi, Rakkii materia, Henka materia, Prinsesugaado, Ribon, xxx, Last Elixir, x Batto, Doragon no xx, 'Summon Bahamut' materia, Gigaasu no xx. At the top of the temple is a black creature, similar to the ones you met in Nivelheim. If you talk to it, it floats into the air in a flash of light. Inside the temple, you'll find the Turk, Shon. He was badly wounded by Sephiroth. He gives you the Kiiston 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 Toraidento 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 (Maindo Appu). 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 xxxx (a gun for Vincent). 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 (Eeteru Taabo). 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. Ther's a small patch of vines here that you can climb down. Be sure to open the nearby chest; there's a Rokettopanchi 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 (Rakkii). 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 Henka 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 disppear and then go back and pick up the materia after the sequnce with Sephiroth. Once the boulders are gone, Aerith 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 Shon and Iriina (both Turks) running around in the shrine. After Iriina leaves, Sephiroth shows up and creates a double of himself. While he busies himself with attacking Shon, 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 (is this supposed to mean anything?) 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. I was ready to use my FF7 discs as frisbees by the time I figured out how to solve this little 'mini-game'. Here's how it works: If you press O (Roulette), the hour and minute hands move around very quickly. Even when you press O again to stop the hands, they'll both move three more spaces in the direction they were traveling. If you press T, you're given two options: one in blue, one in green: BLUE: This gives you four _more_ options, one in blue, one in green, one in red, and one in white. - BLUE The hour hand moves ahead by one space. - GREEN The hour hand moves ahead seven spaces. - RED The hour hand moves ahead by 17 spaces. This invariably sets the minute hand ahead by at least one space. - WHITE This does nothing. GREEN: This gives you _another_ four options, in blue, green, red, and white, respectively. - BLUE The hour hand moves back by two spaces. - GREEN The hour hand moves back by ten spaces, setting the minute hand back by one. - RED The hour hand moves back by 20 spaces. This makes the minute hand decrease by at least one space, too. - WHITE This does nothing. If you press X, the damn clock shuts up and you're free to move onto the hands of the clock (providing you've aligned them properly). You can only walk on the hour and minute hands of the clock. Isn't this fun? Well, 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. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- TIPS: JEMINISUMII LV: 24 HP: 800 MP: 80 POIZUNFUROGGU LV: 26 HP: 500 MP: 100 POIZUNFUROGGU LV: 26 HP: 500 MP: 100 The Poison Frogs are weak against Reiki, 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 Virgin's Kiss or other restorative item. The woman (Jeminisumii) 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 Kaeru no Uta from the frogs. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- TIPS: HEKUTOAIZU LV: 30 HP: 500 MP: 220 HEKUTOAIZU 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 Henka equipped, you can morph both of them into Magic Up items, which is rea lly 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 Aerith's Ultimate Weapon, the Prinsesugaado (Princess' Guard) is inside. V - This passage leads outside to the gold chest you could see but not normally reach. Inside it is a Ribon. VI - Read below to find out what to do here. VII - There's a chest here. A weapon for Cait Sith, the xxx, is inside it. VIII - You can get a Rasutoerikusaa 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: ENSHYANTODORAGON LV: 34 HP: 2400 MP: 450 ENSHYANTODORGAON LV: 34 HP: 2400 MP: 450 Using Juuryoku 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 Sazankurosu (Southern Cross) attack that hit's 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 Eeeteru Taabo for defeating both of them. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- In the chest is the x Batto, 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 Aerith asks you a question, pick the bottom answer if you want to return and explore more of the clock puzzle room (NSS), 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. The passage entrances and exits are random, but you can catch him without too much difficulty. Don't forget to take the chest lying on the lowest level; there's a xx (a weapon for Tifa) 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 encoutner 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 (something about the Materia taking over his body?) After coming to his senses, the party examines a mural on the wall which shows a meteorite speeding towards the people of the earth. Aerith 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: REDDODORAGON 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 Kujata since it will heal the boss by about 2100 points. Also, Juuryoku won't work against it. Limit Breaks and physical attacks should do the trick. You'll win a Doragon no xx 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. Aerith refers to it as the 'Kuro Materia' (Black Materia) but it's _gold_...in any case, Aerith will then ask you a question. 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 you 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 through passage XII. When you examine the door in the room beyond, yet another boss appears to finish you off. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- BOSS TIPS: DEMONZUGEITO 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 earthquake and body slam attack) 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 Aerith'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 Gigaasu no xx from this boss if you're victorious. