__ ___ _ _ _______ _ _ ___ ___ _ _ ___ _ _ \ \ / /_\ | | | |/ /_ _| || | _ \/ _ \| | | |/ __| || | \ \/\/ / _ \| |__| ' < | | | __ | / (_) | |_| | (_ | __ | \_/\_/_/ \_\____|_|\_\ |_| |_||_|_|_\\___/ \___/ \___|_||_| ________________________________________________________{WAL}

Oo*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*oO|| {0} Default Controls and general tips ||Oo*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*oO

This section contains the controls of the game, including some menu controlsthat are much less widely known but rather useful. It also contains useful tipswhich could save you a lot of time. Keep in mind that you can always go to theBeginners Hall in the game (located in the Sector 7 Slums and upper Junon) formore basic and in-depth information regarding the game.

Field Controls (In towns, etc):-------------------------------D-pad = Moving aroundX = (Hold + D-pad) to runSquare = NothingO = 'Ok button', talking, grabbing treasureTriangle = Open menuL1 = (Hold + D-pad) to move diagonallyR1 = (Hold + D-pad) to move diagonallyL2/R2 = NothingStart = NothingSelect = Displays exits (red), ladders (green) and a cursor above CloudL1+R1+L2+R2+Start+Select = Soft Reset

Battle Controls:----------------D-pad = Moving in the menuX = Cancel buttonSquare = (Hold to) hide menu (to see HP/MP stats)O = Select commandTriangle = Switch to other available character (no turn loss)L1+R1 = (Hold to) escape from battleL1 = Scroll through menu quicklyR1 = Scroll through menu quicklyL2 = Toggles display of available 'Targets'R2 = NothingStart = PauseSelect = Displays extra bar with additional help info (including enemy names)

Useful Menu Controls:---------------------Triangle = Unequip Materia/AccessoryL1/R1 = Swap between characters in submenu's

o In Materia Menu: Move cursor to Arrange and select Arrange for arranging Materia by sort/color, Exchange allows moving materia from/to any charactero You can select weapon or armor to swap all the materia in that piece of equipment to another character's weapon or armor.o In Status Menu: Press O multiple times for Elemental/Status Ailments infoo In PHS Menu: Press O on character twice to view additional infoo In Config Menu: Many options available, ATB at Wait is useful for starters, that will allow you to scroll through menus without being attacked. Memory will put the cursor where you left it the previous time in battle.

WARNING: CHANGING THE CONTROLS FROM THE DEFAULT IN CUSTOM CONTROLS WILL CAUSE PROBLEMS WITH FOR EXAMPLE: CHOCOBO BREEDING, CLIMBING SOME LADDERS (MOST NOTABLY THE ONE IN BONE VILLAGE), AND SEVERAL MINIGAMES, SUCH AS THE PARADING MINIGAME!

General Tips:-------------o Save often and keep multiple files. You can never have enough save files.o Keep a stock of Potions, Hi-Potions, X-Potions and Phoenix Downs.o Organize your inventory. Organizing by 'Type' will group all similar items together, allowing for faster and effective usage during battle.o Explore and talk to everyone multiple times; You'll often get a piece of interesting information out of them, or better yet, a great item.o Double growth equipment can be a better choice than a stronger piece of equipment, as your Materia will gain better magic at a much faster rate.o Long range characters (Barret, Yuffie and Vincent) should be placed in the back row with the 'Order' option in your menu, as they'll take less damage this way. There are only a few weapons for long range characters that are not long ranged.o Many enemies have their own unique weakness. Humans can often be poisoned and mechanical enemies are weak against lightning. Airborne creatures are almost always weak against wind, but avoid any earth-based attacks.o Focus on a single enemy until it dies. This is a better method than to damage all enemies just a little. Remember they'll all attack back at some point.o Once you can get Hypers, it may be useful to give them to your characters which gives them the status 'Fury'. Under this status, your Limit Break will fill up TWICE as fast (the limit bar will be red). The only downside is that your characters will miss more often, but this is still a great way to learn new limit breaks!o Alternatively, you can put your characters in Sadness by giving them Tranquilizers. This will halve the speed of the limit bar (colors it blue), but the plus side is that your characters take ~30% less damage!

Take note of:-------------o Equipment will more than often increase stats without giving the player any indications that it does so. Many weapons don't just increase Strength but greatly boost your Magic as well. Some armor also boosts stats.o Equipment comes with Single and Linked slots. Linked slots are only useful if you pair one Support Materia with another Materia, such as Elemental - Fire, or Ice - All.o Weapons and armor can have different growth rates. If a piece of equipment has a Normal Growth rate, the Materia attached will gain AP at a regular rate. If the piece of equipment has Double or even Triple Growth, then the Materia in that weapon grow two to three times as fast.o On the flipside, some weapons or armor have no Growth at all. This is obvious when the piece of equipment has no slots, but it is more difficult to notice if it *does* have slots. The game still notes No Growth by 'NOTHING', but you can also take a close look at the equipment's slots. If it has a darker hole in the middle then the equipment has no Growth. If it has a lighter hole in the center then it'll have Normal, Double or Triple growth.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~You will occasionally see these notes sprinkled through the walkthrough, andyou'll no doubt will wonder why someone would go through all that trouble forlittle to no reward at all.

These notes are intended for those who are attempting to maximize their savegame by getting the maximum amount of every item, the best possible stats forevery character, getting all treasure - in other words, they completely tear thegame apart during their playthrough. It's a tough challenge and only recommendedif you've played through the game several times already.

Obviously these notes are highly optional and not required during a regularplaythrough. You'll find that the walkthrough is perfectly crafted to findeverything else without needing the information in these Perfect Game Notes.

Please decide beforehand if you want to do your perfect game *with* or *without*using tricks such as the W-Item trick, the Extended W-Item trick, or therepeating boss trick. You can find more information about these tricks in section {AP-4}.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oo=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-oO || {1} The Reactor #1 raid || CHECKLISTOo*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*Oo*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=oO=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*oO|| Treasure:| Potion (x2), Phoenix Down, Potion, Restore Materia, |||| | Assault Gun (Boss Reward), Potion. ||Oo*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*oO

After the epic introduction you can control our spikey-haired main character.Before anything, search the body of the first knocked-down guard twice to findtwo Potions.

Note: You can actually grab these two Potions from either guard, or two from one of the guards. It doesn't matter, since two is all you'll get.

We're assuming you know the controls, which can also be found in the instructionmanual. First-timers would do well to press the select button, which placescursors all over the screen. These tell you which way to go, and where you are.Cloud, our main character, gets a big scary finger hanging over his spikey hairand exits are marked with red triangles. Climbable objects such as ladders areindicated by green arrows. If you are a first-timer, I suggest you read section{0} that covers the controls and some basic hints.

Run down the station tracks and two guards initiate a fight. Your regularattack will easily do them in, so don't waste your MP on these .. MP's. Talk toyour teammates in the next screen and you'll get to rename Cloud (if you feellike it) and Barret. Keep in mind that you'll never be able to change a character's name after selecting it, so choose wisely or simply stick with thedefault names.

After the dialog, head north to follow your team members. You'll likely run intorandom encounters at this point, so swipe them off your back as you head intothe reactor. Once inside the reactor, talk to Barret who joins your ranks.

Tip: Head into the Menu and select 'Order'. You'll want to select Barret twice, which will put him in the back row. Since Barret has a gun-arm, he'll be to hit enemies for the same damage, while only receiving half the damage from physical attacks.

Speak with Biggs and Jessie, who'll gladly open the doors for you. A PhoenixDown can be looted from a box in the southern room, after which you'll have totalk to Jessie once more to open the elevator doors.

Press the button and exit the elevator again after the dialog between Barret andCloud. Follow Jessie downstairs and go through the door. Walk to Jessie for aquick tutorial on how to climb ladders (which are marked with green triangles,if you used the SELECT button before). The blue potion lying around is.. well,it's a Potion. Climb down the second ladder, walk over some pipes, and make yourway to a final ladder.

It is recommended to save your game at the Save Point, which looks like arotating quotation mark. Generally, Save Points appear before bosses or othermoments when 'something' is going to happen. Head down to the next screen, grabthe green marble (now formally known as a Restore Materia) and fiddle with thevalve. Looks like it's time for your first boss fight.

