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GarlandG's Low Level No Materia FAQ/Walkthrough for
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Version 3.0
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Table of contents:
------------------
Use quick find (Crtl+F) to easily find what you want. To easily find a boss or
a battle, just look at the Boss & Battle list and type in the code in front
when searching. For example B33 for Demon's Gate.
1 - Important Stuff Boss & Battle List
------------------- ------------------
* 1.1 <> Copyright B02: Guard Scorpion
B03: Smogger x2
* 1.2 <> Intro B06: Air Buster
B07: Aps
* 1.3 <> Gaming Info B08: Reno
B09: Mighty Grunt x3
* 1.4 <> Battle Plan & EXP Guide B10: Sample:HO512
B11: Hundred Gunner
B12: Heli Gunner
2 - Walkthrough: Midgar B13: Rufus
----------------------- B14: Motor Ball
* 2.1 <> The First Mission B15: Bottomswell
B16: Jenova-BIRTH
* 2.2 <> The Second Mission B17: Dyne
B18: Stinger
* 2.3 <> Back In The Slums B20: Gi Nattak
B21: Materia Keeper
* 2.4 <> Shinra HQ B22: Palmer
B23: Foulander x2
B27: Garuda x2
3 - Walkthrough: The Rest Of Disc One B29: Flapbeat x3
------------------------------------- B32: Red Dragon
* 3.1 <> The First Continent B33: Demon's Gate
B34: Jenova-LIFE
* 3.2 <> The Second Continent B35: Icicle
B38: Schizo
* 3.3 <> Cosmo Canyon B39: Jenova-DEATH
B40: Attack Squad x2
* 3.4 <> Nibelheim & Rocket Town B41: Ultimate Weapon
B42: Submarine Crew x2
* 3.5 <> Wutai & Gold Saucer Area B44: Submarine Crew
B46: Undewater MP x2
* 3.6 <> The Temple Of Ancients B47: Carry Armor
B50: Submarine Crew x3
* 3.7 <> Searching For Aerith B53: Senior Grunt & Attack S.
B54: Rude & Attack Squads
B55: Senior Grunt
4 - Walkthrough: Disc Two & Three B56: Yuffie aka Mystery Ninja
--------------------------------- B57: Diamond Weapon
* 4.1 <> Adventures In The Snow B59: Attack Squad x3
B60: Rapps
* 4.2 <> The Time Without Cloud B61: Proud Clod
B62: Hojo
* 4.3 <> Junon Underwater Reactor B63: Hellectic Hojo
B64: Lifeform Hojo NA
* 4.4 <> Rocket Town & More B65: Mover x3
B67: Jenova-SYNTHESIS
* 4.5 <> Yuffie, Diamond Weapon & Wutai B68: Bizarro Sephiroth
B69: Safer-Sephiroth
* 4.6 <> Return To Midgar
* 4.7 <> The Northern Crater
* 4.8 <> The Final Battles
5 - Additional Info
-------------------
* 5.1 <> Challenge Suggestions
* 5.2 <> Contacting Me
* 5.3 <> Version History
* 5.4 <> Credits
* 5.5 <> Final Words
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1 - Important Stuff
===============================================================================
I know that a lot of people skip this part, but do yourself a favour and read
it. I strongly encourage you to do so, because you will find tons of very
important info here and questions you might have will most likely be answered.
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1.1 <> Copyright
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This guide is Copyrighted � to Audun Arnseth, 2004 - 2006, and is for private
use only. You may download it and print it out, but you are not allowed to
reproduce it, sell it or use it for any kind of profit. You may host it on your
website if you get my approval, but the contents may not be changed, and I must
be given credit. If this is desired, you can send me an email and ask for my
permission. However, should I find it necessary, you will have to remove it at
my request. Violation of my copyright will be taken very strictly, and I will
consider it an ethic violation and breaking of moral. It also shows lack of
respect for other people's work. And most importantly, don't forget that
copyright violations are illegal and you might come in conflict with the law.
All of this guide is my work and all the strategies have been made up by me,
based on my own experiences when playing the game. The only other source of
information I have used in the process of making this guide is Terence's Enemy
Mechanics FAQ, something he is given credit for in the credits section. I have
also received helpful tips from other people that made some strategies easier,
but credit has, of course, been given.
Final Fantasy VII and everything that has to do with this game is copyrighted
(C) to Squaresoft, 1997 & 1998. Squaresoft and Final Fantasy are registered
trademarks (R) to Square Co. Ltd.
If you break my copyright, I will hunt you down and kick your ass and it will
hurt. In other words, don't do it.
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1.2 <> Intro
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Low Level No Materia is a challenge for the more advanced players. If you have
already beaten a regular Low Level Challenge and want something harder, this is
the challenge for you. It's nowhere near the most difficult challenges out
there, but more than enough for a regular player. It's recommended to have
completed a regular Low Level challenge before you attempt this, but you can
also start here if you want to. That'll make the challenge a lot tougher, but
maybe that's what you want? But now, let's take a look at the rules.
LLNMIENA - Low Level, No Materia
##################################
LL - You may never exceed level 28 at any point during the game. If a character
should reach level 29, you have failed at maintaining the lowest level.
NM - Any use of Materia is strictly prohibited, and you may never have Materia
equipped in battle unless the game forces you to.
You should know the game pretty well if you want to take on this challenge; you
should know where to go and what to do in order to proceed with the story, so
you won't find a detailed walkthrough in this guide. That's what the regular
walkthroughs are for. What you will find is the necessary info you will need in
order to complete this challenge, like boss strategies, lists over items to
pick up, buy and sell and other important things. The walkthrough part is
divided into areas and for each new area you will find a complete list of items
you must pick up here. Most of them are easy to find and you should know where
they are, but I will give you a clue in cases where they are hidden or
difficult to find, so don't worry about that.
Some times you may wonder why we're using a certain party for a certain fight.
I'm fully aware that we're not using the optimal party in some cases, but in a
lowest level game, we can't just use the characters we want to all the time. To
make sure no one exceeds level 28, we have to swap back and forth between the
characters and make sure they all receive less EXP than what's required for
level 29. Simply put: You need a battle plan. The battle plan lists all the
boss battles, forced battles and other battles you have to fight and win
throughout the challenge, like battles to obtain crucial items. It's not an
easy task to create a battle plan, but you don't have to worry about that, as I
have already made one for you. Jump down to section 1.4 and you'll find it.
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1.3 <> Gaming Info
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THIS SECTION IS VERY IMPORTANT, AND I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO READ AND
UNDERSTAND IT BEFORE YOU START PLAYING. YOU WILL FIND THE MOST IMPORTANT INFO
YOU NEED IN ORDER TO SAVE TIME HERE, SO YOU HAVE to READ IT, NO MATTER WHAT.
Rules
#######
* LLNM is the golden rule for this challenge, and the two parts of it are
explained above. Break any of the rules and you have failed the challenge.
* No Materia means No Materia. As I said above, you may not equip materia at
any point in the game. You may not equip materia to boost stats and you may
not have materia equipped in battle to gain AP and then sell them for a
higher profit. There are only two exceptions where you are forced to have
materia equipped in battle, and these will be explained below.
* You're allowed to sell materia. Many people say you shouldn't because it's a
No Materia Challenge, but I disagree. I get the point though, but I'll stick
to my opinion and allow it.
Exceptions
############
* When you start the game, Cloud is equipped with a Lightning and Ice Materia,
and there's nothing you can do with it as you don't have the "Materia" menu
yet. Therefore, you're forced to have materia equipped in the first two
battles. Don't use the spells. Period. Remove the materia as soon as you get
access to the "Materia" menu in Sector 7.
* Red XIII joins the party for the first time in the battle with Sample:HO512,
and he's equipped with a Sense Materia and an All-Fire combination. Don't use
any of them. Period. Remove the materia as soon as the battle is over.
* No other exceptions. Cheaters are losers. Gameshark is a banned word.
Receiving EXP
###############
* To receive as little EXP as possible, we can only have one character survive
battles. The other two must be taken out an be KO'd before you can have the
survivor finish off the enemy.
* And to further reduce the amount of EXP, we will have Aerith survive all the
battles during disc one. Yes, we can take advantage of her death in low level
challenges, as her EXP will die with her. Level 28 is still the limit though,
but don't worry, she will only reach level 22.
* The survivor of a battle receives the amount given.
* Characters KO'd at the end of a battle will not receive any EXP.
* Characters that don't participate in a battle will receive half of the amount
given, even if they are KO'd.
* Cloud and Tifa will not receive any EXP while they are in Mideel.
* Yuffie will not receive any EXP during the Wutai quest.
The use of Limit Breaks
#########################
This is something most people find out the first time they play the game, that
limit breaks have priority before anything else. When you have a character use
a limit break, it will always be used right away, no matter whose turn it is.
Usually, when fighting a single opponent, your characters get one turn each
before it's the opponent's turn again, but by taking advantage of the limit
break system, you can have a character act twice before the opponent's turn.
If all three characters have limit breaks, you can get a total of six turns
between the opponent's turn and thus save time. Let me explain how to do this.
Let's say your party is Cloud, Barret and Cid and you're fighting Proud Clod,
using S-mines to deal damage. Proud Clod attacks Cloud and he gets a limit
break. You now have an opportunity to get four turns before it's Proud Clod's
turn again and to make this work, you must have Cloud act first. Then have the
others act. Let's say you have Barret act second and then Cid. Cloud will throw
an S-mine first and his ATB bar will start filling up again when it's Barret's
turn. Then Barret throws an S-mine, and by the time he's done, Cloud's ATB bar
should be full. Then it's Cid's turn, and now it's time to activate Cloud's
limit break. Just make sure you don't activate it too early, or he will use it
before Cid's turn. Do it when Cid starts moving and you see the text "S-mine"
at the top of the screen. After Cid is done throwing the S-mine, Cloud will use
his limit break and you successfully got four turns in a row.
That's how it works. Test it out in a regular battle and you'll easily learn
how to handle it. It's not very complicated after all. When you're fighting at
the highest battle speed, you don't necessarily have to let the character who
got a limit break act first. Since the ATB gauge fills pretty fast, you can let
this character act second and still be able to use the limit break before it's
the enemy's turn again. On the lowest battle speed, however, you must have the
character who the limit break act first.
ATB and Battle Speed
######################
The difficulty of battles can be adjusted with the ATB and Battle Speed setups.
* If you set ATB to "Wait", time will stop as soon as you enter the item menu,
meaning that you can take all the time in the world to select an item and use
it. Unless the emeny already started attacking when you entered the item
menu, nothing will happen until you leave the menu or use an item.
* If you set ATB to "Active", time will run all the time and the enemy will act
as soon as it's his turn, no matter what you're doing. If you spend too much
time looking for an item, the enemy might even attack again. But of course,
you can always pause the game if you need some time to think.
* If you set ATB to "Recommended", time will stop during attacks, but not when
you're selecting items. The ATB gauge will also stop during attacks and
that's really annoying, so I recommend NOT using this setup at all. Why the
hell did they call it "Recommended" anyway?
In most cases, it doesn't make any huge difference what setup you use, unless
you're really slow when selecting items. In the toughest battles, however, it
will make a difference. If you're having trouble with a boss and you're using
"Active", switching back to "Wait" may do the trick. Well, you're free to use
whatever setup you like, but in the battle with Schizo, you're forced to use
"Wait". Of course, using "Active" all the time serves more bragging rights.
Battle Speed will in most cases not make any huge difference, unless you're
really slow again, something you really shouldn't be if you want to take on
this challenge. As opposed to ATB, there are many battles where you're forced
to use a certain Battle Speed. In some battles, you have to put up a Barrier or
MBarrier and to make sure these last as long as possible, you have to fight on
the lowest battle speed. In other battles, you have to poison the enemy and to
make sure the enemy takes damage from the poison status as often as possible,
you have to fight on the highest battle speed. As with ATB, battle speed will
make the hugest difference in the toughest battles and especially if you're
using "Active", as you will get more time to select items. Again, do whatever
you like, but fighting on the highest speed serves more bragging rights.
Other Important Info and Tips
###############################
* All random battles must be escaped.
* Save as often as possible.
* Make backup saves in case you screw up.
* Pick up all the items I tell you to.
* Give all Sources to Cloud as you find them.
* Don't use any items unless I say so.
* Don't buy or sell anything unless I tell you to.
* Don't heal characters in the fields, unless it's absolutely necessary.
* Phoenix Downs and Hi-Potions are not to be bought before Nibelheim, but don't
worry, you're more than fine with the ones you find/win before that.
* Find a calculator. You have no access to Sense in this challenge, and you
must keep track of many bosses HP.
* Be patient and never give up. This challenge may be tough, but it has been
beaten by several people, so it's not impossible.
* SAVE OFTEN. It can't be stressed enough. I've heard many stories about people
who "forgot to save" and had to play huge parts of the game over again.
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1.4 <> Battle Plan and EXP Guide
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here's the battle plan, and I believe it doesn't need any further explanation.