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 vanishes! In the following scene, Cloud and Aerith 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 Aerith (and you can't do anything about that, either). Cait Sith will show up (he says he's Cait Sith 2; a replacement of the original?) Then your other party member will leap down and prevent Cloud from killing Aerith. After what I take to be a dream sequence, you'll awake in, of all places, the inn at Gongaga Town, with Barett and Tifa by your side. Answer Barett's question any way you like, then go outside. Tifa and Barett 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, Aerith has left your party for good. However, you'll have all of her weapons, equipment, accessories and materia in your item menu. Now, you need to go to the forest that you saw in Cloud's dream. First, get in the Tiny Bronco. ========================================================================= u. EXCAVATORS' SITE / THE FOREST ========================================================================= ITEMS IN THIS AREA: Mizu no Yubiwa. 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 a 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 the Summon Kujata materia. 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 comission one of the men to dig up the Runahaapu (Luna Harp) for you. As long as you have it in your possession, you're able to pass through the 'endless' 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 Runahaapo 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 Runahaapu (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 Runahaapu 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 Runahaapu. 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 Runahaapu, 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 Mizu no Yubiwa 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. ========================================================================= v. ANCIENT CITY ========================================================================= ITEMS IN THIS AREA: Majikku Appu, xx no xx, Inseki, Gaado Appu, Erikusaa, Teki no Waza materia, Uizaadoburesu. 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--inisde of the building is a Save Point, and there's a chest on the upper ledge with a Majikku Appu inside 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 a xx no xx (a bracelet that absorbs ice attacks) inside of 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 there (Inseki). 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 Gaado Appu. 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 Erikusaa. 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 (Teki no Waza), 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 Teki no Waza materia (it's easier to see at night, too). No matter what you decide to do, go to sleep. 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 instead. 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. Aerith's 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 Aerith, Cloud has another spastic fit and will draw his sowrd. 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 Aerith. Luckily, he'll come to his senses beforehand with some help from his friends, but Sephiroth makes an appearance and attacks Aerith. After her death, Sephiroth escapes, leaving behind another monster in his wake. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- BOSS TIPS: JENOBA*LIFE LV: 50 HP: 10000 MP: 300 This boss is weak against earth attacks, so use Daichi and Titan. Also, Inseki, Bahamut, and Kujata all work very well. Physical attacks do a surprising amount of damage. The boss will cast Riflek 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 (Aqua Breath) that inflicts +1500 damage to each character. Be sure to have some Kaifuku Materia handy. Considering it's the last boss on this disc, this is not a very hard battle. You'll win a Uizaadoburesu when you win the battle. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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! My times (if you're interested, and even if you're not :)) were 29:04 initially, and 25:20 for the rewrite. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 4. WALKTHROUGH - DISC TWO +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ========================================================================= a. THE CAVE ========================================================================= From the shell-shaped building, walk left to see Sephiroth again. Then, head north and go along the path you couldn't cross before. You'll come to an area with a white, spiky object. Go behind and around it to get the treasure chest, then go to the front of the object and use the pad to climb up it, then go down inside it and out to enter a cave. Walk toward the second cleft in the wall and use the pad to work your way up. When you're given three options, pick the bottom one. Climb up the next cliff and choose the bottom option; you can still open the chest even though it's above you. Get back into the cleft and choose the bottom option, then the top one. Go to the next cleft, choose the bottom option, and climb down to get a treasure chest. Climb back up the cleft, choose the bottom option, then try to get on again and pick the top one. When you reach the chest, pick the top option, then the bottom one to get to the other ledge. Work your way up the next cleft, then run to the left and choose the bottom option to get on the ladder and climb down. Look around with the O button to find a Purple Materia. You'll automatically climb up the ladder and get off again, so try to get back on and choose the top option. Once you reach the top, go to the right and enter the archway. Take the contents of the treasure chest in the next room, then go through the door to reach the outside. From the cave entrance, head along the path, then turn to the right. Turn right again at the chocobo tracks to see a village between two icy hills. ========================================================================= b. FROST VILLAGE ========================================================================= First of all, go to the far end of town and talk to the man in purple. Pick the top option. Two Shinra members will show up, and the lady with them will try to knock