Disk 1
Unlike so many sites out there, I'm not going to just copy somebody else's walkthrough and paste it in here; I've written my own. Of course it takes a while longer, but that's the price to pay for a walkthrough that you can actually understand what all the items are (and not just a translation). With that said, I do require my permission if anyone is to use this walkthrough on their site. E-mail me at kingbahamut0@yahoo.com for any questions or if you'd like to use this walkthrough. As for the walkthrough itself, I will avoid talking about most plot sequences as it will take away from the experience of the game if you read it here first.
1. Mako Reactor
4. Midgar City Slums/Wall Market
10. Anchors Aweigh
11. Mt. Corel Path
12. Gold Saucer
14. Nibelheim
15. Rocket Town
16. The Keystone
18. Finding the City of the Ancients
After the awesome opening scene, take your character north and to the left.
You'll be attacked by some soldiers, but they'll be no problem. Talk to
the group of people you're with (Jessie, Wedge, and Biggs), and you'll be able
to name yourself (Cloud). Barret will come out and will eventually join
you as you continue. To open the locked doors, talk to either of the
people standing around and one of them will open it. There's a room on the
right-hand side with a Phoenix Down.
Continue on up until you reach the elevator. Press the button in the
elevator and once you get out, follow Jessie down the stairs and through the
doorway. Follow the path of pipes and ladders until you reach a save
point, which may be of use before the upcoming battle. Continue along the
track to the next screen and pick up the Restore
materia. Set the bomb at the reactor and prepare for the first boss.
=====================================
BOSS: Guard Scorpion - 800 HP - weakness: lightning
=====================================
Cloud has the lightning materia attached, so make use of Bolt as that will do
the most damage. Have Barret attack and don't worry too much about healing
as its attacks aren't very damaging. Towards the end of the battle, the
scorpion will raise its tail up above its head. Do not attack during this
time as the scorpion will perform a pretty nasty counterattack. If you
need to, heal yourself, but if not, just wait for it to drop its tail and finish
it off.
=====================================
As part of the spoils, you'll receive the Assault
Gun for Barret, so equip that right
away. You now have a ten-minute timer to get out of the reactor before the
bomb blows up. Retrace your steps back to the T-shaped corridor, freeing
Jessie on your way out. Take a left at the T-intersection (actually a
right from Cloud's perspective) and watch the reactor blow up.
Part 2: Return to Avalanche Base
After the destruction of the reactor, you'll find yourself in a back alley of
Midgar. Follow Barret up the stairs and you'll see the flower girl (Aeris)
on the next screen. She won't join you just yet, but you can buy a flower
from her if you want (1 gil). Continue by going down and pick up a Potion
on the next screen. You'll soon find yourself on the streets of Midgar
being chased by some Shinra guards. You can fight them or run, but there's
no sense in not taking some easy experience and gil, so fight them. After
a few battles, you'll be forced to jump onto the top of a train running
underneath. Who else could be in the train but the rest of the Avalanche
group! Talk around to the group until you reach the base in Sector 7.
Go to the little town on the left and into the bar in the west. There
you'll meet Tifa and Barret's daughter Marlene. Barret will come and go
downstairs. Follow him and talk to him in the secret base. Try to
leave the bar and Barret will show back up and give you 1500 gil for your help
in the reactor. When you leave the bar, Tifa will now join your party.
Head to the weapons shop to pick up Iron Bangles for everyone along with
anything else you feel you'll need. Go upstairs from the shop and inside
the cage to find an All
materia along with an Ether.
Head to the right from town and up in the next screen to a save point to save if
you so desire, and then head back to the train station and hop in for the next
mission.
After you talk to Tifa by the monitor where you talked with Jessie earlier, an
alarm will go off and you'll have to race from one car to the next. When
you make it to the final car, Tifa will jump from the train and you should
follow her (don't get your spikey ass hurt now!). Head up through the
tunnel until you reach a dead end. There's a small hatch on the left side
of the tunnel you'll have to crawl through there. Follow the simple
passage, picking up an Ether
along the way. Keep going and you'll find Jessie and a Potion.
You'll next run into Biggs with a Tent
and save point. Climb the ladder and you'll be in the No. 5 Reactor.
You should now be in a familiar room; go into the door and make your way to the
reactor core. Set the reactor to blow up and leave, retracing your steps
back and up the stairs to the elevator. Grab an Ether
in the next chain of rooms before having to time pressing the buttons with Tifa
and Barret. After you open that door, save and make your way to the
T-intersection corridor where you'll have to face your next boss.
==================================
BOSS: Air Buster - 1200 HP - weakness: lightning
==================================
You'll have the Air Buster cornered with two allies on one side and the other on
the other side. Whenever you attack, it will counter (most of the time),
so whoever you gave the Restore materia should heal the party at least every
other turn. Always try to attack it when it's facing the other way for
extra damage and have the character with the lightning materia cast Bolt on it
every turn. You'll also get to use a few limit breaks, so don't hesitate
to use them.
==================================
You'll receive a Titan Bangle
for defeating him, but that's not the only thing. It'll explode taking out
a part of the bridge and sending Cloud down for a long plummet.
Part 4: Midgar City slums/Wall Market
Cloud will wake up in a church with the Aeris right there. Talk to her a
few times and you'll be able to name her. Soon after, Reno will come in
with some guards and you and Aeris will have to get away from them. Go
into the back room of the church and make your way up to the raftors. But
just when you think you're getting away, Aeris falls down and you have two
options: you can help her out by dropping barrels on the guards chasing her or
simply have her fight the guards. If you choose to tell her to hold on,
here's the order for the barrels: back left, back right, front right.