As you can see, I have divided it into three parts and these are Midgar, disc
one and disc two. Hojo is the last battle you receive EXP from.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
| EXP | Enemies | Survivor | KO |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 32 | MP x2 | Cloud | |
| 100 | Guard Scorpion | Cloud | Barret |
| 64 | Smogger x2 | Cloud | Barret, Tifa |
| 64 | Smogger x2 | Cloud | Barret, Tifa |
| 64 | Smogger x2 | Cloud | Barret, Tifa |
| 180 | Air Buster | Barret | Cloud, Tifa |
| 240 | Aps | Aerith | Cloud, Tifa |
| 290 | Turks:Reno | Cloud | Barret, Tifa |
| 150 | Mighty Grunt x3 | Cloud | Barret, Tifa |
| 300 | Sample:HO512 | Cloud | Tifa, Nanaki |
| 250 | Hundred Gunner & Heli Gunner | Aerith | Barret, Nanaki |
| 240 | Rufus | Cloud | |
| 440 | Motor Ball | Aerith | Cloud, Tifa |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 550 | Bottomswell | Aerith | Cloud, Tifa |
| 680 | Jenova-BIRTH | Aerith | Cloud, Tifa |
| 600 | Dyne | Barret | |
| 290 | Stinger | Aerith | Cloud, Nanaki |
| 290 | Stinger | Aerith | Cloud, Nanaki |
| 1400 | Gi Nattak | Aerith | Cloud, Nanaki |
| 3000 | Materia Keeper | Aerith | Cloud, Barret |
| 1800 | Palmer | Aerith | Cloud, Barret |
| 880 | Foulander x2 | Aerith | Cloud, Nanaki |
| 880 | Foulander x2 | Aerith | Cloud, Nanaki |
| 880 | Foulander x2 | Aerith | Cloud, Nanaki |
| 880 | Foulander x2 | Aerith | Cloud, Nanaki |
| 1040 | Garuda x2 | Aerith | Cloud, Nanaki |
| 1040 | Garuda x2 | Aerith | Cloud, Nanaki |
| 420 | Flapbeat x3 | Aerith | Cloud, Nanaki |
| 420 | Flapbeat x3 | Aerith | Cloud, Nanaki |
| 420 | Flapbeat x3 | Aerith | Cloud, Nanaki |
| 3500 | Red Dragon | Aerith | Cloud, Cid |
| 3800 | Demon's Gate | Aerith | Cloud, Cid |
| 4000 | Jenova-LIFE | Cloud | Barret, Tifa |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 500 | Icicle | Barret | Cloud, Cid |
| 500 | Icicle | Barret | Cloud, Cid |
| 500 | Icicle | Barret | Cloud, Cid |
| 4400 | Schizo | Cloud | Tifa, Nanaki |
| 6000 | Jenova-DEATH | Cloud | Tifa, Nanaki |
| 600 | Attack Squad x2 | Cid | Nanaki, Cait Sith |
| 1700 | Submarine Crew x2 | Cloud | Tifa, Nanaki |
| 1700 | Submarine Crew x2 | Cloud | Tifa, Nanaki |
| 850 | Submarine Crew | Barret | Cloud, Tifa |
| 1700 | Submarine Crew x2 | Barret | Cloud, Tifa |
| 1640 | Underwater MP x2 | Barret | Cloud, Tifa |
| 5700 | Carry Armor | Cid | Cloud, Cait Sith |
| 1700 | Submarine Crew x2 | Cid | Cloud, Cait Sith |
| 1700 | Submarine Crew x2 | Cait, Cid | Cloud, |
| 2550 | Submarine Crew x3 | Cid | Cloud, Cait Sith |
| 600 | Attack Squad x2 | Cid | Cloud, Nanaki |
| 600 | Attack Squad x2 | Cid | Cloud, Nanaki |
| 1530 | Attack Squad x2, Senior Grunt | Cid | Cloud, Nanaki |
| 4000 | Turks:Rude | Cid | Cloud, Nanaki |
| 930 | Senior Grunt | Cid | Cloud, Nanaki |
| 160 | Yuffie | Cid | Cloud, Nanaki |
| 35000 | Diamond Weapon | Cloud | Barret, Cid |
| 600 | Attack Squad x2 | Cait Sith | Cloud, Tifa |
| 900 | Attack Squad x3 | Cait Sith | Cloud, Tifa |
| 3200 | Rapps | Cait Sith | Cloud, Tifa |
| 7000 | Proud Clod | Barret | Cloud, Cid |
| 25000 | Hojo | Yuffie | Cloud, Cait Sith |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Then we have the EXP guide. Here you can see exactly how much EXP each of the
characters have at any point in the game. Some of the numbers have marks behind
them, and here's what they mean:
* Survivor of battle
- KO'd at the end of battle
s Starting value
x doesn't receive any EXP from this battle
doesn't participate (no mark)
The limit you can see at the bottom is the highest amount of EXP a character
can have before leveling up to 29. You should check the table regularly after
each battle to make sure that you have the correct amounts, but as long as you
escape from all random encounters and you make sure to follow the battle plan,
you should have nothing to worry about.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Disc One Battles
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cloud Barret Tifa Aerith Nanaki Cait Cid
Start 610s
MP x 2 642* 395s
Guard Scorpion 742* 395- 102s
Smogger x2 806* 395- 102-
Smogger x2 870* 395- 102-
Smogger x2 934* 395- 102-
Air Buster 934- 575* 102- 6s
Aps 934- 695 102- 246*
Reno 1224* 695- 102- 391
Mighty Grunts 1374* 695- 102- 466 961s
Sample:HO512 1674* 845 102- 616 961-
Hundred & Heli Gunner 1799 845- 227 866* 961-
Rufus 2039* 965 347 986 1081
Motor Ball 2039- 1185 347- 1426* 1301
Bottomswell 2039- 1460 347- 1976* 1576
Jenova-BIRTH 2039- 1800 347- 2656* 1916 977s
Dyne 2339- 2400* 647 2956* 2216 1277
Stinger 2339- 2545 792 3246* 2216- 1422
Stinger 2339- 2690 937 3536* 2216- 1567
Gi Nattak 2339- 3390 1637 4936* 2216- 2267
Materia Keeper 2339- 3390- 3137 7936* 3716 3767
Palmer 2339- 3390- 4037 9736* 4616 4667 5909s
Foulander x2 2339- 3830 4477 10616* 4646- 5107 6349
Foulander x2 2339- 4270 4917 11496* 4646- 5547 6789
Foulander x2 2339- 4710 5357 12376* 4646- 5987 7229
Foulander x2 2339- 5150 5797 13256* 4646- 6427 7669
Garuda x2 2339- 5670 6317 14296* 4646- 6947 8189
Garuda x2 2339- 6190 6837 15336* 4646- 7467 8709
Flapbeat x3 2339- 6400 7047 15756* 4646- 7677 8919
Flapbeat x3 2339- 6610 7257 16176* 4646- 7887 9129
Flapbeat x3 2339- 6820 7467 16596* 4646- 8097 9239
Red Dragon 2339- 8570 9217 20096* 6396 9847 9239-
Demon's Gate 2339- 10470 11117 23896* 8296 11747 9239-
Jenova-LIFE 6339* 10470- 11117- R.I.P. 10296 13747 11239
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Disc Two Battles
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cloud Barret Tifa Yuffie Nanaki Cait Cid
Icicle 6339- 10970* 11367 10546 13997 11239-
Icicle 6339- 11470* 11617 10796 14247 11239-
Icicle 6339- 11970* 11867 11046 14497 11239-
Schizo 10739* 14170 11867- 11046- 16697 13439
Jenova-DEATH 16739* 17170 11867- 11046- 19697 16439
Attack Squad x2 16739x 17470 11867x 11046- 19697- 17039*
Submarine Crew x2 18439* 18320 11867- 11046- 20547 17889
Submarine Crew x2 20139* 19170 11867- 11046- 21397 18739
Submarine Crew 20139- 20020* 11867- 11471 21822 19164
Submarine Crew x2 20139- 21720* 11867- 12321 22672 20014
Underwater MP x2 20139- 23360* 11867- 13141 23492 20834
Carry Armor 20139- 26210 14717 15991 23492- 26534*
Submarine Crew x2 20139- 27060 15567 16841 23492- 28234*
Submarine Crew x2 20139- 27910 16417 17691 25192* 29934*
Submarine Crew x3 20139- 29185 17692 18966 25192- 32484*
Attack Squad x2 20139- 29485 17992 18966- 25492 33084*
Attack Squad x2 20139- 29785 18292 18966- 25792 33684*
AS x2, Senior Grunt 20139- 30550 19057 18966- 26557 35214*
Rude, Attack Squad x2 20139- 32550 21057 18966- 28557 39214*
Senior Grunt 20139- 33015 21522 18966- 29022 40144*
Yuffie 20139- 33095 21602 10765s 18966- 29102 40304*
Diamond Weapon 55139* 33095- 39102 28265 36466 46602 40304-
Attack Squad x2 55139- 33395 39102- 28265x 36766 47202* 40604
Attack Squad x3 55139- 33845 39102- 28265x 37216 48102* 41054
Rapps 55139- 35445 39102- 28265x 38816 51302* 42654
Proud Clod 55139- 42445* 42602 31765 42316 54802 42654-
Hojo 55139- 54945 55102 56765* 54816 54802- 55154
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Final 55139 54945 55102 56765 54816 54802 55154
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Limit 56298 57847 56298 57071 57071 57847 57847
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Once again I have managed to get the final numbers very even. I didn't have to
do this, but the perfectionst living inside me wants it that way. The more even
the numbers are, the better it looks, and here I managed to get everyone except
Yuffie within a range of 352. Yuffie doesn't count, as her battle plan can't be
changed whatsoever.
===============================================================================
2 - Walkthrough: Midgar
===============================================================================
You ready? Well, then my only suggestion for you is to fire up the game and
select "new game". Sit back and watch the intro while thinking about all the
fun that's waiting for you in this challenge.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.1 <> The First Mission
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Items: Potion x3 (Reactor)
Phoenix Down (Reactor)
Assault Gun (Guard Scorpion)
Potion (Sector 8)
Ether (Sector 7 Slums)
LLNM EXCEPTION 1: Cloud starts with an Ice and a Lightning Materia equipped,
and you can't do anything about it until you reach Sector 7 and get access to
the Materia system. What can I say? Don't use the spells. As simple as that.
Before moving on, you might want to do some configurations in the menu. Do what
you want with the ATB setup, but I strongly recommend you to set all the speed
gauges to the fastest. That'll make it much easier to escape battles and it'll
take shorter time to skip all the dialogues, unless you want to pay attention
to the story.
Search the fallen guard for two Potions and then make your way to the bottom of
the reactor while picking up the items on your way. Yes, you have to fight two
MPs on the platform, but I'll let you handle this battle on your own. If you
have any trouble with this battle, you should take a hint and never touch the
game again. Ah well, after placing the bomb, you know who's waiting for you...
###############################################################################
B02: Guard Scorpion
HP: 800
Dif: 2/10
Note: You need a calculator for this battle.
Attack with physical attacks and limit breaks until he's down to 100 HP or less
and make sure not to attack when the tail is raised. Heal Cloud if his HP
should fall below 100, but don't bother healing Barret, as he's to die anyway.
Well, after taking out Barret, you can let Cloud end Guard Scorpion's pitiful
life with a limit break.
Tip: You can take advantage of the Tail Laser to kill Barret. Have Cloud defend
and let Barret attack while the tail is up.
###############################################################################
Now save your game and leave the reactor. You could equip Barret with his
Assault Gun, but it isn't really necessary, as it doesn't make any significant
difference. Equip it if you want to, but I will tell you to sell it in Sector
5. Cloud will easily be able to survive the random battles on the way up,
unless his HP is very close to zero. Give him a Potion if that's the case.
There's not much to do in Sector 8. One Gil won't make any huge difference, so
buy a flower from Aerith if you want to. Just make sure to choose "later" when
you run into the Shinra guards. If you don't, you'll have to fight them and you
can't escape the battles. You have to do this three times before Cloud jumps on
the train that will take you to Sector 7.
Not much to do here either. Just enter the bar and proceed with the story until
it's time to leave for another mission. That's when you get access to the
"Materia" menu, so REMOVE THE ICE AND LIGHTNING MATERIA from Cloud before you
do anything else. When it's done, you can stop by at the Weapon shop and buy 6
Grenades. There's no need to sell anything yet. Just make sure to pick up the
Ether on the second floor. Yes, you have to pick up the All Materia first, but
don't worry, just picking up materia ain't illegal. Stop by at the Item Shop
and buy 8 Potions as well. That's all there is to do here. Save your game and
enter the train when you're ready to move on.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.2 <> The Second Mission
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Items: Phoenix Down (Train)
Hi-Potion (Train)
Ether (Plate area)
Potion (Plate area)
Tent (Plate area)
Ether (Reactor)
Titan Bangle (Air Buster)
There are a couple of things to do on the train. First, when the alarm goes off
in the first car, run over to the other side of the car (where you came in) and
talk to the man lying on the right side. He'll give you a Phoneix Down. Now
hurry over to the next car and talk to the man standing at the left side by the
entrance to the third car. Tell him you want the item, and he'll give you a
Hi-Potion. Then, in the third car, a man will steal money from you if you run
through the car. Instead of running, just stop and stand still when the man
passes you. I don't remember how he looks, but you will know him as he is the
only person who walks slowly in the opposite direction.
After getting out of the train, you can just continue on until you've placed
the bomb in the reactor. Then save your game, because now it's time to get some
Deadly Wastes. Some bosses are vulnerable to Poison and poisoning them will
make the battles much easier. We need three, for Bottomswell, Materia Keeper
and Red Dragon, but the only battle where we really need one is against Materia
Keeper, so you can get only one if you want the battles with Bottomswell and
Red Dragon to be tougher.
The Deadly Wastes are won from Smoggers and to make sure we get as little EXP
as possible, you can only fight a group of two Smoggers. There can be no other
enemies in the battle. Just two Smoggers. It's possible to win two Deadly
Wastes in one battle, but since the chances for that are very low, I decided to
allow a total of three battles. That way, you can get one in each battle. And
besides, you only get 64 EXP per battle and that's something we can easily
afford. If you should get two in one battle, or if you decided only to get one,
I still suggest that you fight three battles, so that your EXP values will
correspond with the EXP table.
To find the Smoggers, you have to climb up to the next screen. You know, the
one similar to where Jessie stuck her leg in the first reactor. The Smoggers
can appear with different enemies, but as I said, only fight the battle if
there are two Smoggers only. Before climbing up, you should get into a battle
and kill off Barret and Tifa. By doing that, you won't have to kill them off
in the first Smogger battle over and over again if you should fail to receive a
Deadly Waste.
###############################################################################
B03: Smogger x2
HP: 90
Dif: 1/10
Just throw two Grenades and the battle will be over. If Cloud should get a
limit break in one of the battles; don't use it. You have to save it for Air
Buster. Don't bother healing him either.
###############################################################################
If you receive a Deadly Waste, you can climb back down and save. If not, then
hit the reset button on the console. If you do that, you'll most likely get one
the next time. If you just soft-reset, you most likely won't. Trust me, I've
done this so many times and it hardly ever fails. Anyway, when you receive the
third one, you can just proceed to the top and save your game when you reach
the save point.
Another boss battle lies ahead and this one can be very simple if we do the
right preparations. First, revive Barret and give him a couple of Potions. Then
enter a battle and make sure both Cloud and Barret get limit breaks. Keep Cloud
in front row all the time, but move Barret to back row when his limit bar is
full. Have him defend as well. Now, wait until Cloud's HP falls below 35 and
then escape. All you have to do now is to heal Barret back to full HP. When
that's done, you can go and fight...
###############################################################################
B06: Air Buster
HP: 1200
Dif: 1/10
To win this battle, you can simply just hold down the action button. This is
what will happen: First, Barret and Cloud's limit breaks will be activated in
that order. Air Buster counters both of them and his Rear Gun will kill Cloud.
Then Barret will attack regularly. This attack might kill Air Buster, but if it
doesn't, his next limit break will. This strategy cannot fail, unless some of
Air Buster's attacks go critical.
###############################################################################
That's it for the reactors. We're going back to the slums again.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.3 <> Back In The Slums
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Items: 5 Gil (Sector 5, steal from the kid)
Ether (Sector 5)
Potion (Sector 5)
Phoenix Down (Sector 5)
Ether (Wall Market)
Hyper (Wall Market, behind Corneo's bed)
Phoenix Down (Aps)
Potion (Sewers)
Hi-Potion x3 (Train Graveyard)
Potion x3 (Train Graveyard)
Echo Screen (Train Graveyard)
Ether (Train Graveyard)
Ether (Reno)
Phoenix Down (Coreno's Mansion)
Ether (Use the Battery)
Alright, the first thing to do is to escape the church. The Titan Bangle you
won from Air Buster is even less useful than the Assault Gun, so don't bother
equipping it. When Reno and his men attack, have Aerith "RUN" the first time.
Now head up to the uppermost barrel and wait there until the second soldier
blocks Aerith's path. Tell her to "Hold on" and then push the barrel to take
him out. Then have her "RUN" again the last time. As simple as that.
When you reach town, enter the house to the far right and check out the
Turtle's Paradise flyer. You should also steal the little boy's 5 Gil. If you
don't, he'll give you a Turbo Ether later and they sell for only 1 Gil. Hurray,
4 Gil earned! In case you don't know, you have to talk to him first and then
open the hidden drawer between the drawer on the dresser by the stairs. Leave
the house when you're done and go pick up the Ether in Aerith's garden, but
don't enter the house just yet. It's time to do some shopping!
Enter the weapon shop and sell off all of your Materia, all the Ethers, the
Assault Gun and the Titan Bangle. Then buy 66 Grenades. Now, you should have
just above 300 Gil left (can't remember the exact number), which is more than
enough for the Wall Market. You need exactly 280 Gil for some various stuff you
have to buy there. If you for some reason should have less than that, you have
only yourself to blame and you'll have to sell off some of the Grenades you
just bought. Anyway, just head for the Wall Market when you're done.
Alright, we're gonna have Corneo choose Cloud as his date for tonight. To make
that happen, we have to get a few more items than usual and many things have to
be done in order to get them. To make this easier, I'll make a list with all
the things to do, point for point with numbers. Don't screw this up now.
1. Go ask the man in front of the Honeybee Inn about Tifa.
2. Head over to Corneo's mansion and talk to the man by the front door.
3. Enter the Botique (clothing store) and talk to the girl behind the desk.
4. Enter the Bar and talk to her father. Make sure to select a dress that feels
soft and shimmers.
5. Head back to the Botique and talk to the owner. You receive the Silk Dress.
6. Enter the Materia Shop, talk to the man and agree to do the favor.
7. Go eat at the Restaurant and tell them the food was all right. You'll be
given a Pharmacy Coupon.
8. Enter the Pharmacy and exchange the coupon for the Digestive.
9. Go sleep at the Inn and buy the drink for 200 Gil.
10. Head back to the Materia Shop and give him the drink. He'll grant you the
Diamond Tiara.
