Final Fantasy VII Walkthrough Part 1

The following is Part I of the Final Fantasy VII FAQ/Walkthrough. 

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     f   i   n  
a   l      f   a  
n   t   a   s   y     
v   i   i


  ---------------------------------------------------------------------


 

                       
Final Fantasy VII FAQ v0.1


                       
(English/American Edition)


                    
by K. Megura  


                        
for the Sony PlayStation

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 (published or not) or use it in any way not mentioned here.


The Final Fantasy series is (c) SquareSoft, (c) Sony Entertainment


of America, and (c) any copyrights not mentioned here.  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. :)


 

---------------


C O N T E N T S


---------------


 

1.  R E V I S I O N   H I S T O R Y

2.  I N T R O D U C T I O N

3.  D I S C   1   W A L K T H R O U G H

      3.1   Makoro Power Plant

      3.2   Midgar City

      3.3   Avalanche Base

      3.4   Mako Reactor Number 5

      3.5   Midgar City Slums

      3.6   Wall Market

      3.7   The Sewers / Train Yard
Revisited

      3.8   Into The Sky

      3.9   Shinra Headquarters

      3.10  Escape!

      3.11  Kalm Town / Chocobo Farm

      3.12  Mythril Mine / Junon Town

      3.13  Shinra Boat

      3.14  Costa Del Sol / New Continent

      3.15  Gold Saucer

      3.16  Gongaga Town / Cosmo Canyon

      3.17  Return of Sephiroth

      3.18  The Inventor

      3.19  Betrayal

      3.20  The Temple

      3.21  Excavator's Site / The Forest

      3.22  Ancient City


 

4.  D I S C   2   W A L K T H R O U G H

      4.1   The Cave

      4.2   Icicle Lodge

      4.3   Lost in the Snow

      4.4   The Crater / Tornado
Labyrinth

      4.5   Junon Town Attacked!

      4.6   Where's Cloud? / North
Corel Express

      4.8   Fort Condor

      4.9   Inside Cloud's Head

      4.10  100 Leagues Under the Sea

      4.11  Underwater Adventure

      4.12  Cid's Rocket

      4.13  Return to the Ancient City
/ Midgar City Under Siege


 

5.  D I S C   3   W A L K T H R O U G H

      5.1   Makou Pit


 

6.  B O N U S   A R E A S   A N D  
S U B - Q U E S T S

      6.1   Old Forest

      6.2   Vincent's Waterfall

      6.3   Bonus Materia Locations

      6.4   Yuffie's Sub-Quest


 

7.  P L A Y I N G   T H E   G A M E

      7.1   Terminology

      7.2   Starting The Game

      7.3   Controller Functions

      7.4   Fighting Battles

      7.5   World Map and the Area
Map

      7.6   List of Status Changes

      7.7   Visiting Towns and Shops

      7.8   Having Fun

      7.9   Main Menu


8.  S E C R E T S   A N D   C O D E S

      8.1   Getting Yuffie Kisaragi

      8.2   Getting Vincent Valentine

      8.3   The Safe in Nivelheim

      8.4   The Sleeping Man

      8.5   Piano Trick

      8.6   Key to Midgar City

      8.7   Turtle's Paradise Flyers

      8.8   All 7 Fever

      8.9   FMV Viewing Trick

      8.10  Always Run from Battles

      8.11  Raising Chocobos

      8.12  Uncharted Isles

      8.13  Game Shark Codes


 

9.  A P P E N D I X

      9.1   Materia Orbs

      9.2   Huge Materia / Master
Materia

      9.3   Materia List

      9.4   Enemy Skill List

      9.5   Learning Limit Breaks

      9.6   Limit Break List

      9.7   Ultimate Weapons

      9.8   Items and Equipment

      9.9   Shopping List

      9.10  Monster List

      9.11  Rumors and Speculation

      9.12  The Documents


 

10. S P E C I A L   T H A N K S

11. A U T H O R ' S   N O T E


 


 

=========================================================================


1 .    R  E  V  I  S  I 
O  N      H  I  S  T 
O  R  Y


=========================================================================

VERSION 0.1  (September 7, 1997)


Basic information.  Much of this FAQ is based on my earlier Japanese
FF7


FAQ.  Created GameShark codes 'Item Select', 'Materia Select'
and


'Character Select' have been included.  If the FAQ seems a bit
sloppy


right now, well, it is based on the Japanese FAQ so it'll take a revision


or two to get everything into shape, as this is a big file :)

Also, my spell-checker and 'find/replace' options went a little crazy,


so if you spot any strange mistakes, please let me know! ^_^;

Began construction of VERSION 0.0 on August 18th, 1997


 

=========================================================================


2 .    I  N  T  R  O  D 
U  C  T  I  O  N


=========================================================================

If this is your first time playing FF7, then trust me, you'll enjoy
it.


If you were around back when I was working on the Japanese FF7 FAQ,
then


I'd like to say, "Welcome back!"  Square has a lot in store for
us gamers


and this version of FF7 is by far the best, in my opinion.

For those of you who don't know, there are three versions of FF7. 
The


first one is the original Japanese game.  The second is the English-text


release you've probably popped into your PlayStation just now. 
The third


version is the pending Japanese re-release, which is just like the
one


you're playing, but with Japanese text :)  If you're looking for
a FAQ


for the original Japanese version, then please download my Japanese
FF7


FAQ from:


             
www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Park/7990/

It's divided into two parts, "The Complete Walkthrough", and "Extra
Stuff


You Should Know".  Since the combined size of both documents stands
at


993,670 kB, I think you'll be able to find just about whatever you're


looking for in one part or another.

If you want a FAQ for the Japanese re-release, then I suggest you check


out that FAQ, too, but refer to this one if you want information on
new


things added to the game, like the Weapon monster scenarios. 
And if you


want a FAQ for the English-text version of FF7, then you're at the
right


place, keep reading.

Please don't ask me to send you a copy of either FAQ because I don't
have


the time to send them out to everyone who asks, and secondly, this
isn't


my e-mail address.  However, if you have any suggestions, corrections,


questions, or comments, then you can reach me via .


Comments are always welcome and I'll be happy to answer any questions
I


recieve either via e-mail or I'll include an answer in the upcoming


revision of the FAQ.  I won't answer questions if they are already


answered in either of the FAQs, so please read whichever document you
are


using carefully before e-mailing me.


 

=========================================================================


3 .    D  I  S  C     
O  N  E      W  A  L 
K  T  H  R  O  U  G  H


=========================================================================

(Note that the beginning of this game has been altered somewhat from
the


FF7 demo disc packaged with Tobal No. 1 and other FF7 demos.)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


  3 . 1      m a k o r o  
p o w e r   p l a n t


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ITEMS IN THIS AREA:  Potion x3, Phoenix Down, Restore materia,


                    
Assault Gun.

At the start of the game, you'll have 3 Potions, a Phoenix Down, and
an


Ether.  You can't equip Materia until you reach Section 3.3, by
the way.

Once you leave the train, check the body of the closest guard twice
to


get two Potions.  Then head north.  You'll be attacked by
some guards.


Take them out with your sword (you may win a Potion for killing them)


and then move left to go outside.  Now, talk to your teammates
(Biggs,


Wedge, and Jessie), then name yourself and Barret.  Make your
way to the


northwestern door, and head up in the next room to enter the heart
of


the power plant.

Talk to Barret, (who joins you) and then talk to each Avalanche member


to open the doors.  After opening the second door, head right
to enter


another chamber with a treasure chest (Phoenix Down).  Then, go
back


and enter the elevator (you'll have to talk to Jessie first). 
Press the


arrow switch to activate it.

Work your way down the stairs and go through the door to the left. 
Then


follow Jessie down the ladder.  When he stops, search the area
in front


of him for a Potion (it's hard to see because of the steam). 
Climb


down, cross the pipes, descend the nearby ladder, and take note of


the Save Point before heading down the walkway.

Pick up the Restore materia on the ground in the next area and set the


bomb.  An alarm will sound and you'll have to fight the boss,
a huge


scorpion-like machine.

_________________________________________________________________________


BOSS TIPS: GUARD SCORPION                         
LV: ??  HP: 800  MP: 0

Cloud's Bolt magic works well, while Barret should be attacking. 
The


Search Scope won't damage you, it just warns as to who the boss will


attack next.  When you've done enough damage, the boss will start
to


shake and Barret will warn Cloud.  From this point onward, don't
attack


the boss and heal yourself or simply guard until the boss attacks you.


If you try to hurt it during this time, the boss responds with a damaging


laser ray shot from his tail.  A few more hits after it stops
shaking and


the boss dies.  You'll get an Assault Gun when you kill it.


_________________________________________________________________________

You now have ten minutes to escape from the power plant.  You'll
need


to make your way back to the upside-down T-shaped entrance hall where


one of the Avalanche members is waiting.  (If you've played the
demo


disc, know that you don't need to 'search' for the other members; just


talk to Jessie to free him and then get out.  Since Barret gets
a new


gun after the battle, be sure to equip it.  Also, talk to the
other


members to open the two doors on your way back.


 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


  3 . 2      m i d g a r  
c i t y


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ITEMS IN THIS AREA:  Potion.

After the Avalanche members blow up the passage, head up the stairs.


You'll meet Aeris here, but she won't join you yet.  In the next


screen, there's a Potion to the southwest of the circular structure


(near the lampposts).  Walk south when you're done.  In this
next area,


you'll meet up with guards and have the choice of running (bottom


choice) or fighting (top choice).  After a few more encounters
with the


Shinra guards, 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 (Jessie) will show you a picture of the Makoro


plant on the train's screen.  Approach Barret and you'll end up
going


to the group's base.


 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


  3 . 3      a v a l a n c h e  
b a s e


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ITEMS IN THIS AREA:  1500 gil, All materia, Ether.

Head west and go upwards.  Talk to the kid by the fence, then head
west


again (there's a Save Point nearby, too).  Talk to the people
here,


then check out the bar.  At the top of the tallest building in
the south-


east is a bedroom.  The kid here will let you spend the night
for 10 gil.

In the bar, you'll meet Tifa, who is also a member of Avalanche, as
well


as Marlene, who is supposedly Barret's daughter.  After naming
Tifa,


Barret shows up when you try to leave and reveals the hidden base


underneath the bar.  After talking to Barret, Tifa shows up. 
Leave the


base and you'll have a short intermission with Tifa.   When
you meet


Barret afterwards, he'll give you 1500 gil.  If you go to the
Beginner's


Hall above the Weapon Shop outside, you can learn more about playing
the


game.  You'll also find that there inside the huge cage. 
The man in


the right corner of this room has a Materia by his feet (All). 
Take it


and a chest will drop down that has an Ether inside of it.  If
you


haven't already noticed, the two buildings that were locked the other


day are now open.

When you're ready, go back to the train station to prepare for


Avalanche's next mission.  If you like, you can go to the far
right to


enter a train yard, but there's not much of interest there.


 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


  3 . 4      m a k o   r e
a c t o r   n u m b e r   f i v e


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ITEMS IN THIS AREA:  Ether x2, Potion, Tent, Titan Bangle.

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


Barret 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 times before coming to two guards who you can fight.


When the battle's over, choose the bottom option to keep fighting or
the


top option to run away.  You can fight the same battle over and
over,


so when you get tired of fighting, just pick the top option. 
An OK place


to gain some experience, gil, and AP, if you think you'll need it.

Anyway, it's a lot faster to just head north to where the green barrier


is and go down the hatch to the west (examine it and choose the top


choice twice or the middle option once).  Pick up the Ether in
the


adjoining passage, climb down the two ladders, and talk to Wedge. 
Then


go up the ladder near him to reach a room where Jessie is waiting for


you.  Take the Potion that's next to him and climb down the ladder
on the


far left end of the room to reach a chamber where you can find a Tent,
a


Save Point, and Biggs.

Go up the ladder here to reach the No. 5 Reactor.  The room you're
in


should be familiar.  Slide down the pipe and then work your way
back to


the heart of the plant.  After Cloud fiddles with the machinery,
go back


to the large room and climb up the stairs and into the elevator. 
It'll


take you to a new floor.  Grab the contents of the treasure chest
outside


(Ether) and then head to the left where there are three control panels.


You'll need to hit your panel as the same time Barret and Tifa hit


theirs (using the O button), so give it a shot.  Instead of waiting
for


them to raise their arms, you'll have an easier time if you time it
so


that you hit your panel _just_ before they do.  You can't use
the panel


if you didn't go back to the heart of the power plant.  Afterwards,
go


through the opened gate (there's a Save Point here), and head north.

In the T-shaped room, you'll be stopped by a group of guards, and then


meet President Shinra.  After that, a helicopter and a hydrofoil-like


machine show up.  The Shinra president leaves in the helicopter,
but


the huge machine attacks you and your friends.

_________________________________________________________________________


BOSS TIPS: AIR BUSTER                            
LV: 15  HP: 1200  MP: 0


                                                 
Weak against Lightning

This machine turns to face (and attack) whomever hits it.  So,
if one of


your characters is low on life, have the person on the opposite side


attack to draw the boss' attention away.  Be especially careful
of it's


Big Bomber--it causes tons of damage  (but also increases your
Limit


meter quickly).  Remember that even if it's back is turned, it
can use a


weak machine gun attack on you.  Use potions and the Restore Materia
to


keep up your HPs and use Bolt as well as your Limit Break attacks to
take


this machine out.  You'll receive a Titan Bangle if you win the
battle.


_________________________________________________________________________


 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


  3 . 5      m a k o r o  
c i t y   s l u m s


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ITEMS IN THIS AREA:  5 gil, Potion, Phoenix Down, Cover materia,
Ether.

After the battle, the boss will explode, sending Cloud off the walkway


in the ensuing blast.  When you awake, you'll find yourself in
a church.


Aeris is here, and you can name her after talking to her several times.


Reno shows up afterwards with some guards.  In the next room,
Aeris


falls down while trying to escape with Cloud.  Tell her to hold
on.


You now have the option of fighting the guards using Aeris or trying
to


bean the guards on the head with barrels on the upper floor (if you


miss, you'll have to fight using Aeris anyway).  Remember, she
starts off


in the back row, so to increase damage, make her move up by choosing


'Change' at the start of each battle (do this by pressing left, then
the


O button).

The correct order of barrels to drop is: the leftmost barrel (in the


back), the far right barrel (in the back), and the far right barrel


(in the front).  Simply tell Aeris to hold on each time, examine
each


barrel, and choose the top option to drop it.  This way, Aeris
won't


have to fight anybody.  When Aeris meets you at the top of the
chapel,


she'll hook up with Cloud.

In the upper area, climb up the second beam on the left and jump out
of


the hole in the roof.  After you and Aeris make it back to ground
level,


head left to find a Save Point.  To the northwest is a town. 
Be sure to


meet the man in the pipe near the entrance.  In one of the houses,
you


can also find 5 gil if you talk to the drunk man in bed, then examine


the drawers nearby.  There are several stores here in the slums,


including one that sells Materia.  To the far, far right is a
path that


leads to Aeris's house and a garden.   You can spend the
night here once


you've met Elmyra, Aeris's mother.  When you wake up, look between
the


desk and the bed for a Potion and a Phoenix Down.  Then, sneak
downstairs


(or Aeris will make you go back to bed) and leave the house (you can
do


this by not touching the walls and not running, either).  In the
lower


flower bed to the right, you can get a Protect materia and an Ether.


There's another Save Point near Aeris' house if you need to use it.

Leave the town and go left to the hole in the wall.  Aeris will
be here


waiting for you and will rejoin you.  In the next location, work
your


way upward (by going across the hole-filled metal length, then down
the


iron beams and through the passage, then up the brown pipe and finally


down the stairs and heading to the left).  After Aeris leaves
you at the


playground, head east, then go north to arrive at the Wall Market.


 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


  3 . 6      w a l l   m a
r k e t


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ITEMS IN THIS AREA:  Ether, Phoenix Down, Hyper.

Aeris rejoins you (again) here.  There's a Save Point in the upper-right


part of the village.  The building in the lower left is an inn,
where you


can spend the night for 10 gil.  To the right of it is the entrance
to a


brothel.  The building in the middle has nothing in it but a computer.


(If you touch it, a machine gun will fire at you and Cloud jumps away.


You can't do anything here until later).  Just above that building
is an


item shop.  North of the shop is a sushi bar.  Finally, there
is a


clothing store to the upper left and some sort of pottery store to
the



upper right.  A path by the clothing store leads to another part
of town.


Here, there is a gym, a restaurant, and a weapon shop.  In the
northern


area lies a large building.  If you go east from here, you'll
reach a


dead-end area.

Your objective in this part of the game is to sneak into the large


building where Tifa is being kept.  To do this, Cloud will have
to


dress up as a woman in order to get inside since men aren't allowed


into the building.  So, follow these steps to get the items you
need


to 'alter' Cloud's appearance.  You may want to read this entire


section before starting so that you'll know how your choices will


affect the game.

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 (Corneo's mansion)
and


    talk to the guy near the door.  Aeris and Cloud
will move away and


    have a short conversation.  She tells Cloud
that he'll have to


    dress up if he wants to find out if Tifa's okay.

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.


    She'll tell you that you can't get a dress unless
you do something


    about her drunk father.

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 Cotton Dress.


    - If you answered: second choice, first choice,
you'll be given


      the Satin Dress.


    - If you answered: second choice, second choice
again, he'll give


      you the Silk Dress.

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 (heh) by the fighting
ring.  When you


    have the chance, pick the bottom option twice to
start fighting,


    although if you want to practice, you can choose
the bottom


    option, then the top one.  Anyway, as soon
as the message box


    disappears, start pressing the S, X, and O buttons
repeatedly in


    that order.  The object of the game is to go
fast enough to make


    Cloud do more squats than the African gymnast, but
you don't want


    to press the buttons too fast or Cloud can't keep
up.  It's not


    too hard to win since the other guy will often stop
to scratch his


    head, but you only have 30 seconds, so get in as
many squats as you


    can.

    - If you are able to do more squats than the gymnast,
you'll be


      given the Blonde Wig.


    - If you and the gymnast have the same score, the
lady will give


      you the Dyed Wig.


    - If the gymnast does better than you, then the
lady will give


      you the Wig.

At this point, you can just return to the clothing shop and enter the


stall; Cloud will dress up as a woman and you can return to Corneo's


mansion to get inside.  You can also choose to not change yet
and


explore more of the Wall Market, picking up items that you can use
to


make Cloud more 'feminine'.  If you're finished, then skip down
a ways


to find out what to do next.  Otherwise, keep reading (these events


can be done in any order):

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


      Diamond Tiara.


    - If you bought the second item (100 gil), he'll
give you the


      Ruby Tiara.


    - If you bought the third item (50 gil), he'll give
you the


      Glass Tiara.

    (Note that the dialogue here was changed from the
Japanese version,


    in which you were buying a 'gift' for the shopkeeper's
girlfriend


    that he was too embarrassed to buy  
Why this was


    changed, I have no idea.)

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 ("the
food was all


    right") to get a Pharmacy Coupon.  Now go to
the item store and


    talk to the man behind the Counter Attack. 
Choose one of the three


    options to get an item, then head back to the restaurant. 
Go to


    the bathroom and talk to the woman inside. 
Accept the first choice


    and:

    - You'll get the Cologne if you traded the Coupon
for the


      Disinfectant.


    - You'll get the Flower Cologne if you traded the
Coupon for the


      Deodorant.


    - You'll get the Sexy Cologne if you traded the
Coupon for the


      Digestive (medicine).

i)  Talk to the large man in the white shirt who's standing near
the


    edge of the screen in the first area to get the
Member's Card.


    He won't give it to you unless you talked to the
guard by the door


    of the Corneo's mansion. Head right to arrive at
the brothel.


    If you talk to the bouncer, he'll let you in once
he sees the Card,


    but Aeris won't come with you (yes, they messed
up the dialogue


    here, too).

    Inside the Honeybee Inn, you'll find that the doors
on the right side


    are locked, but if you chose the bottom option,
you can look inside


    them and peer around using the control pad and the
O button.  If you


    look in the upper-right keyhole, you'll see a familiar
face...a small


    version of Cait Sith!  If you go to the north
room and talk to the


    farthest girl on the right several times, you can
choose the top


    option to make her dance faster and faster. 
When you're ready (you


    better brace yourself), you can do one or the other:

    Examine the lower-left door and pick the top option
twice.  In the


    room, talk to the girl and pick the top option three
times to take


    a soak with Mukki and his friends.  Answer
however you like while


    in the tub and Cloud will be given the Bikini briefs.

    Or, examine the upper-left door and pick the top
option twice.


    Inside, talk to the ghostly Cloud near the stone
tub and Cloud


    will have a psychotic episode.  When you come
to, all your HP


    and MP is restored, thanks to...Mukki :(  Talk
to him and choose


    the bottom option.  Then talk to the girl and
you'll get the


    Lingerie.

All done?  There's nothing left to do now but return to the clothing


store and dress up as a woman.  When you finish, go to the large
building


in the north and talk to the man by the food carts again.  He'll
let you


into a posh-looking parlor.  Now, go up the stairs and into the
door on


the far left after talking to the receptionist.  Then, go down
the


staircase to the torture room (!) where you'll find Tifa and an Ether
by


the smoldering coals.  Once she's joined you, head back up the
stairs


and go into the middle door.  Inside is Tifa's kidnapper, the
nefarious


Don Corneo.  He will examine each of you when you try to approach
him.


Who he picks for his 'friend' is determined by what items you collected


in the Wall Market:


 - He'll pick Cloud if you're wearing the Silk Dress, Blonde Wig,
and


   have the 'best' extra items (the Diamond Tiara, Sexy Cologne,
and


   Lingerie or Bikini briefs.


 - He'll pick Aeris if you're wearing the Silk Dress, the Blonde
Wig,


   the Lingerie and the Sexy Cologne (in addition to anything
else you


   may have).


 - He'll pick Tifa if you're wearing the Silk Dress, Blonde Wig,
and one


   or two of the extra items not mentioned above (or anything
worse than


   that).

If Corneo picked Tifa or Aeris, then read below:

In the next room, examine the item bag by the bed to get a Phoenix Down,


and talk to the man by the television set after talking to the other


henchmen.  After revealing your true nature to the love-struck
goons,


they'll fight you.  This is followed by another fight with the
other


three punks.  Afterward, get Aeris from the torture chamber and
then


go into the middle door again (if Aeris was picked, then you'll meet


Tifa when you go outside).  When you're through intimidating Corneo,


look behind his bead for a Hyper, then stand by your allies. 
He'll


make you choose one of three options.  No matter which one you
choose,


you'll fall through a trapdoor.

If Corneo picked Cloud, then you'll end up in his room.  Search
behind


his bed for a Hyper, then talk to him and answer anyway you like (if


you try to make Cloud kiss Corneo, then maybe you need to get out of


the house more....^_^;)  Your friends will burst in and threaten
him


(yeowtch!)  and Corneo will ask you a question; pick any answer
you


like and you'll still plummet to the sewers below.


 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


  3 . 7      t h e   s e w
e r s  /  t r a i n   y a r d


            
r e v i s i t e d


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ITEMS IN THIS AREA:  Potion x4, Phoenix Down, Steal materia,


                    
Hi-Potion x3, Echo Screen, Ether x2.

Once the cut scene with the Shinra flunkies ends, you'll find yourself


in a sewer.  Before talking to Tifa or Aeris, climb up the stairs
to


the south and go along the walkway to nab a Potion.  When you
try to


escape, a blue monster appears attacks your party.

_________________________________________________________________________


BOSS TIPS: APS                                   
LV: 18  HP: 1800  MP: 0


                                                 
weak against Fire

His Sewer Tsunami attack hurts all members, so use Potions and the


Restore Materia to heal your wounds.  Luckily, the Tsunami will
damage


him, too (he uses this attack as a counterattack before dying if he
can


manage it).  When he does the reverse Sewer Tsunami, it causes
less


damage to him.  Fire spells work the best on him.  Use Cloud's
Limit


Break to harm the boss and use Aeris' Limit Break to heal yourselves.


You'll receive a Phoenix Down for winning the battle.


_________________________________________________________________________

Climb up the ladder and head right.  Go down into the sewage, then
up the


stairs.  Grab the Yellow Materia (Steal) and go down the hatch. 
In the


next room, go down the stairs, then climb up the side of the curved


structure.  Climb up the ladder and you'll go outside.  There's
a Save


Point here.  Check out the oil drum nearby by entering the train
car


(near the Save Point) to get a Hi-Potion.  Get another Hi-Potion
on the


roof of adjacent car, then hop off onto the iron beam and check the
oil


drum to the north for an Echo Screen.  Walk east, then south and
enter


the nearby train car to get a Potion.  Climb up the ladder, head
north,


and climb down again.  Go north once more through the train car,
then


exit to your left to find a second Potion.  Then, go north to
arrive at


the next screen.

Here, circle left around the car to get a Potion.  Circle left
again to


find an oil can with an Ether inside of it.  Go north and enter
the


train to the right to move the other train car out of the way. 
Climb


atop the formerly blocked car to net a Hi-Potion.  Now, ride the
other


train back backwards, climb onto the eastern train car, jump onto the


train you just moved, and climb across it and the last car before going


down the ladder to get back to the front part of the Train Graveyard.

Head left.  The Avalanche members will be fighting atop the support


pillar you first saw when you arrived at the base.  After Wedge
plummets


to the ground, save your game at the Save Point and talk to the man
on


the left if you need to buy items.  Climb up the stairs and you'll
meet


Barret, who is firing at the Shinra helicopter you saw back at the


plant.  Reno will jump out, and you'll have to fight him. 
Good thing


Barret joins you.  When you inflict enough damage, the boss runs
away!

_________________________________________________________________________


BOSS TIPS: RENO                                  
LV: 17  HP: 1000  MP: 0

This guy packs a wallop.  He can imprison your friends using his
golden


Pyramid attack, and if he does this to all your members, you lose. 
To


break the pyramids, attack your allies (they won't be damaged). 
Watch


for his spark bolt attack (which can paralyze you) and use your Limit


Breaks whenever possible.  Ice works well on him.  For some
players,


this may be the first battle they lose!  You'll get an Ether for
scaring


him off should you win.


_________________________________________________________________________


 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


  3 . 8      i n t o   t h
e   s k y


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ITEMS IN THIS AREA:  Sense materia, Battery x3, Ether.

After fending off the boss, Tseng will kidnap Aeris (and p**p slap her)!


As he escapes, the entire city explodes and falls down a level,


destroying it.  Cloud, Tifa, and Barret all come to in the playground
at


the Sector 6 Slums.  After Barret yells for Marlene, Wedge, and
his other


friends, he and Tifa join you in the next area when you try to leave. 
Go


back to get a sparkling yellow Materia (Sense), before returning to
Wall


Market.  The man in the pottery store will now sell you Materia,
and if


you go back to the parlor, you have the option of freeing one of Don


Corneo's men from the torture chamber.  Even if you got the Member's
Card


the first time around, you can no longer enter the brothel, by the
way.

When you're done, leave and go south from the playground.  Return
to the


Sector 5 Slum and go to Aeris's house.  Talk to Elmyra, her mother. 
You


can spend the night in the upstairs bedroom once the intermission ends.


Return to the Wall Market and go to the dead-end area near the parlor.


(you'll see a bunch of kids run in there).  Climb up the pipe,
and you'll


find yourself high above the town.  If you haven't gotten them
already,


go to the 'Machine & Gun' store and talk to the man at the left
end of


the store; he'll sell you 3 Battery for 300 gil.  You'll need
them


to activate the boxes in this part of the game.  With that in
mind,


examine the box-shaped object in the lower right to try and start a


nearby propeller.  Head up, and you'll jump onto the propeller. 
From


there, make your way to the other box and activate the painted barrier.


Climb up it, and use the O button to jump onto the swinging metal pipe.


Despite what Cloud says, jump when it is close to you (just as it stops


squeaking).  After that, climb up to the next screen.

Here, climb up, then drop down to activate the next box and you'll find


an Ether.  Climb down the lefthand pipe and make your way back
up again.


Instead of dropping down, continue up, and you'll find yourself at


Shinra's headquarters.


 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


  3 . 9      s h i n - r a  
h e a d q u a r t e r s


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ITEMS IN THIS AREA:  Elixir, Elemental materia, Star Pendant, Four
Slots,


                    
All materia, Phoenix Down, Ether, Poison materia,


                    
Grenade x1~3, Talisman, Enemy Skill materia,


                    
Potion x4, Mythril Armlet, Protect Vest, Guard


                    
Source.

There's a Save Point here.  You have the option of either heading
to the


left and climbing up a stairwell (sneaking in) or barging in through
the


front door ('kick some Shinra butt!', as Barret would say).

Going up the stairs takes forever, but it's free of enemies and you
can


get an Elixir that's lying on one of the landings.  On the other
hand,


going through the front door and taking the elevators in the back is


faster, but you have to fight several battles along the way. 
Not only


that, but you can chase around the Shinra staff before taking the


elevator :)  (or at least, you could in the Japanese version. 
They


all ran away....)  You can't use the circular lifts by the doors
yet, but


you can use them once you reach the 60th floor.  If you go up
the stairs,


you'll see a door marked 'Accessories'.  Inside the room, you
can look


at a monitor to see a short FMV sequence about Shinra's producs (this


is the most overlooked FMV in the game).  There are two chests
here, but


the lady won't let you open them.  She will sell you items, though.


Remember, if you go through the front, check the control panel in the


elevator (the one that goes haywire) after each enemy enounter in order


to continue upwards.  If you go up the stairs then change your
mind and


go back down, you won't have to fight anybody on the elevators, and
the


main area of the ground floor will be empty (an easy trick for not


having to fight anyone :)).

No matter what method you use, you'll eventually reach the 59th floor.


Head southeast and kill the armored guards to get the Keycard 60, then


take the lift to the 60th floor.  Here, you'll have to head to
the room


in the upper-left and make it to the other side without being seen
by


the patrolling guards.  In order to stay hidden from them, pause
behind


the gold statues, then lead Tifa and Barret across using the O button.