.------------------------------------------------------------------------------.|Name: Guard Scorpion (Level: 12) |Weakness: Lightning ||HP: 800 |Nullifies: Poison, Gravity ||Exp: 100 |-----------------------------------||AP: 10 |Status Effects Weaknesses: ||Gil: 100 |Slow, Stop ||Drops: Assault Gun(100%) '-----------------------------------||Attacks: Search Scope [1 Enemy, Selects target for next attack] || Rifle [1 Enemy, Phys Atk, 41 Base Damage] || Scorpion's Tail [1 Enemy, Phys Atk, 71.75 Base Damage] || Tail Laser [All Enemies, Phys Atk, 123 Base Damage] ||------------------------------------------------------------------------------||Strategy: Guard Scorpion is a mechanical enemy, making it very vulnerable ||--------- against lightning-based attacked. Therefore, have Cloud use Bolt ||continuously throughout the battle, while Barret keeps firing regularly by ||using physical attacks. || ||The Guard Scorpion follows a set pattern. It will first use its Search Scope ||'attack', which is nothing more than a scan for its next target. After this it||will attack regularly, perform another Search Scope, attack regularly again, ||and then raise its tail. It will wait two turns (during which it will counter ||with a powerful Tail Laser attack if attacked), after which it lowers its tail||again. The pattern now repeats. Don't attack the boss when it has its tail ||raised; simply wait for the boss to lower it. || ||Unleash your Limit Breaks when they come up and keep pounding the boss with ||Bolt and physical attacks until it breaks down. || ||Trivia: Depending on who's alive when Guard Scorpion raises its tail, the || in-battle dialogue changes. It remains unclear to the player how to || adequately respond in each scenario. |'------------------------------------------------------------------------------'

After the battle you'll have 10 minutes to escape from the Reactor 'cause it'sgoing to blow! Go into the menu and equip Barret with the Assault Gun, which isbetter than his initial Gatling Gun.

Note: The timer does NOT stop when the menu is brought up. The only time it'llstop is when you pause the game during a battle.

Backtrack your way to the screen where you left Jessie. She's sitting in acrouched position on the lower part of the screen. Walk over and free her footthat got stuck between the metal bars. Simply return to the elevator after this,ride it up, talk to Jessie and Biggs to open the doors and get the hell out ofthe Reactor #01!

Midgar Sector 1:----------------Make your way up the stairs after the scenes. You'll come across the flower girlthat we saw in the intro. You can give different responses, and they will affecta certain scene later in the game. If you wish to follow a guide that deals withthe different outcomes, check out section {M1.6}.

Don't let the electricity freak you out in the next screen. Do something moreproductive instead by picking up the Potion near the exit below, then continuedown south.

Shinra Guards will attack you, but you're given a choice: Fight or Run. Be quickwith deciding, or the game will pick the option that you left the cursor on whenthe guards reach you.

After the dialog, follow Jessie and jump over the crates. In the train cabin,talk to Jessie once again and she'll show you how the trains operate in Midgar.Have a chat with Barret afterwards.

When you depart, walk up to Barret for a rather quick debriefing. After this,you're finally given a first bit-sized snack of freedom in the game. You cantalk to the train man and you can - which is even more interesting - exit thescreen on the right to fight monsters in the train graveyard.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~NOTE: Again I feel I must mention - for those who skip all introductory paragraphs - that these Perfect Game Notes do NOT have to be done in order to complete the game. This guide can be followed perfectly to ensure that you don't miss anything, without having to do the instructions in these perfect game notes. They are only for perfectionists, and they are implemented in the walkthrough to ease them in this tough challenge.

Please don't feel distracted by these notes if you're not interested in this challenge and simply use the guide regularly. As for the actual note:

Head to the train graveyard to the right so you can save up money to buy 99 IronBangles. This can take a very long time, however there *is* a way to slightlyspeed it up. Mono Drives (the small floating robots) sometimes drop an Ether.You can sell this for a whopping of 750 gil! Just pray they drop it, becauseit's a rather rare drop. It's not recommended to sell any other items you ownbecause they aren't as profitable. You need to save 15840 gil to buy 99 IronBangles.. but you'll also get 1500 gil from Barret, and you can also find anEther as a treasure. You may also want to set the Battle Speed to the maximum inthe menu. This will cut off a few more minutes per hour. Still, expect this totake a while.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When you feel like you've had enough fun in the Train Graveyard, follow the restof your team to the hideout.

Oo=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-oO || {2} Sector 7: At the hideout || CHECKLISTOo*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*Oo*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=oO=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*oO|| Treasure:| 1500 Gil, All Materia, Ether. ||Oo*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*oO

In the next screen, head left like everyone else to proceed with the story.Otherwise, take a moment and talk to the guy in the upper left corner of thearea to take a look at The Pillar, a large structure that keeps the plate safelyabove the slums. Sure is a good thing it's such a solid structure, right?

The hideout is located in a bar called Seventh Heaven. Even through there areseveral houses it should be pretty clear which one the hideout is. Talk toBarret and head inside - we'll go over the other houses later.

Inside the hideout you get to meet (and name) your childhood friend Tifa.Attempt to go outside after having a little chat with her and Marlene (Barret'sadopted daughter), and Barret will storm inside. Talk to Tifa, then head down.After a series of scenes you'll receive your salary from Barret: 1500 Gil!

Cloud gets a good night of rest, waking up fresh to depart on a new mission. Goup and talk to Tifa and Barret. You can choose to take a Materia Tutorial (byhaving Cloud explain this to Barret). If you're not familiar with the Materiasystem we suggest you follow this tutorial.

Exit the Seventh Heaven and go inside the building on the lower right. There's aweapon shop here that sells Iron Bangles - a better piece of equipment than theBronze Bangle. Buy 3 of them and equip them on all your party members. The shopdoesn't offer much of interest other than the Iron Bangles; You already have anAssault Gun for Barret and the Grenade is a fairly weak battle item that causesmild damage.

Should you need an Inn (if you've been training at the train graveyard), talk tothe kid and offer him the minimum of 10 Gil. He'll then allow you to use hisroom all the way upstairs for power-naps.

When you head up to the second floor, enter a room known as 'The Beginner'sHall'. This place can teach you a lot of basic information on the game, and ifyou aren't familiar with the subjects it might do you good to glance over them.Talk to the dog for general information and to the man to get a list of thingsyou can choose from. Pick up the blue All Materia on the right, as well as theEther in the chest that drops down. You can also talk to the guys on the cratesto learn everything related to battles.

The third floor only houses the boy's room (Inn), so pay a visit to the buildingon the lower left instead, which is the local Item/Materia store. You don't havethe Fire Materia yet, so it would make an excellent addition to your arsenal.The other Materia are copies of those you already own, so it's best not to spendany gil on them right now. As for items, an extra Phoenix Down never killedanyone and it doesn't hurt to buy two Antidotes either. If you're got any Ethersleft we suggest you sell the majority of your stock as they sell for a whoppingof 750 Gil. Needless to say, this is a lot of money at this stage of the game.

We suggest you pair the Lightning Materia with newly acquired All Materia inCloud's equipment, and give Tifa and Barret your remaining Materia. You've nowexplored all places of interest except the house to the north. This is the homeof a fellow named Johnny, who used to be a childhood friend of Tifa and Cloud.When you're ready, hop on the train to initiate the next bombing mission!

Oo=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-oO || {3} The second raid: Reactor #5 || CHECKLISTOo*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*Oo*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=oO=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*oO|| Treasure:| Phoenix Down, Hi-Potion, Ether, Potion, Tent, Ether, |||| | Titan Bangle (Boss Reward). ||Oo*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*oO

Once inside the train, talk to Tifa. What the...! The alarm goes off! You'reonly given 15 seconds to rush to the next cabin, but you still might want totalk to the guy sitting on the right in the back during the alarm. He'll giveyou a Phoenix Down out of appreciation. When you make it to the second cabin,another timer starts counting down. If you manage to speak with the man on thelower left you'll be rewarded with a Hi-potion if you tell him 'Yeah'. The thirdcabin has a nasty surprise for you: As you rush through it, a pickpocket willsteal an item from you (usually a Potion or Phoenix Down). Quickly run back andspeak with him, telling him 'That's Right' - the bottom option - to get thestolen item back. Head for the exit and leave the train in the last cabin.

Note: If the team gets caught by failing to make it to the next cabin within the time limit, nothing serious happens. You'll find that it's a much longer walk through the winding tunnels until you reach the reactor.

You are now in a winding tunnel. The reactor is located to the north, but it'spossible to go down five screens (when you didn't get caught) to find a guardeddoor where you can battle Special Combatants that endlessly spawn. It's not anexcellent training spot, and if you feel the need, training is best done throughrandom encounters in the winding tunnel.

'Hey you! Slow Down!': The Grashstrike enemy (The green bug-like creatures thatoften use an attack called Silk - which slows the affected character) willsometimes drop an interesting item called Spider Web. This item casts Slow onall enemies, which is interesting to know because Slow works on many bosses. Ifyou feel like it, try and get a few of these as you won't be able to cast Slowfor a really long time. The chance this item is dropped is about 4.7% perGrashstrike. Since they tend to come in large groups, the chance per battle ishigher.