11. Save if you're not sure you'll win the squat contest.
12. Enter the Gym and win the squat contest. Your prize is the Blonde Wig.
13. Enter the Bar and give the Digestive to the woman at the toilet. You'll get
the Sexy Cologne as a sign of her appreciation.
14. Head back to the Botique and enter the dressing room. Cloud will now change
into miss Cloud and it's time to pay a visit to Don Corneo.
15. Save your game. Period.
Now head over to Corneo's and proceed with the story until you get to control
Cloud in the sewers. Another boss battle awaits, but don't talk to the girls
just yet. First enter the menu and place Cloud and Tifa in front row. They're
too die in the battle anyway, so we want them to take as much damage as
possible. Aerith must be in back row, of course, something she already is,
unless you moved her. And most importantly, place the Grenades at the top of
your item list. That'll make them as accessable as possible.
###############################################################################
B07: Aps
HP: 1800
Dif: 2/10
Have everyone throw Grenades on their first three turns. Aps will open the
battle with a Sewer Tsunami that hits him from behind and then he'll either use
Lick or his tail attack on his next two turns. The tail attack is only used on
Aerith, but she's got more than enough HP to survive two of them, so keep your
fingers away from the Potions. After all the nine Grenades are thrown, have
Aerith defend while you let Cloud and Tifa throw Grenades at themselves. Aps
will now use a Tsunami that hits him from behind and Cloud and Tifa's HPs will
be further reduced. Cloud still has a lot more HP than Tifa though, so have
both Cloud and Tifa attack Cloud regularly now. This will even out their HPs.
Now, Aps will use the Tsunami that hits the party from behind and there's no
chance Cloud and Tifa will survive this one, unless it misses one of them.
After this Tsunami, Aps will have less HP than the minimum damage of a Grenade,
so if both Cloud and Tifa are dead, you can now have Aerith throw the last
Grenade to finish him off.
###############################################################################
Give Aerith a couple of Potions if she's badly hurt, but don't bother reviving
the others. She can easily make it back to Sector 7 on her own, and once you
get there, the party will be fully restored anyway, so that would be a complete
waste of two precious Phoenix Downs. You can also use Healing Wind in battle.
Anyway, just get back to Sector 7 and make sure to save once you reach the
Train Graveyard, in case something should happen. Also, make sure to place
Cloud in back row and the others in front row before the battle with...
###############################################################################
B08: Reno
HP: 1000
Dif: 2/10
Reno has 1000 HP and that means you have to throw 8 Grenades at him to take him
out. Reno will open the battle with trapping one of the characters inside a
Pyramid, but you know how to take them out. After throwing 7 Grenades, you can
have Tifa and Barret throw Grenades at themselves while Cloud defends. Now,
they shouldn't have much HP left, so just let them attack themselves regularly
until they die. Just make sure Cloud isn't trapped inside a Pyramid when that
happens. Also, take note that characters trapped inside a Pyramid at the end of
the battle will receive EXP, so don't let that happen to Barret or Tifa.
###############################################################################
Again, don't bother reviving the others and don't sleep at any Inns before the
Shinra HQ. Cloud is more than fine on his own and by letting Barret and Tifa
stay dead, you won't have to kill them off in the next battle.
When you reach Sector 5, you have to do some shopping again. Sell your Ethers
and buy 29 Grenades. Now, you should have just above 300 Gil again, or exactly
300 if you bought a flower from Aerith and didn't take the little boy's 5 Gil
on your first visit here. Anyway, you need exactly 300 Gil for the Batteries,
so don't spend any more money after buying those 29 Grenades.
When you're done shopping, you can just proceed with the story until you reach
the Shinra HQ. Make sure to stop by at Corneo's mansion to pick up the Phoenix
Down (and the Hyper if you didn't take it the last time) and don't forget to
use the last Battery to get the Ether when you climb up. An Ether is worth 750
Gil and you need all the money you can get.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.4 <> Shinra HQ
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Items: Elixir (Stairs, fifth area)
Elixir (62nd floor, guess Domino's password on second try)
Star Pendant (63rd floor, exchange all coupons)
Four Slots (63rd floor, exchange all coupons)
Phoenix Down (64th floor)
Ether (64th floor)
Talisman (Sample:HO512)
Potion x4 (68th floor)
Mythril Armlet (Heli Gunner)
Protect Vest (Rufus)
Star Pendant (Motor Ball)
We're taking the stairs, as you'll be forced to fight a group of Grenade
Combatants if you enter through the front door. Also, you'll get your first
Elixir if you climb the stairs. There's a battle with three Mighty Grunts
waiting on the 59th floor, but as I said, don't revive Barret and Tifa. Just
make sure Cloud has more than 200 HP and you'll be more than fine.
###############################################################################
B09: Mighty Grunt x3
HP: 230
Dif: 1/10
Throw six Grenades and the battle will be over. Make sure to take them out one
by one and they'll be totally harmless. Cloud only lost about 100 HP the last
time I fought this battle.
###############################################################################
If you're not sure you can sneak by the guards on the 60th floor, you should
take the elevator back down and save first. In case you don't know, you have to
fight a group of two Mighty Grunts, attacking from both sides if you get caught
and there's no escaping those battles. If you know you can handle it, then just
proceed until you reach the 62nd floor. Also, don't bother healing Cloud, as
there won't be any random battles until you get to sleep on the 64th floor.
Mayor Domino will give you an Elixir if you guess the right password on the
second attempt, so you have to find out what the password is. Use the libraries
if you know how, but in case you don't know or you don't want to, you can use
the save trick explained in the paragraph below.
First go talk to him, but don't talk to him again after he stops talking the
first time. Instead take the elevator back down to the first floor and save.
Then head back up and guess the password-alternatives until you find out what
the right one is. Now, SOFT-RESET and load the file. Don't reset the console,
or the password will change. Then head back up again and tell him the right
password on the SECOND attempt. Oh, and don't forget to check out the second
Turtle's Paradise flyer while you're on the first floor. It's in the back of
the hall, on a wall to the right of the elevator.
Next we have the 63rd floor and you want to get the items here so that you can
sell them later. If you don't know how to get all the Coupons, you can use the
explanation I borrowed from Apathetic Aardvark's FAQ:
*******************************************************************************
Run to the room with the computer terminal [one room south of the stairs]. You
will be allowed to open three doors to get all the prizes which you want.
Head to the back right corner of this floor. Run left and open the first door
that you come to. Head left again until you come to another door. Do NOT
unlock this one, instead, open the other door at this intersection [it is
below you]. You will now be able to run into a normal room and grab the prize
[coupon A]. In this small room, head into the ventilation shaft. Inside of
the shaft, head down, right and then up at the first chance you get. When you
get out of the shaft, grab the prize [coupon B]. Exit this room by heading
down and make a left. Use your final door key to unlock the door in front of
the very middle room. Grab the prize in there [coupon C] and head back the way
you came to the computer terminal. Exchange your coupons for an: All Materia,
Star Pendant, and Four Slots.
*******************************************************************************
There are some items on the 64th floor too, but the most important thing to do
here is to get some sleep. After sleeping, just proceed until you reach the
save point on the 67th floor. Equip Cloud with the Four Slots armor and the
Star Pendant, move Tifa to front row and then save.
LLNMIENA EXCEPTION 2: Red XIII will join your party in this battle and he is
equipped with an All-Fire combination and a Sense Materia. Simply put, don't
use the Materia. That's the second and last exception.
Note: For the rest of the guide, I will only call him "Red". I hate to type in
that ugly XIII. I always call him Nanaki in the game anyway.
###############################################################################
B10: Sample:HO512
HP: 1000
Dif: 2/10
Note: Don't attack the Sample:HO512-opts (the small guys).
1000 HP = 8 Grenades. Just throw seven and make sure Tifa and Red are dead
before you throw the last one. Thanks to the Star Pendant, Cloud can't get
poisoned by Shady Breath, but Tifa and Red most likely will. It's actually a
bad thing if it misses one of them, as you'll have to spend more time killing
this character later. Still, this battle is more than easy. When Cloud is the
last standing caracter, you can have him finish the battle with a limit break,
something he most likely has by now. If not, just throw a Grenade.
###############################################################################
Form a party of Cloud, Aerith and Barret after the battle and give the Four
Slots armor and the Star Pendant to Aerith. Don't bother healing anyone, as
your party will be fully restored after sleeping in the cell. Just proceed with
the story until you get to control Aerith after talking to Rufus. Now place
Aerith in back row and the others in front row before you enter the elevator
for the battle with...
###############################################################################
B11: Hundred Gunner
HP: 1600
Dif: 1/10
This battle is a joke. Just throw Grenades and use limit breaks until you've
taken him out. Healing shouldn't be necessary at all.
###############################################################################
B12: Heli Gunner
HP: 1000
Dif: 3/10
Note: You need a calculator for this battle.
Less HP, but more powerful attacks and he can inflict both poison and sleep to
your party members. Aerith has the Star Pendant, so she can't get poisoned, but
she can still be put to sleep. That doesn't happen too often, though. Anyway,
have Aerith defend as soon as the battle begins and let the others throw
Grenades. You will get limit breaks in this battle and you can use them as long
as you take advantage of the limit break system, as explained in the intro.
You will most likely have to heal in this battle, but don't use any Potions.
One Healing Wind should be enough. If you're lucky with Hundred and Heli's
attacks, you won't have to heal at all. When you reduce Heli's HP to below 250,
his defense will increase and Grenades won't deal more than ~125 damage, so
make sure he's got less than 120 HP when you have Aerith throw the last one. Of
course, Barret and Red must be dead first.
###############################################################################
Then it's Cloud's turn. Equip him with the Mythril Armlet first.
###############################################################################
B13: Rufus
HP: 500
Dif: 1/10
Note: Don't attack Dark Nation.
Another joke of a battle. Throw four Grenades at Rufus and the battle will be
over. Dork Nation might cast some Bolt-spells on you, but there's no need to
heal whatsoever. You simply can't lose this battle.
###############################################################################
Heal Cloud if he's badly hurt, in case you should run into a battle on your way
down to the save point. Next up is the motorcycle minigame, but you get the
chance to form a party and open the menu before it starts. We'll use Cloud and
the girls this time and make sure to place them all in FRONT row. Then do your
best to protect the girls during the game. I'm no expert at this myself and you
might do a lot better than me.
###############################################################################
B14: Motor Ball
HP: 2600
Dif: 3/10
Note: You need a calculator for this battle.
This battle is really easy when you know how Motor Ball fights. Just start
throwing Grenades and use Cloud and Tifa's limit breaks when you get them, as
long as you take advantage of the limit break system. There's no need to heal
yet. After two turns where he uses Arm Attacks, Motor Ball will pack himself
together and use Twin Burner, a fire-elemental attack that deals around 80
damage to your party. If Aerith didn't already have a limit break, she will get
one now and now is also the time to use it.
Then just continue throwing Grenades. After three more turns, Motor Ball will
pack himself out again and prepare for his most deadly attack, Rolling Fire,
which deals around 200 damage to your party. However, if you manage to reduce
his HP to below 325 before the point where he uses the attack, he'll use Twin
Burner instead. By throwing Grenades at every opportunity and using Cloud's
limit break at least once, you will easily be able to do this and prevent the
use of Rolling Fire. You might even have to stop throwing Grenades, or else
you'll kill him too early.
After Twin Burner again, he will follow the same pattern of attacks as he did
after the last Twin Burner. In other words, he'll use Rolling Fire again after
three more turns and this time there's no preventing it. However, you can take
advantage of this Rolling Fire to get rid of Cloud and Tifa. First reduce
Motor Ball's HP to below 140, if you haven't already done it. Then make sure
Aerith has more than 210 HP after Deadly Wheel. Tifa's HP will be more than low
enough by now, but if Cloud has more than 190, you know what you can do. Then
just wait for Motor Ball to do his work and have Aerith throw the last Grenade.
###############################################################################
And that concludes your first visit to Midgar. It's been pretty easy so far,
but Midgar is almost always easy in these challenges, so that doesn't mean
anything. An entire world is waiting for you out there and after a while it'll
get really, really tough. Hell yeah!
===============================================================================
3 - Walkthrough: The Rest Of Disc One
===============================================================================
Okay, we're out of Midgar, but we can't start having fun yet. First we have to
stop by at Kalm and do the lovely flashback, or Boredom World 1 as we like to
call it in the challenge community. If you do as me and put on some music while
playing, it's really not bad at all.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.1 <> The First Continent
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Items: Ether x3 (Kalm)
Guard Source (Kalm)
Megalixir (Kalm)
Peacemaker (Kalm)
Ether (Mythril Mine)
Tent (Mythril Mine)
Mind Source (Mythril Mine)
Elixir (Mythril Mine)
Hi-Potion (Mythril Mine)
Power Wrist (Bottomswell)
5000 Gil (Junon, get more than 50% on marching)
Mind Source (Junon)
Luck Source (Junon)
Guard Source (Junon)
Power Source (Junon)
Speed Source (Junon)
1/35 solider x2 (Junon)
Force Stealer (Junon, get 100 points or more when posing for Rufus)
Ether (Shinra Boat)
Wind Slash (Shinra Boat)
White Cape (Jenova-BIRTH)
There's nothing to do in Kalm except for the flashback and picking up all the
items. Check the locker on the second floor of the Inn five times to get the
Megalixir. Form a party of Cloud, Barret and Red before heading for Junon and
place Cloud in back row.
How to catch a chocobo without materia? That's impossible, but who needs a
chocobo when you can simply use the save trick? Start running into the marches
and make sure to pay attention. You have to push the menu button as soon as the
Midgar Zolom appears on the screen. If he gets too close, he will get you, even
if you already pused the button. Save your game when you successfully manage to
open the menu and then exit the menu again. The battle will start immediately
now, but you can just escape and then soft-reset. When you load the file now,
the Midgar Zolom will be on a different location and you can safely continue
over to the other side. Just be aware that you may have to save twice, as he
can still be pretty close. You can also be lucky and reach the other side
without having to save at all, but that doesn't happen too often.
When you eventually reach the other side, you can just proceed until you reach
Junon. When you get there, form a party of Cloud and the girls and place Cloud
and Tifa in front row. Your next opponent is...
###############################################################################
B15: Bottomswell
HP: 2500
Dif: 2/10
It's time to use the first Deadly Waste. Yes, you must restart if it doesn't
inflict Poison to the enemy. Guess you understood that. When you successfully
Poison him, have Aerith defend and then just stand there. Never attack him
again and you will never have to deal with Moonstrike and the infamous bubbles.
Cloud and Tifa will die after a while, so there's no need to worry about them,
but you have to make sure Aerith's HP never falls below 60. Healing Wind heals
around 150 HP, but she needs to take around 225 HP to get a limit break again,
so you have to use a Potion now and then. Just make sure to defend again after
each time you heal.
If you want a tougher battle, you can try beating him without poisoning him.
It's not that much tougher, but you need some luck with the Waterpolos.
###############################################################################
Enter the shop and make sure you have 30 Grenades. You should have more than
enough money to afford that, so there's no need to sell anything, and if you
poisoned Bottomswell, you only need to buy a few anyway. I had to buy five.
After shopping, you can just proceed until Cloud is wearing a Shinra uniform.
It's time to do some marching and this time you have to get a higher score than
50%. Your reward for that will be 5000 Gil and since money is important in this
challenge, you really want those 5000. I know there are many people out there
who can't handle the marching, but I have come up with a strategy that can't
fail, unless you screw up somehow.
Note: If you have changed the controls, so that X isn't cancel and O isn't
confirm, you should change them back to default before the marching. Thundaka
normally uses X for the confirm button and O for the cancel button and he said
that when the controls are inverted like this, Cloud won't raise his weapon in
time to the others.
Many people screw this up because they do like the other soldiers and run to
the back to reach the open spot. Well, you can't do that. Instead you must run
straight ahead, "through" the other soldiers. Simply put, just hold X and the
direction down button when you get to control Cloud and he will run straight
into the open spot. Now let go of the X button and hold the direction left
button and Cloud will start marching in the same tempo as the others. Now, the
number "1" will pop up on the screen and you can start tapping the action
button to increase the percentage. If you do this right, you should have no
trouble getting 50% or more. My personal record is 65%! Do some practice and
you will find out that it's easier than you ever imagined.