If you mess up, not only to you get attacked (ambush-style combat),
but


you'll have to start all over again.  Keep in mind that the set
of


guards on the right half of the screen move faster than the ones on
the


left.

Take the stairway up to the 61st floor.  Talk to everyone here. 
A man


who asks you about Aeris will give you the Keycard 62 if you answer


"......".  On floor 62, talk to the man in the room, Domino, and
the man


in white, (Hart) then check out the two library rooms.  Answer
Domino's


question and he'll give you the Keycard 65.  The problem with
this is


that the answer changes with each game you play.  It seems like
it would


be easy enough to simply try each answer until you get it right, but
you


get an Elemental Materia for free if you answer correctly the first
time.


So, it's in your best interest to just reset and keep trying in order
to


get the materia.  Hart will help you out if you need it, but he'll
want


you to pay him first.  To get the answer, simply look for the
misplaced


files, write down the first letter of the file name, and when you get


all four, try to organize them into a word.  Then talk to Domino,
and


find which word matches the one you came up with (or at least hast
the


letters you found).  He gives you varying items depending on how
many


tries it takes you (you'll get lesser items if you mess up each time).

The 63rd floor is tricky.  You have to collect 3 Coupons from all
three


rooms, but you're only able to open 3 doors at a time.  You can
reset


the doors by investigating the computer in the right-hand room, but
that


also resets the location of the Coupons.  You can move around
using


walkways in the ducts; to enter them you have to climb into the black,


box-shaped structures (there's one in the computer room).  You
can't do


that unless you have at least one of the three items.

To get the items, follow this procedure: activate the computer, then


head to the top 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 A Coupon is.  Choose the top option to
climb


into the black box and use the walkway to get to the room where B Coupon


is.  Finally, go through the door in this room and open the door
to the


left, then go north to enter the room containing C Coupon.  Then
use the


walkway to return to the computer room.

Now if you want, you can just trade one of the Coupons for an item,


but if you have all three then you'll get all three items.  The
trade


setup works like this (choose 'Coupon Change'):

 - Trade Coupon A for the Star Pendant accessory


 - Trade Coupon B for the Four Slots bracelet


 - Trade Coupon C for the All materia

To get your items (depending on how many coupons you have) go to the


computer and choose the bottom option,  then the top.  Keep
in mind


that you can only do this once.

On the 64th floor, you'll find a Save Point and bedroom to your left.


You can use the machines in the exercise room, or waste 250 gil trying


to get a health drink (which you can't actually get, BTW.)  If
you


examine the lockers in the back room, you can find a Phoenix Down,


an Ether, and a M-phone (HP Shout), but you can only take the first


two items for now.  Head to the 65th floor.

Here, you have to open a treasure chest, then examine a broken section


of the model in the circular room and choose the top option to repair


it.  This unlocks one of the other chests, allowing you to open
it and


use the part inside to repair another section of the model.  When
you


have finished, you'll get the Keycard 66 from the final chest. 
You


must fix the model in a counter-clockwise fashion starting from the


bottom.  The order of the chests you open goes like this:

 - Upper-left room:   bottom chest


 - Upper-left room:   top chest


 - Lower-left room:   left chest


 - Lower-left room:   top chest


 - Upper-right room:  chest


 - Middle-right room: get the Keycard 66 from here when you're
done.

On the 66th floor, you can either run into the meeting hall as quickly


as you can (if you took the elevator...it's a glitch, and was possible


in the Japanese version, at least :)), or you can enter the stall in
the


bathroom located in the northwest corner of the floor.  Choose
the


middle option, and you'll climb on top of the toilet and enter an air


duct.  Move forward to see what the Shinra members (Reeve, Palmer,


President Shinra, Heidegger, Hojo, and Scarlet) are discussing.

Climb back out, then climb up the stairwell after Hojo (the pony-tailed


scientist) in the room to the right of the meeting hall.  Note
that


you'll end up in the air duct even if you ran into the hall...heh,
heh.


On the next floor (67), talk to the people and keep following the


scientist.  After looking in the purple chamber (and after Cloud
gets


another headache), move beyond the crates and to the right to find
a


Save Point and a treasure chest with a Poison Materia inside.

Enter the elevator to the north, and then watch as the scientist toys


with Aeris.  Now, choose who you want to protect Aeris, (either


Barret or Tifa), and then you can name the lion-like creature (Red
13)


that was attacking Hojo.  He'll fight alongside you when the mutant


boss shows up.  Don't forget that Red 13 comes equipped with his
own


Materia!

_________________________________________________________________________


BOSS TIPS: Sample:HO512                        
LV: 19  HP: 1000  MP: 120


           Sample:HO512-OPT                    
LV:  7  HP:  300  MP:  48

Don't try to kill this guy's little guardians; he'll only create more.


Instead, use Bolt or Fire on him and try Restore to keep up your own


life power.  Avoid using physical attacks, Ice, or Poison. 
This means


that Red 13 is better off using Fire against the boss than attacking.


This battle is easier if you have Barret, who can inflict more damage.


Don't worry about getting poisoned since you can get infected again
when


the boss uses the pink gas attack on your characters (there's no point
in


trying to de-poison yourselves).  You'll get a Talisman should
you kill


the boss, and Grenades depending on the OPTs that you killed.


_________________________________________________________________________

Tifa or Barret return after the battle (depending on who you chose).


You'll be asked to make a new party (but you can keep the old one you
had


before, if you wish).  When you're in control of Cloud again,
be sure to


grab the yellow materia (Enemy Skill) that's left behind in the sample


chamber.  Then go up the ladder and head south.  Talk to
the man in the


gray coat to get the Keycard 68.  Go back down to floor 66 and
try


entering one of the lifts; you'll get caught by Rude (he's a Turk who


you'll be running into constantly throughout the game).  He and
Tseng


will 'escort' you to a meeting with the president of Shinra. 
Afterwards,


you'll end up in the jail cells on floor 67.  Here, listen to
everyone,


then go to sleep.

The next morning, you'll find that your door is unlocked.  Investigate


the guard, then talk to Tifa.  Check the guard again to unlock
the doors,


then look in on Barret and Red 13.  After freeing your companions,
return


to the lab and talk to Red 13.  Talk to him again after taking
the


elevator up to the 68th floor, then use the incline to reach the walkway


again.  Go all the way along it until you find two purple Potions,
then


climb back down and enter the door from the ground floor.  The
green bars


of light won't hurt you; run through them and pick up two more Potions


before climbing up the stairs to the 69th floor.

Go out the center door to reach a Save Point.  Then, run up either
of


the purple stairs.  Check out the dead Shinra president, capture
Palmer,


then go through the door to the north to exit the room.  Outside,
talk


to the man in white.  He's Rufus, son of the Shinra president.

The other characters will return to the floor below, and you must lead


them outside (you can also choose to unequip Aeris' and Cloud's materia


in case you want to juggle them around for the upcoming battles). 
Your


team now consists of Red 13, Barret, and Aeris; don't forget to re-equip


your Materia (it seems as if the top option removes it....)  Head
to the


lift (by taking the lower door).  When you activate it, you are
attacked


by a huge gun-wielding machine while going down the side of the Shinra


building.

_________________________________________________________________________


BOSS TIPS: HUNDRED GUNNER                         
LV: 18  HP: 1600  MP:0


                                                  
weak against Lightning

You can only use long-range attacks, so use Barret's attacks and his


Limit Break as well as magic to harm this foe.  Poison-based magic


inflicts no damage, while Bolt does the most damage.  Red 13 is
a


sitting duck if he doesn't have any spell Materia equipped, so be sure


to deck him out with some magic spells (he can still use his Limit


Break).  When you inflict enough damage, the boss starts to break
down.


After the second collapse, he starts firing heat blasts that damage
all


members, so be careful.


_________________________________________________________________________

After killing the boss, you must fight a flying machine.

_________________________________________________________________________


BOSS TIPS: HELI GUNNER                           
LV: 19  HP: 1000  MP: 0


                                                  
weak against Lightning

As with the other boss, don't use Bio but do use Bolt.  You may
be weak


after the last battle, so make use of Potions, the Restore Materia,
and


Aeris' B1/1 Break (Healing Wind) to restore lost life.  You'll
win a


Mythril Armlet when the boss dies.


_________________________________________________________________________

The scene switches back to Cloud.  Heal yourself if necessary,
equip


Materia, then press Start.  Rufus will then attack you. 
Feel free to


adjust his equipment/Materia if need be before the battle.

_________________________________________________________________________


BOSS TIPS: RUFUS                                 
LV: 21  HP: 500  MP:  0


           DARK NATION                           
LV: 18  HP: 140  MP: 80

Kill the panther guardian first, then go after the boss.  Although
you


can't do anything about the panther casting Barrier on Rufus, you can


use magic instead to inflict damage.  He can only hurt you with
his


shotgun, so don't worry about healing yourself after each round (just


heal yourself when your life gets lower).  Sock him with your
Limit


Breaks and he'll escape onto the circling helicopter after you've


damaged him enough.  Cloud will get a Protect Vest and a Guard
Source


when the battle ends.


_________________________________________________________________________

Leave the rooftop and head back to where Tifa is waiting for you. 
As


Aeris, try to approach the front doors.  After a short conversation,


you and the gang will escape by motorcycle (and truck).  Your
team is


now made up of Cloud, Tifa, and Barret.

An option screen appears where you have the following options:

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!


 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


  3 . 1 0    e s c a p e !


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ITEMS IN THIS AREA:  Star Pendant.

Use the controller to move any any direction.  Pressing S makes
you slash


to the left, and pressing O makes you slash to the right.  The
object


here is to protect your friends in the truck from enemy cyclists.


Eventually, you'll reach a dead end and fight the boss.  The amount
of


life you start off with during the battle depends on how much life
you


and your friends lost during the high-speed escape.  If a character
lost


all his life, he begins with only 1 point when the battle starts, but


since the boss gets to make the first attack, they'll have to be revived


using Phoenix Downs if there are any party members who survived. 
The


boss is a spiked, armored robot with six wheels.

_________________________________________________________________________


BOSS TIPS: MOTOR BALL                              
LV: 19  2600  MP: 120


                                                  
weak against Lightning

This boss gets a free attack from behind...sheesh.  Most of his
attacks


do little damage, but his Firethrower and flying fire sweep attacks


can kill your party in a single blast (the fire sweep does around 220


damage)!  The best way to beat this group is have your party consist
of


Aeris and Barret.  Give the All and Restore materia to either
Cloud or


Barret, and give the other character Lightning.  This way, you
can heal


with one character, attack with another, and then use Aeris' Limit
Break


to keep your life up at all times.  Ice works better than Fire
against


the boss (for those characters that don't have Lightning equipped).


Remember, your rows are reversed when attacked from behind, so put
Cloud


and Barret in the back and Aeris in the front if you want them to line


up properly when the boss shows up (assuming that's who you use...I
found


that they worked the best).  If you beat the boss, you'll get
a Star


Pendant.


_________________________________________________________________________


 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


  3 . 1 1    k a l m   t o w n 
/  c h o c o b o   f a r m


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ITEMS IN THIS AREA:  Ether x3, Peacemaker, Guard Source, Choco/Mog


                    
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


Aeris the first time).  Decide who will be in your group, then
head


towards the screen to exit and arrive at the World Map (the outside


world).

Outer World Controls

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

Kalm Town isn't far from Midgar; you should be able to see it if you


walk north a ways.  Go into the inn to see the rest of the gang
waiting


for you.  Cloud will talk to the others about Sephiroth via a
series of


semi-interactive flashbacks:

- You'll start off in a truck being driven by Shinra soldiers. 
After


  talking to the soldiers and Sephiroth (Cloud's former ally in
the


  Shinra army and now a wanted criminal), the truck will be stopped


  by a dragon.  You'll have to fight it, but Sephiroth (who
is Shotgun-


  powerful) can kill it in two hits.  In the flashback, Cloud's


  portrait is different; this 'Young Cloud' is of a low level,
but


  Sephiroth is so strong that you need not worry about losing
battles.


  However, you can't control Sephiroth's actions and you can't
hurt


  him (because of your low level), either.  Although Young
Cloud comes


  equipped with an Pre-emptive materia and Sephiroth has several


  mastered materia equipped, you can't take them for your own
(although


  you can if you use a Game Shark code...see section 14). 
Also, Young


  Cloud and Sephiroth can't use Limit Breaks (because they don't
have


  any).

- After the battle, you'll end up in 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 (although is does affect the character's questions


  and reactions to Cloud's story).  One thing you might want
to do


  is go into Tifa's house (the large building on the 'southeastern'


  side of town).  You can read her stuff, play the piano
(if you


  play the 'Highwind' theme, Cloud will act like he remembers
it


  from somwhere), or even search her closet (hey, they changed


  'slightly-stretched underwear' to 'orthopedic underwear'. 
What's


  the big deal? :))  Also note that you can't get Vincent
Valentine


  during Cloud's flashback because you can't examine the safe
:(

- When you're done looking around town, go to the inn and head


  upstairs.  Talk to Sephiroth and choose to get some sleep.


  The next day, talk to Sephiroth and get your picture taken,
then


  sit back and watch the FMV.  When you're in control of
Cloud,


  head along the bridge and talk to Tifa, then talk to her again


  further along the bridge and it will break.  After you've


  recovered, head northeast into the cave, then keep heading north.


  Eventually, you'll arrive at the Jenova plant.  Enter it,
head


  along the beams, then walk onto the wood platform and climb
down


  the chains and go after Sephiroth.  Talk to him in the
next area,


  examine the chamber to the left of Sephiroth, then talk to him


  twice, once to make him move out of the way and once to make
Cloud


  look inside the chamber.  After Sephiroth goes ballistic,
you'll


  return to Kalm Town.  Pick the top option to save your
game, or


  the bottom option to continue.  Cloud's narrative starts
off back


  at 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 Mythril Mines beforehand, although
you


can visit the Chocobo Farm if you want to.  As for treasure, there's
an


Ether in the door beneath the stairs in the house near the inn, another


Ether in the cabinet on the second floor of the house to the right
of


that house, and a Peacemaker in the chest on the second floor of the


third house (take the curving stairs).  If you take the normal
stairs in


the same house, you can get a Guard Source in the cabinet by the little


girl.  Finally, in the house on the other side of the town, there
is an


Ether in the door beneath the stairs on the north wall of the first


floor.  Oh, you'll be given the PHS (Party Hensei System) when
you talk


to your allies on the first floor of the inn; it allows you to switch


group members whenever you want, providing that you're in the World
Map


or standing on a Save Point (there are a few exceptions to this rule).

Leave the town and head east to reach the Chocobo Farm.  Talk to
the


Chocobo at the front end of the pen and choose the top option to see


the big yellow birds dance; you'll get the Choco/Mog materia afterwards.


Then, talk to Choco Billy (the man with the hat) in the stables behind


the pen.  Choose the first option, then the 4th option, then the
top


option again.  Providing you have 2000 gil to spare, he'll sell
you a


Chocobo Lure materia, which lets you attract chocobos to ride.

To catch a chocobo, wander around outside on the chocobo tracks (in


this area of the game, you can meet them on the light patches of


grass, too), until you are attacked.  If a chocobo is one of your


opponents, then kill off the other enemies and when the battle ends,


you'll be riding the chocobo.  If you attack the chocobo, it will


hurt you and the other enemies, then escape, so you'll have to try


again.  Don't forget, you can only fight chocobos if you have
the


Chocobo Lure materia equipped.  When riding a chocobo, your can
move


around normally, and you won't get attacked by enemies.  You can
press


X to dismount, but if you do this, the Chocobo will run away and you'll


have to catch another one.

A little to the south and directly west of the Chocobo farm is a cave,


but a creeping snake in the marsh before the cave entrance will rise
up


to attack you.  Instead of trying to kill it now, go get a Chocobo


instead, who can outrun the snake and enter the cave.  Yes, you
will


still get attacked if the snake touches your chocobo.

Note that you can run across the marsh on foot, but nothing special


happens if you do so (and it's nigh-impossible to pull off without


running into Midgar Zolom).

_________________________________________________________________________


BOSS TIPS: MIDGAR ZOLOM                        
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 summon and magic spells to kill it.


Unfortunately, you get a measly amount of EXP, AP, and gil for beating


the boss and what's worse, he reappears when you return to the World


Map, so you're right back where you started.


_________________________________________________________________________

Note that if Midgar Zolom knocks one of your allies off-screen, the


game won't end should the other members be killed; instead, you'll
find


yourself standing at the edge of the marsh.

The first time you get across the marsh, you'll see a large snake


impaled on a tree.  Just exit the screen to continue playing. 
Also, if


you get off your chocobo while on the patch of grass before the mine


entrance, he'll stay there in case you need to return to the farm (this


doesn't seem to happen all the time--I don't know why).  If you're


strong enough, you can get to the Mythril Mines without ever having
to


go to the Chocobo Farm.


 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


  3 . 1 2    m i t h r i l   m i n e 
/  j u n o n   t o w n


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ITEMS IN THIS AREA:  Ether, Tent, Long Range materia, Mind Source
x2,


                    
Elixir, Power Wrist, Shiva materia, Grenade or


                    
Potion x6 or Ether x6, Enemy Skill materia, 1/35


                    
Shinra x2, Luck Source, Power Source, Guard Source,


                    
Speed Plus Source, Silver Glasses or HP Plus or Force


                    
Stealer.

Inside the Mythril Mine, head northeast to find a green Ether on the


stone steps.  In the chest is a Tent, so be sure to grab it. 
If you try


climbing up the brown vine on the western rock face, you'll find a
purple


materia (Long Range).  Climb back down, return to the first area,
then


head left.  Make your way southeast to find a chest with a Mind
Source


inside, then head west to reach the next area.

Here, you'll run into some of the Turks again: Rude, Elena, and Tseng.


Once they leave, walk north.  There's a chest with a Elixir inside
it


and a Hi-Potion just to the north of the chest.  Return to the
area


where you met the Turks, climb up the vine, and go through the door
to


exit the mine and return to the World Map.  From now on, you can
meet


Yuffie in the forests and have her join you (refer to section 8.1 for


details).

Nearby is a rocky outcropping with a huge bird statue atop it, the Condor


Fort.  Enter it and choose the second option when talking to the
man out


front.  After climbing up the rope, you'll find yourself in a
town built


into the rock itself.  There is a Save Point, item shop, bedroom
(you can


sleep for free), and Materia shop here.  Talk to everyone. 
If you have


enough Gil, you can hang around and fight the 'mini-battle' as many


times as you want (it's fun!).  Otherwise, leave and go northwest
through


the forest to Junon Town by the shore.  For information on fighting
the


battles, refer to section 7.8 (Having Fun).


 

Japanese version of my FAQ (mostly).  So enjoy, and I'll be back
with


more info and additions next time!>


 

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 Lightning or Poison-based


spells and keep your life up.  Since this guy's flying, some characters


can't attack him (like Tifa), while some can (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 Affect All
materia,


you can use this to cast a spell on the bubbled person and the boss
at


the same time.  Before dying, the boss will attack with 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 Barret) with weaker, long-ranged


weapons so that they can attack the boss, but it may not be worth it.


You'll receive a Power Wrist 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 'Summon Shiva'
materia,


a gift for saving her life.  Follow her to the shore, then talk
to her


a second time.  Barret will show up and the girl will keep talking;


when you have the chance, choose the middle option.  Your goal
in this


part of the game is to leap atop the iron beam above the electrical


tower so that you can sneak into the heart of Junon Town.  Your


controls are:

X        Swim faster


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       
TYPE


   21%       =  Grenade   
Item


   37% - 39% =  Potion x6   Item


   45% (?)   =  Ether x6   
Item


   (I'll figure out the rest later....)

Afterwards, you'll have to stand at attention while Rufus and Heidegger


talk to each other...press in any direction and the captain of the
guard


will tell you to get back in line.  After the rest of the soldiers
leave,


the captain will give you an option; choose either option and you'll


return to the locker room for some training on the next event. 
There,


you can try to follow the captain's orders, if you wish.  When
he asks


you a question, choose the top choice to try training again, or the


bottom option to finish the training.  Once the soldiers leave,
follow


them outside.

Now's your chance to do a little shopping and treasure hunting. 
You'll


run into Rude in the basement of the first weapon shop, but he won't


recognize you in your Shinra guard uniform.  Go through the third
door


and talk to the guard near the back of the room, then jump down to
an


area with several Shinra guards and some holograms.  In the far
corner


of the room is a yellow materia (Enemy Skill).  This place


(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 1/35 soldier and a Mind Source. 
In


the room with the cats nearby is a Luck Source.  On the third
floor is a


red Power Source and a green Guard Source.

If you enter the fourth door on the other side of town, you'll find
that


that Elena, Rudo, and Tseng of the Turks are here.  It's a good
thing


that you're in that uniform :)  Go through the sixth door to find
a room


with a soldier; you can check the silver trashcan for a message and
pick


up a yellow Speed Source in the side room.  On the floor above,
you can


pick up another 1/35 soldier.

In the next area, Heidegger and Rufus show up again.  You have
to do


your salute according to what the captain of the guard tells you to
do


(remember your training)!  At the very end, all you have to do
is be


facing forward: pressing any button will make you do the 'spinning
gun'


salute.  Unfortunately, the order of commands is random each time
you


play, so just do your best.  Afterwards, you can press the following


buttons to make Cloud do funny things:

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                    
TYPE


   000 - 050 =  Silver Glasses          
Accessory


   060 - 090 =  HP Plus                 
Independent Materia


   100 - 190 =  Force Stealer           
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.


 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


  3 . 1 3    s h i n - r a   b o a t


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ITEMS IN THIS AREA:  Ether, Affect All materia, Wind Slash, White
Cape.

Open the treasure chest to get an Ether, and be sure to pick up the
blue


materia (All).  Talk to the people here, then go up on the deck
and


talk to everyone else; you'll notice that they 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 Aeris, then
return


to the deck and go all the way to the left; one of the guards has left,


allowing you to sneak to the front of the ship.

Here, talk to Barret, who is spying on the Shinra members.  After
talking


to him a couple of times, an alarm will sound.  Go back to the
center of


the boat to find your friends.  Then, assemble your party. 
If you want


to change the setup, talk to your friends again.  When you're
ready, go


downstairs and head through the door that the one guard was standing
in


front of.  In the next room, watch out for enemies and climb up
the


ladder, the walkway leads to a chest with a Wind Slash inside. 
Did you


get all the items on the boat?  When you're ready, go and talk
to the


captain of the guards.  It turns out that he's dead.  Then,
Sephiroth


shows up, and summons a huge monster for you to fight before he flies


away.

_________________________________________________________________________


BOSS TIPS: JENOBA*BIRTH  (Jenova*Birth)        
LV: 25  HP: 4000  MP: 110

Earth, Fire, and Cold magic work well against it, but don't use Poison.


Attack with your Summon Materia and hit it with everything you've got.


Keeping your HP Plus is a priority, since it can use lasers to attack
one


or all members.  Only use physical attacks if you are running
low on MP.


The boss can cast 'Stop' on a single ally so make sure that you're
not


too dependent on any one character during the battle.  Some Phoenix


Tails will also come in handy, since the boss sometimes uses a laser


that hits all allies (Terror Laser) twice in a row (which can inflict


loads of damage).  You'll get a White Cape when the battle is
over.


_________________________________________________________________________


 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


  3 . 1 4    c o s t a   d e l  
s o l


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ITEMS IN THIS AREA:  'Summon Ifrit' materia, Power Source x2, Motor
Drive,


                    
Fire Ring, Double Machinegun, Turbo Ether,


                    
Transform materia, Wizard Staff, Star Pendant,


                    
Soft x2, Phoenix Down x10, Mind Source, Tent.

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 30,000 gil; you
can


sleep here for free anytime you want afterwards.  Climb down the
stairs


in the bottom part of the room to reach a basement with a sleeping
man.


You can get a Power Source and a Motor Drive here, as well as a Fire
Ring


from the treasure chest.  You'll meet Mukki (from the cabaret
in the


Wall Market) in the bar, as well as some of his friends.  If you
go down


to the beach, you'll run into Hojo (the scientist you met in the


Shinra HQ).  You can talk to him if you want, but you won't get
anything


out of it.

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:  Double Machinegun, Turbo Ether,
and a


Transform materia.

These tracks are rickety, and when you walk across them in certain areas


a message will appear telling you to press O so that you don't fall


through them.  It's better to let yourself fall, because you can
then


hold left or right and rapidly press O to land beneath the tracks. 
Then,


press Up to climb back up.  If you landed on the left side of
the tracks,


you can pick up a Wizard Staff.  If you landed in the middle,
you can't


get anything, but if you landed on the right side, you'll find a Star


Pendant.  There are three places where you can fall through the
tracks,


so be sure to get these items.

Take the upper rail path to the next area.  Are your friends waiting
for


you on the lower track?  If they're not, then go back and take
the lower


path.  You'll get an option to summon them using the PHS system
(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 Phoenix
Downs


should you kill it.  You can get two Softs from it; one by


stealing, the other by killing it with Morph.


_________________________________________________________________________

You'll get 10 Phoenix Downs after the battle is over.  Cloud will
then


return to the train tracks.  Keep in mind that this is a one-shot
deal;


whether you decide to take the treasure or not, you can only make a
choice


one time.  As you're traveling along the lower rail path, you'll
see a


part where the track splits in two directions.  Take the left
path (the


one that turns back).  Walk north (towards the bridge), then right
(under


the first bridge).  It may sound confusing, but you'll end up
in a little


shack where there's a bunch of items and a man resting on a bulldozer.


There's a Mind Source and a Power Source here, and the chest has a
Tent


inside of it.  Leave and follow the other path across the bridge
in the


next area to reach the town of North Corel.


 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


  3 . 1 5    g o l d   s a u c e r


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ITEMS IN THIS AREA:  Silver Armlet, 'Summon Ramuh' materia.

There's some merchants here at North Corel and an inn.  You can
also


learn more about Barret here, whether he's in your party or not. 
When


you're done shopping and chatting, go to the sky lift.  After
Barret has


a flashback about his friend Dain, take the lift up to the Gold Saucer.


You can return to the World Map by heading right from the bottom area
of


the town, but there's nothing to do out there (aside from saving your


game or riding around on a Chocobo).

You'll see a Save Point in the background of the first area of the Gold


Saucer, but you'll need GP (not gil, like what you've been using) to


activate it.  Pay the man to get in (the first choice is for a
one-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'), Aeris will join


you.  As you explore the rest of the Gold Saucer, you'll discover
that


Shinra soldiers are snooping around, looking for Sephiroth.  When


you're ready to move on, go to the Wonder Square.  Here, you'll
meet


Cait Sith, a would-be fortuneteller.  He'll automatically join
you since


you only have two members (you and your friend) at this point.

Go to the Battle Square and you'll find a bunch of dead bodies; the


handiwork of 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 Barret.  After he runs away, examine the dead
body


and talk to the other guy before going though the southern gate. 
There


is a treasure chest here (in the chamber at the base of the ladder),
but


it's already opened (anyone know if there's supposed to be something
in


it that you could have gotten earlier?)

In the 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).  Barret will show up once you're inside, as
will


Tifa and Aeris.  After Barret's flashback (in which his best friend


falls down a gorge and North Corel is razed to the ground), reassemble


your team and go back to the first area.  Examine the guard (who
is


dead), then either leave through the gate.  If you exit by going
through


the area between the gate and the building to the right, you'll end
up


wandering around in a wasteland until a caravan (the same one that
Tifa


was captured in) shows up.  When it does, pick the top option
to get a


ride back to the area beyond the gate or choose the bottom option to


stay where you are (in the middle of nowhere...you'll have to keep


wandering around until the caravan shows up again).

Anyway, once you've gone past the gate, talk to the man out here and
go


to the _right_.  Any other direction leaves you stranded in the
desert


(read the above paragraph again if you want to get back on track). 
This


takes you to the caryard.  Go up from here and you'll run into
none


other than Dain (the guy from Barret's flashback).  He tells Barret


about Erenoa and Marlene (who is actually his daughter), then (for
what


reason, I have no idea), decides to attack Barret.  In the battle,


you're forced to fight using just Barret.

_________________________________________________________________________


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 Silver Armlet for beating him.


_________________________________________________________________________

After Barret'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 Plus Source


X              
Speed Plus 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 Plus 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 Aeris's


Level 4 Limit Break manual at that point in the game (see section 14


for details).


 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


  3 . 1 6    g o n g a g a   t o w n 
/  c o s m o   c a n y o n


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ITEMS IN THIS AREA:  Fairy Tale, X Potion x2, 'Summon Titan' materia,


                    
Deathblow materia, Added Effect materia,


                    
Ether, Black M-phone, X Potion, Fairy Ring, Ether


                    
Turbo, Wizer Staff, Demi materia (and you can get an


                    
Elixir, Magic Source, and the Full Cure materia here


                    
from Disc 2 onwards).

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 Rude are here.  After
Elena 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 Rude at the same time.

_________________________________________________________________________


BOSS TIPS: RENO                                 
LV: 22  HP: 2000 MP: 80


           Rude                                
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 Rude, since he
can heal


himself and Reno, but then again, Reno can inflict more damage. 
In any


case, this fight isn't too hard either way.  You'll get a Fairy
Tale and


a X Potion should you win the battle.


_________________________________________________________________________

After the Turks leave, head northeast, then go north to reach a pile
of


scrapped machinery.  As you're looking around, Sukaretto and Tseng
show


up in the Shinra helicopter and talk about 'Huge Materia' (which you'll


learn more about in Disc 2).  After they leave, examine the area
where


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 Deathblow materia near the left path (which


returns you to the World Map).  If you take the north path, you'll


arrive at Gongaga Town.

Be sure to visit the stores (don't forget that you can climb up the
pole


in the Accessory Shop to reach a room where you can buy weapons) and


get the treasure chests from the inn (X Potion) and the old man's


house (White M-phone).  If you go into the far right house, you'll
meet


an old couple who apparently know Cloud (or someone just like him),
and


someone else named 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 Elixir, a
Magic


Up, and the Full Cure 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 (Additional


Effect).  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 Black M-phone.  Then climb back
up


the stairs and head to the upper-left to leave this area.