When you reach the green laser beams, crawl through the ventilation shaft on theleft side of the tunnel. Barret is kind of big, so the shaft freaks him out.Keep in mind that it's not possible to ever head back to the tunnels once youcrawl down the shaft.

Grab the Ether and climb down two ladders. In this enormous looking area,simply climb the long ladder nearby your left. Note that Wedge is on the lookoutin this area as well - say 'hi' if you like - he's located on the left of thelong ladder.

Crawl through another shaft to get to an area with Jessie. Have a quick chat andgrab the slightly concealed Potion on the left. You can ignore the ladder to theright, which only leads back to the large area. The one on the left brings youto a catwalk with Biggs, a Tent and a Save Point. As you climb through the holeyou're finally inside Reactor #05.

Things should look awfully familiar from this point onward. Head to the core ofthe reactor just like you did in the previous one, and plant the bomb. Backtrackto the elevator and ride it up. The chest in the next area holds an Ether (or inother words, 750 Gil). The device on the upper left opens the door, but allthree buttons must be pressed at the same time. Barret and Tifa will always pushthe buttons simultaneously, and you need to do the same. Timing is everything!

It might be a good idea to make use of the Save Point after opening the door,because it's about time for another boss battle - this time with Boss Music!Guitars!

.------------------------------------------------------------------------------.|Name: Air Buster (Level: 15) |Weakness: Lightning ||HP: 1200 |Halves: Fire ||Exp: 180 |Nullifies: Earth, Gravity ||AP: 16 |-----------------------------------||Gil: 150 |Status Effect Weaknesses: ||Drops: Titan Bangle(100%) |Slow, Stop || '-----------------------------------||Attacks: Big Bomber [1 Enemy, Phys Atk, 109.375 Base Damage] || Energy Ball [1 Enemy, Phys Atk, 65.625 Base Damage] || Rear Gun [1 Enemy, Phys Atk, 43.75 Base Damage] || Bodyblow [1 Enemy, Phys Atk, 87.5 Base Damage] ||------------------------------------------------------------------------------||Strategy: This is the only boss battle with a side attack formation. Cloud is ||on one side of Air Buster while Barret and Tifa are on the opposite side. This||formation gives you a big advantage over Air Buster, who takes 5x the regular ||damage when attacked in the back. Time your Limit Breaks well and they can do ||enormous amounts of damage. || ||Air Buster knows two executive programs, Program 1 & 2 Operation. In P1 it ||will have access to its Big Bomber attack, although it can only use this ||attack 4 times. In P2 it will switch to its less fearsome Energy Ball attack. || ||As you might be aware of, you can skip a character's turn with the Triangle ||button. Since Air Buster is a mechanical enemy, Bolt deals solid damage. Try ||to keep everyone's HP above 150 just in case the Big Bomber attack is used, ||which can easily deal over 100 damage. |'------------------------------------------------------------------------------'

It looks like the team is in trouble! We'd best hope Cloud gets a soft landing..

Oo=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-oO || {4} Aeris the flower girl || CHECKLISTOo*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*Oo*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=oO=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*oO|| Treasure:| (5 gil - Don't pick it up!), Ether, Cover Materia, Potion, ||||----------| Phoenix Down. |||| Other: | Turtles Paradise Flyer No. 1. ||Oo*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*oO

Talk to the flower girl and input her name - Aeris. Looks like Cloud fell rightthrough the church roof! The couple chats for a bit and Cloud agrees to beAeris' bodyguard in return for a date. At the same time, Reno from the Turkssteps inside the church with the intention to kidnap Aeris. Make a run for it!

Note: Aeris is placed in the back row by default, which effectively halves all her physical attacks. You can place her in the front row and give her the newly acquired Titan Bangle you received from Air Buster's battle spoils to compensate the loss of defense slightly. You might also want to slap the Restore Materia in one of her slots, if you know what I mean.

As you make your way upstairs, Aeris falls down and is chased by the ShinraSoldiers. Cloud can tell her to fight, run, or to hold on. This last optionallows you push one of the barrels upstairs to dispose of the Shinra soldiers.

All you need to do is push the barrels in the right order: The leftmost first,the upper barrel second, and the rightmost barrel last. Don't wait too long withpushing a barrel or Aeris is forced into battle. With her and Cloud rejoined,exit the church by the hole through the roof.

You'll find yourself in the Sector 5 Slums with a Save Point nearby. Be awareof the random encounters in this area, as there are enemies here called Vicewhich can steal your equipment. Make sure you kill these thugs as quickly aspossible. The road to Sector 6 (accessed through a hole in the wall on the veryleft) is blocked for now, so head up to visit the shopping center of the Sector5 Slums.

The nearby tube contains a sick guy that really 'are sick fo sho', and he's gotthe number #2 tattooed on his arm. It's almost as if someone has been using thisguy to experiment on, wouldn't you think?

The big house in the middle houses two shops: The Materia shop is located on theleft, but it doesn't sell anything new. The Item shop is on the right, whichdoesn't sell much worthwhile either. Should you need any Potions, PhoenixDowns, Antidotes or Tents, this is your haven.

Then there's the door on the far right. Enter and head upstairs. Read the flyeron the wall, which is the 'Turtles Paradise Flyer No. 1'. These flyers are partof a sidequest that you can activate much later on in the game. Talk to thesnoring kid and check the locker. Open the hidden drawer, but do NOT take the 5Gil. If you don't take this now, you'll get a much better reward later.

Lastly, the bus on the upper right part of the screen represents the localweapon store. If you can afford it, buy 3 Titan Bangles and exit the area on theright.

Check the beautiful garden before entering Aeris' house in order to collect anEther and the Cover Materia. Feel free to make use of the Save Point as well.

Tip: The Cover Materia will have the equipped character protect other members from physical attacks. It works best to equip the Cover Materia on someone placed in the back row (who takes half the damage of physical attacks). Therefore, long range characters such as Barret are ideally given the Cover Materia since they're usually in the back row.

After meeting Elmyra, head upstairs to rest. Since Sector 6 is such a dangerousarea it is probably better to leave Aeris out of your problems and go byyourself, right? When Cloud wakes up, grab the Potion and Phoenix down near thebed and WALK near the ledge of the stairs to go down. If you only run for aninstant, Aeris will discover that you're awake and she won't let you leave. Oncedownstairs, exit the area and backtrack to the hole in the wall that used to beblocked....only to meet up with Aeris anyhow.

Make your way through Sector 6 until you reach a playground. Cloud and Aerisspot Tifa on the back of a Chocobo cart and set out to search for her. The cartwas headed for Wall Market, so Tifa is likely to be around there .. somewhere.

Oo=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-oO || {5} Crossdressing at Wall Market || CHECKLISTOo*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*Oo*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=oO=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*oO|| Treasure: | Ether, Phoenix Down, Hyper. ||||-----------| |||| Key Items:| (Cotton/Satin/Silk Dress), (Blonde Wig/Dyed Wig/Wig), |||| | (Disinfectant/Deodorant/Digestive), |||| | (Sexy Cologne/Flower Cologne/Cologne), |||| | (Diamond Tiara/Ruby Tiara/Glass Tiara), |||| | (Bikini Briefs/Lingerie), Pharmacy Coupon, Member's Card. ||Oo*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*oO

Wall Market is quite a big stressful town, so it's a good thing the reggae beatkeeps us at ease. Where could Tifa be at? Inquire at the Honey Bee Inn locatedon the lower right of the area to learn that Tifa is likely to be in a placecalled Don Corneo's mansion. It sounds like Tifa's been dragged into some sortof bordel business, which of course can never be good. At least, not for Tifaanyway!

Head to the far north end of Wall Market and enter Don Corneo's mansion.Apparently the Don has a strict policy that only girls are allowed to enter.Aeris is about to rush in on her own before Cloud wisely stops her. She can't goin all by herself! So .. just how can Cloud enter the mansion alongside Aeris..?There's only one option .. Cloud has to dress up like a girl!

Note: You can buy Mythril Armlets from the Weapon Store, which is a better piece of defense than what you currently have as equipment.

Exit the mansion and head back to the first area of Wall Market. Enter the dressshop on the immediate left and talk to the person behind the counter. It appearsthat the owner of the dress shop can be found at the bar (up north). Inside thebar, talk to the guy sitting nearby the entrance. Depending on your choice,he'll make you a different kind of dress.

Soft + Shimmers = Silk Dress (Best Dress)Soft + Shiny = Satin DressClean = Cotton Dress

Note: Don Corneo can choose Tifa, Aeris or Cloud as his bride for the night. Depending on how Cloud looks you can influence his decision. Initially, Tifa is always chosen as bride, but by getting better dress items it is possible to have Aeris or Cloud get picked by the Don.