When you eventually get 50% or more, you can keep playing. To find all the
items in Junon, you only have to enter door 4 and 7 on your way to the docks.
Knowing that will save you some time. You should also stop by at the Item Shop
behind door 3 and buy some Echo Screens. They will make the Jenova-DEATH battle
a bit easier. 15 is enough. When you reach the docks, you have to do some
posing for Rufus, but this is piece of cake compared to the marching. All you
have to do is to push the right button. You suck if you can't get more than 100
points here. No offense. Enter the boat after receiving the Force Stealer.
There's nothing to do on the boat before the battle with Jenova, so just talk
to Tifa, Red, Aerith (twice) and then Barret and things will start happening.
Form a party of Cloud and the girls, place everyone in back row, equip Cloud
with the Force Stealer and the Power Wrist and give the Hyper you found behind
Don Corneo's bed to Aerith. There is a treasure box in the room where you fight
Jenova, but wait until after the battle, as there are enemies here now.
###############################################################################
B16: Jenova-BIRTH
HP: 4000
Dif: 3/10
Throw Grenades and use limit breaks to deal damage and have Aerith heal as soon
as her limit bar fills up. With Fury, she only needs to take around 125 damage
to get a limit break, so there's no need to use any Potions unless Jenova hits
the same character twice in a row with W-Laser. Thankfully, that doesn't happen
too often. She'll most likely open the battle with Stop and after Stop, she
always takes a break for two or three turns, so that you get to deal a decent
amount of damage before she starts hurting you. Also, Stop only lasts for about
three turns on the highest battle speed, so you will have a fully functionable
party again by the time she starts attacking. Stop seems to miss quite often,
though, so you might not have to deal with stopped characters at all.
Move Cloud and Tifa to front row when Jenova has less than 130 HP left. She
will be more than happy to take them out, so there's no need for you to do
anything. Things can still go wrong, though. Jenova might use W-Laser twice on
Aerith and the chance for that increases after one character is dead.
###############################################################################
Now you can climb up the ladder and pick up Yuffie's Wind Slash. Then leave the
boat. A new continent awaits outside.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.2 <> The Second Continent
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Items: Power Source (Costa del Sol)
Motor Drive (Costa del Sol)
Fire Ring (Costa del Sol)
Wizard Staff (Mt. Corel, fall and go left)
W Machine Gun (Mt. Corel)
Star Pendant (Mt. Corel, fall and go right)
Turbo Ether (Mt. Corel)
Tent (Mt. Corel)
Mind Source (Mt. Corel)
Power Source (Mt. Corel)
Note: Don't sleep at an Inn or remove Fury from Aerith before Cosmo Canyon.
All the items in Costa del Sol are located in the basement of the first house.
There's nothing else to do here, but you should stop by at the item shop and
buy a couple of Softs for Demon's Gate. Leave for Mt. Corel when that's done.
You should replace Tifa with someone alive first, though. Two party members is
better than one. Reviving Cloud isn't necessary and since Aerith still has
Fury, she can easily maintain the party's HP. Also, remove her Star Pendant and
give her the Fire Ring instead.
Then get through Mt. Corel and make sure you go both left and right when you
fall through the railroad tracks. Don't equip any of the equipment you find.
When you finally reach North Corel, it's time to do some shopping again. Sell
off all the Ethers and all the equipment in your inventory except for the
Bronze Bangle. Then buy 20 Molotovs and 50 Tranquilizers. Since Molotovs is the
main item for dealing damage now, you can place them at the top of your item
list and move the Grenades further down. Next up is the Gold Saucer, but you
should leave town and save on the world map before you move on.
As you may have guessed, there's nothing to do here either, so just follow
Barret to Wonder Square, welcome Cait Sith to your party and then enter Battle
Square to trigger the sequence that will lead you down to Corel Prison.
When you get there, head for the save point as quickly as possible. You don't
want to run into the Bandits and get something important stolen from you.
Should it still happen, you have no choice but to load up and start playing
from North Corel again. A good way to prevent getting a battle before the save
point is making sure you get a battle just before you enter North Corel, so do
that if you have to load up. When you successfully reach the save point, you
can remove the Transform Materia from Cait Sith, equip him with a Bronze Bangle
and give his Silver Armlet to Cloud. Then enter the house, save again and go
beat Dyne. There's no need to spend more time than necessary here.
###############################################################################
B17: Dyne
HP: 1200
Dif: 1/10
1. Molotov
2. Molotov
3. Hi-Potion
4. Molotov
5. Hi-Potion
6. Molotov
That's your strategy. If one of his attacks misses, you only have to use one
Hi-Potion and there is a small chance you won't have to heal at all.
###############################################################################
Now just proceed with the story until you're back on the world map. Equip
Aerith with the Silver Armlet you just won before moving on. Next up is Cosmo
Canyon and you know how to get there. Just stay away from Gongaga, as you don't
want to fight the Turks.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.3 <> Cosmo Canyon
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Items: Elixir (Inn)
Ether (Cave of Gi)
Black M-phone (Cave of Gi)
Fairy Ring (Cave of Gi)
Wizer Staff (Gi Nattak)
This is such a lovely place. First go pick up the Elixir at the Inn. It's on
the left side of the screen, between the bed and a table or something. You'll
find it. Make sure to check out the Turtle's Paradise flyer while you're there
as well. Just don't sleep there. Then you can just proceed with the story until
it's time to enter the cave. Form a party of Cloud, Aerith and Red and place
the boys in back row. Oh, and don't forget to check out the Turtle's Paradise
flyer by the Weapon Shop!
Inside the cave, don't enter any of the small caves in the first area except
for the one you have to enter to open the entrance to the next area. You know,
it's to the left of where the opening is. There are no items in the first area,
so just move on. When you reach the third area, you have to take out a couple
of spiders that are in the way...
###############################################################################
B18: Stinger
HP: 2200
Dif: 2/10
First have everyone throw Molotovs. Then have Cloud and Red throw Molotovs in
that order and have Aerith defend. The Stinger will now counter both of them
and they will get limit breaks. Now have Cloud activate his limit break before
Red finishes throwing his Molotov, to make sure he gets to use it before the
Stinger attacks again. Cloud and Red won't have much HP left by now and since
the Stinger likes to attack often, they will soon be dead. Have Aerith throw
the final Molotov when she's alone. You most likely won't have to heal in this
battle, unless Aerith gets attacked a lot. Use Healing Wind after Cloud and Red
are dead if possible, but if not, you can give her a Hi-Potion.
###############################################################################
Revive Cloud and Red before the next battle and heal them back to full health.
You may use Hi-Potions if you don't have enough Potions. If you don't want to
use items, you can enter a battle and use Healing Wind. Aerith should still
have Fury after all. Before Gi Nattak, you only have to heal Aerith. Reviving
the others is completely pointless.
###############################################################################
B20: Gi Nattak
HP: 5500
Dif: Elixir/10
Just throw an Elixir at him and the battle will be over.
###############################################################################
Equip Aerith with the Wizer Staff before you move on. After all the scenes, you
get to form a party. Make it Cloud, Tifa and Cate Sith and give Tranquilizers
to all of them. Then set your course for Nibelheim.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.4 <> Nibelheim & Rocket Town
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Items: Luck Source x2 (Nibelheim)
Elixir (Nibelheim)
Turbo Ether (Nibelheim)
Platinum Fist (Nibelheim)
Magic Source (Shinra Mansion)
Silver M-phone (Shinra Mansion)
Twin Viper (Shinra Mansion)
Enemy Launcher (Shinra Mansion)
Rune Blade (Mt. Nibel)
Plus Barrette (Mt. Nibel)
Powersoul (Mt. Nibel)
Elixir (Mt. Nibel)
Sniper CR (Mt. Nibel)
Power Source (Rocket Town)
Drill Arm (Rocket Town)
Yoshiyuki (Rocket Town, talk to man in front of item shop twice)
Edincoat (Palmer)
Nibelheim. That means it's finally time to buy some Hi-Potions and Phoenix
Downs, but go pick up all the items in town first. All the items inside the
mansion are found on the first and second floor, so you don't have to enter
the basement. Also, give Cloud back his Buster Sword, so that you can sell the
Force Stealer. He'll get a new weapon soon anyway. Then enter the shop and sell
of all the equipment, all the materia and the Ether you found in Cosmo Canyon
and buy 25 Hi-Potions and 25 Phoenix Downs. Head for the mountains when you're
done shopping, but make sure to save first. You might get an attack from both
sides on the bridge and there's not much to do but hitting the restart button
if that should happen.
Find your way to the cave and enter pipe number two when you get there. Then
save. Heal Cloud if he gets hurt during random battles, but don't bother
healing Tifa and Cait, as you're not going to use them against Materia Keeper.
Since there's an Elixir and a weapon in the caves below here, you have to take
the exit next to Materia Keeper and then follow the path Cloud & Co took to the
reactor five years ago. You know. Also, make sure to equip Cloud with the Rune
Blade when you get it.
Then it's time to kick some Materia Keeper ass. Form a party of Cloud, Aerith
and Barret, give Tranquilizers to them and place them all in back row. Make
sure to heal Cloud back to full health as well.
###############################################################################
B21: Materia Keeper
HP: 8400
Dif: 3/10
This is the toughest battle so far, but he's not as tough as you might have
thought he'd be. If he opens the battle with Trine, you can just forget about
it. If he doesn't, you can have Aerith throw a Deadly Waste on him and hope he
gets poisoned. It doesn't seem to work very often, so unless you're lucky, you
will have to restart a lot of times.
When you eventually manage to poison him, you just have to wait until his HP
reaches zero while making sure the party stays alive. But wait a minute. Won't
he start casting Trine again after a while? How the hell are we supposed to
survive that? Well, you can't, but fortunately there's a way to avoid the use
of both Trine and Cure2. Remember Bottomswell and how you avoided Waterpolo by
not attacking him? Well, it's the same deal here. NEVER EVER ATTACK HIM and he
will never use Trine and Cure2. As easy as that. If Cloud has a limit break
when the battle begins, you can use it as soon as Materia Keeper has gotten
poisoned, but that's it. No other attacks or limit breaks after that.
With Trine and Cure2 out of the picture, you only have to deal with Big Horn
and an occasional Hell Combo now and then. After poisoning him and/or using
Cloud's limit break, you can just have everyone defend for now. As soon as
Aerith's HP falls below 150, you must have one of the guys heal her. Make sure
to defend again after healing. As long as the guys are alive, they can heal
Aerith, but once they're gone, she's on her own. Use Hi-Potions or Healing Wind
every time she gets attacked. If one of Materia Keeper's attacks should miss,
you can have her heal and then wait until she's taken two attacks before you
heal again. The only thing that can kill her on full HP is a critical Hell
Combo, but that doesn't happen very often. Eventually, Materia Keeper will die
and the battle will be over.
###############################################################################
Quickly head back to the save point and save. Then leave the cave and head for
Rocket Town. As usual, there's no need to revive the others. Aerith is more
than fine on her own, and it doesn't matter if she actually should die on the
way to Rocket Town, as you just saved anyway.
Enter town when you get there and pick up all the items. They're both in houses
on the right side of town, so there's no need to check the ones on the left
side. Talk to the man outside the Item Shop to get the Yoshiyuki and equip
Cloud with it immediately. Go find the Tiny Bronco in Cid's backyard after
picking up the items and then go talk to Cid inside the rocket. Then leave
town and save. Your next opponent is Palmer, the tougest boss in the history of
Final Fantasy.
###############################################################################
B22: Palmer
HP: 6000
Dif: 1/10
Many people make fun of Guard Scorpion for being such an easy boss, but if
anyone should be made fun of, it's Palmer. I have yet to play a challenge where
he deserves anything more than 1 out of 10 on the difficulty scale.
Palmer's only attack is Mako Gun and he can only use it ten times before he
runs out of MP. With Sadness, it deals just above 300 damage each time, so just
use a Hi-Potion every time Aerith gets hit. You can also use Healing Wind
every third time. When he's out of MP, you can move Aerith to front row and
simply attack until he dies.
###############################################################################
Next, we're going to take a break from the main story to acquire some items.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.5 <> Wutai & Gold Saucer Area
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Items: Magic Shuriken (Wutai)
Hairpin (Wutai)
Dragoon Lance (Wutai)
Elixir (Gold Saucer)
Okay, it's time to take a trip to Wutai. We have to go there to get some Light-
and Lunar Curtains. Certain bosses are impossible without these items, so you
kinda have no choice. Switch Barret for Red before you start the journey and
equip Aerith with the Edincoat. Make sure Red dies on the way to Wutai and keep
Aerith's HP above 300 all the time.
The first thing you can do when you reach town is to pick up the items. Two of
them are located in hidden rooms inside Godo's house. Yes, you can sleep for
free here, but why would you sleep? Aerith has Sadness status and she's the
only one alive and that's exactly what you want. The Dragoon Lance is located
in the "fire cave" at Da-Chao. Head back to the Item Shop after picking it up.
Sell off all the equipment and buy 6 Swift Bolts. That's all for now.
After shopping, it's time to go hunt for some Foulanders, the enemies you win
Lunar Curtains from. Head for Da-Chao and take the first right. Now run back
and forth here until you encounter a group of TWO Foulanders. Escape anything
else. Healing Aerith isn't necessary.
###############################################################################
B23: Foulander x2
HP: 800
Dif: 1/10
Throw a Swift Bolt and the battle will be over. Since Aerith is wearing the
Fire Ring, she cannot be hurt by their Flame Dance attack.
###############################################################################
Head back to the save point, heal and save if you receive a Lunar Curtain. If
you don't get one, you can try soft-reseting first, but if that doesn't help,
reseting the console most likely does. After reseting the console, I almost
always get two in a row before I have to reset again, but that might be just
me. Anyway, repeat this process until you have 4 Lunar Curtains, but if you
should be lucky and get two in one battle, I still suggest fighting 4 battles
to keep up with the battle plan. Take note that you might also win Fire Veils
from these guys and that's a good thing, as we're going to use them in the
Garuda battles. As long as you also get a Lunar Curtain, of course.
Next we have the Garudas. They are more dangerous than the Foulanders and you
have to revive Cloud and Red. No need to heal them, though. Make sure you have
four Fire Veils before you head back to Da-Chao again and don't forget to save
first. To find the Garudas, you have to go right twice, to a hand that points
to the right of the screen. The battle we want is a group of two Garudas, so
escape everything else. Just be aware that they can also attack from both
sides, but you can just let them kill you if that happens.
###############################################################################
B27: Garuda x2
HP: 1400
Dif: 4/10
This is much worse. First of all, they have more HP, so you have to throw two
Fire Veils to kill them. They absorb lightning, so that's why we're using Fire
Veils. Guess you understood that. Garuda has four attacks. Ice2 and Bolt2 will
cause about 300 damage, so watch out. Dance will only remove MP, so you can
ignore that one. The last one is a physical attack, but you don't have to worry
much about it, as it deals crap damage.
First have Cloud or Red throw a Fire Veil. If the one you ordered to throw gets
killed, you must have the other one do it. Pray he doesn't get killed as well.
Aerith doesn't have to do anything for now, unless she gets hit by the magic
spells. You guessed it. Use a Hi-Potion. After the first Fire Veil, you must
kill Cloud and Red. Have them attack themselves unless the Garudas kill them
with magic. Have Aerith throw the last Fire Veil as soon as the guys are gone.
###############################################################################
Garuda is a unique enemy. They can drop four different items: Light Curtain,
Mute Mask, Ice Crystal and Bolt Plume. The chance of getting a Light Curtain is
the third highest, but it's lower than the chance of getting a Lunar Curtain
from a Foulander, but thankfully, we only need two of them. You need three
Swift Bolts or Fire Veils for the upcoming Flapbeat battles, but you can also
use Ice Crystals, in case you should get one in addition to the Light Curtains.