*  If you enter any of the other three holes, you'll be given the


   same option, but if you choose the top choice, you'll
be attacked.


   Doing this doesn't seem to alter the level in any way,
but you're


   better off doing this after you've cleared the _whole_
area out


   instead of doing it right now; I'd rather be safe than
sorry, in


   my opinion.

There are five passages in this area; you only want to take the 2nd
and


4th passages from the left.  First, take the 4th passage. 
When you


touch the web beyond it, you'll have to fight a giant spider (Stinger).


When you've killed it, follow the path north to find a chest with an


X Potion inside.  Then go back and take the 2nd passage from the
left.


Kill the Stinger that attacks you when you touch the web and then head


left and down.  As you're going through the tunnel, hold right
and


you'll find an alternate path that leads to yet another treasure chest.


You'll find a Fairy Ring in it.  Go back up to where the web was
and


walk north to find another web.  Past it is the exit, but try
holding


left and Cloud will go along a passage hidden by the rock that leads
to


a chest.  There's an Turbo Ether inside.

When you approach the giant face in the next cavern, it begins to move


and you are attacked.

_________________________________________________________________________


BOSS TIPS: GI*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


Cold and Lightning work nicely on him.  You don't even need to
worry


about your life much; the boss can be taken down before any serious


damage is done to your party.  You'll get a Wizer Staff should


you be successful in battle.


_________________________________________________________________________

Grab the spell Materia (Demi) 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.


 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


  3 . 1 7    r e t u r n   o f  
s e p h i r o t h


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ITEMS IN THIS AREA:  Luck Source x2, Elixir x2, Platinum Fist,
Turbo Ether


                    
Silver M-phone, Twin Viper, Enemy Launcher, Magic


                    
Source, Destruct materia, Rune Blade, Platinum


                    
Barrette, Powersoul, All Materia, Elemental Materia,


                    
Sniper CR, Jem Ring, Counter materia (if you open up


                    
the safe in the mansion, you can get the Cosmo Memory


                    
manual and the 'Summon Odin' materia, not to mention


                    
a Key Item (the gold key).

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 Luck Source.  You can get an Elixir from another one of the
creatures


in the Item Shop, and a second Luck Source if you talk to the small


creatures in the upper floor of the southeastern house.  The large
house


to the east is Tifa's home, and you'll be given a Platinum Fist and
an


Turbo Ether if you talk to the creatures here.  There's a piano
in


Tifa's room that you can fool around with (see section 14 for details).

This next section is optional--you can just continue on through the


mountains if you want.  However, Sephiroth won't show up in the


mansion after you reach Disc 2, meaning you can't nab the Destruct


materia unless you get it from him during the first disc (read below


for details).

Now, go into the large mansion at the edge of town.  Left of the


entrance is a piece of paper written by 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 :)).


You can get the 4th number by chosing the blank space beneath the


first three tips (look at the paper, choose the top option, then move


the cursor down to the blank space and press O).

Head right and look for the sliver of light near the stairway, it's


very hard to see.  It's an opening that leads to the lower section
of


another room.  There's a chest here, with a Silver M-phone inside.


Go back out and go into the northern door beneath the staircase. 
In


the adjoining hall, head right and and up to find a chest with a


Twin Viper in it.  To the left is a room with a broken piano (which


you could have also reached by looking for the opening near the left


staircase in the main room).

Go up the stairs and head left.  In the circular room is a chest
that


has an Enemy Launcher inside.  There's nothing in the northern
room


except for a locked safe--you'll need the right combination in order


to open it (see section 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 Magic Source


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 (Destruct) 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 Rune Blade inside of it.  Now go back and follow the original


path.  You'll notice that just before the bridge, there's a path
that


curves away to the north.  Follow it up into the mountains and
when


it curves south, take that path instead of continuing in the same


direction.  The path curves several times, but eventually you'll
make


it to the top of the mountain, where you can find a chest with a


Plus Barrette.  It may help if you press SELECT so that you can
see


yourself when a mountain is blocking your view, and if you can't seem


to get any further, press in other directions (like down) to scale
the


back of the mountain.

Go back down to the main path and head up the bridge.  Inside the


cavern, take the ladder down instead of the tubes, or you won't be


able to get all the treasure in this area.  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 an Powersoul inside; get it and then press down to jump down


to a lower ledge, then press down again to reach the floor.  Climb
back


up one last time and go into the pipe labled '4' in order to reach
the


treasure chest on the bottom ledge below; there's an All materia


lying within.  Walk against the right edge of the ledge to drop
down


to the floor.

See the path heading south, just below the path that the boss is


blocking?  Follow it to go outside, then try to keep walking and
you'll


drop down to the lower ledge.  Following the path here leads to
a dead


end, so enter the cave instead and take the righthand path once you're


inside.  Ignore the exit at the other end of the cave and work
your way


southwest, then go through the small hole.  Walk up, then left,
then


down in order to reach the treasure chest you could see when you first


came in here.  Inside it is an Elixir.  Now go through the
exit to


arrive at a wooded area.  On the ground, to the left of the mass
of


crystalized Materia is an Elemental materia.  Take it and proceed
north,


going through the opening to go back into the caves.

Inside, head to the right, then go up as far as you can and walk left


past the stone walls to reach a chest containing a Sniper CR. 
Then


go back and take the rightmost passage.  It goes south and leads
you


back to the outside.  From here, head left (going right leads
you to


a dead end).  You'll eventually end up at the Jenova Plant you
visited


in Cloud's flashback.  There's nothing to do inside the plant,
so


continue beyond it to the door set in the rock wall.  Enter it
and


you'll end up back in the chamber with the pipes again.

It's true that you could have taken the door and done this entire


sequence in reverse, but then you couldn't have scaled the ledge and


you would have to go all the way back, instead of taking the express


route like you just did :)  Now climb down and examine the boss,
and


it will attack you.

_________________________________________________________________________


BOSS TIPS: 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 'Choco/Mog' materia as much as you can--it's


ability to stun this boss is very useful.  Physical attacks should
do the


trick if you have good weapons; save your MPs for healing yourselves.


Kealra and All Materia are a good combination (remember to link


them when selecting holders) if you want to stay alive, since the boss


can inflict 300-800 points of damage with its stabbing/mauling attacks.


Also, he can heal himself (around 1000 hp's worth), and use the damaging


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 Enemy Skill materia equipped so


that you can learn this enemy technqiue.  You'll get a Jem Ring
should


you be victorious.


_________________________________________________________________________

After the battle is over, examine the purple materia that is left behind


in order to take it (Counter Attack).  Then follow the path outside--it


leads back to the World Map.


 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


  3 . 1 8    t h e   i n v e n t o r


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ITEMS IN THIS AREA:  Power Source, Yoshiyuki, Drill Arm, Edincoat.

Head southwest, then turn north (you're making a big C around the


mountains).  Keep walking and you'll see Rocket Town up ahead. 
In


the Accessory Shop, you'll recieve a message if you go to the left
end


of the counter and examine it (anyone know what it means?)  If
you go


into the house farthest to the right, you can find a chest with a


Power Source inside of it in next to the stove.  Then talk to
the old man


standing near the house that's just left of the rocket's launch pad.


Talk to him again, and he'll ask you a question.  Pick the top
answer


and the view will pan up to show the rocket.  Then the old geezer
will


give you the Yoshiyuki; it's a weapon for Cloud.

Go into the house to the right of the old man.  This is the home
of


Shiera and Cid, although neither of them are around at the moment.


There's a chest here with a Drill Arm inside it.  If you go out
the


back entrance, you'll find a light airplane in the backyard--it's one


of Cid's inventions, the 'Tiny Bronco'.  After looking at the
airplane,


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 rocket, which tipped over after falling back


onto the lauch pad.

Cid comes back into the house, then Palmer shows up--an employee of


Shinra.  Go outside and you'll run into Rufus and a Shinra guard,
who


have come to 'borrow' the Tiny Bronco.  After Shiera brings you
back


inside the house, go out the back entrance to find Palmer standing



atop the Tiny Bronco.  Talk to him and he'll attack you.


 

_________________________________________________________________________


BOSS TIPS: Palmer                     
LV: 38  HP: 6000  MP: 240

His gun causes a fair amount of damage since it has the effects of Fire
2,


Ice 2, and Bolt 2, so make sure Aeris is in your party or that you


have some Restore Materia.  Use Haste and All on your party as


well as Slow magic and/or Summon Chocobo on him to even the odds a
bit.


You'll want to have Cloud's B2/2 by now--it comes in handy.  Your
prize


for beating Palmer is an Edincoat.


_________________________________________________________________________

After the boss gets wasted (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


Aeris'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 Kjata'


materia there as well as buy some useful bracelets and items (see


section 3u for details).


 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


  3 . 1 9    b e t r a y a l


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ITEMS IN THIS AREA:  Protect Vest, Choco Feather, Elixir.

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 Boudan


Chokki and a Choco Feather, 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 Aeris, it's been


confirmed that you can go on a date with Tifa instead, if you were
nice


to her and mean to Aeris throughout the course of the game.  It's
much


harder to do, but if you have had Yuffie in your party for a while,
she


may wish to date Cloud as well.  If you're really mean to all
the women


in your party, Barret will date you (so be nice!)  It's not what
you


think--just a friendly outing (he had a wife, so what are you thinking


^_^;)  I'll write down the exact method to date each character
when I


learn what they are.

Both times that I've played through this part, it's always been Aeris


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 Aeris will be offered a role in the


upcoming play.  What you do here doesn't affect the game in any
way,


so just pick whatever options you'd like and watch one of the many


humorous endings.  If I wrote it out, it would ruin the fun, so....


Next, you'll ride the gondola in the Round Square.  When Aeris
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 Aeris 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 Tseng.  When confronted by Cloud and Aeris,
Cait


reveals that he is in fact a spy for the Shinra.  He insists that
he


continues to travel with Cloud and his friends because he has taken


Marlene as a hostage back in Midgar (Right?  That's what he seems
to say).

Once Cait Sith leaves, you'll find yourself back in the Ghost Hotel.


Check the iron maiden for an Elixir (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, Aeris will join your party, becoming a permanent member.


Pick another ally and then leave the Saucer, since the ropeway is now


repaired.

Now that you're back at North Corel, leave and return where you parked


the Tiny Bronco.  Look at the World Map.  See the tiny chain
of islands


near the bottom of the map?  Just to the right of them and to
the left


of Mideel and the Fort Condor is a large island.  If you go there,
you'll


see a large temple surrounded by a forest.  This is your next


destination, so land the Tiny Bronco at the shore and head to the temple.


 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


  3 . 2 0    t h e   t e m p l e


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ITEMS IN THIS AREA:  Trident, Mind Source, Silver Rifle, Turbo
Ether x2,


                    
Rocket Punch, Luck Plus materia, Morph materia,


                    
Princess Guard, Ribbon, Hou xx, Mega Elixir, Nail


                    
Bat, Dragon Armlet, 'Summon Bahamut' materia,


                    
Gigas Armlet.

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, Tseng. 
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 Trident inside of it.  From there, head right, go down
the


stairs, then turn and climb up the wall using the vines.  Head
past the


opening (which you can't enter at this point, anyway) and go up the


stairs.  The old man will dash away; ignore him for now and climb
up the


vines to reach a platform.  There's a shiny pink item here (Mind
Source).


Take it and go down the stairs, then enter the door to your left to
find


a room with a treasure chest and the old man.  Inside the chest
is the


Silver Rifle.  Talk to the geezer twice and he'll offer his services


to you:

 - Purchase Items


 - Restore HP and MP to maximum


 - Save your game*


 - Nothing

*  Choose the top option to decline or the bottom option to accept
and


   save your game.

Outside, go back up the stairs and down the vines, but this time, head


down and to the left.  You can pick up a green item here (Turbo
Ether).


Then go down the long stairway.  At the bottom, climb down the
smaller


set of steps to your left, then work your way towards the southwest


corner of the screen.  Ther's a small patch of vines here that
you can


climb down.  Be sure to open the nearby chest; there's a Rocket
Punch


inside of it.  Now, go down the stairs and walk northeast along
the


path to find some more vines and the old man, who scampers away when


you get too close.  Climb up the vines, then go up the stairs
next to


you, go through the archway, turn east and go down the stairs, and


climb up the long stretch of vines on the nearby wall.  Head left,


underneath the staircase, and you can nab a purple materia (Luck Plus).

Now, go back the way you came (go right, down the vines, up the stairs


and down and out through the archway so that you're back on the path


that the old man was standing on, just above the vines).  Walk
to the


east until the path stops, then head south and turn east again to enter


the nearby door.  As you enter, the old man will dash away. 
There are


huge hollow boulders that are rolling down this walkway.  To get
past


them, time your dashes so that the hollow part will be directly over


you, causing Cloud to kneel as the boulder rolls over you.  Then
keep


going until you reach a side path that leads to a pool of water. 
Grab


the Morph materia near the pool, then continue along the


walkway, avoiding the boulders.  Once you reach the end of the
path,


they'll disappear for good, but remember that if you get hit by a


boulder, you'll be dragged all the way back to the beginning of the


path (ouch!)  Alternately, you can wait until the boulders disppear
and


then go back and pick up the materia after the sequnce with Sephiroth.

Once the boulders are gone, Aeris will sense a powerful prescence in


the chamber and return to the pool.  Light will erupt from the
surface


of the pool, and you'll be able to see what I presume is a flashback
of


Tseng and Elena (both Turks) running around in the shrine.  After
Elena


leaves, Sephiroth shows up and creates a double of himself.  While
he


busies himself with attacking Tseng, the laughing double flies up into


the air.  After this sequence is over, Sephiroth's double will
descend


into the pool and then fly away (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 Maiden'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 Song of the Frog from
the


frogs (providing you have a Enemy Skill materia equipped).


_________________________________________________________________________

        II     
-  This passage is blocked off by rocks.  You can't


                  
do anything here, so return and pick another path.

        III    
-  A treasure chest.  It contains monsters, too.


                  
You won't get anything for defeating them.

_________________________________________________________________________


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 Morph equipped, you can morph both of them into


Magic Source items, which is really the only point in fighting this
battle.


Although weak, either enemy can drain _lots_ of HP from you (around
1200-


1400 points!)


_________________________________________________________________________

        IIII    - 
Shouldn't this be IV?  Anyway, there's a chest



                  
here, and Aeris's Ultimate Weapon, the


                  
Princess Guard is inside.

        V      
-  This passage leads outside to the gold chest you


                  
could see but not normally reach.  Inside it is


                  
a Ribbon.

        VI     
-  Read below to find out what to do here.

        VII    
-  There's a chest here.  A weapon for Cait Sith,


                  
the Hou xx, is inside it.

        VIII    - 
You can get a Mega Elixir 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


                                               
(weak against Demi)

Using Demi or some Summon Materia will kill these dragons quickly.


Even physical attacks work well.  Either enemy can only attack
for about


500 points of damage, or use a 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 Turbo Ether for defeating both of them.


_________________________________________________________________________

In the chest is the Nail Bat, the strongest weapon Cloud can get during


Disc 1.  Take it and leave the room.  You'll find yourself
back at the


door you couldn't enter earlier (in the area with the vines and


staircases.  Simply work your way back to the talking clock, and
pick


up any items you might have missed the first time around.

PASSAGE VI


Before going down this passage, make sure you've cleared out the other


rooms since you won't be able to go back to them after the next event.


When you step out into the open, the bouncing old man will see you
and


run away.  When Aeris asks you a question, pick the bottom answer
if


you want to return and explore more of the clock puzzle room (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 pair of Army


Cotton Gloves inside.  As usual, beat the old man at his own game
and


he'll help you in return:

 - Restore HP and MP to maximum


 - Save your game


 - Nothing

Now that you've caught the old man, the large door on the top level
will


open.  Go inside and head to the right.  You'll 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.  Aeris
talks


about the spell 'Meteo' which Sephiroth is planning to cast, when the


party hears Sephiroth's voice.  The temple starts to shake, and
a large


red dragon appears and attacks the allies.

_________________________________________________________________________


BOSS TIPS: 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 Kjata since it will
heal


the boss by about 2100 points.  Also, Demi won't work against
it.


Limit Breaks and physical attacks should do the trick.  You'll
win a


Dragon Armlet should you win the battle.


_________________________________________________________________________

Pick up the summon materia that's left behind (Bahamut).  Then
go back


and examine the floating gold object on the dais.  Aeris refers
to it


as the 'Kuro Materia' (Black Materia) but it's _gold_...in any case,


Aeris 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 Aeris's B1/1 and Cloud's B2/2, and you'll want to


Barrier and Haste yourselves.  Luckily, this boss can't instantly
kill


you as a similar boss in FF2 could.  You'll win a Gigas Armlet
from


this boss if you're victorious.


_________________________________________________________________________

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 Aeris go down into the foundation


of the temple and retrieve the Black Materia, but Sephiroth shows up


and forces Cloud to give the Materia to him.  During this time,
you


control a ghostly image of Cloud as a child.  If you stand in
Cloud's


path and keep talking to him, you'll prevent him from approaching


Sephiroth, but there's no point in doing this since Cloud will continue


to advance until you give up.  After Cloud gives Sephiroth the
Black


Materia, he will attack Aeris (and you can't do anything about that,


either).  Cait Sith will show up (actually Cait Sith 2--the same
person,


but with a new robot body since the first one got trashed when the


temple was destroyed.  He sure got there fast, huh?)  Then
your other


party member will leap down and prevent Cloud from killing Aeris.

After what I take to be a dream sequence, you'll awake in, of all


places, the inn at Gongaga Town, with Barret and Tifa by your side.


Answer Barret's question any way you like, then go outside.  Tifa
and


Barret will join your party, but you don't have to keep them as


permanent members.  Look for the Tiny Bronco on the southern shore
near


Gongaga Town.

Also, Aeris has left your party for good.  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.


 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


  3 . 2 1    e x c a v a t o r s '  
s i t e  /  t h e   f o r e s t


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ITEMS IN THIS AREA:  'Summon Kjata' materia, Water Ring.

Make your way up to the Northern Continent by going around the left
side


of the Western Continent after going along the river by the Gold Saucer.

Head to the right edge of the continent, where you'll find a forest


surrounded by mountains.  In the middle of the forest is a big
rib cage


and a large skull.  Approach it, and you'll find yourself in a
excavation


site where a bunch of archaeologists spend their time digging. 
Before


doing anything else, you might want to head up the ladder and go through


the hole in the back to reach 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 Kjata 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 Water Ring inside.  Climb
up the


rocks near the pink mass of coral, then go through the fallen trunk
and


head north to reach the next area (you can't climb up the vine in the


first area, so ignore it).  Walk along the curving path and you'll
find


yourself back in the World Map, in the canyon near the forest. 
Head


straight forward to the top-like object to continue your quest.


 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


  3 . 2 2    a n c i e n t   c i t y


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ITEMS IN THIS AREA:  Magic Source, Aurora Armlet, Comet materia,
Guard


                    
Up, Elixir, Enemy Skill materia, Wizard


                    
Brace.

This area looks a lot like the floor of the sea; there's shells and
coral


everywhere.  At the crossroads, take the left path.  It leads
to a stone


building--inisde of the building is a Save Point, and there's a chest
on


the upper ledge with a Magic Source 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
an


Aurora Armlet in it.  You can check out the blue crystal if you
want,


but there's nothing you can do with it at this point in the game. 
Return


to the crossroads and take the middle path.  Enter the shell building
and


climb the spiraling walkway to the very to to find a green materia
lying


on the ground (Comet).  Go back to the crossroads yet again and
take


the right road.  It leads to an area with several shell buildings. 
Go


all the way to the right, then go north to enter the building before
you.


Climb all the way to the top level.  There's a chest here containing
a


Guard Source.

There's nothing else to do in this area but enter the last shell house;


your friends won't let you take the path leading out of the city, and


the main path leads to another part of the chamber with the blue crystal,


but there's nothing you can do there.  So, if you're ready to
proceed,


enter the shell house to the right of the main path.  On the ground


floor is a chest holding an Elixir.  Take it and climb up the
ladder.


When you approach the beds, you'll be given an option.  You can
choose


the bottom option, grab the yellow materia behind the headboard of
the


third bed (Enemy Skill), exit the house, then enter it again,


approach the beds, and choose the top option to go to sleep. 
Or, you can


just pick the top option the first time around, go to sleep, and when
you


wake up in the night, grab the materia (it's easier to see at night,
too).


Originally, I though this was a 'bug' materia (don't I feel silly now),


but it's not.

No matter what you decide to do, go to sleep when you're ready to.


You'll wake up in the middle of the night.  After Cloud's companions
join


him, return to the crossroads a final time and take the middle path
again.


When you enter the shell building, the fish floating in the middle
of the


spiraling passageway will have disappeared; there are blue steps in
it's


place.  Go down them and you'll find yourself in an underwater
palace.


At the bottom of the stairs, leave the building and take note of the
Save


Point before going down both sets of stairs below.

Aeris'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 Aeris, Cloud has another
spastic


fit and will draw his sword.  You can press the controller and
the


buttons to make Cloud do different things, but pressing O three times


will make him try to strike Aeris.  Luckily, he'll come to his
senses


beforehand with some help from his friends, but Sephiroth makes an


appearance and attacks Aeris.  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 Earth and Titan. 

Also,


Comet, Bahamut, and Kjata all work very well.  Physical attacks
do a


surprising amount of damage.  The boss will cast Reflect on itself
the


first time you cast a spell on it, so be wary about using spells too


often.  Jenova*Life's attacks are not that strong (about 400-700
points),


but it has an ultra-deadly blue bubble attack (Aqua Breath) that inflicts


+1500 damage to each character.  Be sure to have some Restore
Materia


handy.  Considering it's the last boss on this disc, this is not
a very


hard battle.  You'll get a Wizard Bracelet when you win the battle.


_________________________________________________________________________

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 .    D  I  S  C     
T W O      W  A  L  K  T 
H  R  O  U  G  H


=========================================================================


 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


  4 . 1      t h e   c a v
e


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ITEMS IN THIS AREA:  Viper Halberd, Bolt Armlet, HypnoCrown,


                    
Mega Elixir, Magic Plus materia, Power Source.

You'll start off outside of one of the shell-shaped buildings on the
east


side of the Ancient City.  If you walk to the left, Cloud will
have


another attack and you'll see the ghostly form of Sephiroth leaving
the


Ancient City.  Once Cloud has recovered, follow Sephiroth by heading


north, then east along the path you couldn't take before.  Note
that


you're free to go back through the Forest and return to the World Map,


but there's no point in doing so unless you wanted to buy some items
or


find Vincent or Yuffie (unless you already have them).  Although
you're


now on Disc 2, none of the other events that occur in this disc will


actually happen until you get the Highwind in section 4e (meaning that
if


you were to return to the World Map, you couldn't go on the Huge materia


quests yet, dig up the Gate 5 Key, or bring Buugen Haagen back to the


Ancient City).

In the next area, ignore the white, spiked object for a moment. 
Instead,


walk behind it (look for a path to your left).  This will allow
you to


reach a chest containing a Viper Halberd (a weapon for Cid). 
Once


you've gotten it, climb up the spiky object.  It's a little tricky
to


navigate due to it's spiraling shape, but you'll eventually reach a


cave entrace after making your way to the top.

Inside, walk to the left and press against the second cleft in the wall.


You'll climb to the top and be given two options (Right or Left). 
Pick


the bottom option (Left).  Walk over to the next cleft and climb
up it,


then choose the bottom option when you reach the top to land on a litte


ledge with a chest above it.  You can open the chest from where
you are;


there's a Bolt Armlet inside.  Face the cleft and choose the bottom


choice, then the top one to jump to the other side.  Now, go to
the right


and when two options appear, pick the bottom one.  This lets you
climb


down to where the first chest is; there's a HypnoCrown inside of it.


Climb back up to the top of the cleft, pick the bottom option, then
press


against it to try and get back on.  When two optoins appear, choose
the


top one.  Then, make your way up to the ledge with the chest,
and pick


the top option.  You can now take the Mega Elixir from inside
the chest.


Get back into the cleft and choose the bottom option to jump to the
west


side of the path.  Work your way to the left, climb up the cleft,
and


head left a second time to reach a long ladder.  Selecting the
bottom


option will left you climb down to the bottom of the ladder.

If you search using the O button, you'll find a purple materia (Magic
Plus)


near the lower-left corner of the screen.  When you approach the
ladder,


you'll automatically climb up to the ledge you were at.  Now pick
the top


option after nearing the ladder and climb all the way to the top. 
Once


you're off the ladder, run to the right and go through the opening
on the


north wall.  In the next room, take the contents of the treasure
chest


(Power Source) before exiting through the far opening to the northwest.

Once outside, keep to the east.  After heading along the coastline


for a while, you'll come across a sharp curve that turns to the west.


Just beyond it is a village and a deep valley, which you can't enter


without exploring the village (Icicle Lodge) first.


 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


  4 . 2      i c i c l e  
l o d g e


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ITEMS IN THIS AREA:  X Potion, Hero Drink, Vaccine, Turbo Ether.

Go to the far end of town and talk to the man in purple standing near


the trees.  Pick the top option.  Two Shinra members will
show up, along


with Elena (a Turk).  After confronting Cloud, she will try to
knock him


out.  To avoid her strike, press left just after you see the transparent


message box.  If she does hit you, you'll wake up in one of the
houses,


but if she doesn't, then she'll roll right out of the town.  It
doesn't


make a difference whether you get hit or not.

After that's done with, go to town entrance and check out the house


that's just to your right.  In the back room, there's a boy, a
cat,


and a snowboard.  Talk to the boy and the cat will leave the room,


enabling you to take the snowboard by examining it.  You'll need
it for


the upcoming event.  Now, go to the inn, head to the upper floor,
and


examine the window in the lower left-hand corner to get an X Potion.


Leave and enter the house on the far right (near the snowman). 
Take


the items in the back room (an Hero Drink and a Vaccine), then


examine the map on the wall in the main room.  You can examine
it by


choosing the top option, but before you leave, you'll want to choose


the bottom option to take it.

Finally, go into the house on the left side of town, just to the right


of the weapons shop.  If Elena KO'd you, this is where you'll
wake


up :)  If you go down the stairs and look by the windowsill, you
can


get another item (Turbo Ether).   You can also take a look
at the


machinery on the ground floor to see a series of pre-recorded videos


dating back many years ago; they show Aeris's mother (Ifaruna, a Setora


just like Aeris) and her father, a 'renegade' Shinra scientist named


Gasuto (Gast).  There are several videos, but watching them has
no


effect on the game itself, aside from cluing you in to Aeris's past


(providing you can read it :))  There's a device to the left that
will


allow more light into the room, but it doesn't seem to have any purpose


(NSS).

Before you leave the town, you may want to buy weapons, Hi-Potions


and Tents at the shop.  When you're ready to go, simply walk past
the


man in the back of town (the one near the trees), and the snowboard


sequence will start up:

Your controls while using the snowboard are:

S              
Brake


X              
Jump


Pad            
Move left or right, down to brake


Start           Pause/unpause


L1/R1           Quick
turn to the left or right when used


               
with control pad

Basically, you want to make your way through the mountains.  You
can


collect balloons along the way, but I don't know what they do for you.


There are also obstacles to crash into, like dead wood, pine trees,


igloos, moogles, snowmen, rocks, ice boulders, and chocobos. 
I believe


there are four different 'exit' paths; I'll take the left path twice


and go from there in this FAQ.

My characters came to in a white forest.  Did yours?  From
this point


onward, you can press S to look at the map you took (but not in some


screens), which shows where you need to go but not where you are. 
I


spent hours trying to map this place out, only to discover that there's


almost nothing of interest in this area.  So, I've simply described
each


location and where it is on the map; getting there isn't much of a


problem.  Your ultimate goal, BTW, is to make it to the red check
mark


shown on the map.

The locations are:

ENTRANCE  (looks like a square at the bottom-center of the screen)


Heading south from this area takes you back out to the World Map. 
If


you return to Icicle Lodge to heal yourself, you'll have to snowboard


in here again.

MOUNTAIN CAVE  (small opening just to the right of the ENTRANCE)


You can hop across the ledges to the top of the screen, but in the
next


room, there's nothing to do but choose to fall/not fall down an icy


chute that has no effect aside from ejecting you back into the world


map.  The entrance to this cave is hard to see; it's in the lower-right


area of the T-junction screen.  You can also get here by going
right


from the LAKE CAVE area.

FOREST  (forest divided by Y-shaped paths)


In the main forest screen, there's an item (Mind Source) at the foot
of a


tree near the upper left part of the screen.  If this is where
you


landed after the snowboarding event, then it's just up and to the right


of where you crashed.

BURIED AIRPLANE  (tail of plane sticking out to left of forest)


Nothing here.

LAKE CAVE  (cave in the middle of the central lake)


On the surface of the frozen lake, near the shore, there is a green


item (a Potion).  Be sure to get it.  Then head to the left
to reach


a screen full of ice floes.  Here, you'll have to jump on the
floating


ice chunks to get across, but the chunks surrounding the one you're


currently standing on will submerge or raise depending on how they


looked when you arrived there.  If you mess up and they are all


submerged, you'll have to start all over.  The key is to make
sure that


you're not jumping onto a floe when the ones surrounding it are all


raised, or else they'll all submerge and you'll fall into the water.


To get on the ice floats, choose the top option, then use the O button


and the controller to jump around.  Enter the cave in the next
area,


grab the item bag (it contains a Safety Bit accessory), and leave.

LONE TREE  (pine tree up and right from the LAKE CAVE)


Nothing here, either.

ICE BOULDERS  (northwest corner, left and below the STONE FACE)


Go into the small cave entrance and grab the item in the northwest


corner of the cavern (an Elixir), then go out the other entrance.

RIVER LOG  (above central lake, at mouth of river)


There's nothing here.