Looks like Cloud will also need a wig to mess up that spiky hair of his. Headback to the dress store to confirm this and head straight to the gym afterwards,which is located at the northern part of Wall Market.

Speak with Big Bro and you'll roll into a squat challenge. The controls areexplained to you in game: Make sure you don't tap too fast nor too slow, andmake sure you only tap the next button when Cloud has stopped moving or he'llscratch his head, thus wasting precious time. Your opponent usually has 17squats, so try and beat that figure. Depending on how you do, you're rewardedwith a wig:

Winning will get you: Blonde Wig. (Best Wig)A Tie will get you: Dyed Wig.Losing will get you: Wig.

You'll actually have obtained all mandatory dress items at this point. However,do you really think the Don will find Cloud an attractive woman? There's mostcertainly room for improvement, don't you think?

Either skip the next few paragraphs if you want to continue with the story, orfollow them anyway to witness a couple of hilarious scenes and obtain more KeyItems.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~It's not possible to get all Key Items in Wall Market. For a Perfect Game, itmakes sense to go for the best possible combination: Silk Dress, Blonde Wig,Sexy Cologne and Diamond Tiara. Also get the Member's Card and the BikiniBriefs (see mechanics for an explanation why it is technically the best). HaveCloud put on some make-up just to make him a picture perfect.

Remember that the Phoenix Down (located in the room of the Don's Lackeys, whichis only accessed initially when Cloud is *not* chosen) can be gotten later onwhen you revisit Don Corneo's mansion.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After getting the Wig it's time to get a cologne of some sorts. Head to the barand talk to the woman in the toilet. Looks like she could use some medicine.Head over to the restaurant (left of the Save Point) and order a meal; Eitherthe Korean B.B.Q. Plate, Sushi Plate, or Today's Special. They all cost 70 gil.Be sure to answer with "It was alright", or you won't get the Key Item 'PharmacyCoupon' that you'll want.

Head over to the Item Shop. You can select Disinfectant, Deodorant, or Digestivehere for the Coupon. Choose Digestive and give it to the woman on the toilet inthe bar. Depending on what you gave her, she'll give you this in return:

Digestive = Sexy Cologne (Best Cologne)Deodorant = Flower CologneDisinfectant = Cologne

How do you think Cloud looks right now - pretty good for a she-male? We needsomething to top it off.. a Tiara! Head over to the Materia Shop, which is northfrom the Save Point. The owner is interested in what the vending machine at theInn has for sale. Agree to help him out and stay at the Inn near the southentrance (this costs 10 Gil). In the middle of the night, Cloud'll have theoption to buy something from the vending machine for either 50, 100 or 200 Gil.The more expensive the better. Head back to the Materia Shop owner and show himwhat you got.

200 gil = Diamond Tiara (Best Tiara)100 gil = Ruby Tiara50 gil = Glass Tiara

That's more like it! But .. Cloud may look like a prom queen but he's stillmissing underwear and make up. Hmm, just how to fix that? Head all the way southand talk to the guy on the lower right. He'll give you his 'Member's Card' forthe Honeybee Inn, no questions asked. We might as well sneak in the Honeybee Innto see if Cloud can acquire some undies somehow.

Inside the Honeybee Inn, talk to the girl and choose a room. The Lover's Room(upper right) and the Queen's Room (lower right) are both occupied, but you cantake a peek through the keyhole to view a scene. Move your view through thekeyhole slightly.. what the ... Okay, nevermind! Let's move on! The &$#% Room(Upper Left) will acquire you Lingerie, and the Group Room (Lower Left) lets youwalk away with Bikini Briefs. We're not about to spoil the adventures of Cloudand Mukki for you (or any weird scene whatsoever), so choose your pick, sit backand relax .. Enjoy the show.... I'm getting carried away now....

After either room/scene, head to the upper room and have the left girl put somemake-up on Cloud (see below for the effects). He looks gorgeous now, doesn't he?

The following mechanics summarize who is chosen:--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Attraction Values: ------------------ .-----------.----------------------------------------------------------. |Type: |Key Items (and Attraction Value): | |===========|==================|====================|==================| |Dress: |Cotton Dress (+1)|Satin Dress (+3)|Silk Dress (+5)| |Wig: |Wig (+1)|Dyed Wig (+3)|Blond Wig (+5)| |Cologne: |Cologne (+1)|Flower Cologne (+3)|Sexy Cologne (+5)| |Tiara: |Glass Tiara (+1)|Ruby Tiara (+3)|Diamond Tiara (+5)| |Underwear*:|Lingerie (+0)|Mystery Panties*(+0)|Bikini Briefs (+0)| |Makeup**: |97/256 Chance (+1)|96/256 Chance (+3)|63/256 Chance (+5)| '-----------'------------------'--------------------'------------------' * Note: Underwear is glitched and therefore does not count towards the total Attraction Value. The Mystery Panties item was dummied out of the game for unknown reasons. Lingerie was supposed to give a +1 bonus, Mystery Panties a +3 bonus, and Bikini Briefs a +5 bonus, so Bikini Briefs can still be considered "best".

**Note: The Attraction Bonus from Makeup is only given once, and the chances in the table above summarize which bonus is given. You can never check which bonus you have gotten, but you are given an indication by the sound the game plays when makeup is applied.

A +1 bonus gives a single 'tink' sound effect. A +3 bonus gives a healing sound effect. A +5 bonus gives a wind sound effect (may be difficult to hear).

Don Corneo's Choice: -------------------- .-----------------------.--------------------. |Total Attraction Value:|Don Corneo's Choice:| |=======================|====================| | 11 or less | Tifa | | 12 - 18 | Aeris | | 19 or more | Cloud | '-----------------------'--------------------'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Make sure you stop by the dress shop to change Cloud's identity and head over tothe Don's mansion. Head upstairs and make your way down the basement on the leftwhere you'll find Tifa. Don't miss the Ether lying around in the basement.

Now, depending on who's chosen, you'll either find yourself in a room with hornylackeys of the Don, or in Don's bedroom with a horny Corneo. We'd say both areequally disgusting. If you're with the lackeys, just talk to all of them andgrab the Phoenix Down. Cloud will reveal he's a guy and kick some lackey butt.Head through the middle door in the main hall and slip into Corneo's bedroom.

In Don's bedroom, be sure to get the well hidden Hyper behind the bed. If Cloudgot chosen, you'll be able to get the Phoenix Down from the other room someother time. After the team gets the information they needed from the Don (byeffectively threatening his precious pair), Corneo plays his trump card and theteam falls down the sewers regardless of their answer.

Trivia: 'Corneo' means 'horny' in Italian (or Spanish, or several other neolatin languages), and (depending on the context) can also mean horny in a literal way. In other words, it would then describe an abstract form, as if to say, "That Behemoth's Horn has a horny form, don't you think?". [Please do note that we're not talking about a horny Behemoth here, because that would make the meaning of its horn more ambiguous than is necessary, and would overcomplicate this explication. Only the sight would be enough to terrify me.] It's up to you to decide if Don Corneo is named for his hornyness or his .. "horny-ness". And then it's still an undecided matter whether he's a cuckold in a vulgar sense, or whether he - more specifically, a certain body part of his - actually has .. "horny-ness". Square Enix, could you elaborate!?

Oo*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*oO || {6} Sewers, Train Graveyard, and Pillar Assault || CHECKLISTOo*=-*=-*=-*Oo*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*oO*=-*=-*=-*=-*oO|| Treasure:| Potion, Phoenix Down(Boss Reward), Steal Materia, Hi-Potion, |||| | Hi-Potion, Echo Screen, Potion, Potion, Potion, Ether, |||| | Hi-Potion, Ether(Boss Reward). ||Oo*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*oO

Grab the Potion before talking to Aeris and Tifa and head into the menu to equipTifa with better equipment. Be sure to give one of your characters the FireMateria. Moments after both girls get up, Corneo's sewer pet Aps shows up withthe intention to return the team to the planet.