You'll meet up in the raftors and escape through the roof. When you leave
the area with the church, head left and then up when the path splits.
You'll find yourself in a town with some shops for you to stock up. The
only thing of interest in terms of buying is the materia shop, so get a couple
of each. Take the path on the right side of town and you'll see Aeris's
house. But before you go inside, head to the garden on the right and pick
up the Cover
materia and an Ether.
Now go inside and talk to her mother Elmyra and go to sleep upstairs.
Elmyra asks you to leave in the middle of the night, but before you leave, pick
up a Potion
and Phoenix Down
in the bedroom. Sneak and I do mean sneak by Aeris's room and leave the
house. As you leave the small village and make your way to the left on the
path where you'll run into Aeris again. Go up through the junk pile and
find a playground. Aeris will go on ahead so follow her into Wall Market.
Start off your tour of Wall by checking
out the shops. Here's some goodies you should buy: Mythril
Rod for Aeris, Cannon
Ball for Barret, Metal
Knuckle for Tifa, and Mythril
Armlets for everyone. Talk around
the bar and you'll find out that Tifa's been taken in by Don Corneo, the head
honcho in the mansion in the back of town. Now head into the mansion and
talk to the guy at the door. They only allow women to enter, so Aeris
convinces Cloud to dress up as a woman. Start off by heading down into the
clothing shop. The owner isn't there, but you can find him at the bar
sitting near the entrance. Get the man to make a dress for you and then
return to the clothing store. Pick your personal style and you'll get a
dress. Cloud won't put it on just yet as you'll need to get a wig first.
Go to the gym and challenge the guy in there to a squat contest. No matter
what the result is, you'll get a wig. Now head back to the clothing store
for Cloud to suit up. Go back to the mansion and the guy will let Cloud
and Aeris in. When you're inside, go into the doorway on the left to find
Tifa along with an Ether.
Leave the room and head through the middle doors to meet up with Corneo.
He'll pick one of the girls to take to his room and you'll be sent to a room
with a bunch of guys chasing after you. Pick up the Phoenix
Down and talk to guy guarding the door
and the one standing on the north side of the room a couple times and you'll
reveal your true self. Take care of the goons and go to the room on the
left again to pick up the other girl (whoever wasn't picked) and then go back to
the Don's room. Cloud, Tifa, and Aeris will team up against Corneo to
scare him, but he'll pull a switch and everyone will fall through a trap door.
When you get up, don't talk to Tifa or Aeris yet. Go up the stairs on the
bottom and get a Potion.
Now talk to the girls to get them up and when you try to walk on through the
sewer, you'll get attacked.
==========================
BOSS: Aps - 1800 HP - weakness: fire
==========================
This guy shouldn't be too much of a problem. Whoever has fire (you
remembered to buy some right?) should use that every round. But don't give
fire to Aeris as she should be used to heal the party when needed. The
only attack of any worry is its Sewer Tsunami which will cause damage to
everyone, but also to himself. It's usually a good idea to heal after one
of those, although not entirely necessary. Aeris's Healing Wind limit
break is also very helpful.
==========================
Make your way through the sewer and look for a yellow materia (Steal)
sitting on a ledge in the second room. Continue through until you reach a
ladder that leads out of the sewers and into the trainyard. You may want
to save as the enemies here are no pushovers. When you face the ghosts,
make sure you don't attack while they aren't visible. Now, check the oil
drum next to the save point to find a Hi-Potion
by going through the train car. You can find another Hi-Potion
on top of a train car. Get off the car's roof on the left and go up to get
an Echo Screen
out of the drum. Head right and down and into another car to find a Potion.
Climb the ladder on top of the car and go up to another ladder and another Potion.
Go inside the car and up to get to the next screen. Start off by going
around to the left to find yet another Potion.
Go to the left some more to find an Ether
in another oil drum. Now go up to get to more trains. Move the first
train by going in the door to give yourself access to a Hi-Potion.
Then go move the train in back, climb up the stationary car next to it, jump
across to the car you moved, and go left, down the ladder, and to the left.
You'll find yourself back at the train station just outside the Avalanche base.
Go left again and up to the gate where people are all looking up. Save and
start climbing the long circling pillar of stairs. You'll catch up with
Barret who's shooting at some Shinra guards above. He'll join you and Tifa
for the next boss battle.
============================
BOSS: Reno - 1000 HP - weakness: none
============================
Make sure one of your characters has Restore as you may need to use it.
There's no real weakness for Reno, so physical attacks and limit breaks are what
you'll need to beat him, although ice seems to do a fair amount of damage.
If Reno uses his pyramid attack to freeze one of your characters, have somebody
else attack that character to free him/her. Don't worry, it won't take any
HP away from them. As with any boss, keep your HP up and attack as much as
you can.
============================
Aeris will be kidnapped by Tseng and the heroes have to make a heroic escape to
avoid going down with the pillar. Enjoy the FMV but the fun is only
beginning...
After the explosion, you'll find yourself back at the playground outside Wall Market. Pick up the Sense materia and head south. Barret and Tifa will join you and head back into Wall Market. Some new materia is available, so check out the shops once more. Now leave the market and head back to Aeris's house. Talk to Elmyra and take a rest for the night. Head back to Wall Market and go up and take a right just before the Don's mansion. But before you climb the vines, buy three batteries from the Machine & Gun store for 300 gil. Return to the vines and start climbing. In the next screen, place a battery in a box on the lower-right to open the path to the next area. Use your second battery and make your way to the swinging pipe. Climb up to find the last box and an Ether. Go down and circle around and back up and above the street level and the Shinra Headquarters.