STONE FACE  (left of the red check mark)


Nothing here.  Seem familiar?  The stone face has also appeared
in


Secret of Mana and FF5j.

STEAMING LAKES  (south and east of the check mark)


You can touch the water on the lefthand bank if you want.  In
fact,


you should, since you can't get the Alexander Materia any other way.


(Keep reading for details.) Just maneuver yourself as close to the


shore of the left lake as you can, and when an option appears, pick


the top one.

MOUNTAIN CROSSROADS  (top of mountain east of the STEAMING LAKES)


Once you reach the crossroads (da dum da da :))  head to the upper


right corner of the screen to go off the map.  In the next area,


work your way up and to the left.  When this screen repeats a
second


time, look for a Blue Materia (Added Cut) near the beginning


of the screen, in the upper-right part of the path.  This road
takes


you to the Steaming Lakes area, but if you try to back the way you


came, you'll see that the screen has changed.  Put another way,
you


couldn't have gotten the Materia unless you took this path since the


'switching' road isn't marked on the map.

If you're fast, you can reach the 'lost in the snowfield' section (the


red checkmark) before anything bad happens.  But if you waste
your time


in this area, you'll pass out.  (This will still happen to you
even if


you reached the snowfield, but then returned to any part of the 'first


area'.  If that happens, go to the next section.  If you
made it to the


snowfield area, then skip the first paragraph to find out where you
are.

Personally, my suggestion is that you follow the example in the FAQ


and take the left path twice so that you land in the Forest. 
From


there, you can go right to the Lake Cave area, then continue right


past the Mountain Cave area (the T-junction), and up into the Mountain


Crossroads, where you can take the switching path to the Steaming


Lakes, and then head left into the snowfield.  Not only is this
a


fast way to get through this area, but it also lets you pick up all


the items along the way and get the Alexander Materia later on (since


you touched the lake on your way out).

Also, you'll start off at the bottom end of the snowfield when you first


get there, so you can just head up to the cave to get the Blue Materia,


then keep heading north to reach the old man's shack (if you're in
need


of healing and a Save Point).  After talking with him, you can
go to the


Stone Face Area, head south to the Ice Boulders area where an Elixir
is,


then backtrack to the snowfield and go to the right in order to get
the


Alexander Materia before returning to the shack.  Voila! 
You've just


cleared out this _entire_ area in only a few minutes!

Remember, you _will_ pass out eventually if you return to the first


area--there's nothing you can do about it, even if you've already


gone to Horuzofu's shack.  If you don't want to waste too much
time


backtracking just run around in the same few areas until it happens,


then leave the old man's shack and continue exploring.  Why this
still


happens to you after clearing out this area doesn't seem to make much


sense, as it's more of a nuisance than anything else, but there's not


much you can do about it.  If you return to the first area after


falling unconsious and wait around there again, you'll pass out a


second time.  In fact, this will always happen to you, so get
moving!


 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


  4 . 3      l o s t   i n  
t h e   s n o w


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ITEMS IN THIS AREA:  All Materia, Circlet, Alexander Materia.

You'll awake in the house of an old man (Horuzofu).  Go up the
stairs


and let the old man talk to you; choose the bottom option twice when
he


asks you two questions.  When you wake up the next morning, check
out


the Save Point (since you probably haven't saved prior to entering
the


Icicle Lodge).  If you want to spend the night again, talk to
the old


man in the first room and choose the top choice.  When you leave
the


shack, your friends will be waiting outside.  Make a new party
if you


wish, (see below for directions) then head south.  You may have
noticed


that you can talk to the man from the ground floor even though he is


above you :)

If you _didn't_ pass out, then go directly to the shack so that you


won't pass out.  There, you'll meet an old hermit named Horuzofu.


Talk to him, and when he asks you a question, answer any way you like.


The second time he asks you a question, choose the bottom reply.


You'll spend the night at his shack, and when you leave the next


morning, your allies will be standing around outside.  Choose
either


choice when an option appears.  Then talk to any member and pick
the


top option to accept a party change or the bottom option to decline,


if you want to change your members.

If you don't want to explore the snowfield any more, skip to section
d.


After all, you can return here at any future point in the game,


providing you have the Highwind.

Outside, you'll be in a large snowfield.  Use the O button to set
down


spikes that you can use to track your location (since your direction


changes when the wind picks up).  If you want to explore the rest
of


that first area that you left/passed out in, head south.  When
you leave


the first area from the Steaming Lakes exit, you'll see a rock formation


with a cave entrance if you keep walking north.  Inside, a Blue
Materia


(All) is lying near the tent.  What's odd is that you seem to


always run into this on your way back from the first area instead of
on


the way to it (i.e. from the old man's shack).

If you head east, you'll go through some snowy areas, then arrive at
a


cave entrance.  Talk to the purple fellow inside to enter a battle,
but


only if you touched the water back at the Steaming Lakes.

_________________________________________________________________________


BOSS TIPS: SUNOU                         
LV: 32  HP: 4000  MP: 160


                                               
(weak against Fire)

You can't Control or Morph her, but you can steal a Saakuretto


(Circlet) during the battle.  Her cold-based attacks (Cold Breath
and


Blizzard 2) are nothing to worry about, but be careful if she Amulets


one of your own members.


_________________________________________________________________________

If you are victorious, she'll disappear and a Summon Materia (Alexander)


will drop to the floor, so don't miss it.  While you can use the
map here,


you can't reach this place normally from the first area.  If you
go right,


then down the snowy path, you'll end up at the 'switching' crossroads
in


the first area, though (sort of like a one-way path).

Going west from the snowfield takes you to an alternate entrance to
the


first area.  There's not that much to do there, anyway, unless
you want


a shortcut to the ICE BOULDERS area where an item is lying in a cave


(refer to the previous section for more information).

If you're really having trouble navigating around, think of the


snowfield like this:

                      
Old Man's Shack


              
+-----------------------------+


           
S  |                            
|  A


         1  t  |                            
|  l  M


         s  o  |                            
|  e  a         N


         t  n  |                            
|  x  t         |


           
e  |                            
|  a  e     W-- + --E


         A    
|                            
|  n  r         |


         r  F  |      
Cave                 
|  d  i         S


         e  a  |                            
|  e  a


         a  c  |                            
|  r


           
e  |                            
|


              
+-----------------------------+


                
First Area (Steaming Lakes)

So no matter how far you are along a boundary, you'll still enter that


area when you hit it.  The same applies to the corners -- you'll
hit


one boundary or the other, so going in a diagonal direction won't get


you to a new place.  Don't worry about finding an 'exact' spot
to enter


an area, just head in that direction.  The only real landmark
is the


cave with the All materia, but if you head north from the


Steaming Lakes exit, you're bound to spot it.


 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


  4 . 4      t h e   c r a
t e r  /  t o r n a d o   l a b y r i n t h


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ITEMS IN THIS AREA: Ribbon, Javelin, Elixir, Fire Armlet,


                   
Mega Elixir, Speed Source, Enhance Sword, Fang of


                   
Dragon Pair, Neo Bahamut, Ether, Hi-Potion,


                   
Kaiser Knuckle, Reflect Ring, MP Turbo materia,


                   
Poison Ring.

Once you've had your fun in the snowfield, return to the old man's


house and heal up or save your game if you need to.  Then, go
north


from the shack to arrive at the slopes of a icy mountain.  Keep
in


mind that you can't explore this area at any time other than right


now in Disc 2, so make sure to get all the items and other stuff.

Now, get ready for some finger-smashing fun!  the meter that appears
on


screen when you're outside is your body temperature (the kanji you
see


by the numbers, 'do' actually means 'degrees'): it goes down because
of


the cold climate.  To keep your temperature up, you need to rapidly
hit


the S button.  The highest temperature you can get to is 38, while
the


lowest is 27.  Any less than that (26), and you pass out and find


yourself back in the old man's house.  It sounds like keeping
your heat


up is easy, but you can only increase it when you're on one of the


ledges, not while you're climbing up the rock face.  So for those
long


climbs, you have to max out your heat and climb as quickly as you can.


Luckily, your heat doesn't go down during a battle. Remember, it's
not


how hard you press the S button, but how fast you press it, so try
to


get in as many presses as you can to max out your temperature. 
If you'd


rather cheat, refer to the Game Shark code section in the second part


of this FAQ--one of my 'fix-all' codes is in there that will give you
a


high body heat no matter how long you stand around.

In this area, there's nowhere else to go but up, so climb along the


rock face until you arrive at the cave entrance, pausing at each ledge


to restore your body heat.  Always keep an eye out for the red
flags;


they indicate which part of the wall you can climb.  Inside, go
through


the two archways into the next cavern.  Here, climb up the stairs
and


go through the south exit.  In the adjoining area, walk all the
way to


the right to find a hidden chamber with a chest; inside it is a Ribbon.


Then return to the main path and head north, then west, through the


entrance.  Cross the icy bridge in the third cavern and press
the


SELECT button to bring up the cursor; it'll help you navigate through


the twsiting passage before you.  Once you reach the top, examine
the


boulder and choose the top option when it presents itself.  This
will


make you push the boulder and free up the blocked passage beneath you.


You can still move while the boulder is rolling--notice that you can


stand right where it falls and you will recieve no damage (then again,


Cloud is the same guy who can run around in the cold wearing a


sleeveless shirt and not die of hypothermia...must be those corn


flakes).

Go back to the other room (where you got the Ribbon), and open the


purple chest to the northeast; there's a Javelin lying inside it. 
Now,


return to the room that you exited from the south (the one with the


formerly blocked passage), and go north along the passage until you


reach another exit.  This leads to the upper path above the chest
with


the Javelin--keep following it and you'll find yourself outside.

Build up your temperature, then climb up the wall.  After going
a short


distance, you're given a choice (up, down, or right).  Pick the
top


option (up), and head up until you reach a ledge.  Keep climbing
upward,


and you'll be prompted with another choice (right or down).  Pick
the


top option and head right to arrive at another ledge.  Then climb
up


until you raech the next ledge; it has a path going left and an


unmarked path that goes to the right (i.e. there's no flag by it). 
The


right path is a dead end, so take the left path and keep climbing up


along the wall (you'll find another ledge on the way) until you reach
a


second cave entrace.

This large cavern is pocked with holes.  There's an exit and a
treasure


chest, but they are too high to reach, at the moment.  Don't miss
the


Save Point between the chest and the exit.  Nab the other chest
in the


lower right corner of the room (there's an Elixir inside of it), then
go


north from the chest to find a passage that leads outside.  
Once you're


out in the open again, head north, then go around the bend and head


south and east.

In the next room, examine the area immediately to the right to find
a


chest with an Fire Armlet inside.  There are four huge icicles


here that you need to knock into the holes in the lower cavern. 
This is


done by 'fighting' them.  Each icicle is guarded by several yellow
bats.

_________________________________________________________________________


TIPS:  TSURARA                      
LEVEL: 30  HP: 3000  MP: 300


                                 
(weak agains Fire, Earth, and Demi)


       IBIRUHEDDO                 
LEVEL: 28  HP: 740  MP: 45

The icicle (Tsurara) can counter with 'Tsurara Otoshi' (Icicle Drop).


It will do this to any person who attacks it, tries to steal from it,
or


the like.  You don't have to kill the bats in order to win the
battle


(all you have to do is 'kill' the icicle), but since they can Silence


your characters and recover HP when they attack you, you may want to
get


them out of the way before attacking the icicle.  Killing the
icicle is


worth 500 exp, 0 AP, and 0 gil, so if you want some AP and gil, you
may


want to kill the Ibiruheddos (which, incidentally, you can Morph


into Holy Torches.


_________________________________________________________________________

Each time you win a battle, you'll be given an option.  If you
pick the


bottom choice, you'll drop down to the room below, while picking the
top


choice lets you stay where you are (so you can continue to 'fight'
the


other icicles.  After knocking down the last icicle, choose to
stay


where you are so that you can get the chest on the far left (it has
a


Mega Elixir inside).  Then, go back along the path.  Just
before you


reach the door, an option appears; pick the bottom choice to jump down


to the room below.

When the icicles drop down here, the floor of the cavern is 'raised'.


After knocking down 3 of them, you can reach the exit, knock down all


4 and you can get the chest on the ledge in the upper left corner of


the room (which contains a Speed Source).  When you're ready,
go through


the now-avilable exit by hopping across the stones.  This leads
to the


left side of the outer path.  Be sure to examine the chest that's
here


to get an Enhance Sword, then follow the path as it curves back on


itself and leads to the lower passage in the icicle room.

Keep following the path, and you'll find yourself on the side of the


mountain yet again.  Grab the rock face and climb to the right.


After a while, three options will appear (up, left, or right). 
Pick


the bottom choice and keep holding right to make Cloud ascend the


side of the mountain.  When you reach the next ledge, raise your


temperature and take the path that leads to the left.  As you're


climbing, another set of options will appear (up, down, or right).


Choose the top option and keep climbing up.  Once you've made
it


beyond the second ledge, you'll find a final cave entrance.

This area has a hard-to-miss Save Point in it, and if you examine the


nearby pool of light, your HP and MP will be completely restored, and


all dead characters will be revived.  Now is a perfect time to
stock


up on goodies--you can use the pool to stay healthy while fighting
the


enemies for exp, AP, and gil, and you can learn Smelly Breath from
the


Molbols just outside (be sure to wear a Ribbon!)  Plus, you can
win


Dragon Armlets from the Blue Dragons in this cave, which will halve


damage taken from Fire, Cold, or Lightning attacks, and win Molbol


Tentacles from defeated Molbols.  There's a boss encounter coming
your


way, so make sure you're ready to do battle, then exit the chamber
by


going to the far right.

In the adjoining hallway, you'll see one of those shrouded creatures


(similar to the ones in Nivelheim be thrown to the floor.  Before
you


have a chance to examine it, you'll be attacked by a two-headed boss.

_________________________________________________________________________


BOSS TIPS: TSUINHEDDO    LV: 43 
HP: 18000  MP: 350


           TSUINHEDDO 
   LV: 43  HP: 18000  MP: 350

In case you're confused, the 'right head' is the scaly one, and the
'left


head' is the one with horns.  Anyway, you should have the Aurora,
Dragon,


and Fire Armlets equipped on your members to reduce damage from


the scaly head's Fire breath and the horned head's ice breath. 
Use


Mabarrier to up your defense, then Haste yourselves.  Try using
Earth and


Comet spells, as well and summonings, like Alexander, Leviathan, and


Bahamut to soften the boss up.  However, don't use Poison (which
does no


damage) or the Kjata summon spell (which will heal both heads). 
Ice


works well on the scaly head, and Fire works well on the horned head,


but don't confuse the two since you will heal a head instead of hurt
it.


You may also want to use Tsuika Kouka and attack a Fire or Cold materia


in order to attack with that sort of element (but don't attack the


other head, for the same reason).  In addition to breath attacks,
the


boss can also use a dual cold/Fire breath attack, it can cast Quega,


and has an explosion type attack that will inflict around 1400 damage


to all members.  It will use this attack when each head is killed
(so


you will have to deal with it twice during the battle, once when you


kill one head, and then again when you kill the other).  I highly


advise that you concentrate on one head at first instead of trying
to


kill them both at the same time because this attack _will_ kill your


pary if it happens in succession (which means you lose).  When
it's


defeated, you'll get a Dragon Fang from the boss.


_________________________________________________________________________

If you were badly beaten during the fight, you can always return to
the


room with the pool to heal yourselves.  Otherwise, continue down
the


passage; it leads outside (Cloud sure moves slow out here, doesn't
he?)


Then climb the icy wall up to the top, where an automatic sequence
will


play.  After it finishes, head along the side of the inner crater. 
In


the next area, Tifa will talk with you if she's in your party; if she


isn't, she'll promptly appear and insist on coming with you, which


means you'll have to kick a member out of your current group. 
Head


to the left.

In the next area, climb down to the lower path and look for a red materia


(Neo Bahamut) near the bottom edge of the screen.  You can't do


anything about the shrouded guy leaping off-screen, so ignore him. 
After


getting the materia, you can hop up to a small island of rock where
there


is a Save Point.  When you're done there, juMP Plus again to return
to the


top path, and walk to the left.  You'll see a short intermission
with


the three heads of Shinra and several scientists heading towards the


Crater in the Highwind, the airship you saw back in Junon Town.

Once the intermission is over, walk left and you'll reach the first
of


three 'shield' screens.  Talk to the two shrouded men, and they'll


each leave behind an item when they die (an Ether and a Hi-Potion).


To get past the flickering shield that's in front of you, stand as
close


to it as you can, then wait until the green aura is almost gone. 
Now,


quickly run through it or you'll be knocked back when the shield's
aura


grows stronger.  If you mess up, you'll be repelled by the shield
and


will be attacked by a monster:

_________________________________________________________________________


TIPS:  UINDOUINGU                   
LV: 36  HP: 1900  MP: 350

For starters, you can steal a Hi-Potion from the Wind Wing, and you
can


transform it into a Phoenix Down.  Even better, you can control
it using


a Manipulate materia and make it attack itself!  In other words,
this is


an easy battle.


_________________________________________________________________________

If you happen to touch the shield from the other side, you'll get


knocked back to the beginning, so be careful.

In the next screen, more of those shrouded creatures are running around


and dying.  Ignore them, but don't miss the chest near the first
left


turn of the path; there's a Kaiser Knuckle inside it.  Follow
the path


until you reach the next screen.  The second shield is here, but
unlike


the first one, there's a surge of energy travelling along the shield


that will knock you back even if the shield's aura is almost gone. 
So,


wait until the energy surge has passed _and_ the aura is nearly


invisible, then dash across.  If either defense knocks you back,
you'll


have to fight a second Wind Wing (see the above strategy).

Beyond the shield, Sephiroth awaits.  He'll cut down two more of
those


black creatures before turning invisible and toying around with Cloud.


After he attacks the party, he'll summon a second version of Jenova
to


kill Cloud and his friends.

_________________________________________________________________________


BOSS TIPS: JENOBA*DEATH          
LV: 55  HP: 25000  MP:800

Jenova will try to Silence your members from time to time, and uses
a


Red Light attack often (usually after being attacked with magic). 
It


causes little damage, but too many of these will really mess up your


party.  Jenova's last form of attack is a spurt of fire bubbles
(even


weaker than the Red Light attack).  As you can see, this battle
is not


hard at all; just hack away with physical attacks, or if you think
you


have enough HPs, use Comet and cast Bahamut, Neo Bahamut, and


Alexander.  It's advisable that you wear the Fire Armlet or


Dragon Armlet, since Jenova's attacks all cause Fire-based damage.


Give the Fire Armlet to your best spellcaster, and you can


knock out Jenova and gain life back at the same time :)  You'll
win


a Reflect Ring when the battle's over.


_________________________________________________________________________

After the boss is killed, you'll get the Black Materia back (and it's


actually black this time :))  Once you're back in control of Cloud,


he confesses that since Sephiroth was able to manipulate him last time,


he might try it again.  Therefore, someone else should hold the
Black


Materia and stay here while Cloud and the others follow after Sephiroth.


The first time I got here, only Red 13 would take the Black Materia.


This time, only Barret would.  No matter what character you get,
simply


choose the top option when it is available (you won't get an option
if


that character refuses to take it).  Finally, talk to Tifa.

When you're in control of Cloud again, head north.  There's a materia


here (MP Turbo, but notice that it's yellow when you pick it up!),
as


well as a Save Point and a chest containing a Poison Ring.  If
you go


north from here, you'll run into the third and final shield.  
In


addition to having all the defenses of the previous shield (the glowing


aura and the moving energy surge), bolts of lightning will strike the


ground repeatedly.  Since the lightning strikes in short bursts
with


long pauses in between, wait for the shield's aura to fade, the energy


surge to pass, _and_ wait for a pause in the lightning strikes before


attempting to pass through the shield.  If you're hit by any one
of


those defenses, you'll have to fight a Wind Wing again (refer to the


strategy section above).  Once you're past the shield, head along
the


path.  It leads to an exact replicate of Nivelheim.

This next scene is sorta like a 'semi-interactive' flashback. 
You get


to see Sephiroth run around in Nivelheim, but this time, there's another


guy following him (Zekkusu, the guy you heard about in Gongaga Village).


Talk to your other party member, then to Tifa.  In the next scene,


Zekkusu will look around Nivelheim (which has been reduced to smoldering


rubble), and chat with Zangan (sp?), who I think was Tifa's mentor.


(BTW, you can go to the Main Menu while Zekkusu is running around. 
It's


pointless, but I thought it was sort of amusing :))  Then, your
party


appears in a flaming building, and Sephiroth appears.  Instead
of


attacking, he talks to the party.  When you can move, talk to
Sephiroth


and he'll teleport around the room.  When you're in control of
Cloud once


more, talk to Tifa twice.  Sephiroth warps around some more, then
shows


Cloud a picture of him, Tifa, and Zekkusu.  After that, Cloud
has another


fit, and the screen fades out.

In the next scene, Rufus, Scarlet, and Hojo (the scientist)


arrive at the crater.  Before them is a monster encased in ice. 
It's


one of the three 'Weapons', which awakens and watches them, then starts


moving.  Following that, Sephiroth appears in the guise of Tifa
and


knocks out the other characters, then tricks whoever is guarding the


Black Materia to go to the center of the crater.  Your party will


appear in the area where the Shinra members are at, and the person
with


the Black Materia gives it to Cloud, who then flies to the structure


where Sephiroth is at (while you can move around up here, the game
takes


over your controls in a few seconds anyway).  Once Cloud's given
the


Black Materia to Sephiroth, the whole crater starts to break apart
and


your party (sans Cloud) escape on the Highwind along with the rest
of


the Shinra crew.


 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


  4 . 5      j u n o n   t
o w n   a t t a c k e d !


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ITEMS IN THIS AREA: Enemy Skill materia, Chocobo Attract


                   
Materia, Fourth Bracelet, Yoshiyuki (if you


                   
didn't get it the first time).  Note that none of


                   
these items are actually found in Junon Town, but


                   
since I talk about them in this section, they're


                   
listed here.

When you come to, you'll find yourself incarcerated back in Junon Town.


Without Cloud, you'll be taking control of Barret and Tifa for most
of


this section.  As Tifa, talk to Barret.  Rufus and Haidekka
will show


up.  Now that you're in control of Barret, follow Tifa as the
guards take


her away (don't miss the Save Point), and prepare to execute her. 
Once


Junon Town is attacked by the freed Weapon, one of the Shinra officials


knocks out Scarlet.  It's turns out to be none other than Cait
Sith,


who helps Barret fight the two soldiers who are guarding him.

_________________________________________________________________________


TIPS:  xxxx                                    
LV: 34  HP: 1300  MP: 100


       xxxx                                    
LV: 34  HP: 1300  MP: 100

Physical attacks will do the trick here, although you can control them


if you want.  If this battle gives you trouble, you need to gain
some


levels at some point in the game.


_________________________________________________________________________

Notice how the guard will run away and disappear after the battle? 
I


guess that glitch went unnoticed...anyway, examine the door in the
lower


right corner of the screen and use the controller or the O button to
make


Barret try to pull it open.  An FMV sequence follows in which
the Sister


Ray is readied and Junon Town prepares to engage the approaching Weapon.


When it collides with the city, gas starts pumping into the chamber
Tifa


is trapped in.  When you're in control of Barret, go and talk
to Cait


Sith.  Then go out the door and when it closes, head right, then
out the


door.  Outside, head down the road.  If you got Yuffie, she'll
be here


masquerading as a newscaster; talk to her and continue to your left.


Once the Weapon has rose out of the water, continue to the left until


you arrive at the Airport.  Then, run to the center platform and
examine


the yellow box to be lifted to the upper level.  From there, continue


towards the airship by heading right.

When you're in control of Tifa again, you have to pick up the key on


the ground so you can free yourself from the gas chamber.  Your


controls are:

S       Move right arm


X       Move feet


O       Move left arm


T       Move Tifa's head

You'll need to press the buttons in this order:  X, X, T, X+T,
T+O, O.


(Or, press X, X, T, X+T, T+S, S if you want to free her other hand


instead...it makes no difference).

Pressing them has the following effect:

When you press X, Tifa will stretch out her legs.  Pressing X a
second


time makes her drag the key towards her.  Then press T to sit
back in


the chair.  Then press T and X at the same time (you don't need
to hold


them, just press them), and she'll lift the key up with her feet and


take hold of it with her teeth at the same time.  After that,
T+O


together will make her free her arm using the key.  Finally, press
O


so that she can grab the key and use it to release her other arm.

Feel free to take your time doing this since waiting around won't do


anything to you (Tifa's invincible!  Mwa, ha ha!!)

Examine the back of the room by the left side of the chair to shut off


the gas, then examine the door.  After the monster provides you
with


an exit, climb outside and work your way down the front of the tower


(don't worry about the guards).  When you reach the bottom, head
toward


the upper left corner of the screen (the cursor will appear to help
you


keep track of your location, but you can disable it if you want). 
In


the next screen, make your way down to the frontmost cylinder of the


cannon, then press up to go along the front of it and end up on the


cannon barrel itself (this can be a little tricky).  Just as you
reach


the edge of the cannon, Scarlet.  She'll start slapping you, so


press the O button to slap back (go Tifa, go)!  If you're fast
enough,


you'll slap her to the floor after 5-6 good hits.  If she gets
in more


slaps, you get knocked over.  Despite the outcome of the 'fight',
Tifa


will still be rescued by Barret in the Highwind.

Once in the airship, head to the cockpit where you'll talk with Cid.


When he finishes, talk to Red 13 and Cid again, then chat with the
man


piloting the airship.  After that, go to the room marked 'Operations'


and talk to the man there.  He will let you assemble a new group
with


Tifa as the leader.  From this point onward, you can return to
this room


and talk with the man to activate PHS, restore your HP and MP, or save


your game.  Now that you have a party, return to the cockpit and
talk to


the man again.  Choose the top option, and you can control the
Highwind!


To pilot it, use these controls:

S       When held, you can use the Pad
to fly without changing the


        direction you're facing


X       Press to land


O       Move the Highwind in the direction
you're facing


T       Takes you inside the Highwind


Pad     Press left/right to turn, up/down to rise
or descend


Start   Reveals/enlarges/hides the map


Select  Same as Start

Notice that your other vehicles (the Gold Saucer vehicle and Cid's


airplane) are gone for good.  BTW, you enter the Highwind by pressing


O when you're close to it (like other vehicles).  To gain control
of


it again, just talk to the man at the wheel and pick the top option.


At this point, you'll probably want to look around and go to various


places.  However, you can only land on _green, grassy_ ground,
and


nowhere else, which limits the areas you can explore (this doesn't


include the canyon floor on the Northern Continent).  There are
two


areas you can now reach with the Highwind.  The first one is a
cave


with a sleeping man that's just beyond the mountain range near Midgar


City (you can go here with the Buggy, but since you no longer have
it,


you'll have to use the Highwind).  Also, there's a house to the
right


of Icicle Lodge, you can talk to the green Chocobo inside to get a


free Enemy Skill Materia, and the purple geezer who lives


here will sell you various chocobo foods.  Finally, if you return
to


the Chocobo Farm, you'll find a purple materia (Chocobo Attract) near


the edge of the now-empty Chocobo pen.  From now on, you can breed


Chocobos here (refer to the 'Secrets and Strategies' section for


details.

If you look, there's a lake near Junon now (I thought this didn't


appear until Disc 3 *sheepish grin*)  There's also a barrier


surrounding the Crater, and of course, a huge meteor is hanging in
the


sky (the result of Sephiroth casting Meteo via the Black Materia). 
A


lot of places now sell different items, among them Junon Town*,


Fort Condor, Costa Del Sol, and Rocket Town, for example.  There's
also


some new treasure to be found in Rocket Town: there's a chest with
a


Fourth Bracelet in the store that sells accessories, in the back of
the


adjoining room.  And if you didn't get the Yoshiyuki from the


old man in Disc 1, you can get it now.

 * In very last area of Junon, there's a man standing out in the
middle


   of the road.  If you talk to him and choose the bottom
option,


   nothing happens.  But if you choose the top option,
the Shinra


   helicopter lands and you're given another choice. 
Pick the top option


   and you can ride it back to the first area of Junon Town! 
If you


   choose the bottom option, you'll be flown back out to
the World Map.

Finally, keep in mind that there are some things that Tifa can't do,


like enter the Gold Saucer or play the piano in her house in Nivelheim.


Ditto with Cid, who becomes the leader during the next section (keep


reading).


 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


  4 . 6      w h e r e ' s  
c l o u d ?  /  n o r t h   c o r e l


            
e x p r e s s


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ITEMS IN THIS AREA:  Curse Ring, Elixir.

Get in the Highwind and fly to the Southern Continent.  Look around
until


you spot a forest with a small village nearby.  Land in the grass,
and


enter the village, Mideel.  Look around, and be sure to do some
shopping;


the items here are expensive, but well worth your money.  When
you're


done, go to the weapon shop and examine the door in the back of the
room.


You will try to knock on it.  Go outside and climb up the stairs,
then


walk along the floorboards behind the house where you can buy


accessories.   You should hear a sound.  If you press
O to examine the


floor, you'll receive a message.  Return to the weapon shop and
examine


the door in the back again.  When an option appears, select the
top


choice.  You'll mess around with the door.  When the shopkeeper
asks


what's going on, pick the bottom option, and he'll give you the Cursed


Ring accessory.  (If you want to see your character act funny,
pick the


top option instead--works better with Tifa than with anyone else, IMO.


Of course, you'll have to reset and try again if you want the Cursed


Ring.)

When you try to explore the north end of the town, Tifa automatically


goes over to the cat in the middle of the screen.  While playing
with


it she hears that a strange man has been brought to the hospital--inside


is none other than Cloud, who survived the blast of energy back at
the


Crater.  However, he's nothing more than a vegetable now. 
Tifa insists


on staying by his side.  Back at the Highwind, Cait Sith reveals
that


the Shinra are hunting for the four Huge Materia, which they plan to


use in order to destroy the Meteo before it crashes into the Earth.