If you don't get any, you can simply buy 3 more Swift Bolts, so that you have
a total of 5.
After getting 4 Lunar Curtains, 2 Light Curtains and enough items for the
Flapbeat battles, you can set your course back to the Tiny Bronco. We're using
the same party for the Flapbeat battles and Aerith can easily handle them on
her own, so don't bother reviving Cloud and Red. Park the Tiny Bronco south of
the desert and start looking for Flapbeats in the grassy area. A battle with
three of them is what you want. Also, make sure Aerith has more than 450 HP
before each battle, in case all of them use Flying Sickle.
###############################################################################
B29: Flapbeat x3
HP: 330
Dif: 1/10
Throw a Swift Bolt/Fire Veil/Ice Crystal and the battle will be over.
###############################################################################
You know how this works now. Restart if you don't get anything, keep fighting
if you do and fight three battles even if you should get two in one battle.
When you have three T/S Bombs, it's time to take the second trip to the Gold
Saucer. Cloud is already dead, so the battle arena fight will end before it
starts. Pick up the Elixir in the closet after the date and check the Turtle's
Paradise flyer at the hotel. Form a party of Cloud, Aerith and Cid and equip
Cid with the Dragoon Lance, Aerith with a Silver Armlet and Cloud with the
Edincoat. Back in North Corel, it's time for some shopping again. Make sure you
have 25 Molotovs, 25 Phoenix Downs and 25 Hi-Potions before you leave town.
Next up is the temple.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.6 <> The Temple of Ancients
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Items: Trident
Mind Source
Silver Rifle
Rocket Punch
Princess Guard (Clock, door IIII)
Ribbon (Clock, door V)
Trumpet Shell (Clock, door VII)
Megalixir (Clock, door VIII)
Work Glove
Dragon Armlet (Red Dragon)
Gigas Armlet (Demon's gate)
We're here. The Temple of Ancients. An infamous battles takes place here, but
first you have to pick up all the items. They should be easy to find. Make sure
not to fall down in the clock room, as the Ancient Dragons on the bottom will
slay you. Also, there's no need to enter any other rooms than the ones listed
above. Rest before you enter the room with the murals, equip Aerith with the
Princess Guard and give tranquilizers to everyone. Red Dragon awaits inside.
###############################################################################
B32: Red Dragon
HP: 6800
Dif: 5/10
Note: You need a calculator for the next two battles.
It's time to use the last Deadly Waste. Have Aerith throw it and pray he gets
poisoned. Red Dragon seems to be the toughest boss to poison, so don't be
surprised if you have to restart many times. I poisoned him on my 4th attempt
this time. And yeah, I know, it sucks to go through all that talking before the
battle over and over again, but it really helps to put on some music.
This battle is not that difficult in the matter of staying alive, but you can
have a hard time making sure only Aerith survives to take the EXP. You also
have to keep track of his HP and that can be tricky with poison status. You
can easily overlook one damage now and then, so that he dies too early on you.
Pause the game whenever he takes damage, and you should be fine.
Have Cloud defend on the first turn, unless he's got a limit break. Red Dragon
can be paralyzed, so use Cross-Slash if he does. Enemies still suffer poison
damage when paralyzed, something you probably found out if you used Cross-Slash
on Materia Keeper. If Cloud gets killed on the dragon's first attack, just have
Cid revive him. Aerith will survive anything except for a critical bite attack.
Have Aerith defend on her second turn, and don't have her do anything else as
long as the guys are still alive. She won't get killed when defending, but you
have to have the boys heal her if she gets attacked. Also make sure the guys
heal and revive eachothers when they get attacked and killed, but don't bother
healing them again once they get killed, as they no longer have Sadness then.
This is your strategy for survival, and it can't fail unless you screw it up.
When Red Dragon's HP falls below 1000, you have to make sure Cloud and Cid die
for good. Unless the dragon takes care of it, you must have each of them kill
themselves with Molotovs. When they're gone, just make sure Aerith stays alive.
The battle will soon be over, but she will take a few attacks. Heal with
Hi-Potions when that happens, and pray he doesn't get a critical hit with the
bite attack when she's not defending.
###############################################################################
Next up is Demon's Gate, but before taking him on, you should rest, return to
the mural room, get into a battle and fill up everyone's limit bars. That'll
make the Demon's Gate battle a bit easier. When it's done, you can Rest and
equip Cloud with the Dragon Armlet and Aerith with the Ribbon. Then give
Tranquilizers to everyone and turn the battle speed all the way down. Also make
sure Molotovs are at the top of you item list, followed by Hi-Potions, Potions,
Light Curtains, Phoenix Downs, Softs and Tranquilizers in that order. Then save
and go get Demon's Gate.
###############################################################################
B33: Demon's Gate
HP: 10000
Dif: 7/10
Demon's Gate isn't as tough as you might have expected. Fighting him is
actually very easy when you have full control over the battle, but things can
easily go wrong if you don't pay attention. One small mistake can end the
battle way too early. Another thing that makes the battle tougher is luck.
Demon's Gate gets more criticals than any other boss and these criticals are
the reason for at least 1 out of 2 game overs. Also, you really can't waste
your time in this battle. I really suggest that you read and understand the
strategy before you take him on, as you can't just enter the battle and look in
the guide for what to do next.
First of all, you should know how he fights. From my experience, I have learned
that his main attack, Rock Drop, is used in series between Cave-Ins. These
series usually consist of two Rock Drops, but he might drop only one or as many
as three as well. He also has the ability to drop two rocks in one attack,
meaning that you can't do anything but to sit down and watch the characters
being tormented. His third attack, Demon Rush, will be used when you get his HP
below 7500, 5000 and 2500, so you will see this attack at least three times.
Before Demon Rush, he always starts waving his arms and then he waits for at
least one turn before he uses the attack. Your characters will get three to
five turns before the attack is used. His last attack, Petrif-Eye, isn't used
very often, but if he uses it, it most likely happens in the beginning or after
a Cave-In. He can also open the battle with any attack.
When you enter the battle, have the character who gets his or her turn first
use a limit break. Yes, even Aerith's. Then activate the others. Of course, you
don't have to use Aerith's if Clour or Cid get their turns first. If the ATB
gauge is more than 75% full, there is a good chance that you get to act before
the enemy, and this way you can deal ~1000 damage to him before the battle even
begins. However, Demon's Gate might get to attack before the limit breaks are
used, but it doesn't matter as long as Cloud isn't killed by a Rock Drop.
Restart if that happens. If the others are hit by rocks or he uses Cave-In,
Healing Wind should be more than enough to recover for another attack. If the
limit breaks are used before Demon's Gate gets to attack, then hope Cloud isn't
killed afterwards.
If you successfully get to use the limit breaks before he attacks, which is the
most likely occasion, then wait and see what happens next. If Aerith or Cid is
hit by Rock Drop, just have the first character give the victim a Hi-Potion,
the second throw a Molotov and the last character use a Light Curtain. Once the
Barrier is up, you will be safe for a while. If he uses Cave-In and Aerith
hasn't used Healing Wind yet, have her use it. If she already used it, you must
give Cloud a Hi-Potion. The others will throw a Molotov and use Light Curtain
in that order, either way. You must have the last character use the Light
Curtain for the Barrier to last as long as possible. If he uses Petrif-Eye or
starts waving his arms, just have the first two characters throw Molotovs and
the last use the Light Curtain. When the Barrier is up, you can start fighting.
The defensive strategy is pretty simple. Use a Hi-Potion to recover from Rock
Drop and save Healing Wind for Demon Rush. There's usually no need to recover
from Cave-In, unless somebody's HP should fall below 300. In that case, just
use a Hi-Potion. Give a Potion to Cloud if his HP falls between 200 and 300
after this attack. You don't want to waste a Hi-Potion.
For the offensive part, you must throw Molotovs on every opportunity and use
limit breaks when you get them. And make sure to take advantage of the limit
break system. I explained how this works in the "Gaming Info" section. The more
damage you deal to him, and the less he deals to you, the better. Never attack
regularly. It's a complete waste of time, as you will deal crap damage to him.
Never allow a character to die during the battle. Not only do you have to
revive, but the fallen one doesn't have Sadness any longer, and will therefore
take more damage from attacks. Also, the reviving process takes time, and the
Barrier doesn't last forever.
When Petrif-Eye is used, you can just give the target a Soft and the counter
will go away. If it's used on Cloud or Red near the end, you can just let them
get petrified. That's actually a good thing, as he can still attack petrified
characters with Rock Drop. Oh, and don't worry, characters who are petrified
at the end of the battle will not receive EXP.
You can take advantage of the fact that Demon Rush is used after his HP drops
below 7500, 5000 and 2500 HP. If he drops a rock and he's got less than 900 HP
above one of these numbers, you can have everyone throw Molotovs to trigger
Demon Rush. Doing this will save you some time and time is important in this
battle, as the Light Curtains don't last forever.
The time will come when you have to use the second Light Curtain, but that's
easier said than done. First of all, you must wait until the Barrier is gone
before you can use the other Light Curtain, but you can't just use it as soon
as the Barrier guage goes empty. The Barrier doesn't wear off at the exact
moment when the gauge reaches zero, but it lasts for one more unit, if you know
what I mean. As you know, the gauge is built up by units, starting at full.
After a certain amount of time, it goes down by one. Let's say that certain
amount of time is 5 seconds. If so, then the Barrier will still last for 5 more
seconds after the gauge goes empty. Understand? Good. If he attacks when you
have one or zero units again, you can heal, throw a Molotov and use the Light
Curtain in that order. If he attacks when you have two units left, you should
just heal and wait until he attacks again. The best situation would be if he
started waving his arms for the 5000 HP Demon Rush when you have one or zero
units left. If the Barrier is about to run out and he's got less than 5900 HP,
you can have everyone throw Molotovs to trigger Demon Rush. The battle is
likely to fail here, but if you successfully put up another Barrier on the
party, you can just keep fighting until you get his HP below 300.
The killing process is probably the most fatal part of the battle. Many things
can go wrong here and you must hope for some luck. The worst thing that can
happen is that he starts an Aerith killing spree. Anyway, move Cloud and Cid to
front row and have Aerith defend. If he drops a rock on one of the boys, the
target will die. If he drops a rock on Aerith, you can have Cloud give her a
Hi-Potion and Cid throw a Molotov on himself. Aerith must defend and have her
turn ready, so don't ever let her do anything. When defending, she can survive
anything, but a critical or a double Rock Drop will kill her if the Barrier
should wear off, something that will happen if the killing process takes too
long. If she should get killed when one of the boys is still alive, you can
just revive her and hope she doesn't get attacked again the next time. Revive
her again if that happens, but if Cave-In is used and the other guy is low on
HP, the battle will be over. If both of the guys should get killed, you know
what to do. Have Aerith throw the last Molotov ASAP when she's left alone.
That's it. You might find the battle very difficult at first, but when you get
control over it and you learn how to handle the different situation, you will
find out that it's not that tough after all.
###############################################################################
With Demon's Gate out of the way, you'll have some cut-scenes to watch before
you wake up in Gongaga.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.7 <> Searching For Aerith
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Items: X-Potion (Gongaga)
White M-Phone (Gongaga)
Water Ring (Sleeping Forest)
Guard Source (Forgotten Capital)
Aurora Armlet (Forgotten Capital)
Magic Source (Forgotten Captial)
Elixir (Forgotten Capital)
Wizard Bracelet (Jenova-LIFE)
Barret and Tifa are now in your party, and this is our party of choice for the
rest of disc one. Enter the Tiny Bronco and set your course for Bone Village.
The Lunar Harp is located on the upper level, on the left side of the tent.
Place three searchers and you should find it.
After finding it, you can just proceed with the story until you reach the place
where a certain character's life ends, but don't forget to turn the battle
speed back up first. Escaping random battles on the lowest battle speed can be
really painful. When you get there, you can equip Cloud with the Gigas Armlet
and the Water Ring. Then go kick some Jenova butt!
###############################################################################
B34: Jenova-LIFE
HP: 10000, but it doesn't really matter at all.
Dif: Water Ring/10
Do I really have to write a strategy? Alright, move Cloud to front row and hold
the action button and hold it until Jenova dies. Barret and Tifa will die
before that happens. Could it be any harder? If you want a tough Jenova-Life
battle, you can try the LLNMIENA Challenge.
###############################################################################
That concludes disc one, and you're more than halfway through the quest, but
it's far from over. There are still some tough battles ahead of you.
===============================================================================
4 - Walkthrough: Disc Two & Three
===============================================================================
Alright, you're ready to move on? Well, I ain't gonna stop you. You start disc
two in the Forgotten Capital, and it's time to head further north, but take
your time to recover the party before you move on. Just sleep in the little
house you slept in before the infamous event. It's free after all...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.1 <> Corral Valley Cave -> Great Glacier
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Items: Viper Halbred (Corral Valley Cave)
Bolt Armlet (Corral Valley Cave)
HypnoCrown (Corral Valley Cave)
Megalixir (Corral Valley Cave)
Power Source (Corral Valley Cave)
Vaccine (Icicle Inn)
Hero Drink (Icicle Inn)
X-Potion (Icicle Inn)
Ribbon (Gaea's Cliff)
Javelin (Gaea's Cliff)
Elixir (Gaea's Cliff)
Fire Armlet (Gaea's Cliff)
Megalixir (Gaea's Cliff)
Enhance Sword (Gaea's Cliff)
Dragon Fang (Schizo)
Hi-Potion (Whirlwind Maze)
Kaiser Knuckle (Whirlwind Maze)
Ether (Whirlwind Maze)
Reflect Ring (Jenova-DEATH)
Poison Ring (Whirlwind Maze)
Alright, you know where to go. When you reach Icicle Inn, you can buy some more
Hi-Potions. Sell all the weapons in your inventory and make sure you have 25 of
them. There are some items you can find at the Great Glacier as well, but they
are far from important, so don't waste your time on them. That's all, really,
so you can just proceed until you reach Mr. Holzoff's hut at the bottom of
Gaea's Cliff. Form a party of Cloud, Barret and Cid after sleeping, equip
Barret with the Aurora Armlet and give him a Tranquilizer.
First find your way to the area with the save point. It's after the second
climbing session. Don't bother healing Cloud and Cid if they get hurt in the
random battles. It's just fine if they die. Place T/S Bombs at the top of your
item list when you reach the save point and then save. Next up is the Icicle
battles. If Cloud or Cid are still alive, you must kill them in a battle on
your way up. Heal Barret back to full health when you get there and turn the
battle speed all the way down before you enter the first battle.
###############################################################################
B35: Icicle
HP: 3000
Dif: 1/10
Have Barret toss a T/s Bomb at the Icicle as soon as his ATB bar is full.
There is a small chance that the Evilheads can kill Barret, but it's not very
likely to happen.
###############################################################################
Jump down and save if you want to, but I suggest that you just heal Barret back
to full health and move straight on to the next Icicle. You only have to defeat
three of them, but you have to engage in a battle with the last one and then
escape if you want the "Last Elixir" on the other side. Heal Barret back to
full health and turn the battle speed back up before you do that. You have to
enter the battle and escape it again to get back and after that you will be
given the option to jump down. The chance of being killed in these battles is
close to zero. Save and switch Cid for someone alive before you move on.
When you reach Schizo's lair, you must do some preparations for the battle.
Remove Barret's Aurora Armlet and form a party of Cloud, Tifa and Red. Equip
Cloud with the Bolt Armlet and let one of the others have both the Fire Ring
and the Aurora Armlet. Then use the healing spring and save. Schizo is waiting
in the next room!
###############################################################################
B38: Schizo
HP: 18000 each
Dif: 1/10
Just wait until both heads are out of MP. Never attack. The character you gave
the Aurora Armlet and Fire Ring to will not take any damage at all from their
attacks. When they finally run out of MP, you can revive Cloud, move him to
front row and kill the other character. Then hold down the action button until
the battle is over. The final attack will heal him, thanks to the Bolt Armlet.