You can enter the building by either sneaking up the side stairwell or running in through the front. If you go through the front doors, you'll have to fight some baddies, and is quicker than the stairs. The stairwell is enemy-free and has an Elixir but takes a while to make it up all the stairs. Either way you'll end up on the 59th floor. Kill the guards on the bottom-right to get the 60th floor key. Take the elevator up and go into the room on the left. Next, you'll have to sneak across the hall without being seen by the guards. You have to pause behind the statues and run when the coast is clear. If you get seen, you'll get attacked. But if you get attacked and take care of the baddies four times, the coast will be cleared. Take the stairs up to the 61st Floor. Talk to everyone here and the guy in the bottom left that asks you about Aeris. Answer "........" and you'll get the key for the 62nd floor.
The 62nd Floor has a puzzle in the library. The answer changes every time, but the trick is to take the first letter and number into account of the books that are in the wrong libraries. It doesn't matter if you miss it the first try, but you'll get an Elemental materia for your first guess. Solve the puzzle and you'll get the 65th floor key. The 63rd floor is pretty tricky as well. You can open only 3 doors and have to try to get three item coupons. You can reset the doors in the computer room on the lower-right, but that also replaces the item coupons. I don't want to give away all the puzzles, but try the top two doors if you're having trouble. You'll get a Star Pendant (A), Four Slots (B), and an All (C) if you can manage them all. It doesn't matter whether you take the elevator or the stairs, but head to the 64th floor. There are really only two points of interest on the next floor. You can take a rest in the upper-left "beds" and can find some items in the lockers on top (Phoenix Down and Ether). Up now to the 65th floor and another puzzle. There's a model of Midgar in the middle and treasure chests in rooms around the central room. Watch out for enemies in the surrounding halls and start picking up the parts in the upper-left room and working your way counter-clockwise to get all the parts. Place the parts in the model in a counter-clockwise fashion starting with the bottom and when all the parts are in, the 66th floor key will be in the chest in the room on the middle-right.
On the 66th floor, make your way to the bathroom in the upper-left part of the floor. Climb on top of a toilet and into the air duct. You'll get into an opening and will be able to spy on a meeting with some Shinra bigwigs. After the meeting is over, climb down and follow Hojo up to the 67th floor. Keep following, but not too close, until you reach the purple chamber with Jenova inside. After the Shinra leave, go up to find a Poison materia, save point, and elevator. Go on up to the 68th floor and you'll find where Aeris was taken to. Choose who you want to protect Aeris with (i.e. who you don't want in the upcoming battle) and the other character, Cloud, and the new-found Red XIII will fight the next boss.
=============================
BOSS: HO512 - 1000 HP - weakness: none
=============================
Don't worry about the little friends that the boss keeps with him; focus your attacks on the big guy. Fire and Bolt work better than physical attacks, so try to stick to those. Barret is probably the better choice between him and Tifa as he can induce more damage on the enemy. Make sure you have someone to heal everyone and Antidotes or Poisona for those who don't have a Star Pendant. When you beat him you'll get a Talisman.
=============================
When everything settles down, pick up the Enemy Skill materia in the chamber and return to the 66th floor to enter one of the elevators. You'll get caught by Rude and get tossed into the jail cells on the 67th floor. Go to sleep and when you wake up, something will seem very wrong. Walk out the door and check the fallen guard. Talk to Tifa and return to the guard to unlock the other doors. Return now to the place on the 68th floor where you found Red. Go up the walkway on the bottom of the room to find two Potions and return to the ground and find a walkway on the bottom-right. Follow the hall to find 2 more Potions and the stairs to the 69th floor. Use the save point and climb the staircase to the President's room (I'll leave the plot twist for you to see). Head outside to the balcony to find Rufus and when the parties split, make sure the party Cloud isn't in has Lightning and Fire and each have Restore. Take your new party of Barret, Red, and Aeris down the stairs and to the elevator on the bottom of the screen where you'll be attacked by another boss.
=====================================================
BOSS: Hundred Gunner - 1600 HP - weakness: Lightning - no damage: Poison
=====================================================
Regular attacks won't work on this machine (except long-range attacks like Barret). So have Barret attack and Aeris and Red use Bolt and Fire. Limits are going to come plentiful, so make good use of Restore and Aeris's Healing Wind limit break. When it falls, another boss comes in.
==================================================
BOSS: Heli Gunner - 1000 HP - weakness: Lightning - no damage: Poison
==================================================
This new boss is much like the previous in regards to your technique. Stick to Bolt and Fire and keep healthy. You'll get a Mythril Armlet for your victory.
==================================================
Those three have now escaped the building, but now there's the matter with Cloud. He gets a mano a mano fight with Rufus (and his pet kitty).
============================
BOSS: Rufus - 500 HP - weakness: none
============================
Begin by taking care of the panther and healing only when your HP are low. There's really nothing to worry about with Rufus's attacks. If the panther casts Barrier on Rufus and after you kill the kitty, use any attack magic on Rufus to finish him off. When you get a limit break, use it on Rufus regardless if the kitty is still alive.
============================
After defeating Rufus, you'll get a Protect Vest and Guard Source. Head back down to where Tifa is and save before talking to her. You'll eventually get onto a motorcycle and have to protect the van of your allies from enemies coming up beside you. Whack whack whack from side to side and there should be no problem. Just sit behind the van and try to keep the enemies from riding up in front of you. At the end of the road, you'll get ambushed by yet another boss.