Barret gets distressed when he learns that the Shinra plan to destroy


North Corel in order to get the Huge Materia, then Cid declares himself


the new party leader!  Despite his dorky running style, Cid makes
a


good front man.  Once you're able to control him, go to the Operations


room and make a new team.

Before you go anywhere else, land and return to Mideel.  You can
now


check out the house in the middle of the town, where an old man sits


betting his cat.  There's a large green item on the man's bed
(an


Elixir).  If you try to leave, the cat turns out to be a ferocious


dog!  When an option appears, pick the top one to admit that you
took


the Elixir.  However, the man will let you keep it.  On the
other hand,


if you pick the bottom option, Cid will feign innocence, until the
old


man tells him that he took his Elixir.  Either way, you still
get the


item.  There's nothing else to do here (at least for now, anyways),
so


leave the town behind and board the Highwind (notice how Cid mentions


the Fort Condor).

At this point in the game, two of the four Huge Materia sub-quests are


available to you: you can either get the Huge Materia in North Corel,


or get the one at Fort Condor.  The choice is yours.  If
you want the


one in North Corel first, keep reading.  If you'd rather pick
up the


one at Fort Condor first, skip to section 4g below.  Remember,
you


DON'T have to succeed at Huge Materia Quests; in fact, you can lose
all


four and still proceed with the game (if you decide to do this, just


ignore any mention of Huge Materia for the remainder of the FAQ).

Ready to go?  The next thing you have to do is stop a train from
smashing


into the town of North Corel.  You can pilot the Highwind to two
places;


North Corel, and then work your way back through the old train tracks
to


the Makoro furnace, or you can land at the nearby cave-like entrance
that


leads to the furnace and take the train from there.  Either way,
you'll


still have to do a bit of walking, so it's up to you (check out sections


3n and 3o if you don't remember what I'm talking about).  Anyway,
once


you reach the furnace, head to the center and you'll be attacked by
some


Shinra guards (easy to defeat).  After you do them in, a train
will


leave the furnace.  What you have to do is catch up with it before
it


rams into North Corel.  The next scene finds you and your companions
on


a train trying to catch up to the Shinra train.

Remember the digit-damaging fun you had back at the Frozen Mountain?


Well, this time, it's worse.  You have to press Up and the T button


in a steady, yet _extremely_ fast motion to make Cid pull the levers


of the train so that you can catch up to the Shinra train.  Even
worse,


there's a time limit--you have to reach the train, board it, kill the


enemies on board, and stop it all within 10 minutes.  If you practice,


you should be able to catch up to the train in about 23-30 seconds,
but


remember that you'll need about 4 minutes, at best, to beat the enemies


on board, so work quickly.  You fight monsters each time you leap
to


a new train car, (five battles in all) and while they're relatively


easy to win, they do take up your time.  If you have learned it
by now,


Degeon can be used in the first two battles for a quick win. 
If you're


low on time, don't use Summon Materia because the Counter Attack still


decreases during the casting (which usually takes some time).

Assuming you get to the locomotive with time remaining, wait for the


conversation between Cid and your other characters to stop.  You
can


now do the following; press up + T to slow the train, or down + X to


Speed Plus it up.  Once Cid grabs the controls, press:

               
Up + Triangle, Down + X, Down + X


               
or:  Down + X, Down + X, Down + X

    (if there are more commands then these, let me know,
pls)

You can't enter either command while your buddies are talking to you,


so skip through the conversations when they occur.  The train
will


speed up, but will slow just as it reaches the town, if you've done
it


correctly.

If you stop the train in time, you get a Key Item (the Huge Materia),


and a little boy gives you a green materia (Ultima).  The next
morning,


go to the house below the inn and a lady in a hat will give you Barret's


Level 4 Limit Break Manual.  If you messed up, then the train
runs


straight through North Corel.  You don't get the Huge Materia,
and if you


want the Ultima materia, you'll have to buy it from the same kid for


50,000 gil.  However, you can still get the manual from the lady
in the


hat and spend some free time at the inn ;P.  So, it's really in
your


best interest to save the town.  If you really want to keep playing


after losing the Huge Materia, then continue on to section 3g, or if


this is your second attempted quest, go to section 3h.


 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


  4 . 7      c o n d o r  
f o r t


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Remember, you can do this before or after the North Corel Huge Materia


quest; it's your choice).

Pop into the Highwind and fly back to the blue tower with the big gold


bird on it (read section 3l if you don't remember where it was). 
Enter


it, and climb to the top of the tower.  Talk to the man in the
room with


the locked door.  Choose the middle option, and you'll get to
play a


mini-game.  For instructions/strategies, please refer to the 'Having
Fun'


bit in section 7.

When you win, you can open the sealed door.  On the rooftop is
a red


materia (Summon Phoenix), and if you talk to the man in white wearing


the large hat in the lower room, you get a Huge Materia.  For
a condor's


baby, that bird sure looks like a Chocobo if you ask me....


 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


  4 . 8      i n s i d e  
c l o u d ' s   h e a d


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Head back to the village on the Southern Continent where you left Tifa


and Cloud behind.  When you talk to Tifa, the screen will start
to


shake.  Go outside, and you'll be attacked by a huge black dragon.

_________________________________________________________________________


BOSS TIPS: ARUTEMAUEPON        
(you can't see his stats.)

This boss has only two attacks, Quega, and the Ultima Beam.  He's
pretty


easy to beat, so just keep summoning your best monsters and use physical


attacks to deal out damage.  After you've injured it enough, it
will fly


away.


_________________________________________________________________________

The next scene with Tifa and Cloud is so funny!  They're puffy
and


Shotgundeformed, and well let's just say any sense of danger or


surprise at this sudden attack is forgotten once you see their wide-


eyed faces as they escape the crumbling village.

After Tifa and Cloud take a dive, you'll find yourself playing with



Tifa, who's in a strange world filled with Cloud's memories. 
First,


talk to the northmost Cloud.  You'll head into his memories of
the


trip he took to that one town near the Jenova plant with Sephiroth.


When Cloud shows up, speak to him again.  When you reach the 'center'


of Cloud's mind again, speak to the Cloud on the left.  Once you're
in


control of Tifa, converse with the Cloud sitting on the steps to the


right (near the 'kid' Cloud).

Then talk to the 'kid' Cloud and look in the window.  When you
can


move Tifa, talk to the 'shadow' Cloud.  Once you're back in Cloud's


mind talk  to the 'real' Cloud and go back to the town area again.


Everything else unfolds by itself (you can go to the Main Menu


during the burning of Nivelheim--again!)  At the end, speak with
Cloud


one last time, and you'll return to the 'real' world.


 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


  4 . 9      1 0 0   l e a
g u e s   u n d e r   t h e   s e a


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ITEMS IN THIS AREA:  Contain materia, God's Hand, Battle Trumpet,
x ryuu


                    
x getsutou, Suishin x no Uroko (it's a Key Item, but


                    
since you don't have to get it, I'm listing it up


                    
here.)

Back at the airship, prepare a new team and take control of the Highwind.


You can buy goods that weren't available before back in Mideel, and


you'll want to get the Contain materia orb at some point.  To
get it,


climb up the slope on the west side of town to where the hyperactive
kid


is running around (remember him?)  Talk to his White Chocobo and
pick the


first option (make sure you have at least one Mimetto Greens on you).


When a list of six options appear, pick the fifth one from the top. 
The


chocobo will then reveal the Contain materia, which you can take.

Furthermore, if you went into each store in Mideel and talked to the


hyperactive kid in each one, he will now be selling all the items that


you could normally buy there!  However, if you didn't go into
any of


the shops, or only talked to him in one shop or two shops, then he
will


only be selling items from those stores or will be selling nothing
at


all.

Also, at this point in the game, the man who lost his keys will appear


outside Midgar City, enabling you to get the Key to Midgar City, among


other things.  You might want to take some time now to breed Chocobos,


do some shopping, or maybe have some fun at the Gold Saucer (since
you


can now get in with Cloud in your party).

Whenever you're ready to proceed with the game, head to Junon Town for


the third Huge Materia quest (you can't do the fourth one until later).


Head into the center of Junon, and go down the main road (you'll see
a


scene with Cloud inspecting the damage that the Weapon inflicted on
the


town earlier).  Keep walking until you arrive at the gray underpassage


where a commander is drilling his men.  He will order his men
to run


away when he sees you.  Continue down the passage until you see
a door


labeled '1' against the left wall.  Enter it, and you'll find
yourself


in an elevator.  Two guards in here will attack you; dispatch
them and


let the lady take you down to the bottom of the elevator shaft.

When you step out, you'll be attacked by more Shinra soldiers. 
Ignore


the dog and go down the slope, then through the door.  In the
next room,


head down the set of stairs until you reach another door.  Past
it is


yet another set of stairs, and at the bottom is a Save Point. 
Go through


the door here to reach a second lift which takes you to the bottom
of


the sea floor.  Head north unil you reach the underwater tunnel,
and


follow it until you arrive at the Makoro plant.  Inside, examine
the red


light on the far wall to pump water out of the chamber.  Step
outside


and you'll find yourself in a huge undersea dock where several submarines


are sitting.  Go along the walkway--it leads to a hall with a
Save Point.


Walk north from here to arrive at a room filled with guards.

If you talk to the guard who's walking around, he'll attack you. 
You'll


then fight the two other guards by the opening in a second battle. 
If


you don't talk to the walking guard, then all three will ambush you.


However, if you let yourself get ambushed, you won't have to fight
the


second set of soldiers by the other opening.  Decide what you
want to do


(fun, isn't it?) and fight the guards accordingly.  Then go through
the


opening to your right to find a chamber full of machinery.  Cloud
will


automatically stop in front of one of the machines as you walk past
it.


When you can control him again, head to the right to see the Red Huge


Materia being loaded onto a Shinra subMarlenee.  Reno of the Turks
is


here, and he'll summon a mechanical freak to take you out while he
makes


a hasty retreat.

_________________________________________________________________________


BOSS TIPS: KARIIAAMAA           
LV: 45  HP: 24000  MP: 200


           MIGIUDE 
              
LV: 45  HP: 10000  MP: 100


           SAUDE 
                 
LV: 45  HP: 10000  MP: 200


                                             
(all weak vs. lightning)

This boss is composed of three parts.  It can imprison two of your


characters in his arms, and they recieve 1/3 the amount of damage that


it receives from your attacks.  However, since it has three parts,
if


you're making an attack that hits more than once, your ally gets struck


twice or even three times!  Furthermore, if the third character
is


killed while the other two are imprisoned, the battle is instantly
lost.


Destroying it's arms should be your top priority, but the arms rotate


and switch sides when they are hit, so adjust your attacks accordingly.


Summoning spells and enemy skills work well here.  The boss' attacks
are


not so strong, but they come quickly.  The worst one is the Lapis
Laser


that strikes all members for +1600 damage.  BTW, the only way
to free a


character is to destroy the arm that's holding them, or have him or
her


die.  This makes the Phoenix summon very useful if you just freed
a


friend and want to revive and attack at the same time.  You'll
get the


God's Hand weapon when you kill it and both arms.


_________________________________________________________________________

With the Carry Armor out of the way, head to the left to find a chest


with the Battle Trumpet inside it.  Then go back to the right
and run


along the pier until you reach gray submarine.  Open the chest
by the


stairs to get the Scimitar.  To the left of that chest is a


chest holding a Key Item: the Suishin x no Uroko (Fire Extinguisher).


You'll need it later so be sure to pick it up.  Go up the stairs
to


find a bunch of soldiers running around in place (ha!) who will fight


you.  Cloud will then enter the submarine and be ambushed by three


soldiers.  You may win a set of 'Shinra Relaxed Form Defense Tool'


armor from the guards, but it's not that great.  Anyway, there's
a Save


Point here, and when you're done using it, head through the northern


door to reach the bridge of the submarine.

Here, you'll meet two guards and their scared-as-hell commander. 
You


can either choose the bottom option and let them live, or you can pick


the top option and kill them.  You can steal the 'Shinra Armor
Type


Defend Tool Reform' (_very_ strong armor) from the captain if you


choose to fight.  Whatever your choice, examine the captain's
seat when


you're able to and you'll be given three options.  Pick the second
one


to climb into the chair.  From there, pick the top option to see
a


description of the sub controls, or the bottom option to start up the


sub and enter the submarine mini-game (explained below).

Your controls on the submarine are:

S       Shoot torpedoes (only when you're
near an enemy craft)


X       Backward thrust


T       Forward thrust


Pad     Move left/right or descend/raise


R1      Switch between close-up or bird's
eye view


R2      Switch between near, overhead, or
cockpit view


Start   Pause; show control screen

The walls of the ocean floor are shown in blue, and there are diamond-


shaped mines that are invisible until you get close.  You can
tell how


far they are from the floor by the red columns beneath them. 
The


purpose of this 'mini-game' is to destroy the the main Shinra sub (red)


in the time allotted, although you can kill some of the ten yellow


submarines if you want to.  During the mission, the following
warnings


will appear:

WARNING         When an enemy
sub is approaching


ALERT           When
an enemy sub is firing


MINE           
You are about to run into a mine


CONFLICT        The sub cannot move
because you are


               
steering it against/along a rock face

You lose the game if one of two things happen; time runs out (you have


10 minutes to destroy the submarine), or if your life bar (which is


represented by the red/green bar at the bottom of the screen) is


depleted as a result of being hit by missiles, crashing into the walls


or floor once too often, or ramming another sub.  If you win,
then the


submarine you're in is automatically piloted to shore.  If you
mess up,


your characters will jettison themselves from the sub.  Either
way,


you'll learn that a Huge Materia is being transported from the Junon


Airport.  You can go there (it's the same place where the Highwind
was


docked) to see some FMV of the plane taking off, or not (it's optional).

At this point in the game, you have two options available to you. 
You


can either sneak back into Junon and get yourself another submarine,


or you can go to Rocket Town and do the fourth and final Huge Materia


quest.  If you already have a submarine, then you can do some
underwater


exploring or do the last Huge Materia quest (refer to section 3j for


the former and section 3k for the latter).  If you need to get
a second


submarine, then keep reading.

Go back into the main part of Junon Town and work your way back to the


gray hallway, down the elevator with the woman, and to the room with
the


guards, a dog, and the sloping floor.  Beat the guards and examine
the


dog.  When he moves aside, follow him and examine him again. 
Choose the


top option, and you'll enter the red Shinra submarine.  When the
guards


show up, choose the top option to let them go, or the bottom option
to


fight them.  In the cockpit room, choose the top option to save
the


commander, or the bottom option to fight him and his men.  Either
way,


you still get to pilot the sub.  Note that if you got the gray
sub, you


can't go through here and get the red sub.


 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


  4 . 1 0    u n d e r w a t e r   a
d v e n t u r e


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ITEMS IN THIS AREA:  Red Huge Materia (listed here because you
don't


                    
have to get it), Heaven's Cloud, Escort Guard,


                    
Conformer, Continuous Slice, Mega Elixir x2,


                    
Elixir, Spirit Lance, Outsider, Highwind Manual,


                    
'Summon Hades' materia, Old x x no Key (listed


                    
here because you don't have to get it just yet),


                    
Oritsuru, Steal as well materia.

This section outlines a series of side-quests and optional events. 
While


some have to be done at a certain point, the others are listed here
only


because you now have a submarine and can explore the ocean.  You
can skip


this section and go on to 3k for the final Huge Materia Quest if you'd


rather do the things in here at a later point.

The controls for either submarine (gray or red) are as follows:

X       Submerge/Ascend


O       Propel forward


        - (doesn't work in overhead
view)


Pad     Move in any direction


        - (raise or lower while
underwater)


L1/R1   Turn to the left or right


L2/R2   Switch from side/overhead view


        - (doesn't work while underwater)


Start   Show/enlarge/hide map


        - (cannot enlarge map while
underwater)


Select  Same as Start

The submarine can cross deep water, but not shallows.  If you can't


get by an area while skimming the sea, try submerging and looking for


a passage.  If you can't get over a rock wall while submerged,
try


ascending and looking for another way around.  Also, the sub can
only


land at docks such as the one near Junon Town.  BTW, the mini-game
at


the Gold Saucer also becomes available once you have a submarine.

If you sunk the red submarine, then get in your submarine and look at


the map.  Head to the chain of small islands southeast from the


weaponsmith's house (the guy who lived near the Gold Saucer). 
Submerge


and you'll find the red submarine.  Should you touch it, Cloud
will


retrieve the Red Huge Materia from the wrecked submarine.  If
you


failed to sink it earlier, then it won't be here.  Note that you
can


wait and pick up the Red Huge Materia in Disc 3 if you'd rather not
get


it right now.

Next, return to the Junon Town dock and go west until you reach a


jutting peninsula (or go north from where the red submarine was,


assuming you sunk it).  Go around the penninsula and head south
until


you reach land (you'll be in a little bay, near a dock, and you should


be able to see the Golden Saucer from where you are).  Descend
and


you'll find a wrecked plane lying on the sea floor.  Touch it
to board


the sunken plane.

Inside the plane, go down the ladder.  Run to the left to find
a Save


Point and a treasure chest (iniside is the Heaven's Cloud sword).


Enter the northern door (the one with the Shinra emblem on it) and


head east along the walkway.  There's a green chest here with
an


Escort Guard in it.  Go down the incline to the lowest level of
this


room and head to the upper-left corner.  Hidden by a pipe is another


green chest; inside it is Yuffie's Ultimate Weapon, the Conformer


(in English, it means 'Conformer').  Now to all the way to the


upper-right corner and search the wall for a hard to see yellow materia


(Continuous Slice).  Finally, return to the entrance and go north
and


then east across the beams.  This leads to the final chest which
has a


Mega Elixir inside of it.

Return to the main room and go through the door on the left wall. 
In


the adjoining chamber are Reno and Rude of the Turks, who will talk


to you briefly before attacking your party.

_________________________________________________________________________


BOSS TIPS: RENO                               
LV: 42  HP: 15000  MP: 230


           Rude                              
LV: 49  HP: 20000  MP: 280

Rude (the bald guy) can cast Ice 2 and Fire 2, while Reno will attack


you with his Neo Turks' Light Ray attack.  They also have the
nasty


ability to confuse you, which can be a serious problem if the confused


member has a Continuous Slice or Slice Everybody materia equipped. 
Once


you inflict enough damage on one of them, that person will leave. 
If


you kill Reno, then Rude will simply stand around until you lower his


HP to zero.  Since this battle is tougher than it might seem,
Haste


your characters and use your best attacking and summon spells. 
If he's


learned it, Cloud's B3/1 should be used whenever possible.  You'll
get


an Elixir when the battle is concluded.


_________________________________________________________________________

With the Turks out of the way, go through the northern door.  A
chest


sitting near the entrance contains a Mega Elixir, and if you continue


along the walkway and go all the way to the right, you'll find another


chest with a Spirit Lance inside.  Go down the stairs to the lower
area;


near the bottom of the screen are two chests; one to the left and one


to the right.  The left one has an Outsider gun in it, and the
right


one contains Cid's Level 4 Limit Break Manual (Highwind).  Before


leaving, look by the wrecked helicopter for a shimmering red sphere


(it's lying between the body of the helicopter and one of the broken,


detached parts next to it).  It's the 'Summon Hades' materia,
so pick


it up and then head back to your submarine.  You don't need to
return


to the wrecked plane again, although you can fight the monsters here


and transform them into various '-Up' items (you can also do this to


several of the monsters in the Mideel Area).  Considering this
game's


difficulty (the lack of, that is), you shouldn't have to do this,


though.

Once you're in the submarine, look at your map.  Just south and
east of


the southeastern tip of the Northern Continent are three islands in
a


sort of a curving pattern.  If you can't quite tell where you
are, just


go along the coast of the Northern Continent until you reach an area


surounded by shallows where there are three islands (you should be


near snowy ground with patches of grass, in addition to a large


mountain).  Submerge the submarine and look for an underwater
tunnel


around here (guide the submarine into the dead-end and turn around;
you


should see it as you're moving).  The short tunnel leads to a
twisted,


spikey object which you will take (it's called the Old x x no Key;


Buugen Haagen asks you to find it later on when you return to the


Ancient City in section 3l).

Finally, get back in your airship and fly to Uutai on the Westernmost


Continent.  Go up into the Dachao Statue area, and head along
the path


until you reach the path that heads north.  Follow it past the
statue's


head until you reach another crossroads with a cave entrance nearby.


Enter the cave.  Try to walk into the first fire-pit twice and
Cloud


will use the Suishin x no Uroko on the Fires each time, exposing a


green chest which contains a Oritsuru (a shuriken for Yuffie). 
Explore


the rest of the cave until you find a second fire-pit.  Press
against


it to douse it with the Suishin x no Uroko.  This allows you to
take


the blue materia lying on the floor (Steal as well).


 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


  4 . 1 1    c i d ' s   r o c k e t


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ITEMS IN THIS AREA:  Nothing!

Return to Rocket Town (it's beyond the mountains near the Gold Saucer).


Go to the launch pad.  It's swarming with Shinra soldiers! 
Make your


way to the stairs leading up to the rocket and you'll be attacked by


two soldiers.  Deal with them and you'll be attacked by another
pair


of soldiers.  At the top of the stairs, you'll fight two more
soldiers


and their captain.  After killing them, Cid will show up and insist
on


joining if he's not already with you.  After you've made a party,
press


X to continue playing, T to go to the Main Menu, or O to change your


party's configuration (but Cloud and Cid cannot be removed from the


current party).  After you choose to continue playing, climb up
the


ladder and you'll face off with two Shinra soldiers and Rude of the


Turks.

_________________________________________________________________________


BOSS TIPS: Rude                               
LV: 42  HP: 9000  MP: 240


           xxxx                                
LV: 34  HP: 1300  MP: 100


           xxxx                                
LV: 34  HP: 1300  MP: 100

Use physical attacks to kill the soldiers and injure Rude, especially


if you've got the Continuous Slice and Slice Everybody materia equipped.


Rude can use a jumping wave attack, but it only causes about 500 points


of damage.  He can also create a Mabarrier which he usually casts
when


one or both of the soldiers are killed, and he can cast Bolt 2 and
heal


himself for about 1100 hit points.  Despite all his powers, he's
still


easily beaten.  If you kill Rude before finishing off the guards,
you'll


automatically win the battle.  You may win an S-mine once you
win the


battle.


_________________________________________________________________________

Go inside the rocket ship--you'll have to fight another battle, but
it's


easily won.  Press O to open the northern door, then go into the
main


room, where Cid will talk to the workers.  After the rocket lifts
off,


go to the right into the next room and climb up the ladder.  Examine
the


Huge Materia in the next room and choose the top option.  Cid
will chat


with Cloud and several numbered boxes will appear.  When they
do, punch


in the following code, one press per message box:

First Message (1):      O


Second Message (2):     S


Third Message (3):      X


Fourth Message (4):     X

If you did it correctly, the glass tube will open and you can take the


Huge Materia.  If you mess up, you'll have 3 minutes to get the
code


right, and Cid will try to clue you in to the correct code.  Should
the


timer reach zero, the Huge Materia is lowered into the ground.

Whether you got the Huge Materia or not, return to the entry room and


climb down the ladder; when you get near the sparking tanks, they will


explode.  With a little help from Shiera, you'll free Cid from
under a


piece of metal.  Follow Shiera into the next room (which turns
out to


be an escape capsule).  After a lengthy FMV sequence, you'll find


yourself back in Highwind, and the Meteor hanging in the sky will now


be much closer than it was before.  Alternately, you can do this
part


(see the tanks explode) and then go back and get/not get the Huge


Materia, or you can even do this part and then take the escape pod


without even attempting to free the Huge Materia (which means you


obviously won't get it).


 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


  4 . 1 2    r e t u r n   t o  
t h e   a n c i e n t   c i t y  /


            
m i d g a r   c i t y   u n d e r   s i e
g e


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ITEMS IN THIS AREA:  Ultima Weapon, Elixir x3, Mega Elixir, Aegis


                    
Bracelet, Starlight Horn, Max Ray, Power Source x2,


                    
Guard Source, Magic Source, Mind Source, W-Item


                    
materia, Master Fist, Pile Banger, HP Shout,


                    
Ragnarok, Missing Score.

Get in the Highwind and return to Cosmo Canyon.  Make your way
up to the


observatory and talk to Buugen Haagen.  Cloud will use the PHS
system to


call the rest of his friends up to Buugen Haagen's home.  They'll
all


talk about Sephiroth and Aeris, and then leave Cloud alone with Buugen


Haagen, who offers to keep the Huge Materia at his observatory for


safekeeping.  Touch any of the Huge Materia you have and pick
the


bottom option to return to the Highwind.  Buugen Haagen will accompany


you.  Pilot the Highwind back to the Northern Continent and land
in the


canyon where the Ancient City is located.  At the crossroads,
take the


left path and follow it into the chamber with the blue crystal that


you couldn't do anything to earlier.  Head right along the upper
path


and take the stairs up to the crystal.  Buugen Haagen will talk
to


Cloud and his friends.  If you already got the Old x x no Key,
Buugen


Haagen uses it to create a waterfall.  If you didn't get it yet,
he'll


remain here in the Ancient City until you find it and return to him


with it.

Once the waterfall has been activated, walk towards the crystal a


second time.  Pictures of Aeris will be shown in the falling water


while Buugen talks to your party.  Now, leave the Ancient City. 
As


you do, Cait Sith calls on Cloud's phone and tells him that the Sister


Ray in Junon Town has been re-installed in Midgar City, and that it's


going to be used to destroy the barrier around the crater (where


Sephiroth's at).  After seeing some more FMV, return to the Highwind.


Just as you're about to board it, another Weapon monster shows up and


starts advancing towards Midgar City.  Since you can't attack
it while


in the Highwind, and you can't reach it using the submarine, wait until


it reaches dry land, then try and touch it in order to see another
FMV


sequence in which the Sister Ray is used to kill the Weapon and break


the shield at the same time.

At this point in the game, if you return to the lake near Junon Town,


the Ultima Weapon will be hovering over the lake.  You can battle
the


Ultima Weapon by ramming into it while aboard the Highwind.  However,


it will fly away after fighting with you for awhile.  From this
point


on, it will fly around the sky and make it's way to various random


locations.  It might seem as if you could just wait around for
the


Ultima Weapon to show up here and there, but the beast will fly in


circles unless you find it and ram into it repeatedly.  After
4 or 5


tries, it will then head towards a new location and sit there until
you


attack again.  After escaping a few more times, it will make a
final


stop at Cosmo Canyon.  You can fight it to the death here (it's
a


pushover, so don't expect too much of a challenge), and when it dies,


you get Cloud's Ultimate Weapon (the Ultima Weapon).  Furthermore,


it will create a crater when it crashes into the ground, wiping out


several of the rock formations around Cosmo Canyon.  However,
you can


now walk across the crater and go into the Old Forest!  Normally,
you


can't reach this place unless you're using a colored Chocobo. 
If you


don't want to fight the Ultima Weapon now, you still fight it during


Disc 3.

Anyway, pilot the Highwind back to the crater when you're ready. 
Before


you can explore it further, Reeve (y'know, the guy who controls Cait


Sith) reveals that Hojo (one of the members of the Jenova Project)
is


planning to use the Sister Ray again, even though the results could
be


catastrophic considering how much energy it used up last time. 
So you


have to get back into Midgar City and stop Hojo beforehand.

near Cid in order to take control of the airship.  He said something


about the airship reaching it's "Level 14 Limit Break" and most of
the


text was flashing in rainbow colors (same effect as when you have the


All 7 Fever).  Does anybody know why this happened?>

When you're ready to raid Midgar City, fly the Highwind straight towards


it, as if you were going to ram into it.  Cloud and his allies
will


gather together on the airship's deck.  You can now choose the
top


option to assemble a new party, or the bottom option to leap off the


ship and parachute into the city.  When you can move, follow your


friend to an alleyway where your pals are waiting.  There's also
a Save


Point here.  Talk to whoever is by the wooden panel and they'll
open it


to reveal a ladder leading down into the depths of Midgar City. 
At the


bottom of the ladder, go along the metal passage and down the slope.


Go up the the next slope and when you reach the wall, head right to


find a chest containing an Elixir, and then run to the left to find
a


chest with a Mega Elixir inside of it.

Make your way back to the area with the ladder and take the stairs down


to an area with a ladder.  If you climb down the ladder, you'll
reach a


long walkway; head east and then go north to arrive at another ladder.


Climb up it and you'll have access to the green chest you saw earlier;


it contains an Aegis Bracelet.  Climb back down to the long walkway
and


run to the right.  The floor will give way and you'll be deposited
on a


lower walkway.  Head left, jump on top of the pipe, and then ascend
the


ladder.  When you arrive at another ladder, climb up it, too.

Eventually you'll arrive at a path just below the one you were walking


around on earlier.  Walk along it until you reach a chute; walk
into it


and you'll be deposited in a new area.  Check out the green chest
to the


left (there's a Starlight Horn inside it).  Then go to the right
and open


the chest that's near the ladder (it contains an Elixir).  Climb
down the


ladder and press against the right lip of the platform in order to
jump


down to the chute labled '42'.  Enter the chute, and when you
arrive at


the other end, head left and then go up the ladder.  At the top,
you'll


find a chest to the left; there's a Max Ray inside it. Retrace your


steps until you're back at the other area, press left to jump off the


chute and back onto the platform, and then climb up the ladder and
go


up the stairs to your left (it's right next to the chute labled '12').

At the top of the stairs is a Save Point.  To the right of it is
a


crawlway.  Make you way along it and you'll arrive in an underground


tunnel system.  Climb down to the floor and head south. 
While many of


the passages here split off in two directions, one direction will always


end in a blocked door, so keep going south.  As you keep going,
you'll


run into your friends (remember, who you meet up with depends on who
is


and isn't in your group).  After heading south for a couple of
screens,


you'll find a treasure chest lying against the left wall of one of
those


'split-passage' areas I mentioned earlier.  Inside it is a Power
Source.


At the next split-passage area that you come across, there is a treasure


chest in the area between the doorways.  There's a Guard Source
inside it.