###############################################################################
Don't head back to the save point after the battle. If you get into a random
battle before you leave this screen, you will, due to a glitch, not be able to
run away. The game apparantly thinks that you're still in the boss battle, so
logially enough, it won't let you escape. Instead, leave the cave through the
closest exit, but don't head back yet. You might run into a Blue Dragon before
you reach the save point and they can easily slaughter your party with Great
Gale. Instead, just proceed to the next save point.
Then proceed to the next battle. Be careful when crossing the whirlwind areas,
as you have to fight a Wind Wing if you should fail. That's right, you cannot
escape those battles. When you reach the screen where the Jenova battle takes
place (the one after the second whirlwind crossing), replace Cloud's Bolt
Armlet with a Bronze Bangle and give him the Fire Ring. Then go get Jenova!
###############################################################################
B39: Jenova-DEATH
HP: 25000, but who cares?
Dif: Fire Ring/10
You know the deal. Hold down the action button until the battle is over.
###############################################################################
Then we have reached the end of the road and Boredom World 2 awaits. Have fun.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.2 <> The Time Without Cloud
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Items: Elixir (Mideel)
We're back in Junon, to the most boring part of the game in my opinion. There's
only one thing to mention here and that's the battle with two Attack Squads
that Barret and Cait Sith will be forced into, but unlike all the other Attack
Squad battles, this one can be escaped. Other than that, you can just proceed
with the story until the Highwind is yours.
Fly over to Mideel and find Cloud. Just let Tifa find the dog and things will
happen automatically. After ten more tons of blablabla, Cid will be crowned as
the leader of your party and you will have to form a new party. Make your party
Cid, Red and Cait Sith and then head for Fort Condor.
Here, just climb up and get the minigame started. You have to talk to the man
by the table first. Turn the speed all the way up when the minigame starts and
just let the enemies reach the shack. Don't place any soldiers. When the enemy
reaches the shack, you will be forced to fight CMD. Grand Horn, but you can
just let him destroy your party. Yes, you will see the words "Game Over" on the
screen, but after the screen goes black, your party will wake up on the bottom
with 1 HP. Heal Cid back to full health, equip him with a Ribbon, give him a
Tranquilizer and head over to North Corel.
Find your way to the reactor and make sure Red and Cait Sith die on the way.
Well, the only have 1 HP each, so that shouldn't be a problem. Save when you
reach the save point and heal Cid back to full health. A battle with two Attack
Squads awaits in front of the reactor.
###############################################################################
B40: Attack Squad x2
HP: 1300
Dif: 1/10
Toss your remaining two Swift Bolts and the battle will be over.
###############################################################################
Now, Cid will hijack a locomotive and go after the train with the Huge Materia.
Five battles take place on this train, but these can easily be avoided by
letting the timer run out. As soon as the timer appears on the screen, you can
just put the controller away and wait until the timer hits zero. Soon after,
you will be back in North Corel.
Okay, it's time to go back to Mideel and get Cloud back. Revive Cait, equip him
with the Reflect Ring, give him a Tranquilizer and heal him to full health.
That's all. Then enter Mideel and pick up the Elixir in the house on the left
side before you go back outside and save.
###############################################################################
B41: Ultimate Weapon
HP: Doesn't matter
Dif: 1/10
Ultimate Weapon has three attacks: Quake2, a physical attack and Ultima Beam
and he uses them in that order before he takes off. No exceptions. Cait Sith
will reflect Quake2. Use a Lunar Curtain on the first turn and a Hi-Potion when
he gets hit by the physical attack. Ultimate Beam will only deal around 600
damage and Cait Sith will easily survive.
###############################################################################
And then it's time for Boredom World 3. Form a party of Cloud, Tifa and Red
afterwards and equip them with the three elemental armors (Aurora, Fire and
Bolt Armlet). Make sure the other characters have Bronze Bangles and remove
the Ribbon from Cid. Red is still dead from the Ultimate Weapon battle, but
don't bother reviving him.
From now on, it's likely that you'll run into financial trouble. If I tell you
to buy something and you can't afford it, you're pretty much screwed and you
have no choice but to restart the challenge. No, don't worry, I'm just kidding.
You can use the Mythril Trick to get more money. As you most likely know, the
sleeping man in the cave near Junon will give you a Mythril if the number of
battles you have engaged in ends with either 11, 33, 55, 77 or 99. If it ends
with 22, 44, 66 or 88, he'll give you a Bolt Ring, which can be sold for 4000
Gil. Well, first find out how many battles you've fought. If he doesn't tell
you how many battles you've fought, you can just go outside and fight another
battle before you go back in. When you eventually find out, you can go outside
and fight until the number of battles you've fought ends with 11, 33, 55, 77 or
99. Then go talk to the man and he will give you a Mythril. Now, fly over to
the house near Gongaga, give the Mythril to the weapon smith and he'll let you
open one of the boxes. Open the huge box on the first floor to receive a Gold
Armlet. These can be sold for 1000 Gil. Then fly back to the sleeping man and
talk to him again and he will give you another Mythril. I guess you can figure
out how this works now. Repeat this process until you have so much money you
need. Just make sure to park the Highwind as close to the cave and the house as
possible, as you don't want to get into a random battle.
It's shopping time. Head over to Wutai and sell off all Ethers and equipment
except for the Fire Ring, Poison Ring, Dragon Armlet, Gigas Armlet and the
Ribbons. Buy 60 Swift Bolts and make sure you have at least 25 Hi-Potions, 25
Phoenix Downs and 50 Tranquilizers. Then head over to Costa del Sol and buy 25
S-mines. Make sure to place S-mines and Swift Bolts at the top of your item
list. These will be the main sources of damage form now on. When you're done,
you can cross the sea to Junon.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.3 <> Junon Underwater Reactor
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Items: Battle Trumpet
Scimitar
God's Hand
Find your way to the elevator. Two forced battles take place here. Place Tifa
in front row and give a Tranquilizer to Cloud before you enter.
###############################################################################
B42: Submarine Crew x2
HP: 1500
Dif: 1/10
You need two Swift Bolts to take out two Submarine Crews. You'll have a total
of five battles with two Submarine Crews here, so I'll only say this once. Of
course, Tifa and Red must be dead before you throw the second one.
###############################################################################
Form a party of Cloud, Barret and Tifa when you reach the next save point and
give Red's elemental armor to Barret. Then place Cloud in front row and give a
Tranquilizer to Barret. Then continue on until you reach the bottom. More small
battles await here. Make sure not to run past the first soldier, or else the
three Submarine Crews in this room will attack you from both sides. Just talk
to the first soldier and you'll get to fight him alone.
###############################################################################
B44: Submarine Crew
HP: 1500
Dif: 1/10
Throw an S-mine and then finish him off with physical attacks or a limit break
if you have one. Needless to say, Cloud must be dead first.
###############################################################################
The next battle is with two Submarine Crews and you already know how to handle
that. Revive Cloud and Tifa after this battle, but don't bother healing them.
###############################################################################
B46: Underwater MP x2
HP: 1000
Dif: 2/10
They have less HP, but higher Magic Defense, so you have to throw two Swift
Bolts to take them out. Have Barret throw the first one and then wait until
Cloud and Tifa get killed. The reason why you had to revive them is because
these guys like to attack three times in a row and Barret might not be able to
survive all the attacks. Especially not if one of them should go critical.
###############################################################################
Don't go back and save just yet. Instead, move on to the next area and watch
the Huge Materia being taken out of the reactor. Then proceed to the docks and
watch it being placed in the submarine, but make sure not to approach Reno yet.
If you move just an inch forward, you will trigger the battle with Carry Armor
and you don't want to get screwed by him now and fight the last three battles
over again. First head back to the save point and form a party of Cloud, Cait
Sith and Cid. Give them the elemental armors, give Tranquilizers to everyone,
heal everyone to full health and turn the battle speed all the way down. Then
you can head back to the docks and kick Carry Armor's shiny metal ass.
###############################################################################
B47: Carry Armor
HP: 24000
Dif: 5/10
No, that's not a typo. Carry Armor is easy, but you need some luck. At least
the strategy is very simple. You should be grateful this is not a Lowest EXP
Challenge, so that you're allowed to take out the arms. When they're gone, the
battle becomes a 1/10.
Carry Armor has the ability to use Lapis Laser as a Sneak Attack and you know
what the result of that is. There's only a 1/3 chance that'll happen, but
there's also a 1/4 chance he'll use it on his first turn, before you get to do
anything, so he will open the battle with this attack at least half the time.
My record is five times in a row and lolo's is 11! Curse him. When he's got
more than 18000 HP, there's a 1/4 chance he'll use Lapis Laser each turn. Then
it increases to 1/3 and then 1/2 below 12000 HP. Below 6000 HP, he uses it on
every turn.
The battle consists of two phases. First you have to take out the arms, which
requires exactly 11 Swift Bolts. In the beginning of the battle, there's a 1/16
chance he'll use Arm Grab, but this decreases to 1/128 once you throw the first
Swift Bolt. However, after throwing 8, it increases to 1/2. Hurray! Just pray
he doesn't grab you. Arm Grab is an instant game over. There's a chance you'll
survive if you get grabbed before the last Swift Bolt is thrown and the target
has enough HP, but in any other case, you can just hit the reset button.
Since there's a small chance he'll use Lapis Laser when he's still got a lot of
HP, you can gamble and don't use the Lunar Curtain immediately. That'll make
the battle a little more luck requiring, but it'll be easier, as the one Lunar
Curtain will last for the rest of the battle. Use it on the 12th turn, or in
other words, after the last Swift Bolt. Then use a Megalixir on the next turn,
so that the party can survive Lapis Laser.
When the arms are gone, you are almost guaranteed victory. Only clumsiness can
ruin the battle for you now. 15 S-mines are needed to destroy the main body and
make sure you don't lose count. He will most likely use Lapis Laser two or
three times before you kill him. Use a Megalixir the first time, but the second
time, you only have to give a Hi-Potion to Cid. If he's got less than 100 HP,
you must give him two. Then just keep throwing S-mines until you've thrown 14
and wait until he uses Lapis Laser again. This will take care of Cloud and Cait
Sith and you can have Cid throw the last S-mine.
###############################################################################
Unfortunately, you can't go back and save after this battle, so you have to
move on and fight three more battles before you get access to the save point
inside the submarine. The first two battles are with two Submarine Crews and
you know how to handle them. Make sure to equip Cid with the Scimitar and heal
him back to full health before the first battle. Also, equip Cait Sith with the
Battle Trumpet. The third battle, however, is with three Submarine Crews that
attack from both sides and Cid has no chance to survive this battle on his own.
On top of that, you don't get to open the menu between the second and third
battle, so you have to let Cait Sith survive the second battle too. Revive him
before the second battle, give him a Tranquilizer and heal both to full health.
There's no need to heal in the second battle. You can keep the battle speed at
the lowest for these battles.
###############################################################################
B50: Underwater MP x3, attack from both sides
HP: 1000
Dif: 2/10
The Submarine Crews will start attacking as soon as the battle begins. Someone
might get killed, but don't worry about that even if it's Cid. Just throw the
Dragon Fang at the group of two as soon as possible and you'll be more than
fine. If Cid is dead, you can revive him now. If Cait is dead, there's no need
to revive him. Heal Cid if his HP is low. Have Cid throw an S-mine at the last
enemy and then finish him off with a physical attack or a limit break as soon
as Cait is dead.
###############################################################################
And then you can finally save. Make sure to take the guys inside the control
room prisoner before the minigame and make sure to win the minigame. When you
return to the surface, you should get back into the sub and go pick up the Key
to the Ancients. Just take the sub as far to the north as you can get and then
enter the underwater cave here to find it.
Next up now is Rocket Town, but you have to do a few things before entering.
First PHS Tifa into the party and equip her God's Hand. Then form a party of
Cloud, Cid and Red and give a Ribbon to Cid. Red should still be dead after the
battles in the Underwater Reactor and that's good. Don't revive Cloud either.
Finally, heal Cid to full health and turn the battle speed back up.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.4 <> Rocket Town & More
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Items: Fourth Bracelet
Guard Source
Both items are located at the shops. Sell off any weapons in your inventory and
any Shinra Betas you may have won from the Submarine Crews. Then make sure you
have at least 25 Hi-Potions and head back to the world map and save.
###############################################################################
B51: Attack Squad x2
HP: 1300
Dif: 1/10
Just throw two Swift Bolts to take them out.
###############################################################################
B52: Attack Squad x2
HP: 1300
Dif: 1/10
Throw a Swift Bolt, use a Hi-Potion and then throw another Swift Bolt.
###############################################################################
B53: Senior Grunt & Attack Squad x2
HP: 2600, 1300
Dif: 2/10
First throw a Swift Bolt. Then use a Hi-Potion or an X-Potion if Cid's HP is
running low. Two more Swift Bolts will be needed to take out the Senior Grunt.
###############################################################################
Next up is Rude, but you can't go back and save before taking him on. Cid could
use some help in this battle, so revive the other guys, heal them back to full
health and give Tranquilizers to them. Also give the second Ribbon to Cloud.
###############################################################################
B54: Rude & Attack Squads
HP: 9000
Dif: 4/10
You have to find the calculator again to keep track of Rude's HP. He's able to
heal himself with Cure2, so you can't just throw an exact number of S-mines.
On your first turn, throw two Swift Bolts and use the last Lunar Curtain. The
Swift Bolts will take care of the Attack Squads. Then start throwing S-mines to
deplete Rude's HP. Don't bother healig anyone but Cid, as the battle will be
over after a short time. If Rude doesn't kill Cloud and Red, you must have them
use S-mines on themselves when his HP is below 1300. Then you can have Cid
throw the last S-mine. That is, unless Rude uses Cure2 on himself in the
meantime. Depending on his HP, you might have to throw two S-mines.
###############################################################################
Just heal Cid back to full health before the next battle.
###############################################################################
B55: Senior Grunt
HP: 2600
Dif: 1/10
Two S-mines should take care of him, but if not, you can just attack regularly
until he dies. There's no need to heal in this battle.
###############################################################################
And then it's time for another Boredom World. This one consists of a trip to
Outer Space and a second visit to Cosmo Canyon and the Forgotten Capital.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.5 <> Yuffie, Diamond Weapon & Wutai
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Items: Elixir
Swift Bolt
Peace Ring (Rapps)
Power Source
Mind Source
Speed Source
Magic Source
Guard Source
Luck Source
Megalixir
When you try to enter the Highwind after the visit to the Forgotten Capital,
Diamond Weapon will show up and march straight towards Midgar. We can't fight
him just yet, though. First we have to recruit a new member to the party. We'll
use the same party for the battle with Yuffie, so just head over to Mideel and
start looking for her. As you most likely know, she only shows up in forests.
###############################################################################
B56: Yuffie (aka Mystery Ninja)
HP: 600
Dif: 1/10
Throw a Swift Bolt and the battle will be over.
###############################################################################
Don't use the save point and don't open the menu. Just give her these replies
and she will join the party:
"Not interested"
"petrified"
"Wait a second!"
"That is right."
"Let us hurry on."
That's it. Yuffie is now an official member of your almighty party. Now let's
go kick some Diamond Weapon ass. Well, some preparations are needed first. Form
a party of Cloud, Barret and Cid and give the Fire Armlet to Cloud, Fire Ring
to Barret and Dragon Armlet to Cid. Then rest inside the Highwind and give
Tranquilizers to everyone. Then just fly around until Diamond Weapon reaches
land and then save just next to him. Just make sure you don't go too close. You
don't want to enter the battle too early.
###############################################################################
B57: Diamond Weapon
HP: 30000
Dif: 3/10
This is too easy. The only thing you have to do here is throwing 26 Swift Bolts
and heal each time someone is attacked by his Foot Stamp attack. Never use
limit breaks, as you don't want to trigger the Countdown to Diamond Flash.
Sounds simple? Well, it's a bit more complicated than that.
Diamond Weapon has two attacks: Fire Ball and Foot Stamp. They don't have
names, but that's what they are, so let's call them that. Fire Ball will heal
Cloud, deal zero damage to Barret and about 250 to Cid, so this one is pretty
much nothing to worry about. Foot Stamp deals up to 800, though. Cloud doesn't
but Foot Stamp is always used on the character with the highest current HP, so
he's fine as long as you make sure Cid or Barret always have more HP than him.