===================================
BOSS: Motor Ball - 2600 HP - weakness: Lightning
===================================
Since your characters are probably not at full health after the motorcycle scene, start by healing everyone. Again, have as many people as you can use Bolt against the Motor Ball. Ice also works pretty nicely. Heal as often as you need to, but just remember the restraint on the All materia that only allows you to use it a certain number of times. You'll get a Star Pendant for taking care of this boss.
===================================
Finally! You get to take a break now before you head out of Midgar and into...
Make a new party and make your way to the town of Kalm. It's just a little ways northeast of Midgar. Head into the inn and Cloud will begin a long series of flashbacks. Search the houses in town to find a Peacemaker, 3 Ethers, and a Guard Source. Take care of your shopping needs and take a little time to level up if you want. When you're ready, head through the valley in the east and then go southeast to the Chocobo Farm. Once you enter, talk to the chocobos in the pen and select the top option of WARK! to watch the chocobos dance and you'll get the Choco/Mog summon materia. Talk to the man in the house and he'll sell you a Chocobo Lure materia for 2000 gil. Leave the Farm and equip the Chocobo Lure materia. Play around the tracks and when you get in battle, there's a chance that a chocobo will be one of the enemies. In that case, kill off the other enemies as fast as you can and you'll be riding the chocobo after the battle if it was still there when the other enemies died. Ride the choco to the swamp in the Southwest, but don't touch the snake slithering around underneath the water. This is the Midgar Zolom and it'll obliterate you unless you built a bunch of levels. If you want to get its enemy skill Beta, come back at a much higher level when it doesn't pose any threats. Cross the swamp and you'll find a cave.
Begin the Mythril Cave by going right and up. In the next area, you'll find an Ether, Tent, and a Long Range materia. Return to the beginning of the cave, go left, down and right to find a Mind Source. Continue to the left to the next area and a scene with the Turks. After they leave, go up to find a Hi-Potion and Elixir. Go back down and climb the vine on the left and leave the mine. Head to the southwest to find Ft. Condor to stock up on items and materia if you'd like. When you're done there, continue west until you reach the shore and head north until you reach the town of Junon. Talk around to the villagers and go down to the beach on the left side of the town. There you'll find Priscilla and a dolphin playing when another boss attacks you.
=================================
BOSS: Bottomswell - 2500 HP - weakness: Wind
=================================
You'll have to stick to magic again with this battle. Have two characters use attack magic on the boss with Bolt and/or Bio. Have your third character heal when needed and also give him/her an attack materia. And just in case, give another of your characters a Restore materia. If he uses a bubble on you that slowly drains HP, have another character cast an attack magic on that character (won't hurt them) and the bubble will go away. Always keep your HP up in case it uses its big wave attack which will hit all allies.
=================================
You'll get a Power Wrist at the end of the battle, and then you have to perform CPR on Priscilla. You'll want to get the "lung meter" all the way to the top to revive her quicker. After that little game, head back to the first house on the left from the entrance to spend the night for free. When you awake, head outside and go into the house where all your friends are gathered (on top of the stairs). Priscilla will thank you for saving her and give you the Shiva materia. Follow her to the beach again and use the dolphin to reach the beam high above. Press square once on and you'll miss. When you drop in the water, don't move and press square again and you'll land on the beam.
Make your way to the platform with the Highwind and use the lift to carry you down to the ground floor. Continue down to find a doorway into a building. Go up to find a locker room and dress up as a Shinra soldier from the half-open locker. Some more guards will come in and will go over the marching procedures in the upcoming parade. Once you understand what's going on, leave and follow the soldiers into the parade. You can save before you come here to try to get better ratings if you wish, but the idea of the game is to run to the back of the pack and come around in formation. The higher the rating is, the better the items you get. I'm not sure what the exact ratings are, but the items are a Grenade, 6 Potions, 6 Ethers, or 5000 gil going from the lowest ratings to the highest. After a short meeting with Rufus and Heidegger, you'll be sent back to the locker room to practice for the next objective.
Once you leave the building, feel free to tour the shops for some weapons and materia to buy along with treasures. I'll leave the searching up to you, but you can find an Enemy Skill, 2 1/35 Soldiers, Mind Source, Luck Source, Speed Source, Power Source, and a Guard Source. When you reach Rufus and Heidegger again, you get to put to use your last bit of training. As long as you're not late in pressing the buttons, you'll get points for every move (except changing direction). Press any button for the final salute. Again, depending on how many points you get depends on what item you get. You'll get either Silver Glasses, HP Plus, or a Force Stealer with 60 pts. needed for the HP Plus and 150 for the Force Stealer. When all is said and done, board the boat to make your way to Costa del Sol.
Pick up an Ether and All materia here and talk to everyone in the room. Go up to the deck and talk to everyone there, and then head back below deck and talk to Aeris again. When you return to the deck, go all the way left and the sailors there will have left, allowing you to reach the front of the boat. Talk to Barret at the front a few times when an alarm will go off. Return to the middle of the ship to assemble a party and head back downstairs. Go through the door at the bottom of the stairs and find a Wind Slash on the catwalk. "Talk" to the dead guard and Sephiroth will show up with a little present for you.
=================================
BOSS: Jenova*Birth - 4000 HP - weakness: none
=================================
It is of utmost importance to keep your HP up in this battle. Jenova has a big laser attack to hit all allies for some decent damage and getting hit with it twice in a row can be devastating. Keep one person for healing and heal one person at a time unless Jenova uses the laser on everyone. In that case, use the All materia to heal everyone. As for attacks, use physical attacks or any strong magic or summons you have, but stay away from Poison. You'll get a White Cape for your victory.