.------------------------------------------------------------------------------.|Name: Aps (Level: 18) |Weakness: Fire ||HP: 1800 |Nullifies: Gravity ||Exp: 240 |-----------------------------------||AP: 22 |Status Effect Weaknesses: ||Gil: 250 |Sleep, Poison, Slow, Stop, ||Drops: Phoenix Down(100%) |Paralysed, Darkness || '-----------------------------------||Attacks: Sewer Tsunami 1 [All Targets, Phys Atk, 77.5 Base Damage, Comes from || front, Aps will take between 180-192 damage himself]|| Sewer Tsunami 2 [All Targets, Phys Atk, 77.5 Base Damage, Comes from || back, Aps will take between 45-48 damage himself] || Lick [1 Enemy, Phys Atk, 15.5 Base Damage] || Tail Attack [1 Enemy, Phys Atk, 77.5 Base Damage] ||------------------------------------------------------------------------------||Strategy: Aps may look like a tough boss, but he actually has a fair amount of||weaknesses you can exploit. Aps is particularly vulnerable to Fire, so have ||one of your characters cast this at all times to maintain a steady rate of ||damage. Ice and Bolt are still likely to inflict more damage than regular ||physical attacks, making them decent alternatives. || ||Aps is weak against the Paralysed status. If Aeris happens to already have ||learned her Seal Evil Limit Break, don't hesitate to use this and gain a few ||free turns as Aps is sealed in a paralyzing state. Similarly, Cloud's Limit ||Break Cross-slash can also paralyse Aps. || ||Perhaps one of the weirdest bosses in the game, Aps actually damages himself ||with his most powerful attack Sewer Tsunami. This attack can come from either ||side, dealing front/back damage to Aps and the party. When the attack hits ||the party from the back it helps a great deal to use Aeris' Healing Wind Limit||Break when it becomes available. Using Cure and a few Potions is an ||alternative option. || ||Technically it's possible to poison Aps by throwing a Deadly Waste item at him||if you've gotten this earlier in the game (as a dropped item from a random ||battle in the Reactor #05), but you might as well save it for later. |'------------------------------------------------------------------------------'

Trivia: Aps is presumably named (and/or mistranslated) after Abzu, one of the primeval gods in the Babylonian creation epic Enuma Elis, and was made of fresh water. He was the lover of Tiamat, an other primal deity that was made of salt water. Incidentally Tiamat is not officially in Final Fantasy VII, although Aps does have a buddy you'll meet much later in the game.

After beating Aps, make your way through the sewers by climbing the ladders upand down, and make sure you grab and equip the yellow orb: The Steal Materia.The character with the highest Level has the best chance to steal items (eventhough this only makes a marginal difference at this point). Jump down the hole,head over to the other side and climb the ladder up to the train graveyard.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Depending on what type of perfect game you're doing, you might be here for awhile to steal 99 Ghost Hand's from Ghosts. If you're planning on doing theW-Item trick later in the game (which allows you to duplicate items), you'llonly need one copy.

Note: It is still possible to get Ghost Hands in the Battle Square of the GoldSaucer, but ONLY before you get the airship. After that moment, the Ghosts willpermanently disappear from the Battle Square and Ghost Hands can no longer beacquired. Get some now and save yourself the stress!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Train Graveyard houses many items, and we're not just talking about treasurethat you find in the field. The random encounters can turn out to be quiterewarding as well: You can steal Ethers from Deenglows (the flying, pink-winged,oversized dragonflies) and as you know by now, Ethers sell for 750 Gil a piece.You might want to stock up on Ethers and never kill a Deenglow before stealingfrom them.

Then there's the Ghost enemy from which you can steal a Ghost Hand. This is anitem that drains MP out of your opponent and gives it to you. While it's notparticularly useful, it is a fairly rare item and you might as well steal a fewwhile you're here anyway.

The last item of interest is the Graviball, which can be won from Deenglows. Itcasts Demi, a spell that deals 1/4th of an enemy's HP if they're not immune toGravity based spells. Make *sure* you get a few of these, as they can help a lotwith getting a very powerful skill early in the game.

Note: You can only win an item from enemies if you didn't successfully steal from them. In this case, if you steal Ethers, you won't win a Graviball.

There's a Save Point here, so that allows the usage of a Tent. Head inside thefirst train and walk out of it - check the barrel to find an Hi-Potion. Now headback and climb over the train by climbing the ladder. Grab another Hi-Potionand inspect the barrel on the upper left side of the screen to find an EchoScreen.

Enter the train on the right and grab the Potion inside, after which you canexit the train on the lower right side. Climb the nearby ladder and make yourway to the next screen - grab one final Potion before exiting the area.

Tip: In this area, keep your eyes out for a creature named Eligor. It appears alone and looks like a cybernetic centaur. It's definitely stronger than the regular enemies and you can steal the Striking Staff from it, a GREAT weapon for Aeris at this point of the game. This staff has at least 16 more attack power than the weapon she currently has equipped, so we suggest you take your time to steal this weapon from Eligor. This will usually take a hefty amount of attempts, but the reward is sweet. The chance of encountering Eligor is roughly 23.4% in this section of the train graveyard. It cannot be encountered in the southern section.

Snatch the Potion on the left and loot the left-most barrel to find an Ether.Hop into the brownish train on the right to move the other train out of the way.Finish the job by also hopping in the upper train. You can now climb the ladderand grab the Hi-Potion. Walk over the train you moved and exit the place by theleft. When the team reaches the pillar, it doesn't take them long to realizesomething is horribly wrong. AVALANCHE is fighting Shinra in the pillar!

Tifa asks Aeris to look after Marlene while she joins Cloud to help Barret.Feel free to use the Save Point and prepare for a fairly long climb with randomencounters along the way. When you reach Barret, access the menu to tweak insome last modifications before the next boss battle starts. Give Barret aMateria with which he can attack, such as Fire, and give him a Mythril Armlet ifyou have any spares left. Reno from the Turks makes his entry and isn't about tolet you fiddle with the explosives he just activated.

.------------------------------------------------------------------------------.|Name: Reno (Level: 17) |Halves: Lightning ||HP: 1000 |Nullifies: Gravity ||Exp: 290 |-----------------------------------||AP: 22 |Status Effect Weaknesses: ||Gil: 500 |Sleep, Poison, Stop, Slow, ||Drops: Ether(100%) |Darkness ||Steal: --- '-----------------------------------||Attacks: Short Staff [1 Enemy, Phys Atk, 61.25 Base Damage] || Pyramid [1 Enemy, Causes 100% Imprisoned] || Electro-mag Rod [1 Enemy, Phys Atk, 73.5 Base Damage, || Can inflict Paralysed] ||------------------------------------------------------------------------------||Strategy: Reno doesn't have much HP, but he knows an attack called Pyramid ||which favors him in battle. This unique attack imprisons a character in a ||pyramid, during which this character cannot act. The only remedy is to hit the||imprisoned character with a physical attack to destroy the pyramid. || ||Besides his Pyramid attack, Reno uses his Short Staff and Electro-mag Rod ||attacks on the team. Both are weak attacks and pose little threat if you keep ||your HP above 150. Pummel Reno with Fire, Ice and physical attacks until he ||bails - a wise decision, considering the pillar is about the explode! |'------------------------------------------------------------------------------'

Trivia: During the end of the FMV, President Shinra is listening to an existing piece of classical music. It's "The Creation" from Franz Joseph Haydn.

The team barely manages to escape Sector 7 with sheer luck, and eventually theteam finds themselves back in Sector 6. Tifa manages to calm Barret down bytelling him that Marlene is probably safe. Best to double check at Aeris' place!

Oo=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-oO || {7} Back in the slums || CHECKLISTOo*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*Oo*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=oO=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*oO|| Treasure:| Sense Materia, Turbo Ether, (Ether). ||Oo*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*oO

Cloud quickly departs, but Barret and Tifa join him shortly after. Head back tothe playground and pick up the yellow Sense Materia. This allows you to check onenemy statistics in battle - something this guide will help you with as well.

Backtrack to Aeris' House by making your way through the slums of Sector 6. Whenyou get to Sector 5, attempt to steal a Speed Drink from the Vice enemies. Thisitem puts a character in Haste status - it's a fairly decent addition to havethis early on.

Remember the house with the sleeping kid in which you checked the drawers for5 Gil? In this rightmost house the kid will offer you a Turbo Ether if youdidn't steal his 5 Gil earlier. Not too shabby!

When you arrive at Aeris' house the team finds that Marlene is safe and soundwith Elmyra. Unfortunately, Aeris was captured by Shinra. There's no other waybut to infiltrate the Shinra Building and free Aeris. Head upstairs and talk toBarret to progress the game. Should you have the need to rest, use the bed onthe left before departing for Wall Market.

Not much has changed at Wall Market besides a few minor things. You can nolonger access the Honeybee Inn after causing all that commotion, but you'll findthat the Materia Shop has re-opened.

Go to the weapon shop and talk to the guy on the left. Looks like he found andfixed three Batteries which he is selling for 100 Gil a piece. You need theseto progress, so go ahead and make the purchase.

If you hadn't gotten the Phoenix Down in the lackey room at Corneo's Mansion, doso now. You can also squeeze some information out of Kotch who is tied up in thebasement. Lastly, if you had forgotten the Hyper behind Corneo's bed, go get itnow.