And of course, more than 800 HP.
Heal Barret and Cid back to full health and move them to front row when you
only have one Swift Bolt left to throw. They can't survive Foot Stamp now. Just
make sure they always have more HP than Cloud and nothing can go wrong. Have
Cloud throw the last Swift Bolt as soon as both Tifa and Cid are dead.
###############################################################################
That was way too easy. How come all the mandatory Weapon battles are so easy?
Ultimate runs off after three attacks and Diamond certainly doesn't live up to
his Weapon-name. Anyway, go check out the crater after all the cut-scenes, but
don't head back to Midgar yet. First, we have to take a trip to Wutai and do
the infamous Wutai Quest. The main reason is to make the Turks battle in Midgar
optional, but we also have to do the quest to be able to buy more Swift Bolts
and Fire Veils later. Form a party of Cloud, Tifa and Cait Sith, place Cloud
and Tifa in front row, give a Ribbon and the Fourth Bracelet to Cait Sith and
then rest inside the Highwind.
When you first enter Wutai, you will not enter town, but Yuffie will come and
steal our materia. OH NOES! She stole our materia! What the hell are we gonna
do without our materia? We're doomed for sure. You will also be forced to fight
a couple of scary Attacks Squads. I'll let you handle this battle on your own.
Cait Sith is the survivor. Make sure to heal him again after the battle, but
don't revive the others. Then you can enter town and let the sidequest begin.
In case you don't know what to do, I'll guide you through the quest like I did
at the Wall Market.
1. Go talk to Godo at his house. Yuffie will appear and run off. DON'T sleep
in the beds here.
2. Go talk to the Turks at the Turtle's Paradise.
3. Enter the weapon shop and open the box with the MP Absorb Materia. Yuffie
will appear and run off with it.
4. Enter the house right next to the entrance. You will find Yuffie, and she
will run off again.
5. She's now hiding hiding inside a big pot outside of the Turtle's Paradise.
The others will block the paths for her and you will catch her. She'll then
take you to her house.
6. Pull the lever when Yuffie tells you to and Red and Cait Sith will be
trapped inside a cage. You guessed it. She runs off again. Pull the lever
once more to free the characters. Make sure to check out the last Turtle's
Paradise flyer here before you go after her.
7. Switch Cait Sith for Tifa and head back to the upper area of town. Now enter
the small house thing to the left and use the bell to open a secret door.
Enter the door and say hello to our good friend Don Corneo.
8. Pick up the items from the boxes and follow him. You will end up in Godo's
house and you'll be forced to fight three Attach Squads. Yikes!
###############################################################################
B59: Attack Squad x3
HP: 1300
Dif: 1/10
Why did I bother creating a box for this one? Ah well, just throw a couple of
Swift Bolts and the battle will be over.
###############################################################################
Now you can go sleep in the beds. Head back to the save point after talking to
the Turks and give Cait Sith a Tranquilizer before you save. Then it's time to
head for Da-Chao. There's no need to pick up the items in the fire cave, so
just ignore it and go find Corneo.
###############################################################################
B60: Rapps
HP: 6000
Dif: 3/10
Only 6000 HP, but he can easily kill your characters with Aero3. First throw
four S-mines and use a Phoenix Down every time someone gets killed. Then make
sure Cloud and Tifa are dead before you throw the last S-mine.
###############################################################################
After the battle, we finally get the materia back. Yay! Stop by at the Item
Shop and buy so that you have 99 Hi-Potions before you leave town. Buy some
Phoenix Downs as well, if you're running short on them. 20 should be enough for
now. You can also sell the Peace Ring you just won from Rapps. And before you
leave, don't forget to stop by at the Turtle's Paradise and claim your prize
for finding all the flyers.
Before you can enter Midgar, you have to stop by at Costa del Sol and make sure
you have 99 S-mines. Use the Mythril Trick if you can't afford it. Then form a
party of Cloud, Barret and Cid, give elemental armors to Cloud and Cid and the
Fourth Bracelet to Barret. As for accessories, give the Ribbons to Cloud and
Barret and the Poison Ring to Cid. Then fly over Midgar. Your party will be
healed before you jump, so don't use any Tranquilizers before you land.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.6 <> Return To Midgar
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Items: Elixir x3
Megalixir
Aegis Armlet
Starlight Phone
Max Ray
Glow Lance
Ragnarok (Proud Clod)
Mystile
Power Source (Hojo)
Give Tranquilizers to the party before you save. The enemies here can be very
nasty, so make sure to heal after every random battle. Give the Aegis Armlet to
Cloud and the Max Ray to Barret as you find them.
The Turks will show up in the tunnel as usual, but since you did the Wutai
quest, you will be given a choice if you want to fight them or not. If you
really want to test your skills, you can try to defeat them. It's possible, but
you will need a lot of luck. Especially if you don't have a Deadly Waste.
Anyway, before going after Proud Clod, we're gonna take a short trip back to
the Shinra HQ. There's a weapon for Cid here that can be sold for 8000 Gil. Go
right in the first intersection and then left to get there. Take the elevator
up to the 63rd floor and you'll find it. After picking it up, you can head back
down and save at the save point by the entrance. Don't bother healing your
party until you reach Sector 8, where the battle with Proud Clod takes place.
Go left in the first intersection to get there.
###############################################################################
B61: Proud Clod
HP: 60000
Dif: 4/10
Note: Don't attack Jamar Armor.
Proud Clod? More like Pity Cloud. This huge guy here is even more harmless than
Diamond Weapon, so he doesn't have anything to be proud of. Just start throwing
S-mines and heal whenever someone loses more than 500 HP and you'll be fine. As
long as you keep everyone's HP above 800, you can only be killed by a double
machine gun attack where one of the attacks goes critical. Because the damage
of the S-mines vary, it's kinda dangerous to just throw an exact number, so use
the calculator to keep track of his HP.
About halfway through the battle, he'll start using Beam Cannon. That's a
good thing, as he wastes two turns sitting down on his knees before the attack
and then one turn standing up again afterwards. Beam Cannon deals up to 800
damage, so make sure the party has more HP than that before the attack. When
the attack is used, you can spend two turns using Hi-Potions to recover. This
is such an easy battle anyway, so there's no need to waste Elixirs.
Barret is supposed to survive this battle and you can use Beam Cannon to kill
off Cloud and Cid. If Beam Cannon is used when he's got less than 15000 HP
left, you can just heal Cloud and Cid with one Hi-Potion each after the attack.
No problem at all. Make sure Proud Clod has less than 900 HP left before the
next Beam Cannon and you can have Barret throw the last S-mine when Beam Cannon
kills Cloud and Cid.
###############################################################################
Revive Cloud and Cid before you move on, as you might run into a Grosspanzer on
your way to the save point. These enemies would have slayed Barret if you had
sent him into a battle on his own. When you reach the save point, remove Barret
and Cid's accessories and give a Bronze Bangle to Barret. Then form a party of
Cloud, Yuffie and Cait Sith. Give Ragnarok and the Gigas Armlet to Cloud, the
Mystile to Yuffie and the Starlight Phone and the Fourth Bracelet to Cait Sith.
As for accessories, you can give the Power Wrist to Cloud and the Ribbons to
Yuffie and Cait Sith. You should also do some arrangements in the item list.
Place S-mines at the top, followed by Swift Bolts, Hi-Potions, Phoenix Downs,
Tranquilizers, Elixirs, X-Potions and then Vaccines. Well, Vaccine, since you
only have one of them. Then give Tranquilizers to everyone, save and move on.
Make sure to heal if you should lose HP in a random battle on your way up.
###############################################################################
B62: Hojo
HP: 13000
Dif: 1/10
Note: Don't attack Poodler Sample and Bad Rap Sample.
This is just a warm up battle. First give the Vaccine to Cloud and then start
throwing S-mines. Save limit breaks for the next battle. 12 S-mines are needed
to take him out and healing shouldn't be necessary until you've thrown 11. Heal
Yuffie if her HP should fall below 400 before that and make sure the party has
as much HP as possible when you throw the 12th one. Then let's see how the mako
juice is reacting...
###############################################################################
B63: Hellectic Hojo, Left Arm, Right Arm
HP: 26000, 24000, 5000
Dif: 5/10
Note: Don't attack the head with limit breaks.
The major threat in this battle is the Right Arm. Its attack deals 600 damage
through Sadness and he's capable of using it twice in one attack. Not good for
Yuffie with her 900 HP, but she's got the Mystile, so it'll miss at least half
the time. We'll use Swift Bolts in this battle and you only need six of them to
kill the Right Arm. When the Right Arm is still alive, you can heal with a
Hi-Potion whenever someone gets attacked, but don't bother reviving Yuffie if
she gets killed. Instead, focus on killing the arm and then hope he doesn't
revive it right away. As soon as you kill it, you should make sure to heal your
party back to full health again. Also, you can never allow Cloud to die during
the battle, as that will remove his invulnerability to negative statuses,
something you really need in the last battle.
Hellectic Hojo will kill himself when both arms are dead, so use any limit
breaks on the Left Arm. Cloud will deal major damage with Cross-Slash, so it
shouldn't take that long to deplete its HP. Just take note that he might revive
the Right Arm when the Left Arm only has a little HP left. That way, the battle
will last a little longer, but that's really not a big deal.
###############################################################################
B64: Lifeform Hojo NA
HP: 30000
Dif: 4/10
Note: You need the calculator again in this battle.
Be grateful for your invulnerability to negative statuses in this battle. Just
throw S-mines, use limit breaks and heal when necessary. That's pretty much it.
Even though Yuffie only has about 900 HP, the killing process really isn't too
complicated. When Hojo has less than 2300 HP left, you can have Yuffie throw an
S-mine at Cloud and Cait Sith throw one at Hojo, in that order. Cloud will die
and Hojo will now attack Cait Sith. Then have Cait Sith throw an S-mine at
himself and Yuffie throw one at Hojo and he will die. Pretty simple, eh?
###############################################################################
And that concludes disc two. The end is near. This was also the last time you
received EXP in this challenge, so that's one less thing to worry about.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.7 <> The Northern Crater
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Items: Heaven's Cloud (Crashed Gelnika)
Megalixir x2 (Crashed Gelnika)
Escort Guard (Crashed Gelnika)
Conformer (Crashed Gelnika)
Spirit Lance (Crashed Gelnika)
Outsider (Crashed Gelnika)
Save Crystal (first path)
Guard Source x3 (first path)
Power Source x2 (first path)
Elixir (first path)
Mind Source x2 (first path)
Magic Source (first path)
Megalixir x2 (first path)
Hero Drink (first path)
Magic Source (left-up path)
Remedy (left-up path)
Hero Drink (left-up path)
Vaccine (left-up path)
Imperial Guard (left-up path)
Turbo Ether x2 (left-down path)
Speed Source (left-down path)
X-Potion x2 (left-down path)
Vaccine (left-down path)
Remedy (left-down path)
Elixir (left-down path)
Mystile (right path)
Elixir (right path)
Tetra Elemental (right path)
Speed Source (right path)
Megalixir x2 (right path)
Luck Source (bottom)
Mystile (Tifa)
Megalixir (Yuffie)
Elixir (Cait Sith)
Mind Source (Red XIII)
You have to do a couple of things before you can descend into the crater. First
get into the submarine and find the Crashed Gelnika. It's near the Gold Saucer.
Pick up all the items here. Just take note that the enemies here deal som
serious damage, so make sure to heal between all random battles and save every
time you pass the save point, in case you should get killed.
When you return to the world map, you can form a party of Cloud, Barret and Cid
and equip them with the Mystile, Aegis Armlet and Fourth Bracelet. Give the
Ribbons to Cloud and Cid. Make sure the other characters are equipped with
Bronze Bangles and no accessories. Then head to Costa del Sol and sell off all
the equipment in your inventory and then buy 18 S-mines. If you have more than
10 Phoenix Downs, you can spend the rest of your money on Hi-Potions. Then give
Tranquilizers to the party and head back to the crater.
Find your way down to the area where you meet up with the others. You don't
have to pick up all the items on the second and third screen now, as you can do
that on your way back up. Yes, we have to leave the crater again to do some
more shopping, but before we can do that, we have to get some more money. When
you get there, send Cloud, Barret and Cid to the left and Tifa, Yuffie, Cait
Sith and Red down the right path.
On the next screen, send everyone up and then go there. This is the swamp area.
Just get through here and pick up all the items. When you reach the bottom, you
must place the Save Crystal. Think of this area as a clock and place it at 8.
Don't go any further, or you'll enter the next screen. If that happens, you
won't get the bonus items from the other characters, which means that you won't
get three Mystiles. You don't want that to happen.
Head back up after saving. Yup, there's only one way. Then take the right path
back down to get the rest of the items. When you reach the bottom again, you
can enter the last area and talk to the others to get the bonus items. There
you go: three Mystiles. Equip Cloud, Barret and Cid with them right away and
give Tetra Elemental to Barret.
Then it's time to acquire some money. Head back to the swamp area and start
looking for Movers. The chance for them to appear is only 1/8, but you only
have to fight two battles, so it won't take that long. However, if you run into
a group of two Allemagnes that attack from both sides, you're screwed. There's
no escaping that battle. Thankfully, there's only a 1/16 chance you'll get that
battle. Just pray you don't get that battle.
###############################################################################
B65: Mover x3
HP: 3000
Dif: 2/10
Note: These enemies give away 0 EXP!
Three S-mines are needed to take out on Mover and make sure to take out one at
the time. Healing shouldn't be necessary if you enter the battle with close to
full HP, but as any other enemies, these are also able to get critical hits.
###############################################################################
Head back to the surface after two battles, but consider saving at the bottom
first. You never know what might happen. t's shopping time again and I'll
simply make a list over all the items you need. You should know where to find
these items by now. You can sell of any equipment in your inventory.
99 S-mines
75 Swift Bolts
50 Hi-Potions
50 Phoenix Downs
25 Tranquilizers
If you have any money left afterwards, you can spend them on some extra Swift
Bolts, although you most likely won't need them. And if you for some reason
shouldn't have enough money, you know what to do. That's it. Now you can head
back down and make your final save. When I first did this challenge back in
2003, my final save time was 17:26.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.8 <> The Final Battles
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yes, it's time to end this. Find your way down to the very bottom, where the
showdown takes place, but make sure to heal everyone back to full health and
turn the battle speed all the way down before you enter the final area.
###############################################################################
B67: Jenova-SYNTHESIS
HP: 60000
Dif: 4/10
We're using Swift Bolts in this battle. Use every opportunity to throw one and
make sure to take advantage of the limit break system. Since all the characters
are wearing Mystiles, at least 50% of her attacks will miss. The only thing
that could happen is that Barret could get poisoned by Bio2, but that's really
not a big deal. If it happens, you can just let him die, revive him and heal
him. Once you kill the arms, the battle is pretty much over. She will revive
them now and then, but you will always be able to kill off one of them before
it gets to attack. Stop throwing Swift Bolts as soon as the countdown starts
and pray Ultima misses at least one of the characters. It most likely will.
###############################################################################
And on we go to the next one. We're using the same party, Cloud, Barret and
Cid, and make sure to heal them back to full health.
###############################################################################
B68: Bizarro-Sephiroth
HP: 40000, 10000 (core), 4000 (arms), 2000 (head)
Dif: 5/10
This is only difficult in the beginning. You have only one attack to fear in
this battle, and that's Stigma. Stigma is used on the fourth turn if both the
head and the Core are alive. After that, it's only used every eighth turn.
Start the battle by having everyone throw S-mines at the right arm. Bolt3 will
then be used, and it's most likely to miss Cloud or Cid if used on them. Barret
will be healed. Have Cloud and Cid throw S-mines at right arm again either way
and wait and see what happens. If nobody gets killed, you can have Barret heal
if someone has been hurt by Sephiroth's physical attack. If not, let him throw
a Swift Bolt. If either Cloud or Cid gets killed by Bolt3, you must have Barret
revive the fallen, and have this character throw an S-mine at the right arm
when he gets his turn. The right arm will now die.