=================================
After the battle with Jenova, pick up the Ifrit materia. Wait for the boat to dock and you've now arrived at Costa del Sol. At the entrance to the town, go to the second story house and head in. Ignore the guy on top and head to the basement for a Power Source, Motor Drive, and Fire Ring. Go into the bar and there's a man in the bottom-left corner who will sell you some items, so see what he has. When you're done with that, you can leave town.
To the southwest is a path that leads through the mountains and into another cave. The cave leads to another Mako Reactor underneath the mountain. Follow the train tracks to the bottom right through a couple screens. Now you should be at wavy path of tracks. Save and continue along. On the tracks themselves are a W Machine Gun, Turbo Ether, and Transform materia. There are also three spots where you will fall through the tracks. Hold left and tap O to get a Wizard Staff and hold right while tapping O to get a Star Pendant. Take the lower path to make your allies not in your party appear below, then retrace your steps and take the upper path to get onto the long bridge above. Go into the little shack and lower the bridge on the lower path. There's a part of the wall where you'll here some chirping when you get near. Climb up it, pick that you want to take the treasure, and you will be attacked. You'll then get 10 Phoenix Downs for defeating the birds. Now head all the way back and take the lower path again at the wavy track area. As you make your way along the tracks in the next screen, the tracks will split once more. Take the left track, go up, and find a hidden room on the right. Inside you'll find a Tent, Mind Source, and Power Source. Leave the room and return to the tracks, this time taking a right. Cross the long suspension bridge and you will arrive in the town of North Corel.
You'll see another sequence now, this time about Barret's past. When he's done, go shopping and stop at the inn if you'd like. When you're satisfied with your equipment, head down and towards the left to find the ropeway station. Head on in and you'll be taken to the Gold Saucer. At the entrance, you're given the option of how you want to pay for admission. You can pay 3000 gil for one admission or 30,000 gil for a lifetime admission. You're not going to be coming here more than ten times, so pay the 3000 gil. Enter the next room and there will be another short talking sequence. After that, talk to one person to join you to tour the amusement park. Go to the Wonder Square and talk to Cait Sith and he'll join your party after failing miserably to predict your fortune (but his last clue is a nice hint of bad things to come...). Now head to the Battle Square and you'll find everyone there is dead. Keep trying to talk to all the bodies until Dio, the one who operates the Battle Square, comes in and blames you (Barret especially) and sends you to the Corel Prison.
When Barret runs away, talk to the people in the area before going through the gate on the bottom. Check out the area, being aware of enemies and thieves lurking around, and go to the shack on the bottom-right side. Switch your team around if you want and head back up to the first screen. Check the fallen guard and go through the gate. When you find the man beyond the gate, go right until you reach the junkyard. If you get lost, a caravan will come by and it'll take you back. In the junkyard, go up and you'll run into Dyne. You get to fight him now only with Barret.
===========================
BOSS: Dyne - 1200 HP - weakness: none
===========================
Dyne is pretty simple really. Just make sure you gave Barret a Restore materia beforehand. Attack with physical attacks and limit breaks and heal when need be and you'll have no problem.
===========================
When Dyne dies, you'll see another sequence that basically equates to you getting the opportunity to win your freedom if you can win a chocobo race. In the jockey room, pick up the Ramuh materia in a little alcove and then talk to Ester to go to your race. Here's a little tip on easily winning the race. Start by dashing out in front until you pass the second crystal that twinkles when you pass it. Then stop dashing and then hold both R flippers to regain your stamina. Keep walking until you get to the section in space and dash to the finish. After you win, you get the buggy which allows you to drive around the world map and cross shallow rivers. Just remember that you still can get into battles with enemies.
Part 13: Gongaga and Cosmo Canyon
Take your new buggy to the southwest to find a shallow part of river to cross. Keep heading south and look for a dark structure within a forest. Head on in and you'll find the Turks once more.
==================================
BOSS: Reno and Rude - 2000 HP: weakness: none
==================================
This battle is really a walk in the park. Focus your attack on either of the two with physical attacks, magic, or summons. Heal whenever you feel like it. It doesn't matter which one you attack first, but Rude can heal himself and Reno, but Reno's attacks are stronger. You'll get a Fairy Tale and X-Potion for winning.
==================================
After the battle, take the right path to reach a big junk pile. After Scarlet and Tseng stop by, go to the point where Scarlet was standing and there you'll find the Titan materia. Leave the area and now take the right path. You'll find a Deathblow materia on the next screen, but take the right path to reach Gongaga. Check out all the shops as you'll definitely want to buy new upgrades. Also make sure you pick up the Time materia in the materia shop as it is a very helpful magic. Also pick up an X-Potion in the inn and the White M-Phone in one of the houses. When you're ready, leave town and take the left path to return to the world map. Head west and cross the shallow part of the river. Follow the path north through the mountains until you reach Cosmo Canyon. You have to stop here because your buggy will break down and it won't get fixed until you've finished the little quest for Red XIII.