Keep going south, and when you reach the next split-passage area, there


will be two chests lying in the area between the doorways.  The
one to


the left has a Magic Source inside it, and the one to the right contains


a Mind Source. If you go south from here, you'll arrive at a dead end.


In the left corner of this area is a Save Point, and in the right corner


there is a yellow materia (W-Item).  If you press against the
wall,


you'll discover that you can't go any further.

So, go all the way back to the first area (where the ladder was). 
Try


to head to the north and guess who shows up!  It's the remaining
Turks,


and they're here for a final showdown with Cloud and his friends. 
I


could swear that the first time I came through here, they asked if
I


wanted to fight or not...but I guess not, since nothing like that


happened this time around.  Perhaps it has something to do with


completing Yuffie's sub-quest before coming here?

_________________________________________________________________________


BOSS TIPS: Elena                                 
(can't see her stats.)


           RENO                               

LV: 50  HP: 25000  MP: 200


           Rude                              
LV: 51  HP: 28000  MP: 250

Elena is healed by lightning attacks, Reno by ice attacks, and Rude


by fire attacks.  Rude has a punch attack that hits one character
for


2000 points of damage, Elena can throw a firebomb that inflicts 500
to


600 points of damage (in addition to a Amulet attack), and Reno uses
a


spark attack which will cause 800 HPs worth of damage.  They all
have


more attacks than these; but I'm listing the ones the seem to use most


often.  Alone, they aren't much, but with all three of them fighting


together, this becomes one of the toughest battles in game.  Barrier


and Haste your allies, then use spells like Ultima and Tornado to soften


the Turks up in addition to Limit Breaks.  Try to save Phoenix
until you


really need it, since it will revive your members but heal Rude. 
All


three Turks will escape once you've defeated them in battle. 
You'll get


an Elixir when the battle is over.


_________________________________________________________________________

After the battle, go north.  When you reach the split passage area,
go


north again.  If Cid isn't in your party, he'll show up here. 
Take the


right path and at the next split passage, take the left path. 
You'll


arrive at a blocked passage, but there's a ladder against the left
wall


that leads to the Shinra Building.  If Cait Sith is in your party,


he'll talk to you.  Otherwise, you'll see him hop out of the building.


If you didn't read Kamedouraku Flyer No. 2 the first time around, you


can check out the billboard at the back end of the first floor to read


it now.  Go up the stairs near the front and look for a door marked


'Accessories' near the other end of this floor.  In the adjoining
room,


you can open two chests that a Shinra employee wouldn't let you


examine eaarlier.  The one to the right contains a Master Fist
and the


left one has a Pile Banger inside of it.  Before leaving, go up
to the


64th floor and look for the lockers (go north from the elevators). 
If


you examine the left end of the row of lockers against the wall, you'll


find the HP Shout (Cait Sith's Ultimate Weapon that you couldn't


take earlier).

Return to the underground passages again.  Go south past one split-


passage room, and when you reach the second room, take the left path.


You'll go outside.  Walk towards the lefthand red beam to climb
up it


and jump onto the main street.  Head north and a huge mechanical
monster


will appear from behind you; it's being controlled by Heidegger and


Scarlet.  After laughing in your face, they'll attack you.

_________________________________________________________________________


BOSS TIPS: PURAUDO KURADDO          
(can't see it's stats.)


           JAMAAAAAMAA 
         LV: 62 
HP: 20000  MP: 300

This mechanical monstrosity has two parts; a head and a chest area that


you can aim your attacks at.  The boss can only cause around 500-800


points of damage, but it can kneel and fire a ray from it's back (the


Beam Cannon attack) that causes 1100 damage to all members.  Even
after


disabling the Jammer Armor (it can use it's Materia Jammer attack to


disable your Materia), you'll still have to keep attacking the main
part


if you want to kill it.  Spells and summonings work nicely, and
you


shouldn't worry about your HP until the boss kneels and readies it's


laser attack.  You'll get the Ragnarok sword once the fight is
over.


_________________________________________________________________________

Once the machine explodes, it starts to rain.  Head north. 
There are


two chests near the entrance.  The one closest to you has an Elixir
in


it, while the one that's further away contains a Mystile.  Use
the


Save Point that's nearby if you want to, then climb up the ladders.


If he's not in your party, Vincent will be on the lower landing. 
The


second landing is normally empty, but if Barret is in your party, you


will see a green chest there.  Open it to get Barret's Ultimate
Weapon,


the Missing Score.  If Barret's not in you party, you won't find
anything


on the landing, even if you search it thoroughly.  Once you've
climbed


all the way to the top, run to the right.  Sitting at the Mako
Cannon's


(Sister Ray's) controls is Hojo, who will attack your party when you


talk to him.

_________________________________________________________________________


BOSS TIPS: Hojo                               
LV: 50  HP: 13000  MP: 250


           PUDUREA
SANPURU     LV: 42  HP: 10000 
MP: 200


           IBIRURAPPU
SANPURU    LV: 34  HP: 11000  MP:
120


           HERETIKKU
Hojo        LV: 55 
HP: 26000  MP: 200


           MIGUIDE 
               
LV: 55  HP:  5000  MP: 300


           SAUDE 
                  
LV: 55  HP: 24000  MP: 400


           xxxxx
Hojo NA             
(can't see his stats.)

Hojo can use his 'Capsule' power to summon the two 'Sample' monsters


every time you kill them.  So, concentrate on defeating Hojo instead
of


the lesser monsters.  He'll then reappear as a huge monster with
two


independant arms (Heretic Hojo).  Since Hojo can bring the arms
back


to life, aim your attacks at the main body of the boss.  He may
cast


Confuse or Silence on you, so I hope you have some Ribbons equipped.


The right arm will also inflict a lot of damage, so cast Barrier


beforehand.  In his final form, Hojo can cast Slow and employ
a


multiple-hit attack (Combo), which will poison whoever is hit by it.


As long as you keep your HPs up, this battle is a cinch.  You'll
receive


a Power Source once you've killed Hojo.


_________________________________________________________________________

You'll return to the Highwind after killing the boss.  There's
a short


sequence with Tifa and Cloud afterward, then the Highwind blasts off


into the sky.  Well, that's the end of this disc!  My time...17:25
the


first time around, and 14:24 for the rewrite.


 

=========================================================================


5 .    D  I  S  C     
T  H  R  E  E      W 
A  L  K  T  H  R  O  U  G 
H


=========================================================================


 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


 5 . 1      m a k o u   p i
t


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ITEMS IN THIS AREA: Limited Moon, Save Crystal, Guard Source x3, Mind


                   
Source x2, Magic Source x2, Elixir x2, Power


                   
Source x2, HP Absorb materia, Mega Elixir x4, Hero


                   
Drink x3, Mystile, Speed Source x2, Tetra Elemental,


                   
Almighty Medicine x2, Vaccine x2, Shield materia,


                   
Imperial Guard, W-Magic materia, Counter Attack


                   
materia, X Potion x2, Turbo Ether x2, Everything


                   
All materia, Luck Source

You'll start off on the deck of the Highwind.  If you'd rather
explore


the World Map instead, just go back to the cockpit, talk to the engineer


next to Cid, and choose the top option.  If you haven't noticed
it yet,


the Highwind is now rocket-powered.

Before descending into the crater and exploring the Makou Pit, you may


want to pick up Red 13's Ultimate Weapon.  Return to Cosmo Canyon
and


climb up to the second floor of the observatory, making sure that Red
13


is in your group beforehand (you can switch characters at the Save
Point


near the Tiger Lily Arms Shop if you need to).  Buugen Haagen
is lying


on his couch, and he is about to pass away.  He chats with Red
13 for a


while, then dies.  Back at the bonfire, Red 13 rejoins his companions,


and now has the Limited Moon in his inventory.  Also, if you haven't


gotten either of the 'optional' characters yet (Yuffie or Vincent),
then


now would be a good time to add them to your party.

When you're ready to explore the Makou Pit, land the Highwind and go


out to the deck.  You can talk to the man out here to change party


members (he'll automatically ask you every time you return to the


Highwind).  Climb down the rope ladder to reach a new area, then
head


southwest.  In the next screen you'll be given an option: pick
the


bottom one to turn back or the top one to descend into the pit. 
After


hopping down the steps, you'll see a cavern entrance.  If you
go inside


it, it merely returns you to the last area, in which you can climb
up


the stone column and make your way back to the Highwind.  Otherwise,


simply follow the path as it winds it's way down into the ground. 
Don't


worry should the ground crumble away since you can jump over the gaps.


The first chest you find contains a Save Crystal.  It can be used
once


while in the Makou Pit to create a Save Point.  Considering that
there


are no Save Points at all in this level, the Save Crystal is a handy


item to have.  The next chest you find has a Guard Source in it.

In the next area, you can climb the silver parts of the ledges by


pressing O when you are standing near them (a message appears prompting


you to do this).  Go to the right and hop down the 'steps'. 
The first


chest you find has a Guard Source inside of it.  Be sure to make
your way


to the next chest and not explore the edge of the ledge below the chest


you just opened or you'll jump down to the bottom and will have to


climb all the way back up again (although you'll be doing that at some


point anyway, so it's no big deal).  In the second chest is a
Mind Source.


You can now either climb back up and get the rest of the chests, or


continue searching the Makou Pit and get the chests when you are coming


back out (assuming you want to make more than one journey into the
Pit).


To get the chests, climb up the ledge to your left (you're at the


bottom of the screen, remember?)  Go all the way to the left and
climb


up two ledges, then walk to the right to find another chest containing


a Magic Source.  Go left again, go up to the next ledge, then
go to the


right and climb up again.  Walk all the way to the right, climb
up the


tall ledge, then head left to find a chest holding an Elixir. 
From


there, walk up to the next ledge, go to the left, and climb up the


silver part to arrive at a chest that has a Power Source in it. 
If you go


to the right, you'll find an HP Absorb materia just past a large rock.


Finally, jump back down, go to the right, and climb up the ledge to


reach the top again (you can jump to the top ledge from here and exit


the Pit by going back up the spiraling passage).

If you head south from the bottom of the screen, you'll arrive at a
large


chamber pocked with holes.  Walk to the right until you fall down
a


level, then go left to uncover a chest (inside is a Mind Source). 
Go to


the edge of this ledge, turn around, and press O to juMP Plus to the
upper


ledge (just like in the last area, you'll be prompted to jump whenever


you are near a ledge ending).  Head left until you fall down,
then go to


the right and step into the hole by pressing up.  Beyond the opening
is a


treasure chest containing a Mega Elixir.  Go back out again and
walk all


the way to the left and you will fall down to a new level (since you


can't see Cloud, move left or right until he falls).  Run to the
right in


order to find a chest, which has an Hero Drink inside of it. 
Walk


to the left and enter the hole.  As you walk along the adjoining
path,


stop to open a treasure chest to your left which holds a Guard Source,
and


go through the hole that's a little farther up to reach a chest with
a


Power Source inside it.  Go back out the hole and keep climbing
to reach


an opening that deposits you back at the top of the screen.  To
get back


down to the bottom, run to the right until you drop down, press right


again to fall a second time, and enter the hole.  The passage
beyond it


leads to another hole; press left to fall down it (if you want to get


back up, just climb the ledges to your left).  Then walk to the
left


until you fall, and walk right to fall again.

Here, climb down the two stalagtites in order to reach the ground where


your friends are waiting.  Each one asks you which path they should
take,


the left one (top option), or the right one (bottom option).


Furthermore, you may have certain characters join you, or you may be


asked to make a new group (and you may not have many characters to
pick


from).  Unfortunately, I really have no clue as to how this part
of the


game works even after playing through it numerous times.  (Yes,
that


means that you should still treat this whole paragraph as a NSS :))

Take whatever path is available to you (you'll get a message if you
can't


go in that direction).  Refer to the LEFT PATH or RIGHT PATH sections


depending on which one is available to you.  Note that once you
reach the


PLACE OF GATHERING, you can go back and explore all the areas freely


(remember that because you may be approaching an area from a different


location, you may have to do it in a different order.  For instance,
you


can tackle the LEFT PATH: LOWER ROUTE area from either the top or bottom,


so take note while playing (and no, I'm not going to write out the


section backwards and forwards, just figure it out yourself depending
on


where you're going!)

RIGHT PATH


You'll find yourself on a column of stone.  Follow the winding
path that


leads along the column.  Eventually, you'll reach a gap in the
path.


Pick the top option to jump down to the area below, or the bottom option


to turn back.  When you land on the ground, look to your right
for a


chest containing a Mystile.  To your left is a green Elixir. 
Take it


and continue along the path until you reach a broad, gray area. 
Here,


there is a treasure chest to the north containing a Speed Source. 
If you


look to the south, wedged between several broken structures is another


chest that has a Tetra Elemental inside it.  Go back to the main
path


and head east, then north.  Here, the path splits to the north
or the


west.

Take the west branch and it'll lead to a dead-end where there is a chest.


Iniside it is a Mega Elixir.  Retrace your steps and keep going
north;


just to your right will be a chest that also has a Mega Elixir inside
of


it.  If you keep going north, you'll arrive at a bridge made of
curving


bones.  Work your way down it and you'll arrive at the PLACE OF
GATHERING


(see below).

LEFT PATH


In this room, your teammates will each ask if you should take the upper


(top option) or lower (bottom option) route.  Pick accordingly,
and refer


to the UPPER ROUTE and LOWER ROUTE sub-sections depending on what you


chose.  You may be prompted to make a new party yet again after
you have


decided on the route you will take.

LEFT PATH: UPPER ROUTE


Hop down onto the branch-like structure, run to the right, and when
you


can't go any further, press Up to jump to another branch.  From
here, go


right to reach a chest containing a Magic Source.  Now, hop back
to the


first branch and go left, then north.  When you reach the edge,
Cloud


will jump onto the nearby rocks.  Walk north along the path and
Cloud


will dive in the water and jump out on the other side of the screen. 
If


you walk to the left, then go north, you'll arrive at a chest which
has


an Remedy within it.  Head right, but take the upper branch


(go east, then north) in order to arrive at a new area.

Here, head to the far right to find a chest which contains an Ei x no


Kusuri.  Then take the upper path and run all he way to the left. 
If


you go a little ways to the north, you'll see a chest; it has a Vaccine


in it.  To the right of the chest is a large rock; walk in front
of it


and you'll see a path that leads up to the top of the rock, where a


green materia is lying on the ground (Shield).  Take it and walk
to


the left, then press Down to descend the rock face.  Cloud will
jump


into the water and pop out again near a treasure chest (Imperial Guard).


After opening the chest, keep pressing Down and Cloud will dive into
the


water again and end up on the other side of the screen.  From
here, run


south and then east to reach yet another unexplored area.

This area is full of green shrubbery and stone tiers.  Walk to
the left


in order to work your way down the tiers, but then go to the center
of


the screen and walk north until you're right beneath the shrubbery.


There is a small dot here; press O to examine it and you'll find that


it's the W-Magic materia.  From here, work your way down to the


shining light (go south, then east).  There is a patch of darkness
in


the light--examine it and you'll get the Counter Attack materia. 
Now,


walk west and then north to find a cave entrance.  It leads to
the


PLACE OF GATHERING (see below).

LEFT PATH: LOWER ROUTE


Hop down the stone columns and investigate the chest to your left to


find an Remedy.  Head to the right and hop up the stone


columns to arrive at a chest that has an Elixir inside of it. 
Then


go back to the first treasure chest and press against the bottom of


the ledge.  You'll hop down to a column where there is a chest


containing an X Potion.  Make your way to the southeast. 
In the next


screen, hop down the stone columns and then go to the left to find
a


chest with an Turbo Ether in it.  Then follow the path east and
north.


There's another chest here and a Vaccine is inside it.  Walk to
the


west, then follow the path south and hop across the columns. 
When you


reach the bottom of the screen, run to the south.

In this area, go to the right and press down to hop down to a small


ledge.  Below is a larger ledge and a green chest (X Potion). 
Walk to


the left across the thin stone bridge, drop down a level, then keep


going right until you see some stone 'steps'.  Go down them; to
the


left is a green chest containing a Turbo Ether.  If you walk to
the


left, you'll jump down to a low ledge.  Nearby, there is a ball


floating in the air.  Hold Up in order to jump from a small ledge
to a


larger ledge, and when you get near the ball, tap O repeatedly. 
If you


timed it right, you'll be able to take the ball, which is actually
the


Mega All materia.  If you missed it, just press left to


jump back down to the lower ledge and then try again.  You can
only get


the materia while jumping to the small ledge, not while jumping from


the large western ledge.

Once you've gotten the materia and are on the large ledge, walk to the


other end of it.  There's a chest here (Speed Plus Source). 
Now walk to


the south and press against the edge to jump down to a lower area. 
Keep


walking south and you'll reach the PLACE OF GATHERING.

PLACE OF GATHERING


On the right side of this chamber is a chest containing a Luck Source.


Follow the path as it curves around until you reach a set of stone


steps.  Your friends will show up here.  Depending on where
you told


them to go earlier, they may or may not have items to give you. 
Talk


to each one of them to get an item (or not), then approach the stone


steps.  Pick the top option to go down them or the bottom option
to


stay where you are.  Once you pick the top option, you can't go
back,


so feel free to choose the bottom option and then leave this area from


the upper ledge (walk to the left) if you have more exploring to do.

Once you've chosen the top option, assemble a new group.  You'll
leap


down the steps and arrive at the lowest levels of the Makou Pit (home


not only to Jenova and Sephiroth but also to massive slowdown). 
Simply


jump from floating ledge to floating ledge, working your way towards


the bottom of the screen.  In the second screen, make your way
to the


central island of rock, where the final form of Jenova will appear
and


attack you.

_________________________________________________________________________


BOSS TIPS: JENOBA*SYNTHESIS     
(can't see her stats.)


           JENOBA*SYNTHESIS
B     LV: 61  HP: 10000  MP: 600


           JENOBA*SYNTHESIS
C     LV: 61  HP: 8000  
MP: 600

Start the round by using Haste and Barrier on yourselves, then use Enemy


Skills and Summon Materia to dish out damage.  The tentacle-like
arms


will droop and become useless after you've attacked them long enough,


but they regenerate with some HP if you don't kill the boss quickly,
so


use high-level spells (Ultima or Inseki) to take them out and injure


Jenova at the same time.  When she is about to die, a message
appears


and starts counting down the rounds from 5; if you don't kill her by
the


time it reaches zero, Jenova Synthesis will cast Ultima.  For
the second-


to-last boss, this is an easy battle. She has very weak physical attacks


(500-800 damage), and not much else. If you want to conserve MP, you
can


take out the boss using physical attacks with little injury to yourself.


If she does cast Ultima, the battle ends, but you get no EXP, GP, or
AP,


so try to kill her as quickly as possible.


_________________________________________________________________________

After the death of Jenova Synthesis, the ground will break up and Cloud


and his friends will awaken to find themselves floating in space.


Sephiroth makes his final appearance here, floating next to the core
of


the Makou Pit.  You'll get to make a new party*, then the battle
with


Sephiroth will commence.

* Apparently, the number of teams you can make is determined randomly.


  The first time I played this game, I was able to make two parties,


  but since then I've been able to make just one party or three
parties


  (the third had only two members, since you only have 8 characters).


  For a time, I thought this was based on the paths you took when
you


  talked to your friends at various locations in the Makou Pit,
but I


  guess it is simply a random occurence after all.

_________________________________________________________________________


BOSS TIPS: RIBAASU SEFIROSU    
(can't see it's stats)


           RIBAASU
SEFIROSU B                 
LV: 61  HP: 2000   MP: 400


           RIBAASU
SEFIROSU C                 
LV: 61  HP: 10000  MP: 400


           RIBAASU
SEFIROSU D                 
LV: 61  HP: 4000   MP: 400


           RIBAASU
SEFIROSU E                 
LV: 61  HP: 4000   MP: 400

Use Wall and Haste on yourselves (maybe even Regen), then use your best


attacks against Sephiroth, like Coin Toss, Ultima, and summon spells.


Every time you kill a few of of it's body parts, you'll be asked if
you


want to switch to another team (left option to switch, right option
to


keep using the current party).  In this case (if you have more
than one


team), you'll find that only one team can damage the yellow orb (part
C)


of Sephiroth's body.  Once part C is sufficiently damaged, you'll
get a


message stating that Cloud can now attack part C as well, so switch
back


to him and attack Sephiroth.  Once part C is destroyed, kill off
the


rest of the body parts.  If you only have one team, all you can
do is


attack.  The number of teams you have will affect the strategy
used


against this boss, so keep that in mind when attacking*.  I'm
not exactly


sure about this, but: Sephiroth will gain more HP and MP in proportion


to Cloud's experience level, and using the Knights of Round materia


will _usually_ kill Sephiroth.  If you more than one team, keep
in mind


that the battle will end if even one team is killed.  And interestingly


enough, the number of times you've used a summon materia resets when
you


switch to a team and back.

Sephiroth can heal himself using a technique called Reverse Energy,
and


he can use it to bring defeat body parts back to life.  Among
his attacks


are Graviga, an explosion attack that causes 1500+ points of damage,
a


fire ray emitted from his chest that inflicts 1700+ damage, and a 'Fallen


Angel'-type attack that reduces all party members' HP to one point.

* I'm saying this because one time I was able to kill Reverse Sephiroth


  before receiving the message to attack part C.


_________________________________________________________________________

Once Reverse Sephiroth has been defeated, Sephiroth shows up in a new


form.  You always fight him using the team that Cloud is a part
of.

_________________________________________________________________________


BOSS TIPS: SEEFA SEFIROSU       
(can't see his stats.)

Looks like Square couldn't bother creating a new end boss, could they?


Seraph Sephiroth can cast Slow, Flare, Break, Doom, and Dispel (Dispel


will affect all members).  Other attacks include Shotgunnova (a
'summon'


style spell that inflicts 1100-2200 damage to all allies; it causes


confusion and silence), Pyro Holes (a laser attack causing 3700-3800


damage), and Dein (ring-shaped flares break apart the ground and cause


1200-1300 damage to all members.  His sole physical attack is
a wing


slash that causes upwards of 5000 damage points.  Sephiroth can
fly


around, too, preventing some characters from using certain skills or


attacks against him.

Use Wall on yourself, and then heal, revive, and fix status ailments


with the Angel's Whisper Enemy Skill.  Haste yourselves and use
physical


attacks, your best summon materia, and Ultima.  You can even use
Coin


Toss or Throw if you want.  Seraph Sephiroth isn't easy to kill,
but


he's certainly no challenge, even if you have low levels.  There's
only


one thing to watch out for: if Cloud's level is at 98-99, then Sephiroth


becomes monsterously powerful and much harder to kill.


_________________________________________________________________________

After a brief automated sequence, Cloud fights Sephiroth one last time.


I'll leave this up to you...I doubt you'll lose!  My time was
6:20 the


first time around, and 1:30 for the rewrite.


 

=========================================================================


6 .    B  O  N  U  S     
A  R  E  A  S


=========================================================================

You can only go to these areas in Disc 2 or 3.  There's some information


on these bonus areas in the 'Secrets and Strategies' section, too.


 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


  6 . 1      o l d   f o r
e s t   ( c o s m o   a r e a )


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Location:          On a
cliff near Cosmo Canyon on the Western Continent.


How to get there:  Use a Green, Black, or Gold Chocobo. 
Or, climb past


                  
the crater that's left behind when you kill the


                  
Ultima Weapon in Disc 3--it destroys part of the


                  
cliff.


Items to get:      Supershot ST, Spring Gun
Clip, Slice Everybody


                  
materia, Summon Typoon materia, Apocalypse sword,


                  
Elixir.

You can grab items (frogs, big frogs, wasp nests, etc.) by pressing
the


O button.  When you grab a frog for the first time, you get a
message


informing you that if you press the S button, the _entire_ area will


reset, returning all the items to their proper place.  However,
it also


returns you to the very start of the area, no matter how many screens


you've worked your way through.  If you mess up on an area (you
run


out of frogs to use for transportation), you can cheat by leaving the


area and returning (if it's possible to leave given your current


location).  But if you're really stuck, you have no choice but
to reset


the whole level by pressing S.  You will keep all items and materia
orbs


you've collected so far, though.  Also, when you hear a frog croaking,


look for a place where you can let go of a small frog you might be


carrying as it'll be replaced with a big frog.

In the first area, pick up three frogs and go beneath the earth bridge.


Put them near the three bags hanging from the trees.  Now, quickly
take


the frogs and press the O button to make them hop into the bags; repeat


this until all three bags are full by standing on a bag and pressing
O


to put a frog into the next bag.  When they're all full, hop to
the


other side of the gap.  Once on the other side, go down the slope
and


_carefully_ inch towards the center of the large snapping plant. 
Press


O to grab the bag (which contains the Supershot ST gun).  If you
get too


close, the plant will close and you'll lose almost all your HP. 
You can


make as many attempts as you want, but it's best to try and not touch


the center of the plant in the first place.  Continue to the right
when


you're finished here and Cloud will automatically use the pink vine
to


reach the other side.  Go past the tree and nab the item bag on
the hill


(there's a Spring Gun Clip inside), and head right to reach the next
part


of the forest.

In the second area, pick up one frog and approach the pink vine. 
Choose


the top option to leap to the ledge.  If you leave the frog on
the ledge,


it'll be switched with a big frog (or you can just use your small frog).


From here, you can put the frog in the bag and leap across to the second


(already-full) bag.  You'll automatically use the pink vine to
jump to


the ground.  Now, pick up a frog and climb on top of the green
ledge to


your right; let it go  and it will leap into the left bag. 
If you wait


long enough, you'll be sent flying to the ledge above when the frog


escapes (you have to use a big one).  Once on the ledge, take
the wasp


nest.  Jump back down.  Stand near the small snapping plant
and press O


to release the nest; if you're at the right distance, the nest will
fly


backward and land in the plant, which will snap it up.  Take the
yellow


materia (Slice Everybody).  Pick up the big frog again. 
Climb to the


green ledge one more time and let the frog jump into the right bag. 
Jump


atop it and wait until you are thrust onto the opposite side of the
huge


snapping plant.  Run to the right to reach the next zone.

In the third area, pick up two frogs, toss them into the bags, and leap


across to the pink vine.  You'll be lifted into the treetops. 
Go left,


then down the trunk to reach the big bag you saw back in the second
area.


A Minerva Band is inside.  If you go too far down the trunk, you'll
jump


down to the ground, so return to the treetops after grabbing the bag. 
If


for some reason you can't, just hop back down repeat the last few steps


to get across the plant, get into the next screen, and return to the


treetops.

Once you're back in the trees, climb to the upmost branch and head right,


then make your way towards the broken branch; Cloud will vault across


three of the pink vines and land on another branch.  Go south
to get yet


another item bag holding a red materia (Summon Typoon).  Now,
go back


across the vines, and take the lower branch that leads behind the leaves


to the ground level (look for a path leading right).  Once on
the ground,


grab a frog.  There are two bags to your right; look for a high
ledge


beneath them, stand on it, and toss the frog into the bag.  Then,
hop


onto it and make your way over to the second bag, then to the ledge
with


the wasp's nest.  Take it and drop to the ground, then approach
the


snapping plant and press O to release the nest.  If you are positioned


correctly, you'll toss the nest into the plant, which will close up.

Pick up a small frog and move past the plant.  Stand on the left
ledge,


and let go of the frog; it will jump into the nearby bag.  Hop
across


the bag and onto the ground.  Run to the left and grab a frog. 
Put it


in the hollow in the tree next to you and a big frog will jump out.


Take it and go back the way you came (put the big frog in the bag,
jump


to the other side, and wait for it to land by your feet).  Grab
it


again, go to the far right ledge, and release it into the bag. 
Now,


stand on the bag and wait for the frog to escape.  Doing this
sends you


flying across the gap to a cave entrance.

In the cave, walk to the right to find a chest with the Apocalypse sword


lying within.  Head to the north, then go east to find another
chest


(there's an Elixir in it).  Finally, exit through the opening
to your


left.  You're back outside!  Yup, there are no bosses to
fight in this


area (which is a good thing in case you had a hard time dealing with
the


snapping plants).


 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


  6 . 2      v i n c e n t ' s  
w a t e r f a l l


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Location:          Waterfall
in the center of the Western Continent.


How to get there:  Use a Green, Black, or Gold Chocobo to go to
the


                  
west side of the waterfall by the lake.  Dismount


                  
and touch the waterfall to enter it.  Alternately,


                  
you can go there in submarine--you can dock on


                  
the dark-colored western side of the shore.


Items to get:      Death Penalty, Chaos Manual
(in Disc 3, see below).

Beyond the waterfall is a room made of white stone.  If Vincent
isn't


in your party, then you'll get a message stating his name when you


step past the threshold of the room.  So, return with Vincent. 
This


time, there's a woman there (Rukuressia), and you'll get to see a


flashback of Vincent's past.  While you don't get anything out
of this


if you visit during the third disc, you can get Vincent's best weapon


and his Level 4 Limit Break Manual if you come here with him in your


party during the second disc and then visit the waterfall again in
the


third disc.  Refer to the 'Ultimate Weapons' section in part two
of the


FAQ for more information on this area.


 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


  6 . 3      b o n u s   m
a t e r i a   l o c a t i o n s


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

_________________________________________________________________________


WESTERNMOST CAVE   (Wutai Area)

Location:          Cave
lying to the east of a mountain in the bridge-


                  
covered region of the Westernmost Continent.


How to get there:  Use a Green, Black, or Gold Chocobo to climb
over


                  
the mountain.  Dismount and enter the cave.


Items to get:      Mime materia.

There's nothing in here but a glowing yellow light.  Try to touch
it,


and you'll get a yellow materia (Mime).  Notice how there's still


a glow after you've taken the Materia? :)

_________________________________________________________________________


WESTERN CAVE       (North Norel Area)

Location:          Cave
next to a mountain lying on a square of brown


                  
land.  There's a river running nearby.  It's


                  
beyond the mountain footpath by the shallow part


                  
of the river near the Gold Saucer, on the Western


                  
Continent--there's another cave entrance by the


                  
river you need to cross.