When you're done exploring, head outside and go right of the mansion to climba rope that fell down after Sector 7 was destroyed. The team can use this toreach upper Midgar and reach the Shinra Building. Climb all the way up until youget to a socket in which you need to fit the first battery. The battery doesn'tlast very long, but the propeller now functions as a bridge, allowing you tocontinue. The second socket powers a barricade that creates another bridge.Before you swing over to the other side with the swinging bar, climb up to findan optional battery socket. Using the battery reveals an Ether, but you mightwant to read the note below.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The last battery is a unique item whereas the Ether is a replaceable item withlittle value later in the game. Your choice reflects a dilemma of some sortswith on the one hand a perfect game that features 'getting all treasure' and onthe other hand 'making your inventory as complete as possible'.

Arguably one can reason that you *could've* gotten the Ether but instead chosethe battery because of its uniqueness. This means you can choose to ignore theEther and instead keep the rare battery.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One of the last obstacles is a swinging bar - time your jump well to cling onto swing over the gap. Climb all the way to the top and the team reaches theShinra Building. Time for a battle pose!

Oo=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-oO || {8} Raiding Shinra HQ! || CHECKLISTOo*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*Oo*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=oO=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*oO|| Treasure: | Elixir, [Elemental Materia, or Elixir, or Ether, or Potion], |||| | Star Pendant, Four Slots, All Materia, Phoenix Down, Ether, |||| | Poison Materia, Enemy Skill Materia, Potion (x4), |||| | Talisman(Boss Reward), Protect Vest(Boss Reward), |||| | Guard Source(Boss Reward), Star Pendant(Boss Reward). ||||-----------| |||| Other: | Turtle's Paradise Flyer No. 2. ||||-----------| |||| Key Items:| Keycard 60, Keycard 62, A Coupon, B Coupon, C Coupon, |||| | Keycard 65, Keycard 66, Midgar Parts (x5), Keycard 68. ||Oo*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*oO

Barret is in for some action, but Tifa prefers a more sneaky route. You're giventhe choice of entering through the front entrance or by sneaking around the backand take the stairs. If you take the stairs, walk around the building and skipahead to the paragraph of the 59th floor.

Note: If you take the stairs you'll get no random encounters along the way, and the fifth set of stairs features an Elixir. If you thought you could just grab this treasure by going in through the front entrance, and backtrack to the stairs then you'll still have to travel through five screens of stairs - there's no quick way of obtaining it.

As you bust in, dispatch the group of Grenade Combatants and head to the back ofthe first floor. Here, check the news bulletin in the right corner and read theTurtle's Paradise Flyer No. 2. This is the rarest of the flyers, and you onlyget two chances in the entire game to read it, this being the first. The secondfloor features a shop and two closed treasure chests (which can only be openedduring a later visit), so you might as well hop on the elevator.

The elevator has its own unique battle mechanics .-------.-----------------.and you always start out on floor 6. When Cloud |Chance:|## Floors Higher:|presses one of the buttons, the elevator will advance|=======|=================|between 7 - 15 floors randomly. The chances for this | 12.5% | 7 |are laid out in the table on the right. | 12.5% | 8 | | 12.5% | 9 |You'll usually have to fight through around 4-5 | 12.5% | 10 |battles. Which enemies you get to fight is linked to | 12.5% | 11 |the floor you land on (see the table below for | 12.5% | 12 |details on this). On the floors 29, 38, 47 and 56 | 12.5% | 13 |you'll always run into a Shinra employee named Hito. | 6.25% | 14 |(His name isn't actually shown in-game, but it just | 6.25% | 15 |happens to be his official name). '-------'-----------------'

.--.--------------------. .--.--------------------. .--.--------------------.|F:|Encounter/Event: | |F:|Encounter/Event: | |F:|Encounter/Event: ||==|====================| |==|====================| |==|====================||13|2x Grenade Combatant| |28|1x Mighty Grunt | |46|2x Sword Dance ||14|3x Grenade Combatant| |29|Meeting with Hito | |47|Meeting with Hito ||15|1x Mighty Grunt | |30|1x Hammer Blaster | |48|1x Moth Slasher ||16|2x Mighty Grunt | |31|1x Sword Dance | |49|1x Sword Dance ||17|2x Grenade Combatant| |32|2x Sword Dance | |50|1x Hammer Blaster ||18|3x Grenade Combatant| |33|1x Moth Slasher | |51|1x Sword Dance ||19|1x Mighty Grunt | |34|1x Hammer Blaster | |52|1x Moth Slasher ||20|2x Mighty Grunt | |35|1x Sword Dance | |53|1x Hammer Blaster ||21|3x Grenade Combatant| |36|2x Sword Dance | |54|2x Sword Dance ||22|2x Mighty Grunt | |37|1x Moth Slasher | |55|2x Sword Dance ||23|2x Grenade Combatant| |38|Meeting with Hito | |56|Meeting with Hito ||24|2x Mighty Grunt | |39|1x Hammer Blaster | |57|1x Hammer Blaster ||25|1x Mighty Grunt | |40|2x Sword Dance | |58|1x Moth Slasher ||26|2x Grenade Combatant| |41|1x Moth Slasher | |59|Final Stop ||27|3x Grenade Combatant| |42|1x Sword Dance | '--'--------------------''--'--------------------' '--'--------------------'

When you reach the 59th floor, approach the Shinra guards and dispatch the threeMighty Grunts. Cloud will pick up the Keycard 60, which grants access all theway up to floor 60. It is now possible to use this elevator whenever you like.

The 60th floor is basically a security center. Head into the room on the leftand prepare to cross the room to reach the stairwell on the right. To do so,Cloud must hide behind the golden statues and make a run to the next wheneverthe guards look away. Move Barret and Tifa with the circle button when Cloudreaches the middle, and after he makes it to the stairs. Be warned that thesecond part is slightly trickier because the guards run instead of walk. If youget caught you'll have to try again.

Note: If your timing is particularly poor and you fail five times, the game will let you pass. The team has probably wiped out all guards on the security floor at that point.

On the 61st floor, talk to one of the guys walking around the lower part of thescreen and answer with "....." and guess what? You'll get the Keycard 62, noquestions asked! There's nothing else to do on this floor other than talking tothe rest of the NPC's.

Head up to the 62nd floor. This is the library and also the floor where'Mayor' Domino has an office. He's in the room on the left, so pay him a visit.Looks like the mayor loathes Shinra as much as the team does, so he offers themhis keycard if they guess the password correctly. He'll even throw in an extraprize if you get it right on the first try.

Now.. Guessing the password to get the keycard isn't difficult, but getting thebest prize (a unique Elemental Materia), that's a little harder. Getting thisMateria is also crucial to optionally acquiring a powerful spell later on.

There are various ways to guess the correct password, and Domino's assistantHart hands out hints for a price. You can pay him 500, 1000, 2000, 5000, andeven 15000 gil for hints, but we urge you not to do this as we've assembled thethree best methods for guessing the password. Method 1 is the longest method,but if you like puzzles then it's arguably the most fun. Methods 2 and 3 aretricks to guess the password instantly.

Method 1-------- Lower Left: Urban Dev. Research LibraryThere are 4 different sections in .-------------------------------------------.the library. The lower left is the |Midgar City map: Sectors 5-8 |'Urban Dev. Research Library'. In |Reactor Construction Chart |this section, the following files |Problems with Plate construction in Midgar |are the ones that this section |New plans for Urban Planning |normally has to have: |An illustrated guide to City Planning | |Midgar City Map: Sectors 0-4 | '-------------------------------------------'

Lower Right: Scientific Research LibraryThe lower right section is the .-----------------------------------------------.'Scientific Research Library', |Final evolutionary stages in land dwelling life|and the following files are |Report on high Mako levels in living beings |the ones that the section |The Ancients in History |should normally have: |Mako energy and the rise in life forms | |File on Dr. Gast, Biologist | |Data on experimental animals living near Midgar| '-----------------------------------------------'

Upper Left: Peace Preservation/Weapon Dev. Research LibraryThe upper left section is the .-----------------------------------------.'Peace Preservation/Weapon Dev. |Materia production and its military uses |Research Library' and the |Heidegger's Shinra peace keeping law |following files are the ones |Breakdown of SOLDIER members by class |that the section should normally |Plan for new land weapons |have: |Economic report: anti-Shinra activities | |Ranks and extended use of Mako weaponry | '-----------------------------------------'

Upper Right: Space Dev. Research LibraryLast, the upper right section is .---------------------------------------------.the 'Space Dev. Research Library'|Modern history of Midgar space program vol. 1|and the following files are the |Modern history of Midgar space program vol. 2|ones that the section should |Diminishing Mako energy and Planet movements |normally have: |Results of the failed space mission "YA-79" | |Economic report: Space Dev Program | |Shinra rocket space travel | '---------------------------------------------'

You'll notice that there is one file in each section that doesn't belong there.Use the tables to figure out the correct placements of files. When a filedoesn't belong in a certain section, check the number in front of it. Thisnumber indicates which letter of the file is used in the password. For example,with the file 'Shinra rocket space travel' with the number 15, the letter A isused in the password. Spaces don't count, only letters and characters do. Checkall four the sections, and you'll get four letters. These letters should formone of the words the Mayor lets you pick out of: BEST, KING, ORBS, BOMB, MAKO,HOJO. The answer is *never* ORBS or HOJO.