Enter Cosmo Canyon and you'll discover this is Nanaki's home town. After he runs ahead, talk to the guard and Red will come back to let you in. Go around town to check out all the different shops and take note of the rope blocking a passage in the item shop. If you come back during disk 2 or 3, you'll find a Magic Source, Elixir, and FullCure materia. When you're done with that, follow where Red went to and make your way up the mountain side to the Observatory. There you'll find Red and Bugenhagen, supposedly Red's Grandfather. He'll ask you to bring along two more people, so go find two party members and bring them back up into Bugenhagen's observatory. When that's over, return to the bonfire in the main area of Cosmo Canyon. Talk with all your friends and to Red twice. Bugenhagen will float over and invite you to come into the cave of the Gi. Follow him up above the weapon shop and he'll open the seal to the door blocking the cave. If you feel ready, do proceed.
At this point of the game, the monsters in this cave are very good for experience and AP. But they are a bit tougher, especially the big spiders. So climb on down! In the first screen, go right until you see a hole on the left side of the path as the path twists up. Go in the hole and press O for an opening to appear. Head up and take a left at the first crossroad. There's an oil slick there and when you slide into it, spikes appear and each member will lose 500 HP. Go down after that. Follow through the hole to find the Added Effect materia. Return to the oil slick and WALK slowly along the edge of the rocks to go back right. Then head up, left, and down the stairs to find passages to get an Ether and Black M-Phone. Then go to the top-left corner to leave this area. The next room has five dark holes you can go through, though three are useless. Take the fourth from the left and fight the first spider at the web. Continue up to find an X-Potion. Return to the bottom of the room and now take the second hole. After the next spider, go left and down. While you're going down through the tunnel, hold right to find a hidden tunnel and a Fairy Ring. Return to where you fought the second spider and head up to face another one. Before you exit the area, search for a hidden passage on the left leading to a Turbo Ether. Now head up for the wall in the next area and you'll be so lucky to fight another boss.
=======================================
BOSS: Gi Nattak - 5500 HP - weakness: Ice - absorbs: Fire
=======================================
If you want an easy win, just use a Phoenix Down or cast Life on him and he'll die if it connects. Otherwise, try to destroy the two lamps that give him life. Cast Ice or use physical attacks and limit breaks. Do not use Fire as it will heal him. When the lamps are gone, focus on the main body until the lamps come back. He uses Fire2 so make sure you heal when you're low on HP.
=======================================
Don't miss the Gravity materia that's left behind and follow Bugenhagen up the steps. After the scene with Red and his father, (oops, I guess that's a bit of a spoiler for those reading ahead of where they're at), leave the town and Red will join you again for good and you'll also get his Seraph Comb, which is by far the best weapon at this point in the game. When you're back at the world map, you'll find the buggy is fully operational again, so hop in and continue on your journey. Follow the shore as you go north to find another town...Nibelheim.
Probably the first thing you'll notice that's wrong is the strange black creatures sitting around talking about the Sephiroth Reunion. Talk to them all and most of them will give you an item. You should be able to find 2 Luck Sources, Elixir, Platinum Fist, and a Turbo Ether. Now go into the mansion in the upper part of town, being aware of monsters roaming free. Right at the beginning of the stairs, there's a hidden passage on the right. Go into the room to find a Silver M-Phone. Go back left and now up (under the balcony) and take a right. Go up to find a Twin Viper. Head back to the entrance and now go upstairs and take a left. In the treasure chest is an Enemy Launcher. In the room on top is the safe (see Hints&Tips). Head back right and continue going right into the next room. The room on the top has a Magic Source. Once you get that, head to the bottom room and find the hidden passage on the top-right of the room. Take the spiraling staircase down to the cavern and the library. Here you'll run into Sephiroth and he'll throw a Destruct materia at you when he leaves. Now leave the mansion and head up past the mansion into the mountains.
Once you're on the mountain path and it splits, take the northern path which will twist around to a chest and the Rune Blade. Go back to the main path and just before you reach the bridge, there's a path to the north leading up into the mountain peaks. There's a twist in the path that will take you around to the peak of one of the mountains and a Plus Barrette. Return to and cross the bridge. The next cavern has a set of slides along with ladders (chutes and ladders, haha). Before you go down a slide, use the ladders to reach the bottom of the cavern. Don't worry about the boss floating there but use the save point. Go back up to the top of the slides and go down the one marked 2. At the bottom you'll find a Powersoul. Jump to the floor and return to the top, this time taking no. 4. Here you'll find an All materia. Again, drop to the floor. To the left of the boss is another path leading outside, so take it. Drop down to the path below and when you find another cave, head in and take the right-hand path. Don't go through the exit just yet, but work your way down and left. Go through the little hole and then go up, left, and down to find an Elixir. Now you can retrace your steps and head for the exit and into the "materia spring" area. Pick up the Elemental materia and continue going up. Take the right path in here and go around the rock wall, turning left and down to find a Sniper CR. Go back to the right passage and take a left to find the reactor where Jenova was stored before Sephiroth took her head. Don't bother with the plant, but go past it to find a door that leads back into the cavern of slides and ladders. Head down to the save point and attack the boss that's been waiting for you.
=============================================
BOSS: Materia Keeper - 8400 HP - weakness: none - absorbs: Fire
=============================================
Just as with the last boss, stay away from using fire magic or fire-elemental attacks. Did you remember to pick up the Time materia? Have it linked with an All, and haste everyone. Use physical attacks and limit breaks if you have good weapons. You should save some MP for healing; don't forget to have that linked with an All, but don't use it on everybody every time as it won't be necessary every time. If haste runs out, simply re-cast it. This boss can heal itself as well, so make sure you keep an ongoing barrage of attacks going. It can use some pretty good attacks on you, including Trine, so make sure you keep healed if your HP are starting to slip a little. You'll get a Jem Ring for winning.