How to get there:  Use a Blue, Black, or Gold Chocobo to cross
the


                  
river to the patch of land where the cave is.


Items to get:      HPMP materia.

Inside this icy blue cave is a twinkling purple materia (HPMP).

_________________________________________________________________________


SOUTHERNMOST CAVE  (Mideel Area)

Location:          Cave
lying at the end of a penninsula on the north


                  
stretch of land on the Southernmost Continent.

How to get there:  If you have a Blue Chocobo, land the Highwind
on the


                  
patch of grass on the thin island near Mideel.  Then


                  
use the shallows connecting the penninsulas to reach


                  
the area where the cave is.  If you have a Black or


                  
Gold Chocobo, simply land on the grassy area near the


                  
cave and keep walking down the cliff and out to where


                  
the cave entrance is.  If you have the Gold Chocobo,


                  
you can just walk southeast from the Chocobo Farm


                  
across the water to the penninsula where the cave is.


Items to get:      Quadra Magic materia.

This sandy cave is empty, save for a blue pyramid-shaped object. 
If you


examine it, you'll get a blue materia (Quadra Magic).

_________________________________________________________________________


NORTHWEST ISLAND  (Round Island)

Location:          Oval-shaped
island surrounded by mountains and trees


                  
that is in the northwestern part of the world.  It


                  
is one of the Uncharted Isles (it doesn't show up on


                  
the map).


How to get there:  Use a Gold Chocobo to fly to the island and
climb


                  
over the mountains.  Dismount and enter the cave


                  
mouth that's at the edge of the forest.


Items to get:      Summon Knights of Round
materia.

This may be another empty area, but the red pyramid lying by the tree


trunks is none other than the Knights of Round summon materia--the


most damaging summon spell in the entire game.  Simply examine
it to


pick it up.


 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


  6 . 4      y u f f i e ' s  
s u b - q u e s t


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Location:          Town
of Wutai.  You can go here in Disc 1 after


                  
you get the Tiny Bronco, or you can do this in Disc 2,


                  
once you have the Highwind or a colored Chocobo.  You


                  
CANNOT do this in Disc 3, however.


How to get there:  Go to the southern end of the Westernmost Continent


                  
using the Tiny Bronco, Highwind, a Chocobo, or a


                  
Chocobo + the Highwind.  You MUST have gotten Yuffie


                  
(though she doesn't have to be in the current party)


                  
in order to perform this sub-quest.


Items to get:      Hairpin, Fuuma Shuriken,
MP Absorb materia, Fast


                  
Lightning, Elixir x2, Peace Ring, HP Absorb materia,


                  
X Potion, Turbo Ether, Ice Ring, Universe Manual,


                  
'Summon Leviathan' materia.

After arriving at the soutern tip of the Westernmost Continent, head


north.  There is a curving path that leads up to a high plateau. 
As


you go along the curve (even if you are riding a Chocobo) you will
be


interrupted by Yuffie.  The screen switches to that of a plain,
and


Yuffie runs up, steals your Materia*, and escapes, but not before


leaving you with two Shinra guards to contend with!  The guards
are


easily beaten, though.  If Yuffie was in your party when she tricked


you, you'll have to fight the guards only using two people (in which


case Barret will join the party afterwards, and if he's already in


your party, then whoever isn't being used will join.  Keep in
mind that


you can rearrange the party in whatever way you'd like afterwards).

* She can take 48-50 Materia (the number varies), and will steal them


  in this order of preference: Master Materia, Summon Materia,


  Independant Materia, Command Materia, Combination Materia and
then


  Magic Materia.  This means that it is possible to be left
with a few


  materia after she has escaped.  Note that if you're using
the Materia


  Select Game Shark code and you have disabled Materia equipped/in
your


  inventory, she'll steal them and you _won't_ get them back.

At this point, your characters will refuse to board the vehicle you


used to get here (Highwind, Tiny Bronco, or Chocobo), insisting that


they find Yuffie instead.  If you were on a Chocobo when Yuffie
stole


your Materia, then you'll still be on it when the sequence ends, but


you won't be able to board the Highwind, and if you get off the Chocobo,


you can't get back on.  If you use the 'Start with Gold Chocobo'
code,


then you can leave the island, but I don't know what happens if you
do


this sub-quest while riding a real Gold Chocobo.  In any case,
you can


use the Chocobo to cheat and simply ride all the way to Wutai, Yuffie's


hometown.  If you're not on a Chocobo, you'll have to walk.

From the curving path, head north until you cross a bridge, then go
west


across a second bridge.  Head southeast once you reach the other
side;


this leads to a north-bound path that runs under the bridge. 
Follow it


and it will lead up to another bridge.  Past the bridge, the land


becomes flat and grassy.  Keep heading north and you'll arrive
at Wutai.

When you enter the town, Yuffie will see you and run away.  Head
to the


upper-left corner of town.  There's a path here that leads to
a large


courtyard and a pagoda.  Enter the building to your right and
walk along


the hall until you arrive at a room with a man sleeping inside. 
Enter


it and talk to the man.  He is Godoo, Yuffie's father.  Keep
talking to


him until he stands up, at which point Yuffie will appear and then
be


chased away by her father.  If you follow Yuffie, you'll find
that she


has disappeared.  Before leaving this area, enter the room next
to


Godoo's and examine the right wall.  There is a hidden panel here
that


will open, revealing a passage.  At the end of the passage is
a chest


containing the Hairpin (a weapon for Red 13).  On your way out,
go into


the room to the left of the entrance.  You can come here and spend
the


night for free, but if you examine the scroll on the left wall, it
will


lift up, revealing another passage.  The chest at the end of this


passage has a Fuuma Shuriken (Wind Demon Throwing Star) inside it.

Return to town and go into the eatery in the southwest corner of town.


The Turks are her!  Talk to them all (Elena, Rude, and Reno). 
When


you are finished, go to the Item Shop.  Normally, there is a woman


standing in front of a treasure chest (preventing you from getting
at


it) but now she will have moved away.  Open the chest and you'll
get


a MP Absorb materia, but Yuffie will drop down from the ceiling and


swipe it from your hands!  Leave the shop and go to the southeast


edge of town.  There's a building here near the entrace. 
Go inside


and examine the folding panel to the left.  Hiding behind it is
Yuffie,


who dashes away as soon as she is discovered.  Chase her outside
and


go to the eatery.  If you look at the jar standing outside the
eatery,


you'll see that it is moving.  Approach it and press O to make
your


friends block all the exits.  Then press O three times to make
your


main character hit the jar until Yuffie jumps out.  Seeing that
she


can't escape, she'll lead your characters to her house.

Meanwhile, two Shinra soldiers run into the eatery to meet with the


Turks.  After Elena leaves, you'll find your characters in Yuffie's


house.  When she goes downstairs, follow her.  I was sure
that I


found an item in this room once, but I guess I was mistaken...anyway,


don't miss the Kamedouraku Flyer that's on the far wall when you go


downstairs.  Talk to Yuffie.  When you can move again, examine
the


levers in the back room; you can pull the right lever or the left one.


It doesn't matter which one you choose, since either one will make


a cage drop on top of your allies!  Yes, Yuffie has tricked you
again.


Examine either lever a second time to free your friends, then leave


the house.

Return to the courtyard area where the pagoda is and you'll see that


you can now enter the building to your left.  Climb up the steps
and


examine the bell to ring it; this will reveal a hidden door. 
Beyond


the door, you'll find Yuffie, who has been taken hostage by none other


than Don Corneo, the mohawked pervert that tricked you back in the


Wall Market.  He has captured Elena as well.  Before chasing
after


him, open the chest to your right to find a Swift Bolt, and open


the chest to your left to get an Elixir.  Go up the stairs and
you'll


find yourselves in the altar room back in Godoo's house.  Three
Shinra


soldiers appear and attack you, allowing Corneo to escape.  Kill
the


guards (they're the same as the ones that attacked you back on the


curving path), then go outside.

Here, you'll run into Rude and Reno.  Talk to them, then return
to town


and head to the northeastern corner of Wutai.  There's a path
here that


leads up into the mountains, where huge Dachao statues have been carved


into the rock.  Talk to the Turks again as you follow the path,
and keep


going along the path until it splits.  Take the path that goes
north.


It leads past a huge head to a crossroads.  Rude is standing here,


blocking the entrace to a cave.  If you talk to him, he'll enter
the


cave.  Go inside and open the chest in here to get a weapon for
Cid.


You can't get across the fire-pits yet unless you've gotten the Suishin


x no Uroko from the submarine docks (see section 4i for more information


on the Suishin x no Uroko, and section 4j to find out what treasure
you


can get from the fire-pits).  There's a chest here that has a
weapon for


Cid in it, but I got it back in Disc 1 so I forgot (I think it's the


Grow Lance or the Mop). ^_^;  Talk to Rude again and then exit
the cave


and head south to find Corneo, who's tied Elena and Yuffie to the face


of a Dachao statue.  When you confront him, he summons a boss
to attack


you.

_________________________________________________________________________


BOSS TIPS: RAPUSU                              
LV: 39  HP: 6000  MP: 300

This winged beast isn't that tough, but unless you were able to hold
onto


some Materia, all you can do is attack.  Use Phoenix Downs and
Hi-Potions


or other restorative items to heal your party, and you may want to
use


'attack' items like the Deadly Waste or Swift Bolt in order to


inflict damage along with your normal attacks.  Because of their
high


attack power, Red 13 and Vincent make the best allies to have in this


fight.  If you think you can make it without Vincent assiting
you, then


use his breaks to inflict lots of damage on the boss.  You'll
recieve a


Peace Ring when the battle is finished.


_________________________________________________________________________

After the battle, Don Corneo will ask you a question and you have three


answers to choose from.  Pick any one you like.  Corneo threatens
to


kill Yuffie and Elena, but then Reno and Rude show up and send Corneo


to his well-deserved demise.  Back at her house, Yuffie will give
all


the materia she stole back to your characters (including the MP Absorb


materia).

You'll find yourself back in the World Map again, but I wouldn't leave


just yet if I were you.  Return to Wutai and enter the building
near


Yuffie's house.  It's full of cats.  Normally, there's nothing
you can


do here, but now you can climb up the steps in the back to find a


secret passage.  Walk north (towards the screen), to find a cat
and a


chest.  Inside the chest is a HP Absorb materia.  Take it
and go back


outside.

Now, head back to the courtyard.  Enter the pagoda and talk to
the man


there, Goorikii.  He'll inform you that if she wishes, Yuffie
can


fight by herself against the five guardians of the Pagoda of Five Strong.


Choose the top option to accept and the bottom option to decline. 
After


each battle, go up the stairs and talk to the person there, picking
the


top option to fight them and the bottom option to not fight them. 
You


don't have to kill all the guardians in one go, and if Yuffie is killed


in battle, the game won't end, although she'll have zero HP and will


need to be revived before she can fight again.  Your enemies are:

First Floor: Goorikii, a winged creature.

_________________________________________________________________________


BOSS TIPS: GOORIKII                            
LV: 30  HP: 3000  MP: 150


                                               
(weak vs. Wind)

Use Haste on yourself, then use the Deathblow materia repeatedly in


order to inflict lots of damage.  Don't forget to heal yourself
when


your life gets low.  The boss can use Barrier, but he's still
easy to


defeat.  Yuffie gets an X Potion once she's won the battle.


_________________________________________________________________________

Second Floor: Sheiku, a penguin-like monster.

_________________________________________________________________________


BOSS TIPS: SHEIKU                              
LV: 32  HP: 4000  MP: 180

Use the same strategy that you used against Goorikii.  You might
try


the Barrier spell to reduce physical damage.  His 'Furious Bomber'
attack


causes a lot of damage, but it will fill up your Limit Break bar very


quickly.  Yuffie will recieve an Turbo Ether when the fight ends.


_________________________________________________________________________

Third Floor: Chehofu, a four-armed foe.

_________________________________________________________________________


BOSS TIPS: CHEHOFU                             
LV: 34  HP: 5000  MP: 210

Keep your HPs up in case you get paralyzed.  Once again, using
Haste,


Barrier, and then attacking with the Hissatsu materia should do the
trick


if your attack power is low.  Yuffie's prize for winning this
battle is


a Ice Ring.


_________________________________________________________________________

Fourth Floor: Sutanifu, a creature swinging and iron ball.

_________________________________________________________________________


BOSS TIPS: SUTANIFU                            
LV: 36  HP: 6000  MP: 240

Fight him the same way you fought Sheiku.  Without a doubt, the
easiest


boss of the Pagoda of Five Strong.  If you win, Yuffie will get
an


Elixir from him.


_________________________________________________________________________

Fifth Floor: Godoo, a three-headed monster.  Note that he will


            
automatically attack you win you talk to him.

_________________________________________________________________________


BOSS TIPS: GODOO                             
LV: 41  HP: 10000  MP: 1000

Godoo's attack style changes depending on which head is facing you. 
He


has many attacks, including the Tryne Enemy Skill and the ability to


drain your HP.  He will also use his supply of MP to heal himself
for


around 1200+ points per use.  To beat him, deplete him MP supply
by using


the Ghost Hand item or Magic Hammer Enemy Skill (you can learn it from


the Ashigirisous that live north of Wutai; they look like bunches of


grass).  The other way to beat him is simply Berserk yourself,
assuming


you have enough HP and your attacks do over 1200 points of damage. 
Your


only other tactic is to stay alive until he runs out of HP and then


attack him.  You'll get Yuffie's Level 4 Limit Break Manual (Universe)


once Godoo is defeated.


_________________________________________________________________________

After Yuffie defeats Godoo, he'll give you the 'Summon Leviathan'


materia.


 

=========================================================================


7 .    P  L  A  Y  I  N 
G      T  H  E     
G  A  M  E


=========================================================================


 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


  7 . 1      t e r m i n o l o g y


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Certain notations and abbreviations are used in this FAQ.  This
is what


they mean:

S       Square Button          
L1      Front Left Shift


X       X Button               
L2      Back Left Shift


O       Circle button          
R1      Front Right Shift


T       Triangle button        
R2      Back Right Shift


START   Start Button           
SELECT  Select Button

B#/# - Indicates the Break Level and which one to use (i.e.  Red
13's


B2/2 would be the Stardust Ray, while Barret's 3/1 would be his


Satellite Beam).

Field - Any area aside from the World Map.  Towns, caves, dungeons,
power


plants, and so on are all considered 'field' areas.

World Map - The 3-d overhead world in which you can travel to towns
and


other locations, and activate the map.  When first starting the
game, you


will not reach the 'World Map' area until a good part of the first
disc


has been completed.  This is also referred to as the 'outer world'
or


'overworld' throughout this FAQ.

A note on Materia:  Since I was able to get many of the correct
names


for new revisions, I've replaced the names of materia, spells, etc.


with their proper names.  However, in most cases I won't list
the spell


in particular but the Materia you should use (i.e. Honoo 


instead of Fire 3 ).  This means that you should use
the highest


level that you have (or the one that suits you the best.

And as usual, 'x' denotes Kanji I could not translate into English.


 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


  7 . 2      s t a r t i n g  / 
s a v i n g   t h e   g a m e


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

After inserting the disc you're currently on, watch the intro or bypass


it by pressing START.  Then, choose NEW GAME to start from the
beginning


(you'll need to have Disc One entered), or choose the bottom option
to


continue a saved game.  If you choose to continue, select SLOT
1 or


SLOT 2 (depending on which slot your memory card is in).  Then,
select


the saved file you wish to continue.

To save your game, you must be in the World Map or standing on a Save


Point while in an Area Map (these are glowing blue circles with a


rotating 'C' shape above them).  Go to the main menu and choose
SAVE,


(the last option), then specify which memory card and which save


slot you wish to use.  If all the slots are full, you will get
a


message telling you that you cannot save.  A note on Save Points;


you can also (in most cases), use the PHS system to change members


while standing on a Save Point.


 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


  7 . 3      c o n t r o l l e r  
f u n c t i o n s


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

The default settings of the PSX controller are:

CONTROL PAD -          
Moves your character in eight directions.  Also


                       
used to move the cursor during menu screens and


                       
to highlight enemies/allies and options during


                       
battle.

SELECT -               
Shows location of character on-screen using a


                       
cursor.  In battle, this turns on/off the


                       
HELP window.  In the World Map, it has the


                       
same effect as the START button.

START -                
In the World Map, it displays/removes the map.


                       
During battles, it pauses the action.

SQUARE (pink) -         During
battle, holding this button removes the


                       
Command window, making the Barrier gauges more


                       
visible.  It also switches between the Materia


                       
window and Equip window on the Menu Screen


                       
(providing you are in either of those windows).

X (blue) -             
Cancels selections in the Shop screen.  During


                       
battle, it cancels choices and during the Menu


                       
screen, it cancels choices and closes the screen


                       
if no choices have been made.  If not assigned


                       
an ability, this button cancels choices and


                       
returns you to the previous option during any


                       
other screen.  When used in conjunction with the


                       
control pad, your character dashes while on the


                       
field.  Dashing can be combined with L1 and R1


                       
to run at an angle.

TRIANGLE (green) -      In the field, it opens
the Menu screen.  In the


                       
Menu Screen, it de-equips whatever Materia is


                       
selected if you are in the Materia window.  In


                       
battle, it highlights whoever you want to fight


                       
next (assuming they have a full Time bar).

CIRCLE (red) -         
In the field, press it when near something to


                       
examine it or to talk to a person.  This button


                       
is also used to pick up items, open treasure


                       
chests, and latch onto ladders and objects.


                       
It will select the items you wish to buy or sell


                       
at shops, and can be used to verify commands or


                       
perform an action (like opening a gate, running


                       
an elevator, etc.)

LEFT ONE (L/1) -        When held
and used in conjunction with the


                       
control pad, your character walks at a 45-degree


                       
angle to his left.  When selecting items or magic


                       
in the Menu Screen, it moves the view up a screen


                       
with each press.  When selecting a character to


                       
check that person's Materia, magic, equipment,


                       
status, or Limit Break, pressing this button


                       
scrolls backwards through the characters according


                       
to their lineup.

                       
In the World Map, this button makes your character


                       
turn left while it is held down.  If you are in


                       
overhead view, pressing this button returns you


                       
to ground-level view.

LEFT TWO (L/2) -        While in
the World Map, switches the viewpoint


                       
from ground-level to overhead.

RIGHT ONE  (R/1) -      When held and
used in conjunction with the


                       
control pad, your character walks at a 45-degree


                       
angle to his right.  When selecting items or


                       
magic in the Menu Screen, it moves the view down


                       
a screen with each press.  When selecting a


                       
character to check that person's Materia, magic


                       
equipment, status, or Limit Break, pressing this


                       
button scrolls forward through the characters


                       
according to their lineup.

                       
In the World Map, this button makes your character


                       
turn right while it is held down.  If you are in


                       
overhead view, pressing this button returns you


                       
to ground-level view.

RIGHT TWO (L/2) -       While in the World
Map, switches the viewpoint


                       
from ground-level to overhead.

Other Commands:

L1 + R1 -              
During battle, makes you run away if held down


                       
for a while.  Doesn't always work, and is


                       
ineffective in certain fights.

L1 or R1 -             
Selects between a single target or all targets


                       
during battle when using magic/commands


                       
(assuming you have an All or Everything


                       
All materia working in conjunction with


                       
whatever materia are equipped).  You can also


                       
do this by press Left or Right on the controller.

L1 + L2 + R1 + R2 -     Resets the game.  Doesn't
work during battles or


+ SELECT + START        the Fort
Condor simulation battle.

Note that these are the default settings: they can be changed in the
Menu


Screen.  Additional button commands (for vehicles, games, etc.)
are


listed throughout the FAQ's walkthrough section.


 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


  7 . 4      b a t t l e s


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

There are two ways to enter a battle.  The most common way is to
be


randomly attacked while exploring the World/Area map screen. 
You will


also fight boss battles, which aren't random and occur only after a


certain event/arriving at a certain location.

When the battle starts, the camera will move inwards for a better view


(it switches constantly during battles, but you can set it to remain


stationary in the Configuration screen located in the Main Menu).


The enemies will be on the left, and your characters appear on the
right


(usually).  Depending on a person's Speed Plus, either you or
the enemy


will attack first (not the whole party, just a single character). 
The


object of battle is to kill all your enemies without getting killed


yourself.  A battle ends when either side has died, or if the
enemy or


your party runs away.

To the left on the Battle Menu window is the word NAME.  Underneath
this


appears the names of the three characters currently in your party. 
Next


to that is the word BARRIER.  Beneath that is a double-gauge that
informs


you how long your Barrier (vs. physical attacks), or Mabarrier (vs.
magic


attacks) will last.  Note that they are only full if you have
a


(ma)barrier spell in use, have an equipped accessory (Reflect Ring)
or


are using some other form of physical/Magic Plus defense.

To the right of that is the word HP.  This shows the current/total
amount


of HP each character possesses using both numbers and a bar. 
If you have


few HPs left, the numbers turn yellow.  And if your status has
been


changed (i. e. you are poisoned), the total amount of HPs is replaced
by


the name of your status condition.  Depending on the amount of
HPs


remaining and the type of status you have, your character may fall
to


one knee or crouch on the ground to show that he is weakened. 
Farther to


the right is the word MP.  Below that is the current amount of
MPs each


character has, represented in both number and bar format.  If
you are low


on MPs, the numbers turn yellow.  If you die, your HP and MP numbers
are


shown in red.  Finally, on the far right are two bars.

The first bar is the Limit bar.  As you are attacked, this bar
increases


in proportion to the damage received.  When it is full, it will
flash


rapidly.  During this time, you can use your Limit Break attacks
instead


of fighting (described later on), and your agility is increased. 
If you


don't use your Limit Break when a battle ends, it is carried into the


next battle.  If you don't use your Limit Break for several rounds
during


a battle, it empties slightly (but can be refilled).  Choosing
to be


attacked by yourself or your friends, or being attacked by a confused


friend will not increase your Limit bar.

The last bar is the Time bar.  It increases in proportion to a
person's


Speed Plus rating.  When it is full, it flashes orange, and you
are now


able to choose a command (this is also signified by the yellow, pyramid-


shaped icon that appears over the person's head and by their name,
which


flashes between white and gray).  When it is not full, you cannot
control


that character.

When a person's Time bar maxes out, the Command Window appears, covering


the Barrier gauges (they can be uncovered by holding the S button). 
The


first option is Attack (one enemy or one friend).  If your Limit
Bar is


full, then it is replaced with a rainbow-colored font and you cannot


Attack but can use Limit Breaks.  The next option is Magic (assuming
your


character knows magic/has a Magic Materia equipped).  This allows
you to


select a magic spell to use, providing you have the proper number of
MPs


left.  The third option is usually blank, unless you have a Command


Materia equipped.  When such Materia are in use, this option can
be many


things: Steal, Throw, etc.  The fourth option is Item, and it
allows you


to use your inventory of unequipped items on yourself or against an
enemy.


Note that you cannot equip or de-equip items or Materia during battle.


Depending on the number of Materia equipped, you may have more than
four


options available, in which case the Command Window will expand to
show


them all.  Other commands are listed in the order that your materia
are


equipped.

At any time while the Command Window is showing and you haven't yet
made


a selection, you can press right (then the O button) to guard. 
You


can't attack while guarding (which lasts the whole round), but any


damage inflicted on you is halved.  Likewise, pressing left (then
the


O button) makes you change rows.  This takes a whole round and
you can


do no other action while changing.  Characters in the front row
inflict


and recieve more damage, while characters in the back inflict and


receive less damage (you can also change row position in the Menu Screen;


changing position during battle isn't permanent).

There are several ways to attack or get attacked.  The situation
chosen


when entering a battle is somewhat random, but your abilities and


statistics can change the outcome:

(Attack)                   
The standard you-versus-them setup.  Priority


                           
is determined by Speed Plus.

(Chance)                   
The enemies will have their backs turned and


                           
you can all attack, run, or perform any other


                           
command without being attacked for the first


                           
round only.

(Back Attack)              
You have your backs turned to the enemy, who


                           
appears on the right.  Not only are your rows


                           
reversed (front to back/back to front), but


                           
the enemy gets to attack first without you


                           
being able to do anything about it for the


                           
first round only.  Note that Materia that


                           
work automatically (like Guard and Counter


                           
Attack), will still function normally.

(Side Attack)              
You appear on either side of your enemy.


                           
Although you can't use the CHANGE command,


                           
this method prevents the enemy from turning


                           
his full attention to all characters and lets


                           
you attack from the front and behind.

(Scissors Attack - Ambush)  The enemy appears on either side. 
You cannot


                           
use the CHANGE command, and it is impossible


                           
to direct an attack or spell towards all


                           
enemies.  Your foes can make both front and


                           
back attacks.  Keep in mind that it is very


                           
important whether or not you are facing your


                           
opponent--your attacks/limit breaks/magic


                           
won't hit enemies who are behind you.


 

RUNNING


Normally, you can run away from an enemy party, but not always. 
If you


can't run away, a message will tell you so and holding L1 and R1 will


have no further effect.  Unless fighting a boss (who you can never


run away from), you can almost always run from an Initial Attack (first


round only) or Side Attack formation.  You cannot run from a back
attack


for the first round, and you must be facing toward your enemy in order


to run away (since you run in the opposite direction).  If ambushed,


you cannot run unless you kill all the enemies on one side of you and


are facing toward your foes (for the same reason listed above).

When you run away, the battle ends, but you gain no money, AP, or EXP.


Also, you can be attacked while running and it may take anywhere from
a


second to several minutes to escape a battle, (if it is possible to
do


so).  You can select and confirm commands while trying to escape
(in


which case you will stop running to attack, use an item, etc.), but
you


won't run away while doing such things.


 

OTHER SITUATIONS


While the game is paused during battle, you can do nothing but remove


the Command Window (if it is showing) by holding the S button. 
While


a character is summoning a monster, you can build up your Time bar
and


select commands, but not confirm them (this includes running). 
During


enemy actions and some of your own actions, the 'Time' message changes


to 'Wait' and your bars won't fill until either you or the enemy finish


doing whatever caused the 'Wait' status in the first place.


 

END OF THE BATTLE


If you lose a battle (the enemy is able to reduce your party's HP to
zero


via attacking, magic, etc.), the game ends.  You must start over
from


your previously saved game.   If you win the battle (by reducing
all


enemies' HP to zero via attacking, magic, etc.), then a screen appears


showing you how many EXP and AP points you've gained*.  Pressing
O calls


up another screen where the amount of Gil (currency) you've won is
shown,


and you have the option of taking items from your fallen foes (if they


had any items).  Once the battle is over, you are returned to
the field/


area you were at prior to the battle.

If a character is dead when the battle ends, he or she will gain no


EXP or AP.  The same applies to _fully_ petrified characters.


 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


  7 . 5      l i s t   o f  
s t a t u s   c h a n g e s


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's possible to have your status changed outside of battles, but most


status changes occur during combat.  Enemies can also suffer from


status ailments, which include:

MANIPULATED


Appearance      Character flashes blue and
faces in opposite direction


Effect          Character
is controlled by the enemy


Duration        Until controlled
character is damaged, killed, or put


               
to sleep


Remedy          Successful
physical attack from friend or foe


 

BERSERK


Appearance      Character's skin is red


Effect          Character
automatically fights using physical attacks,


               
however, Attack Power is raised


Duration        Battle


Remedy          Remedy
or Esuna magic


 

BARRIER


Appearance      Shield appears when physically
attacked; Barrier gauge


               
is filled (to a degree)


Effect          Physical
damage from enemies is reduced


Duration        Until gauge runs
out


Remedy          Debarrier
or Dispel magic


 

SILENCE


Appearance      "......" word bubble appears
over head


Effect          Cannot
cast magic or summon monsters


Duration        Battle


Remedy          Echo Smoke*,
Remedy, Esuna magic


 

CONFUSION


Appearance      Character spins around and
around


Effect          Character
is uncontrollable and will attack or cast


               
magic on both friends and foes


Duration        Battle; or until
physically attacked


Remedy          Remedy,
Esuna magic


 

CONDEMNED


Appearance      Counter Attack appears over
person's head


Effect          Character
dies when Counter Attack hits zero


Duration        Battle; or until
Counter Attack reaches zero


Remedy          Finish/escape
from battle before your time is up


               
(ha ha ha).  If you revive a Condemned character, the


               
Counter Attack will not reappear.


 

CRITICAL


Appearance      Character is kneeling, HPs
are shown in yellow


Effect          None


Duration        Until character
dies or is healed


Remedy          Cure,
Full Cure, or Regen spells, or Potion, Hi


               
Potion, X Potion, Elixir, or Mega Elixir.


 

DEATH


Appearance      Character is lying face down


Effect          Character
does nothing (he/she's dead)


Duration        Forever*


Remedy          Phoenix
Down, Raise/Life 2 magic, Phoenix summon


               
spell, or you can spend the night at an inn.

*  Dead characters receive no EXP or AP should their teammates
win


   the battle for them.


 

POISON


Appearance      Character kneels and flashes
green


Effect          Lowers
HP each turn


Duration        Battle


Remedy          Poison
Neutralize, Remedy, or


               
Poisona magic.