Method 2--------This method makes your life a lot easier. Walk to the upper right room, alsoknown as the 'Space Dev. Research Library', which has a blue floor and greenshelves. Check the file on the LEFT of the MIDDLE shelf and consult the tablebelow for the password.

.------------------------------------------.------------------. |If the file is this: |Then password is: | |------------------------------------------|------------------| |2 Economic report: Space Dev Program | BEST | |1 Results of failed space mission "YA-79" | KING | |1 Breakdown of SOLDIER members by class | BOMB | |10 New plans for urban planning | MAKO | '------------------------------------------'------------------'

Method 3--------An alternative trick to solve the puzzle is (once you've entered the 62ndfloor) to head down to the bottom floor with the elevator, go outside and saveyour game. Head back up to the 62nd floor and try all passwords until you getthe right one. Memorize the password, load up your save game and voila! Thepassword stays the same if you use this method.

.------------------------------------------------. |Your reward varies on how good you do: | |================================================| |Get it right on your 1st try: Elemental Materia| |Get it right on your 2nd try: Elixir | |Get it right on your 3rd try: Ether | |Get it right on your 4th try: Potion | |Get it right on your 5th+ try: Nothing | '------------------------------------------------'

With the Keycard 65, head up to the 63rd floor. This is an optional floor, butyou can collect three treasures if you take the time to solve a puzzle. Walk tothe computer in the lower right room to grant you access to open up three doorsin total on this floor.

To get all items you must open up the right combination of doors. Walk all theway up around the right and go left. The door that blocks the hall to the leftis the first one you should open up. Continue left, ignoring the first doorbelow, but open the *second* door below. Grab the 'A Coupon' from the room tothe left and enter the air duct. Crawl to the end on the top of the screen, andgrab the 'B Coupon' from the room you land in. Now just walk out the room, turnleft, open the door and grab the 'C Coupon' from the room. Crawl back in the airduct and exit by the right.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Don't exchange the Coupons for the items. While the items can be acquiredthrough other means later in the game, the Coupons are one of a kind and will belost forever to you. While you could regard this as another dilemma, similar towhen you had to choose between the Battery and the Ether, the same principleapplies here. Are you going for a complete inventory, or do you want to grab allthe treasure in the game (which no one will ever be able to check).~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The computer can change the coupons you found for the following items:

A Coupon = Star PendantB Coupon = Four SlotsC Coupon = 'All' Materia

The Four Slots has - well, it's got 4 slots but has a poor defense rating so weadvise not to use it. The Star Pendant is your first accessory and it protectsagainst Poison. You might as well equip it on Cloud.

The 64th floor is a recreational area with a fitness room, relaxation room andeverything along those lines. There's a vending machine in the upper left cornerof the fitness room which sells a 'Shinra Gym Special Drink' for 250 gil. Pay upand choose to bang on the machine. An employee will stop Cloud's bashing, butyou can revisit this area later to claim a reward. Search the locker room tofind a Phoenix Down, an Ether and someone's Ultimate Weapon - but since Clouddoesn't see any use in holding on to a megaphone, it can't be obtained at thispoint.

The 65th floor has random encounters again, although the encounter rate isfairly low. The idea of the puzzle is to complete the scale model of Midgar withthe Midgar Parts scattered over the area in boxes. The lower chest in the upperleft room holds the first parts. Place them in the model counterclockwise,starting with the bottom right. Where you place the parts matters for whichchest opens. If you place them like this, the chests will open in the order thisguide describes. Every time that you place the parts in the model, another chestopens up.

- The second Midgar Parts are found in the lower chest in the lower left room.- The third Midgar Parts are in the remaining chest in the upper left room.- The fourth Midgar Parts are in the remaining chest in the lower left room.- The last Midgar Parts are in the upper right room. After placing the parts, the chest near the stairs opens up and you can take the Keycard 66 from it.

The 66th floor is the conference floor where Shinra plans their evil schemes.Could it be a coincidence that this is based at the 66th floor (a rather evilnumber, we think)? Go to the restroom on the upper left of the screen and enterone of the toilets. After flushing like a gentleman, climb inside the shaft toeavesdrop on the conference. When the meeting is over, follow Professor Hojo tothe next floor.

Tip: The 67th floor has random encounters, and you can get yourself some good equipment by stealing from Moth Slashers (the robotic enemy on a spinning wheel), and SOLDIER:3rd. The Moth Slashers hold a Carbon Bangle, a great armor with 27 defense and 3 slots (two of which are paired slots), while you can steal a Hardedge from any SOLDIER:3rd - a great weapon for Cloud which is twice as good as the Buster Sword. You may find the encounter rate fairly low once again, but it's definitely worth the effort.

When you're all done stealing, visit the laboratory on the left to view a scene.Grab the Poison Materia from the chest, prepare your characters for an upcomingbattle and use the Save Point. Cloud could make good use of the Star Pendantwhile Barret is best set up with the Poison - Elemental combination placed inhis armor on *linked slots*. This will protect them from poison attacks. It alsohelps to give Cloud the Fire - All, and Barret the Ice - All combination.

When you're all set, ride the lift up to the 68th floor and rescue Aeris fromthe dreadful Hojo and his test samples! If you set Barret up for the fight, sendTifa to look after Aeris.

.------------------------------------------------------------------------------.|Name: Sample: H0512 (Level: 19) |Halves: Lightning ||HP: 1000 |Nullifies: Gravity ||MP: 120 |Absorb: Poison ||Exp: 300 |-----------------------------------||AP: 30 |Status Effect Weaknesses: ||Gil: 250 |Sleep, Stop, Slow, Darkness, ||Drops: Talisman(100%) |Paralysed ||Steal: --- '-----------------------------------||Attacks: Keyclaw [1 Enemy, Phys Atk, 63 Base Damage] || Shady Breath [All Enemies, Cost=4MP, Can inflict Poison] || Reanimagic [All Allies, Mag Atk, Cost=40MP, || Revives all dead OPT-Samples] ||------------------------------------------------------------------------------||Strategy: This boss has the advantage of often being in the back row because ||of his little OPT-samples. Only Barret deals full damage with physical attacks||when attacking the boss, so magic should be your primary offensive arsenal. || ||Never use Poison in this battle since H0512 absorbs it - instead use Fire and ||Ice to damage the boss and it's henchmen. Cloud's Limit Break Cross-slash can ||paralyse H0512 for a few turns, while Barret and Red XIII deal solid damage ||with their initial Limit Breaks. || ||If Barret already has his Mindblow Limit Break, this can deplete the boss' MP ||instantly, restricting it to only it's Keyclaw attack. Alternatively, the boss||can only revive its henchmen up to a maximum of three times before it runs ||out of MP. Keep your HP high at all times and take good care of your poisoned ||characters. The boss has only 1000 HP, so a few powerful Limit Breaks should ||easily do it in. If you kill the main boss, the henchmen die along. If you do ||dispatch them separately, you're rewarded with additional Tranquilizers as ||battle spoils. |'------------------------------------------------------------------------------'

After the battle, form a party and grab the Enemy Skill Materia from the samplecage. Head up the small steps and get the two Potions. Out of fear, the employeeis quick to offer his Keycard 68 to you. Head to the right and snatch two morePotions along the way. Now head downstairs until you reach the 66th floor'selevator. Rude and Tseng (from the Turks) catch you off guard and the team istaken in captivity.

After meeting President Shinra, the team is locked up in the prison cells on the67th floor. Talk to Tifa, then approach the door and think of your other teammembers.

Tip: If you want to date Tifa, talk to her many times and keep answering with "Leave it to me.". Otherwise, if you'd rather date someone else, instead pick the other option "Kinda hard."

What's this? After getting some sleep, the cell door of Cloud's room has beenleft wide open, and the guard in the hallway has been killed. What's going on?After assembling a party, follow Red XIII into the lift and from here on, followthe trail of blood up to the 70th floor.