=============================================
Pick up the Counter materia left behind and head outside to the world map. Now go left, up, and right around the mountains to find Rocket Town.
Start off by taking a tour of the town and talking to people, but don't go to Cid's house just yet. In the house on the farthest right, you can find a chest with a Power Source in it. You can also go talk to the old man standing just to the left of the path that goes to the rocket. Talk to him a second time and he'll ask if you want to see the rocket. Say yes and he will give you the Yoshiyuki. It's not really that great of a weapon at this point of the game, so you might as well sell it right away. Go shopping now and then go to the house to the right of the old man, which is Cid's house. You'll find a Drill Arm inside even though nobody is around. Go around to the back entrance and you'll find Cid's plane the Tiny Bronco in the backyard. Shera will show up and tell you Cid is by the rocket, so head up there. You'll find him inside the rocket where you'll name him and be able to ask a few questions. Head back to Cid's house and you'll hear Cid's story from Shera. Cid will also stop by and head back by his plane. When Shera's done telling the story, Cid will come back in and the Turks will come to join in on the fun. Go in the backyard to find Rufus and a guard. Shera will pull you back in the house, but go back outside to fight Palmer.
=============================
BOSS: Palmer - 6000 HP - weakness: none
=============================
Begin by hasting everybody with an All materia. His Mako Gun can do a fair amount of damage, so keep someone for healing or use Aeris for her Healing Wind limit break. You can also use Slow or Choco/Mog to help slow him down. As usual, use physical attacks and powerful magic attacks and summons. For winning, you'll get an Edincoat.
=============================
Palmer will get hit by a truck (hehe) and your allies and Cid will escape on the Tiny Bronco even though it gets shot down. Before you head to the next stop on your mission, make sure you head to Wutai, even if you're not going to participate in the Yuffie side-quest. There are many new weapons and armors along with other things you can find that's very helpful. Now's also a good time to go back to Nibelheim to open the safe if you haven't done that yet. See Hints&Tips for more info on both of those topics.
If you go to the house on the peninsula southeast of the Gold Saucer (you don't have to go there though), the man there will tell you that you need to have the Keystone in order to open the Temple of the Ancients. So now it's time to head back to the Gold Saucer to find it. Go into the Battle Square and look on the right side where there's a room entitled "Dio's Show Room". Head in and you'll see the keystone and Dio will come in and offer you a challenge for the keystone. If you fight in the Battle Square, he'll give it to you. It doesn't matter what happens in the battles, you'll still get the keystone. If you want to find out more info on the Battle Square, go to the Hints&Tips page. If you manage to complete all the battles without losing, Dio will give you a Protect Vest and a Choco Feather. When you try to leave the Gold Saucer, you'll find the ropeway has broken and you're stuck there. Cait Sith comes along and suggests that everyone should go to the Ghost Hotel to spend the night. After a little chit-chat, you'll next be in your room.
Most of the time it's Aeria, but it's also possible for Tifa or Yuffie to come in and ask for a date with Cloud. Anyway, when the date's over, you'll find Cait Sith has stolen the Keystone and is trying to escape. Cloud will then start chasing him around through various squares, but if you don't feel like doing that, just skip ahead to the Chocobo Square. He'll then toss the Keystone to Tseng and he gets away. Cait is left to confront Cloud, and they reluctantly let him stay in the group. After he leaves, you'll appear back in your room; pick up an Elixir in the cabinet before you leave. When you do, Aeris will join your party along with another of your choice. The ropeway is now fixed so you can leave the Gold Saucer now. Head back to the Tiny Bronco and skim it to an island west and a little south of Ft. Condor. On the island is what looks like a pyramid surrounded by a forest. What else could it be but the Temple of the Ancients.
Part 17: Temple of the Ancients
As you enter the temple, you'll find Tseng who's been injured by Sephiroth. He'll give you the Keystone; go to the platform and examine it to go into the temple itself. This area of the temple is a rather big maze, so here it goes. Start by going up, left, up, and down the stairs. Go through the opening above you, turn right, and climb down the vines below you. Go underneath the staircase to find a Trident. Now go right, down the stairs, and climb the vine wall. Go past the opening and head up the stairs. Climb the vines to find a Mind Source and go down the stairs and through the door on the left. Inside is the old man that's been running away along with a Silver Rifle. Talk to the old man and he'll offer to sell you items, restore your HP/MP, or save your game. Head outside, backtrack up the stairs and down the vines, but take the route leading down and towards the left. Pick up the Turbo Ether and head down the long staircase. Go down the small set of stairs to the left and make your way to the bottom-left of the screen. Look for some vines to climb down to reach a Rocket Punch. Go down the stairs and head northeast to find some more vines to climb. Go up the stairs, through the archway, and to the right. Go down the stairs and climb a high wall of vines. Go left and under the stairs to find a Luck Plus materia. Retrace your steps right, down the vines, up the stairs, down and out through the archway, just above some vines. Head east, then turn south and east again to find another door.
In this next room, there are some hollowed-out boulders rolling down towards you. Move quickly and carefully to be in the spot where the boulder won't roll over you as it passes by. When you get to the pool, you can stop by and pick up a Morph materia. Continue up the path and once you reach the end, the boulders will disappear and Aeris will sense a disturbance coming from the pool. After the appearance of Sephiroth, go back up to find the old man. He'll offer the same services as before, but you won't be able to buy any items from him. When you ready, continue along the path to find a large clock with a doorway at each number. You can start by stepping on the clock hands and letting the second hand knock you off into the pit below. When you land, you'll see a treasure chest, but you'll be attacked first.