 

HASTE


Appearance      Character moves faster


Effect          Time bar
increases twice as fast


Duration        Battle


Remedy          Slow,
Stop, or Dispel magic


 

ANGER


Appearance      Limit gauge is colored red


Effect          Amount
of damage received doubles, Hit Rate decreases,


               
and Limit gauge fills faster


Duration        Battle


Remedy          Tranquilizer


 

SADNESS


Appearance      Limit gauge is colored blue


Effect          Character's
physical attacks do less damage; Limit


               
gauge fills slower


Duration        Until healed


Remedy          Hyper


 

DARK


Appearance      Character flashes black


Effect          Hit Rate
is dramatically reduced


Duration        Battle


Remedy          Eye drop,
Remedy, Esuna magic


 

MABARRIER


Appearance      Magic shield appears when
magic is cast on that


               
character; Mabarrier gauge is filled (to a degree)


Effect          Reduces
the effects of magic cast on that character


               
from friends or foes


Duration        Until gauge runs
out


Remedy          Debarrier
or Dispel magic


 

MEGABARRIER


Appearance      Mega shield appears when a
character is hit by


               
physical attacks or has magic cast upon him; both


               
gauges are filled


Effect          Reduces
effectiveness of physical attacks and magic


               
spells directed towards the shielded person


Duration        Until gauges run
out


Remedy          Debarrier
or Dispel magic


 

MINIMUM


Appearance      Character shrinks, becoming
very small


Effect          Attack/Defense
Power is lowered greatly; almost all


               
attacks cause only 1 point of damage (even magic


               
spells or attacks that can be affected by Materia)


Duration        Battle


Remedy          Minimum
magic, Magic Hammer Enemy Skill


 

INVINCIBLE


Appearance      Characters flash yellow*


Effect          Character
cannot lose HP or be killed


Duration        Only a few rounds


Remedy          None

*   Not if you become invincible using the 'Shield' spell.


 

PARALYSIS


Appearance      Character doesn't move


Effect          Character
does nothing


Duration        Variable


Remedy          Remedy,
Esuna magic


 

REGENERATION


Appearance      None


Effect          Character
gains back lost HP each turn


Duration        Variable


Remedy          None


 

REFLECT


Appearance


Effect          Reflects
all magic cast upon character by friend


               
or enemy


Duration        Variable


Remedy          Dispel
magic


 

PETRIFY


Appearance      Character has gray skin and
doesn't move


Effect          Character
does nothing


Duration        Battle


Remedy          Golden
Needle, Remedy, Esuna magic

*  Petrified characters will not receive EXP or AP should their
teammates


   win the battle for them.


 

SLOW PETRIFYING


Appearance      Character flashes white while
Counter Attack appears over


               
head.


Effect          Causes
Petrification  (see above)


Duration        Battle; or until
petrification occurs


Remedy          Golden
Needle, Remedy, or Esuna magic


 

SLEEP


Appearance      Character kneels and 'ZZZs'
rise from body


Effect          Character
does nothing


Duration        Battle; or until
physically attacked


Remedy          Remedy,
successful physical attack from


               
friend or foe


 

SLOW


Appearance      Character moves slower


Effect          Time gauge
fills slower


Duration        Variable


Remedy          Haste
or Dispel magic


 

STOP


Appearance      Character doesn't move


Effect          Character
does nothing; Time gauge doesn't fill


Duration        Variable


Remedy          Dispel
magic


 

TOAD


Appearance      Character looks like a toad


Effect          Attack/Defense
Power is lowered, cannot use


               
any magic other than 'Toad' magic*


Duration        Battle


Remedy          Toad or
Dispel magic, Maiden's Kiss

*   If you tried to cast magic or summon a creature and got
turned into


    a frog, no MP is lost (and you can still summon
the following round).


    However, if you tried to Throw an item, that item
isn't even thrown


    but is still lost forever.  Also, all flying
enemies are immune to


    this status ailment.

Your status condition is usually always shown at the bottom of the


screen, over the 'MAX HP' section in red letters.  If you have
more than


one change (i.e.  you are poisoned and slowed), then the condition


message will constantly change back and forth.


 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


  7 . 6      w o r l d   m
a p   a n d   t h e   a r e a  
m a p


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

While in the World Map, you can show, enlarge, or hide the Map by


pressing Start or Select repeatedly.  When you get them, the river-


crossing Buggy and Cid's Airplane are represented as green and blue
dots,


while the submarine is shown as a red dot and the airship 'Highwind'
is a


white dot.  Here in the 3-d 'overworld', you can travel through
forests,


plains, and fields in search of towns, caves, and other places. 
As in


previous Final Fantasy games, mountains, rivers, and oceans are


impassable while walking, but may be traversed using other means, such


as vehicles or special breeds of Chocobos.  When you enter a 'location'


(i.e. a town or dungeon), you enter the area map and leave behind the


World Map.  No matter where you are on the World Map, you always
run the


risk of fighting monsters.

Area maps are a series of rendered backgrounds linked together to make
up


a location.  Your freedom of movement is somewhat limited in these
areas.


Most FMV sequences take place while in an area map.  Aside from
talking


to people and fighting battles (depending on where you are), you can
also


find treasure chests, navigate through hidden passages, climb up ropes,


activate switches and levers, or save your game at Save Points. 
With few


exceptions, area maps are the only place where you'll find bosses.


 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


  7 . 7      v i s i t i n g  
t o w n s   a n d   s h o p s


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

In towns, be sure to talk to the townspeople and investigate the


buildings to get clues, items, etc.  There are, of course, shops
in most


of the towns, too.  Shops sell anything from potions and weapons
to


bracelets and Materia orbs.  In a shop, you're given three choices


initially.   The rightmost one is BUY*.  Choose the
item you want to buy,


then press left, right, up or down to confirm how many of that item
you


want.  The middle option is SELL.  Choosing the left choice
lets you sell


items and weapons, while the right lets you sell your Materia. 
The third


option is QUIT, and returns you to the game.

* These are not the exact English equivalents of the Japanese used.


 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


  7 . 8      h a v i n g  
f u n


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

GOLD SAUCER'S BATTLE SQUARE


To play this game, go to the Battle Square and enter the main building.


Talk to the lady by the righthand booth and she'll give you an option.


Choose the top one to enter the Battle Arena, or the bottom one to


decline.  It costs 10 GP to enter the Battle Arena each time. 
Should


you accept, you have to choose which character will fight by himself


in the Arena.

Once inside the Arena, you have to fight 8 consecutive battles against


randomly-picked sets of monsters.  Fighting is done normally,
and you


can use anything you have equipped (weapons, spell materia, command


materia, items, etc.) to attack your enemies with.  Each time
you finish


a battle, you get the message 'GREAT!' and you're then told how many
BP


(Battle Points) you've won in that particular battle (it's on the right


side of the window).  You have two options; pick the left one
to keep


fighting or the right one to give up and leave the Arena.

If you choose to keep fighting, a slot machine appears prior to your
next


bout and you have to press O to stop the wheel.  Whatever you
land on


will have a significant effect upon you as soon as the next battle


starts.  However, most of these conditions can be remedied by
using


items, and some (such as Minimum) won't even affect you if you're wearing


an accessory that protects you from that type of status ailment. 
Below


is a list of many of the various results you may land on*:

           Poison       
-    'Poisoned' status.


           Frog         
-    'Toad' status.


           Mini-Cloud   
-    'Minimum' status.


           Red Orb      
-    Disables Red (Summon) Materia.


           Yellow
Orb    -    Disables Yellow (Command) Materia.


           Green
Orb     -    Disables Green (Magic)
Materia.


           Purple
Orb    -    Disables Purple (Independent)
Materia.


           Blue Orb     
-    Disables Blue (Combination) Materia.


           Five Orbs    
-    Disables all Materia.


           Ring         
-    Disables accessories.


           Bag          
-    Disables items.


           Luck Plus
7       -    Luck is cut in
half.


           Boots        
-    Speed Plus is cut in half.


           HP &
MP       -    Max HP and MP
is halved.


           MP Sign      
-    Max MP is halved.


           MP Zero      
-    Max MP is reduced to 0.


           Sword        
-    Attack power is lowered.


           Bracelet     
-    Your defense is lowered.


           Stopwatch    
-    Time bar takes x30 longer to max out.


           Lv. Down     
-    This lowers your level by 5, 10, 15....


           Cure         
-    Gain back 9999 HP.

*  Of course, it is possible to cheat.  For example, if your
Magic


   materia have been disabled but you just used Monomane
after casting


   a magic spell, you can mimic yourself to still use that
spell.  Or


   if you have Nageru combined to a Counter Attack materia
and your


   items are disabled, you will still hurl one of your throwable
items.

Each time you choose to keep fighting, yet another bar appears on the


slot machine.  And because the eight battles are continuous, you'll
keep


whatever ailment you landed on in the last battle (unless you cured
it),


and get another ailment as well, making the battles progressively harder


as you suffer from more and more handicaps.

You do not gain AP, EXP, or gil for fighting in the Battle Arena. 
You


can't learn enemy skills, either, even if you proceed to win all eight


battles.  You can steal or henka enemies to get items, but that's
it.


Using Limit Breaks in the Arena won't deplete your Limit bar when the


battles are over, though.  Your fighting spree ends if:

 - You win all 8 battles.


 - You choose to give up after completing a battle.


 - You cast Escape on yourself or use an item that has a similar
effect.


 - You run away :)


 - You are killed during the course of the battles :(

Unless you're killed or run away, you will keep all the Battle Points


that you've earned from each fight.  What's more, you can continuously


enter the Battle Arena (providing that you have enough GP) and fight


over and over to pick up even more Battle Points.  However, you
lose


_all_ your BP if you leave the Battle Square, so you have to get the


number of points you want in one trip.  You can trade in the Points


you've earned for prizes by going to the machines on the left or right


side of the entrance and examining them.  The following chart
appears if


you have enough BP to purchase something:

BATTLE SQUARE PRIZES - DISC ONE

NAME                   
COST       EFFECT


Phoenix Down            
100 BP    Item


Remedy                  
200       Item


Mimett Greens           
400       Item


Enemy Lure              
800       Independant Materia


Choco Feather          
1600       Accessory


S-mine                 
3200       Item


Pre-emptive            
6400       Independant Materia


Speed Plus Plus            
12800       Independant Materia


Champion Belt         
25600       Accessory


OmniSlash             
51200       Cloud's Level 4 Limit Break Manual

BATTLE SQUARE PRIZES - DISC TWO AND DISC THREE

NAME                   
COST       EFFECT


Remedy                  
100 BP    Item


Enemy Lure              
250       Independent Materia


Right arm               
500       Item


Pre-emptive            
1000       Independent Materia


Reagan Greens          
2000       Item


Speed Plus Plus             
4000       Independent Materia


Stardust               
8000       Item


Champion Belt         
16000       Accessory


OmniSlash             
32000       Cloud's Level 4 Limit Break Manual


W-Summon          64000      
Command Materia

You can buy as many of each item as you like if you have enough BP.


 

BATTLE SQUARE: THE URA BATTLE


In order to gain access to the URA (reverse) Battle, you have to be
in


Disc 2 or 3.  Cloud must be in your party, and you have to have
the


Ultima Weapon as well.  Go to the Battle Square and keep fighting


until you have enough BP to buy Cloud's Limit Break Manual or the Double


Summon materia (you don't have to use Cloud to earn the Battle Points).


Purchase one of them, then fight some more until you can afford the


other item.  Make sure that Cloud has learned all his limit breaks


except for his Level 4 Limit Break, then use his Manual on him and


equip him with the Ultima Weapon and the W-Summon materia (you


don't need to attach a Summon Materia to it).  Talk to the lady
at the


desk and she'll invite you to participate in the URA Battle. 
You'll


have to win eight consecutive fights against 8 boss monsters, even
ones


that you may not have met yet, like PuraudoKuraddo and JamaaAamaa. 
If


you're able to defeat all the bosses, then Dio will reward Cloud with


the Final Attack materia.


 

ALL THE GOLD YOU'D EVER WANT...SORT OF


While I have yet to meet him, several people have told me that a man


will show up outside of the Gold Saucer from time to time.  He'll
be


standing near the back of the screen in the outer entrace area (where


the Save Point is).  If you talk to him, he will trade you 1 GP
for


100 gil.  You can purchase up to 100 GP off him every time he
appears.


 

A MYSTERIOUS OPPONENT


If you get a high enough time score in the Snowboarding game at the


Gold Saucer (which, BTW, has different courses than the one at Icicle


Lodge), you'll get to race against a 'ghost' racer.  Who could
this


master of the snowy slopes be?  A Moogle, that's what.  Don't
make


Cloud look bad in front of all his friends--beat the Moogle!


 

Fort Condor:  THE MINI-BATTLE GAME


You can fight at the Fort Condor during any disc, although if you want


the Huge Materia, you'll have to play and win at least once in Disc
Two.


What's written here are brief instructions and simple strategies to
win.


The object of the game is to prevent the enemy from taking your land


(this is indicated by a pink bar to the left of the screen), and to
wipe


your foes out before they finish you off.  Your guys are blue;
the


enemy's force is red.

In the beginning, you'll be in control of a cursor and there are no


enemies on the screen.  You can use this time to place your allies


before the battle begins (while you can place icons during the battle,


it's easier to start off right now).  You can only set people
as far


as the red line; if you can't place a person, a red X appears over
the


hand cursor.  Placing icons costs money (gil).  Remember,
you can't


place bad guys!  The types and statistics of each icon (good and
bad)


are as follows:

Note that not all of these will be available intially (like the Fire


Catapult and Tristoner).

STATS. OF THE GOOD GUYS  ________________________________________________

NAME                   
HP      ATTACK  RANGE   COST   
STRONG/WEAK VS


Stoner                 
100     20      1~4    
480     n/a


Tristoner              
150     30      1~5    
1000    n/a


Catapult               
100     18      1~5    
480     n/a


Fire Catapult          
120     25      1~6    
600     n/a


Fighter                
200     30      1      
400     n/a


Attacker               
180     25      1      
420     Beast / Barbarian


Defender               
220     35      1      
440     Barbarian / Wyvern


Shooter                
160     20      1~3    
520     Wyvern / Beast


Repairer               
160     10      1      
480     n/a


Worker                 
160     15      1      
400     n/a


 

STATS. OF THE BAD GUYS  _________________________________________________

NAME                   
HP             
STRONG AND WEAK AGAINST


Beast                  
230            
Shooters / Attackers


Wyvern*                
190            
Defenders / Shooters


Barbarian              
100            
Attackers / Defenders


Commander              
250            
???

*   These guys can fly over obstacles, giving them more range.

The bad part about all this is that it cost real money (your money!)
to


play this game.  So it's best that you stock up on gil before
playing.


However, you'll be paid gil for every ally left standing when the battle


ends.  To buy an icon, use the controller to select them and press
O.


Then choose where you want to place one and press O again.  If
you're


placing a (Fire) Catapult or (Tri)stoner, then you'll see a red circle


or wedge-shape when you place them; this indicates their line of fire.


Use the Control Pad to choose how you want them to aim their attack.

When you're ready, press X and choose the top option.  The battle


begins!  Your controls work like this:

O              
Accept a command.  Place the cursor over a character


               
and place this button and you'll be given an option;


               
see the list of icons to see what options are available.


X              
Decline a command


L1 / L2         Decrease the
Speed Plus of the battle


R1 / R2         Increase the
Speed Plus of the battle


Start           Pause/unpause
the game


Select          Show/hide
instruction screen


Pad            
Moves cursor/put over ally or foe to see their


               
statistics and the direction they're heading in.

Every time one of your icons finishes walking, enters battle, or is


killed, you will be asked if you want to go to their location/give
them


a new command (if they died, it asks if you want to place a new one).


Press O to accept, or X to decline.


 

ICON OPTIONS  ___________________________________________________________


 

Stoner                 
TOP OPTION - DIRECTION.  You can redirect


TriStoner              
either type of droppers' line of fire.


                       
BOTTOM OPTION - REMOVE.  The dropper is


                       
destroyed.


Catapult               
TOP OPTION - DIRECTION  You can redirect


Fire Catapult          
either type of catapult's line of fire.


                       
BOTTOM OPTION - REMOVE. The catapult is


                       
destroyed.

Fighter                
OPTION - ACTION.  Pick where you want any of the


Defender               
three icons to move to and press O.  If they


Shooter                
can't walk to a certain location, an X appears


                       
over the cursor.

Repairer               
OPTION - ACTION.  Works just like the ACTION


                       
command explained above.

                       
If you make a Repairer walk near a damaged


                       
Catapult, Fire Catapult, Boulder, or Triple


                       
Boulder, he can repair them (give them back


                       
HPs).  These guys can automatically fight, too.

Worker                 
TOP OPTION - ACTION.  Works just like the WALK


                       
command explained above.


                       
BOTTOM OPTION - BOMB.  Creates a bomb that


                       
explodes when enemies approach.

The 'Dismantle' command for the catapults and droppers may seem useless,


but once an enemy force has passed beyond the range of one of these


icons, they are useless.  To free up space for more icons, (you
can only


have 20 at a time, remember?) you'll want to use this ability.

Basically, the battle is fairly automatic.  People attack when
close,


the catapults and droppers fire continuously.  All you have to
do is


move, replenish, and place new members.  The battle ends when
the 'land


taken' meter maxes out (i.e. they reach the little brown hut) or you


win the battle by destroying all the enemies.  Including the boss
who


shows up when most of the enemy force is defeated, there are about
40


enemies in total, who climb up the screen in a more or less steady,


continuous wave.  If you've played FF3, this feels a little like
those


'mass-crazy-fight-till-you drop battles', but without the rush of


adrenaline that usually accompanies such a fight.

BATTLES


(Note that you'll have to wait a while before another fight is


available.  Also, as far as I can tell, there's no point in donating


money since you'll have to spend Gil to hire troops, anyway.)

Battle One:  10 Enemies: 6 Beasts, 3 Wyverns, 1 Commander


            
Prize - Magic Comb

Battle Two:


 


 

STRATEGY FOR THE HUGE MATERIA BATTLE


Hope you have some money.  Start by placing Tristoner at the top
of each


path and angle their line of fire to follow the path (that's 4). 
Then,


buy another one and place it at the main junction and make it fire


straight forward.  Now, purchase four Fire Catapults and place
them at


the bottom of the paths, as close to the red line as you can. 
Angle


their line of fire to hit where the Tristoners can't.  If you
can spare


the gil, place two more just a little ways south and to either side
from


the main Tristoners for added protection.  Still with me? 
Place some


Defenders and Attackers down at the bottom, then place a whole bunch
of


Fighters, Attackers, and Defenders at the top of the screen. 
Last, stick


in some Shooters in hard-to-reach areas where they can pelt the enemy.


As your installments are destroyed/killed, all you have to do is place


new ones.

EXPENSIVE STRATEGY


If you have a _lot_ of cash, then just go crazy with the Tristoners
and


keep placing new ones (since they'll instantly fire).  If the
enemy


gains too much ground, start amassing forces of Defenders and Attackers


to take your opponents out and defend your installations.  The
boss is


easy to kill since he's slow and shows up when there's not a lot of


people left (leaving him all buy himself).  Just gang up on him
with


Defenders and Fighters, and if you've placed them earlier, try to steer


him towards the Bombs that the Workers can lay.


 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


  7 . 9      m a i n   m e
n u


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

At any time, press T to go to the Main menu.  Here, you'll see
portraits


of the members of your party, and to the right of each portrait, the


following stats:

        Current level of experience
(LV)


        Current/maximum HP


        Current/maximum MP


        Amount of experience gained
(top bar)


        Maximum Limit Break Level


        Amount of energy in the
Limit Break gauge  (bottom bar)

At the bottom of the screen is listed the amount of time you've spent


playing, and beneath that, the amount of gil (currency) you're carrying.


Beneath that is the name of your location.  To the far right are
ten


commands that you can select and choose:

ITEM


-------------------------------------------------------------------------


This screen shows the items you have.  You can USE an item, ARRANGE
your


items in eight different styles, or view your KEY ITEMS (these commands


are in order from left to right).  Depending on the item you choose,
you


may be able to use it on you or your companions (choose with the pointer).

USE          - Move the
cursor to select and use an item.


PUT IN ORDER - Arrange the items in one of eight ways:

  ZIBUNDE  - Do-it-yourself.

  FIELD    - Items usable while on the World Map/Field
are at the top of


            
the list.


  BATTLE   - Items usable during a battle are at the
top of the list.


  THROW    - Items that can be thrown are at the
top of the list.


  CATEGORY - Items are grouped by category (Weapons, Bracelets,


            
Accessories, and Items).


  NAME     - Items are sorted by name (using
the Japanese alphabet).


  OOI      - Items that you have the
most of are at the top of the list.


  TSUKUNAI - Items that you have the least of are at the top of
the list.

KEY ITEM     - Shows what Key Items you have. 
You can see an item's


              
description by pressing O and moving the cursor.


 

MAGIC


-------------------------------------------------------------------------


After choosing this command, choose the character whose magic you'd
like


to view.  When the screen changes, highlight MAHOU to see what
magic


your character has equipped, SHOUKAN to see what summon materia he
or


she is wearing, or TEKI NO WAZA, to see what enemy skills have been


learned.  You can use the O button and the cursor to see descriptions
of


the spells and use the ones that are highlighted.


 

MATERIA


-------------------------------------------------------------------------


After choosing this command, choose the character whose Materia you'd
like


to view.  The top row shows Materia holders on your weapon, and
the bottom


shows holders attached to your bracelet.  To the left of the weapon
bar is


this command:

TESIKA - lets you see how your Materia will be displayed during battles.

To left of the bracelet bar are these commands (press O to reveal them):

PUT IN ORDER        - arrange your
materia (by color, not type).


REMOVE ALL          -
unequip all your materia.


THROW AWAY          -
dispose of a materia.

To equip materia, place the cursor over a slot and press O.  A
list of


materia will be shown.  Scroll up or down using the controller
or the


L1 and L2 buttons until you find the materia you want, then press O


again.  If you do this to a slot that already has a materia in
it, it


will be switched with the one you selected.  To de-equip materia,
select


a slot with a materia on it, move the cursor to a blank space in the


materia list, and press O.

When the cursor is hilighting a materia, the following information is


shown:

 - A description of the materia (this appears in the long, thin
box)


 - An information box showing the following stats.:

   Type of Materia / Materia name          
no. of level stars


   Symbol for Damage Type (if any)         
Current AP


                                           
AP needed for next level

   Ability of materia                      
Score Changes

   (either the spell name, like            
(shows how the materia will


   Fire 1 or Cure, or a                    
alter your scores when it


   description, such as Gil Plus.            
is equipped, such as changes


   Otherwise, just the materia's           
to Luck or Maximum HP.  A


   name will be given.  If a               
increase is shown in yellow;


   ability is shown in black,              
decreases are in red.


   it cannot be used).

Please refer to the 'Materia Orbs' part of Section 15 of the FF7 FAQ
for


more detailed information.


 

EQUIPMENT


-------------------------------------------------------------------------


After choosing this command, pick the character whose equipment you'd


like to change.  The first row changes your weapon, the second
row


changes your bracelet, and the third row changes any special items
you


have equipped.  If you have other items that can be equipped,
they're


shown in the box to the right.  In the top-left box, the number
of


Materia holders for that item is shown, and in the lower box, the


benefit/loss of equipping a certain item will be shown (yellow is better,


red is worse).  Beneath the materia box, the AP growth for that
item is


shown (normal, x0, x2 or x3).


 

STATUS


-------------------------------------------------------------------------


The fifth option is STATUS.  Choose the character whose status
you want


to see.  Here, you see the same stats shown on the main screen,
although


the EXP and Limit Break bars are also shown in number format. 
On the


left are a list of stats, they are, in order:

Power


Speed Plus


Physical Strength


Magic Plus Power


Mind


Luck

Attack Power      - Power + Physical Strength


Hit Rate          - Power
+ Speed Plus


Defense Power     - Physical Strength + Mind


Evade Rate        - Speed Plus +
Luck


Magic Attack      - Magic Plus Power + Mind


Magic Defense     - Magic Plus Power + Mind


Magic Evade Rate  - Magic Plus Power + Speed Plus

To the right is shown your character's commands in the battle screen,
and


below that is shown the weapon, bracelet, and special item name and
the


Materia they can hold.  Pressing O while at this screen shows
another


screen where different Elementals your character has are highlighted.

The first four rows are for damage types.  Although the rows go
from


left to right, I'm listing it in a top to bottom format:

GAME TERMS


Fire Damage


Ice Damage


Lightning Damage


Earth Damage


Poison Damage


Demi Damage


Water Damage


Wind Damage


Holy Damage

Halfway down the screen is a larger, two-row list (it's shown twice).


The list is for status changes:

Going left to right, top row....

GAME TERMS


Death


Critical


Sleepel


Poison


Sadness


Angry


Confusion


Silence


Haste


Slow


Stop


Toad


Minimum

Going left to right, bottom row....

Slow Petrifying


Petrified


Regeneration


Barrier


Mabarrier


Reflect


Megabarrier


Condemned


Controlled


Berserk


Invincible


Paralysis


Darkness

If you check this screen and one of the symbols is lit up, that means


that that particular type of damage is being affected by the item you're


wearing (it does no damage, is halved, restores HP, etc.)  If
part of


one of the lower lists is lit up, that means that that particular kind


of status ailment is being affected by the item you're wearing. 
To see


what kind of 'affect' is in place, you need only look at the blue words


to the far right:

Elemental  ______________________________________________________________


The damage type row is listed four times because there are four


Elementals that can affect damage types.  They are:

  (Attack)


   - Attacks hit with highlighted Elemental.

  (To Halve)


   - Damage from highlighted Elemental is halved.

  (No Effect)


   - Attacks that hit with the highlighted Elemental have
no effect on


     you.

  (Absorb)


   - When hit, you will absorb the highlighted Elemental
and gain HP


     instead of losing it.


 

ADDITIONAL  _____________________________________________________________


The two-row list of status changes is shown twice because there are
two


additional affects that affect status changes.  They are:

  (Attack)


   - An attack you make also hits with the highlighted status
ailment.

  (Defense)


   - In addition to damage you take during battle, you will
defend


     yourself against the highlighted status ailment.

Special damage is damage that can't be defended against because it has
no


element type or traits (meaning that even with an accessory, Barrier,
or


Mabarrier equipped, it will still hit for full damage).  I think
the only


way to protect against special damage is if you are invincible (via
the


Shield spell or Aeris's Breaks) but this may not be true.


 

ORGANIZE


-------------------------------------------------------------------------


After choosing this command, press the O button twice to switch a person


between front and back row, or choose one character, than another,
to


make them switch position.  The switch is permanent until you
change it.


 

LIMIT


-------------------------------------------------------------------------


This screen shows you the same stats as on the main screen (minus the
EXP


bar).  Your max Limit level and learned Limit Breaks are highlighted


below.  To the right are two commands.

SET          - Choose what
Limit Break level you want to use, as long


              
as it's available.  Choosing a new level will empty


              
your Break meter, BTW.  This is the left option.

CHECK        - Pick this and use
the cursor to see descriptions of each


              
Limit Break after picking the Break Level you want to


              
view.  This is the right option.


 

CONFIG.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------


Choosing this command take you to the Configuration screen.  There,
you


have the following options:

(Window Color)


After selecting this option, choose a corner of the small window and


adjust the amount of red, blue or green by using the control pad. 
To


verify a color change, back up twice to the config. screen.  You
cannot


return to the default color unless you enter it manually.


 

(Sound)


Pick between:

 (Monaural) - for monaural sound output.


 (Stereo)   - for stereo sound output.


 

(Controller)


Pick between:

 (Normal) - Use the default controller settings.


 (Custom) - Customize the controller.

To customize your controller, highlight 'Custom' and press O. 
Then


press Start.  Now, use the cursor to move to the function you
want


to change and press the desired button to assign that function to the


pressed button.  The order of functions is:

  O       =  (Accept)


  X       =  (Cancel)


  T       =  (Menu)


  S       =  (Extra)


  L1      =  (Left One)


  R1      =  (Right One)


  L2      =  (Left Two)


  R2      =  (Right Two)


  Select  =  (Help)


  Start   =  (Pause)

You can set the buttons to have any command, but you can't exit out
of


this screen if you try to give each button the same commands. 
Press


LEFT when you are done setting the controller the way you want.

(Cursor)


Pick between:

(Initial) - The cursor will always appear at the top of the Main Menu.


(Memory)  - The cursor will appear on the sub-menu you last selected


           
when it is opened.


 

ATB  (Active Time Battle)


Choose from:

(Active)      - Time is always running.


(Recommended) - Time stops during item or magic use.


(Wait)        - Time stops when
selecting items or magic (and their


               
respective targets).

Even with Active Battle turned on, time still pauses during the use


of a summon spell, certain enemy actions, and other various attacks.


 

(Battle Speed Plus)


Press right to slow down the speed of battles, or left to increase
it.


 

(Battle Message)


Press right to make a message during battle appear longer, or left
to


make it appear for a shorter period of time.


 

(Field Message)


Press right to make a message spell out slower, or left to make it
spell


out faster.


 

(Camera Angle)


Pick from:

(Auto)  - The camera will move around freely and focus on ally
and enemy


          actions.


(Fixed) - The camera view stays in the exact position as when the battle


          first begins.


 

(Magic Rank)


This option lets you set up your magic spell order (attacking, healing,


and other, I suppose), in one of six setups.  This doesn't seem
to affect


your list of spells, though, so I'm not too sure of this option's purpose.

NO. 1:  Restore       Attacking    
Indirect


NO. 2:  Restore       Indirect     
Attacking


NO. 3:  Attacking     Indirect     
Restore


NO. 4:  Attacking     Restore      
Indirect


NO. 5:  Indirect      Restore      
Attacking


NO. 6:  Indirect      Attacking    
Restore


 

PHS (Party Hensei System)


-------------------------------------------------------------------------


In most cases, PHS is usable while standing on a Save Point or during


any time while standing on the World Map.  You don't have this
option


in the beginning, BTW.  Choose the character you which to eject
from


your party and the person you want to join from the right (or vice


versa).  Keep in mind that you can't eject the leader of your
party


(usually Cloud), and in some cases, certain characters insist on going


with you, so they can't be removed for the time being, either.

NOTE:  Characters who aren't in your immediate party still gain
levels!


       However, they only gain a small
amount of EXP in relation to your


       party, so they tend to fall 3-5
levels behind if not used for a


       long time.


 

SAVE


-------------------------------------------------------------------------


The last option.  Pick it, then choose the Memory Card slot you
want to


use, then choose one of fifteen Save slots you want to save your game
in.


Choose the top option to save or the bottom option to not save. 
If no


Memory Card is inserted or there's no more space, a message will tell


you so.


 




Think you're done? Ha! Check out Part 2!!