That's one big sword sticking out of the president's back, if you know what Imean. This can only mean one thing: Sephiroth is still alive! The president'sson Rufus is quick to arrive and replace his old man, so you'd better headoutside and pay your respects.

The team splits up and Cloud stays behind to deal with Rufus. You can now chooseto remove Cloud and Tifa's Materia - do this. You'll want to give Aeris theLightning Materia and Red XIII at least one other magic materia. Head towardsthe elevator and a double boss battle starts.

.------------------------------------------------------------------------------.|Name: Hundred Gunner (Level: 18) |Note: Long-range enemy ||HP: 1600 |Weakness: Lightning ||MP: 0 |Halves: Gravity ||Exp: --- |-----------------------------------||AP: --- |Status Effect Weaknesses: ||Gil: --- |Slow ||Drops: --- | ||Steal: --- '-----------------------------------||Attacks: Aux Artillery [1 Enemy, Phys Atk, 110 Base Damage] || Hidden Artillery [1 Enemy, Phys Atk, 137.5 Base Damage] || Main Artillery [All Enemies, Phys Atk, 123.75 Base Damage] || Wave Artillery [All Enemies, Phys Atk, 185.625 Base Damage] ||------------------------------------------------------------------------------||Name: Heli Gunner (Level: 19) |Note: Long-range enemy ||HP: 1000 |Weakness: Lightning, Wind ||MP: 0 |Nullifies: Earth ||Exp: 250 |-----------------------------------||AP: 25 |Status Effect Weaknesses: ||Gil: 200 |Slow ||Drops: Mythril Armlet(100%) | ||Steal: --- '-----------------------------------||Attacks: AB Cannon [1 Enemy, Phys Atk, 119 Base Damage, Can inflict Sleep] || C Cannon [1 Enemy, Phys Atk, 119 Base Damage, Can inflict Poison] || Firing Line [All Enemies, Phys Atk, 141.3125 Base Damage, || Can inflict Poison, Sleep] || Spinning Bodyblow [1 Enemy, Phys Atk, 148.75 Base Damage] || Flying Drill [1 Enemy, Phy Atk, 178.5 Base Damage] ||------------------------------------------------------------------------------||Strategy: This is the hardest boss fight so far since you'll be facing two ||opponents in this battle, one after the other. The battle starts with Hundred ||Gunner destroying the elevator glass. || ||Hundred Gunner has access to a few powerful attacks which can all inflict over||100 damage, of which two that hit the entire party. Aeris' Healing Wind can ||effectively counter these stronger attacks when things get rough. || ||Barret is the only character capable of using physical attacks in this fight, ||so have Red XIII and Aeris focus on delivering magical blows to the enemy. ||When Hundred Gunner breaks down it is immediately replaced by Heli Gunner. || ||This machine uses physical attacks which can inflict Poison and Sleep, but ||that's the only big difference between Heli and Hundred Gunner. Keep pounding ||Heli Gunner with Bolt and Limit Breaks to defeat it quickly; It's only got ||1000 HP. |'------------------------------------------------------------------------------'

The game flashes back to Cloud, who's about to battle Rufus, the new presidentof Shinra Inc. Remove the materia of the others and give Cloud the PoisonMateria. The rest of his setup doesn't matter much.

.------------------------------------------------------------------------------.|Name: Rufus (Level: 21) |Nullifies: Gravity ||HP: 500 |-----------------------------------||MP: 0 |Status Effect Weaknesses: ||Exp: 240 |Sleep, Poison, Slow, Paralysed ||AP: 35 | ||Gil: 400 | ||Drops: Protect Vest(100%) | ||Steal: --- '-----------------------------------||Attacks: Shotgun [1 Enemy, Phys Atk, 57 Base Damage] ||------------------------------------------------------------------------------||Name: Dark Nation (Level: 15) |Status Effect Weaknesses: ||HP: 140 |Only Immune to Confusion ||MP: 80 | ||Exp: 70 | ||AP: 7 | ||Gil: 250 | ||Drops: Guard Source(100%) | ||Steal: --- '-----------------------------------||Attacks: Bite [1 Enemy, Phys Atk, 63 Base Damage] || Barrier [1 Ally, Mag Atk, Cost=16MP, Inflicts 100% Barrier] || MBarrier [1 Ally, Mag Atk, Cost=24MP, Inflicts 100% MBarrier] || Bolt [1 Enemy, Mag Atk, Cost=4MP, 90 Base Damage] ||------------------------------------------------------------------------------||Strategy: Focus on Rufus' pet dog Dark Nation first, as it will otherwise cast||protective magic on Rufus (namely Barrier and MBarrier). A Limit Break will ||dispatch the beast right away, but Bio is a good start. || ||With Dark Nation out of the way, the battle becomes a breeze. Poison Rufus and||pummel him with physical attacks. Cloud's Cross-slash can even Paralyse Rufus,||but it'll hardly be necessary. Rufus bails in the heat of the battle by ||clinging on to the helicopter. |'------------------------------------------------------------------------------'

After the battle with Rufus, head downstairs and save your game. When Cloudmeets up with Tifa, walk Aeris towards the entrance and the team will make theirescape.

You'll be given the option to form and regroup your party first. Since the nextboss attacks you from the back, make sure that everyone except Barret is in theback row (this will be inversed in that boss battle). Give Cloud the LightningMateria and place an Elemental - Fire combo in his armor. Have one othercharacter equipped with a Restore - All setup. Lastly, be sure to equip theaccessories Protect Vest and Talisman since they increase defense.

A mini game now commences. You can use square and circle to attack left andright respectively. Slash the persuading bikers who are mainly after the carwith your the team. The orange bikers are easy targets and you tend to wonderwhy Shinra ever hired them. The red bikers probably ponder this as well andthey are a much higher threat. They'll try to lure you away from the truck sothat other bikers can reach and damage the car. Be cautious when you spot a redbiker and try to defeat as many of them as you can. At the end of the track,another mechanical Shinra creation attacks your team by using its spinningmotor ball. Let's chop that ball off, shall we?

.------------------------------------------------------------------------------.|Name: Motor Ball (Level: 19) |Weakness: Lightning ||HP: 2600 |Halves: Fire ||MP: 120 |Nullifies: Gravity, Poison ||Exp: 440 |-----------------------------------||AP: 45 |Status Effect Weaknesses: ||Gil: 350 |Slow ||Drops: Star Pendant(100%) | ||Steal: --- '-----------------------------------||Attacks: {Highway Back Attack} [All Enemies, Phys Atk, 70 Base Damage] || Deadly Wheel [1/All Enemies, Phys Atk, 70 Base Damage] || Twin Burner [1/All Enemies, Mag Atk, Cost=16MP, Fire Element, || 135 Base Damage] || Rolling Fire [All Enemies, Mag Atk, Cost=24MP, Fire Element, || 216 Base Damage] || Arm Attack [1 Enemy, Phys Atk, 87.5 Base Damage] ||------------------------------------------------------------------------------||Strategy: Motor Ball ambushes you and deals about 70 damage to the party. If ||you changed the rows of your party then there's no need to swap them manually,||otherwise you might want to consider this. || ||Keep your party's HP above 250 and attack the boss with Bolt and Ice; You'll ||want to avoid Fire-based spells since Motor Ball halves this element. The boss||likes to play with fire itself, so if you have someone with the elemental ||protection in their armor, this definitely cuts down on the damage. || ||While it's possible to slow the boss with a Spider Web item, or even speed up ||your characters with Speed Drinks, this shouldn't be necessary unless you're ||rather underleveled. |'------------------------------------------------------------------------------'

The team leaves Midgar to chase Sephiroth. Make sure to place your characters inthe correct order again after the boss battle, and form a party. As you set footon the World Map, the game suddenly gets a whole lot less linear.

Oo=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-oO || {9} Flashback at Kalm Town || CHECKLISTOo*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*Oo*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=oO=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*oO|| Treasure:| Megalixir, Ether, Ether, Peacemaker, Guard Source, Ether. ||||----------| |||| Other: | Orthopedic Underwear (no real item). ||Oo*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*oO

You can save your game whenever you like when on the World Map, and you canthus use Tents anywhere as well.

Tip: Before you head over to Kalm, which is located slightly northeast ofMidgar, take your time to find some Custom Sweepers in the dirt area. Thesemechanical enemies use an attack called 'Matra Magic', which you can acquire bylearning it on the Enemy Skill Materia. The character who is equipped with thisMateria needs to be hit by, *and* survive the attack. The battle must then bewon to permanently acquire that skill.

You can also steal Atomic Scissors from Custom Sweepers, a much better weaponfor Barret at this point. Note however that this is one of Barret's few *non*-long range weapons.

The Prowlers in this area can steal your items in a s