=====================================
BOSS: Ancient Dragon - 2400 HP - weakness: Gravity
=====================================
These guys aren't very tough. Just use physical attacks and Demi for an easy win and a Turbo Ether.
=====================================
You can now pick up the treasure in the chest, which is the Nail Bat. Leave the room and you'll come back out in the maze area. You should be able to find your way back to the clock pretty easily though. When you get back to the clock, here's the list of what the passages lead to:
I: treasure chest full of monsters, but nothing in the chest
II: blocked off by rocks
III: another treasure chest with only monsters inside (no items again)
IIII: Aeris's ultimate weapon, the Princess Guard
V: leads outside to a Ribbon
VI: see below and make sure you've gotten the items from the other rooms before going here
VII: a Cait Sith weapon, the Trumpet Shell
VIII: a Megalixir is in the treasure chest
IX: blocked off by rocks
X: entrance into the clock room
XI: blocked off by rocks
XII: nothing now, wait until after you're done with VI
Ok, now for doorway number 6. In the next room, you'll once again have to chase the old man around, this time trying to predict which passage he's going to come out of. Also don't miss the Work Gloves in the treasure chest on the bottom. When you catch the old man, he'll offer the same options as the last time you ran into him and also open the big doors on the top. Make your way to the right and you'll find out Sephiroth's plan of Meteor and also get to face another dragon.
===============================================
BOSS: Red Dragon - 6800 HP - weakness: none - no damage: Gravity
===============================================
As you should be in the habit of by now, haste yourself and slow the dragon if you want to. Use some strong magic and summons, but Gravity won't work and if you happened to already get Kjata, that will heal him 2100 HP or so. Physical attacks and limit breaks should be enough and you'll get a Dragon Armlet.
===============================================
After the battle, pick up the Bahamut materia and go to the pyramid floating on the platform on the right. It doesn't matter which option you choose, but Cait Sith will come in and offer a plan. When it's explained, go back to the area with the old man and heal. Head back to the clock and there will be only one available path--right to the XII. Head in to find another boss to play with.
==================================
BOSS: Demon's Gate - 10000 HP - weakness: none
==================================
Haste and Barrier yourselves at the start of the battle. You should also test out your new Bahamut materia, but other summons aren't quite as damaging. His attacks are quite powerful, so make sure you have a couple Restore materia equipped and take advantage of Aeris's Healing Wind as your limit bars will fill rather quickly. Also use your highest level magics as well as physical attacks from your stronger allies. You'll get a Gigas Armlet should you win this tough battle.
==================================
After another series of interesting story twists, Cloud will awake in Gongaga and you'll find that Aeris has left and gone to the City of the Ancients.
Part 18: Finding the City of the Ancients
Your first step in finding the City of the Ancients is at Bone Village. It's located on the northern continent right by it's only piece of shoreline. You can buy some items from the guy on the left, but what you're really here for is the Lunar Harp. Talk to the man on the bottom and have them dig up the Lunar Harp. Note that you have to say that you're looking for the Lunar Harp and not normal or good treasure. You can then set some workers for 100 gil each (up to five) and when they figure out where the harp is, they'll all look at where it is buried. It's in the area above, just below the left side of the tent. Pick your spot and select it. You'll then find yourself in the morning and the chest next to you will be closed. Open it and the Lunar Harp should be inside. Now you will be able to head into the forest to the left of the tent. On the second screen, you'll see a red materia disappearing and reappearing around the screen. You'll get Kjata when you finally catch a hold of it. When you pass the sleeping forest, you'll enter an area that appears to have piles of bones everywhere. Go under the bony trunk and you'll find a treasure chest with a Water Ring inside. Head through the rocky path until you get back to the world map. Go up through the valley and into Shell Village, also known as the Forgotten Capital, aka the City of the Ancients.
The beginning path will split into three options. Start with the left path. In the small building, you'll find a save point and a Magic Source. Continue past the building and go right into a large central room. Go down the stairs and head all the way to the right to find an Aurora Armlet. There's nothing else you can do now, so head back to the beginning of the city. Now take the middle route and run along the long path until you find another building. Go inside and up the spiraling building to find a Comet materia at the top. Next go back to the crossroads and take the right path. There are several small shell buildings here; start by going into the one on the far right path going north. Inside you'll find a Guard Source. Now head to the last house where you'll find an Elixir. Climb up the ladder and go near the beds to take a rest. You'll wake up in the middle of the night as Cloud senses something wrong. Pick up the Enemy Skill materia behind one of the beds and once again, head back to the beginning of the city. Take the middle path and go back into the building at the end of the path. You'll find the fish in the middle of the building is gone and a blue staircase is there leading down. Head down and use the save point. Continue right and down and you'll find that Aeris is praying at an alter in the middle of the huge room. Approach the stepping stones and jump across. I won't spoil it for anyone, but a major event takes place and you get to face the final boss of Disk 1.
==================================
BOSS: Jenova*Life - 10000 HP - weakness: Earth
==================================
Begin again by hasting yourself and get your guns ready. Some summons you should consider are Bahamut, Kjata, and Titan. You can also use Comet and Quake which are pretty helpful, but Jenova will cast Reflect on herself, so use your Destruct materia that Sephiroth threw at you in Nibelheim to get rid of it. As for her attacks, they're not that much to worry about, but Aqualung can cause about 1500 damage to all. So make sure your HP are higher than that at all times. Upon defeat you'll get a Wizard Bracelet.
==================================
Well that's it for Disk 1 (finally!).