No matter what happened, you must now start throwing Swift Bolts at every
opportunity, as the Core will soon use Stigma. Don't worry, you should easily
make it, even if someone gets killed by Quake3. The head will die after three
Swift Bolts and the left arm after five, and when both arms are destroyed, you
no longer have to worry about the level 3 magic attacks. Just keep throwing
Swift Bolts until the Core is defeated and heal when necessary. When you
finally take out the Core, the rest is piece of cake.
With the Core out of function, you can start throwing S-mines at the main body,
and heal whenever it's necessary. The head will be revived now and then, but
that's nothing to worry about. Just throw three Swift Bolts to take it out
again. He might cast Heartless Angel when the head is alive, which reduces the
party's HP to 1, but just use a Megalixir if that happens.
###############################################################################
B69: Safer-Sephiroth
HP: 80000
Dif: 4/10
What makes Safer-Sephiroth so easy is his pattern of attacks. You will always
know what's next, so there's no need to live in fear for a certain attack. When
you learn this pattern by heart and get full control over the battle, it gets
really, really easy. This is his pattern:
1. Wall
2. Shadow Flare
3. Wing (regular physical attack)
4. Ascend to back row
5. Pale Horse
6. Super Nova
7. Break (Heartless Angel when HP is below 20.000)
8. Decend to front row
9. DeSpell
10. Deen
11. Wing
12. Ascend to back row
13. Pale Horse
14. Super Nova
15. Break
16. Decend to front row
17. Back to start
Shadow Flare, Wing, Pale Horse and Break are all single target attacks that
will kill the target. All these attacks except for Pale Horse can miss and
Break will heal Barret. Wing is always used on the character with the highest
current HP. Super Nova deals 93,75% of a character's current HP, which means
it's completely harmless. It might inflict some statuses to Barret, though, but
that can be prevented if you use a Vaccine first. Heartless Angel still reduces
the party's HP to 1, so this attack is also completely harmless. The only
attack to worry about here is Deen, which deals up to 1100 damage to the party
through Sadness. The only time you have to heal in the battle is before this
attack. That's all you need to know about the attacks.
Sephiroth starts the battle by casting Wall on himself, and this protective
spell will reduce damage dealt by limit breaks and physical attacks with 50%.
But what about S-mines? They still deal full damage to him. That's why S-mines
are our main source of damage in this battle. On the lowest battle speed, it
will last for a long while, so we're just throwing S-mines for now.
Well, have everyone throw S-mines on the first turn, and have the first
character to get his turn again throw one. Then wait and see what happens with
Shadow Flare. If someone gets killed, you must have one of the others revive
the fallen. If not, just keep throwing S-mines.
Next comes Wing, which hits the character with the highest current HP. In other
words, you will always know who he's going to use this attack on and that makes
preparations for the attack easier. If it hits, the target will die, so then
you must have one character revive him while the last character throws an
S-mine. If it misses, you can just throw S-mines.
Then he will ascend to back row and use Pale Horse. Have your turns ready for
this attack and make sure someone revives the fallen at once. This attack won't
miss. Have the last character give a Vaccine to Barret and then have everyone
throw S-mines before Super Nova. Just keep throwing S-mines after Super Nova.
Break is next, and it's basically the same as Shadow Flare and Wing, but this
spell will heal Barret, so you have an even smaller chance of getting killed
now. Revive the fallen if someone gets killed and then use a Megalixir. If no
one gets killed, you can throw two S-mines and use a Megalixir. If no one gets
killed and Cloud has a limit break, you can have Barret and Cid give him the
Hero Drink and then unleash the limit break. It will deal around 7000 damage!
After descending, Sephiroth will use DeSpell. Have everyone use Tranquilizers
afterwards, so that you can survive Deen. Deen will never miss, so you kinda
have to make sure you survive it. After Deen, have everyone throw S-mines and
follow up with limit breaks by taking advantage of the limit break system.
That's how you deal with every single one of Sephiroth's attacks. Very simple.
When you run out of Vaccines (DeSepll and Barret getting killed will remove the
Vaccine's function), Barret might get confused by Super Nova. If you enter the
menu and select a Remedy during Super Nova, near the end of the animation, you
can see if Barret will get any statuses or not. If he gets Confusion, you must
prepare one of the others to use a Remedy on him.
All in all, this is a very simply battle, but because of his high amount of HP,
it will take a while to defeat him.
###############################################################################
That's it. If you managed to complete the challenge, I can only say congrats on
your accomplishment. If you think it was too easy, you can move on to LLNMIENA,
which is one of the toughest Low Level challenges out there.
Anyway, the challenge is over. Let's go home proud.
===============================================================================
5 - Additional Info
===============================================================================
The final chapter of this guide, with challenge suggestions, info on how to
contact me, version history, credits and some final words.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.1 <> Challenge Suggestions
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is an idea I got from KADFC. He's got a list with all the challenges he's
beaten in his FAQs, but I thought I'd do something more out of it and add some
info about the challenges. In other words, turn it into a challenge suggestions
section. If you want to do a challenge, you can read through all the challenge
descriptions and fine the challenge that suits you the best.
When a challenge has LL in its title, as most of the ones below have, it means
that the level limit is 28. This rule is explained in the intro, but simply put
it means that you cannot exceed level 28 at any point in the game. Also, all
the LL challenges have the unwritten "Level 1 Limit Breaks Only" rule. It's not
a part of the title, but you're not allowed to learn any other limit breaks
than the level 1 ones. And finally, don't forget that all the LL challenges
require a battle plan. I explained this in the intro as well.
LL - Low Level
################
This is the first challenge I did and it was more than challenging enough back
then. There's no level limit in this challenge; the only rule is that you must
escape all the random battles you get into. You can use whatever party you want
and you don't have to kill off any charaters before the end of the battle. By
using the same party all the time, you will end up with a level 39 party before
the last boss. My highest level when I first did this challenge was 36, but I
didn't use any characters with a higher level than 34. I defeated Sephiroth
with a level 34-33-33 party of Cloud, Barret and Cid, if I remember correctly.
Difficulty: 1/10
Toughest bosses: Demon's Gate, Carry Armor, Turks in Midgar (optional)
NM - No Materia
#################
The only rule in this challenge is that you cannot use Materia. You may level
up as much as you want and use anything else the game has to offer. Of course,
the difficulty depends on how much you level up. This was the second challenge
I did, after two Low Level Games and my highest level was 50. Still, it was
pretty easy and I didn't have any serious trouble with any bosses. I wouldn't
really call this a challenge if you don't keep your levels as low as possible.
Difficulty: Depends on your level, but 1/10 above level 40.
Toughest bosses: Carry Armor, Turks in Midgar
LL - Lowest Level
###################
Same rules as above, except for the level limit. You're not allowed to have
anyone exceed level 28 at any point in the game. Because of that, you must
always kill off two character before the end of battles and that means you need
a battle plan. You may use whatever the game has to offer in this challenge,
but getting KotR is too cheap. Since you have more than enough EXP to "spend"
before the characters reach level 29, you can learn several Enemy Skills, like
Magic Hammer, Big Guard and White Wind to make it easier.
Difficulty: 2/10
Toughest bosses: Demon's Gate, Turks in Midgar
LE - Lowest EXP
#################
Pretty much the same challenge as Lowest Level, but as the title says, you must
reach the end of the game with the lowest amount of EXP possible. Because of
that, you can no longer learn Enemy Skills and that will make some battles A
LOT tougher. Carry Armor is the best example, as you can't drain his MP to
prevent Lapis Laser and you can't use Big Guard to take less damage. Other than
that, the challenge isn't very much different from a regular Lowest Level Game.
By the time I did this challenge, I had already done some of the toughest ones
and several Speed Runs, so I managed to reach the bottom of the crater in less
than 12 hours. 11:59, to be exact.
Difficulty: 3/10
Toughest bosses: Carry Armor
LLNM - Low Level No Materia
#############################
So, after completing the too easy No Materia challenge, I decided to combine it
with LL to at least make it challenging. You can no longer use Materia, but
that doesn't mean it gets very much tougher. You simply have to make up for the
lack of Materia by using items and items can be very powerful when you know how
to use them. Also, you can still equip new weapons, armor and accessories to
make the magic using bosses harmless. This is a very good challenge for the
more advanced player. If you think the regular LL or NM were too easy, you
should try this one. I have also written a FAQ about this challenge.
Difficulty: 4/10
Toughest bosses: Carry Armor
LLNMIENA - Low Level No Materia Initial Equipment No Accessories
##################################################################
Oh yeah. Now we're talking. You can no longer equip armor and accessories to
make the magic using bosses harmless and that's the major difference between
LLNM and this one. The magic using bosses are namley the toughest bosses in
this challenge and they will make you want to pull your hair out. You will also
notice the lack of Ribbons in battles with enemies who uses statuses. Hojo is
the best example of this and his final form, Lifeform Hojo NA is also one of
the toughest bosses in this challenge. This is, in my opinion, the best FFVII
challenge there is, as it depends mostly on skills, knowledge and strategy and
not luck. Many challenges require a lot of luck and that takes away much of the
fun. This is one of the toughest challenges out there, so it's recommended for
experts only. I also wrote a FAQ about this challenge once. Check it out! :p
Toughest bosses: Schizo, Jenova-DEATH, Lifeform Hojo NA, Bizarro Sephiroth
Difficulty: 8/10
LLNIIENA - Low Level No Items Initial Equipment No Accessories
################################################################
The same rules as LLNMIENA, except that No Materia has been replaced with No
Items. Using Materia instead of items makes the magic using bosses much easier
than in LLNMIENA, as you can both use Magic Hammer to reduce their MP and you
can use Elemental Materia to reduce the damage from their attacks. The same
goes for the status using enemies, as you can use Added Effect to protect
against statuses. However, you no longer have access to powerful items, so you
must depend on materia and limit breaks to deal good damage. Magic Hammer will
help maintaining your MP in many battles, but you will really notice the lack
of items against bosses with low MP. Demon's Gate and Hojo are the best
examples of this. Compared to LLNMIENA, this challenges is tougher in the
beginning, but it gets too easy after a while. Also, some of the battles
require a lot of luck (like Lifeform Hojo NA) and that ruins some of the fun.
It's still a good challenge though, with some very tough battles, but it's too
easy if you have already done LLNMIENA, like I had. Thundaka has written a
great FAQ about this challenge. Check it out!
Toughest bosses: Demon's Gate, Lifeform Hojo NA
Difficulty: 6/10 (but 10/10 for Lifeform Hojo NA)
LLNIIENACMO - LLNIIENA + Command Materia Only
###############################################
Same rules as LLNIIENA, but now you can only use Command Materia. Should make
the challenge tougher, right? Oh yes. This isn't a challenge you can just take
on and then see what happens when you reach a certain points. This challenge
requires careful planning from beginning to end and you can easily get stuck if
you do one single mistake. This challenge doesn't have the most difficult boss
battles, but because of all the preparations you have to do, it rank as one of
the toughest challenges out there. This is also a unique challenge, as the
level limit is 29 and not 28 and you're allowed to learn more limit breaks than
the level 1 ones. The reason why the level limit is 29 is simply because it's
impossible to beat this challenge on level 28. In order to beat certain bosses,
you must learn Cloud and Aerith's level 3 limit breaks and there's no way you
can do that without leveling up to 29. This challenge is really for experts
only and especially if you aren't going to follow Thundaka's FAQ. Yes, he wrote
a great FAQ about this challenge too. Check it out!
Toughest bosses: Motor Ball, Rapps, Hojo, Safer-Sephiroth
Difficulty: 9/10
LLNMNI - Low Level No Materia No Items
########################################
This is the most recent challenge I did and most likely also the last FFVII
challenge I'll ever do. Just like LLNIIENACMO, this challenge requires careful
planning from the very beginning, or you might get stuck on a boss. As in
LLNIIENACMO, that careful planning includes learning Meteorain, Aerith's level
3 limits, but this time you also have to learn Ungarmax in order to destroy
Dyne. Other than that, this challenge is pretty similar to LLNIIENACMO, but
some battles are easier because you can use equipment and some battles are
harder because you don't have the Enemy Skills you relied on in LLNIIENACMO.
As you proceed, you get more and more powerful weapons (and even ultimate
weapons) and that makes a huge difference in battles that were very tough in
LLNIIENACMO. Espcially versus Proud Clod and Lifeform Hojo, where you could
only deal a few hundred damage at the time. However, there is one HUGE obstacle
in this battle: Carry Armor. At first, he was thought to be easy, but then I
learned that Blood Fand and Dragon couldn't drain his MP. With no way to
survive Lapis Laser and no way to drain his MP, he was labelled impossible and
I put the challenge on hold. Then, five months later, I came up with a genius
strategy. It required many hours of preparations and a lot of luck, but I
managed to defeat him eventually and I could proceed with the challenge.
However, there is another however. Safer-Sephiroth is most liekly impossible
in this challenge. The main reason is that you cannot change equipment between
Bizarro and Safer. Even getting to Bizarro is a feat. I managed to defeat
Jenova once, but then I lost to Bizarro and I haven't touched the challenge
since then. lolo26 has an idea that might work, but I'm not testing it until
I have an emulator, so that I can use save-states. Needless to say, this one is
for experts only.
Toughest bosses: Carry Armor, Hellectic Hojo, Jenova-SYNTHESIS
Difficulty: 8/10 (but 15/10 for Carry Armor)
Speed Run
###########
A Speed Run is very different from all other challenges, as it doesn't really
have any rules. You can do whatever you want in order to beat the game as fast
as possible. You should beat it in less than 12 hours for it to be considered a
Speed Run, though, but it doesn't really matter. It's up to you to decide how
fast you want to beat the game and the challenge is only as difficult as you
want it to be. This is, in my and lolo26's opinions, the best challenge ever,
as everyone can do it, no matter how good you are. You're allowed to save in a
regular Speed Run and play parts of the game over and over again until you're
satisfied with the result. It is recommended to have done a regular Low Level
Game before you start a Speed Run, though, as you have to escape all random
encounters in order to save time. My current record is 8:57:59 after beating
the final Sephiroth, but that record was set during a test run. I have written
a Speed Run FAQ. Check it out if you want to do a Speed Run.
Toughest bosses: Depends.
Difficulty: Depends.
HDINS - Half Day In No Saves
##############################
This is not just a Speed Run. You have to beat the game in less than 12 hours,
but you're not allowed to save, and you can't take breaks. From the moment you
start a new game, you have exactly 12 hours to beat Safer-Sephiroth. And that's
in real time and not on the game clock. You must start a stopwatch the exact
moment you select "new game" and you're not allowed to stop it whatsoever.
Anything you do in the meantime, like eating and bathroom visits will be
included in the final time. It's a very good challenge, but you should at least
have beaten the game regularly in less than 10 hours before you take it on. You
need some luck though, as some bosses can destroy you, no matter what your
leveles are. An attack from both sides can also be very fatal. In other words,
it's a bit risky, and you might end up wasting 10-11 hours.
Toughest bosses: Carry Armor can be a threat with Lapis Laser and Arm Grab.
Difficulty: Let's just say it's a very tough challenge.
These are the challenges I have beaten, but there are many more challenges out
there. In addition to LL challenges, there are many different Single Character
challenges, but I'm not a huge fan of these. I like to use the entire party in
my challenges, so that's why most of the challenges I've done are LL ones.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.2 <> Contacting Me
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you need to contact me, you can send an email to [email protected]. You can
ask me anything regarding challenges or FFVII in general, but don't bother
asking me simple questions that can easily be found in the FAQs. Also let me
know if you find typos, grammar errors or bad language that must be corrected.
English is still my second language after all. Just be aware that I'm a busy
(read: lazy) man and it might take a while before I reply.
Any tips or suggestions for the guide is appreciated, but please, professionals
only. Don't send me a mail unless you know what you're talking about. And don't
bother asking me how the hell it's possible to beat the game under these
restrictions. It's possible and several people have done it. Do you honestly
think I've spent hundrets of hours writing a joke FAQ? If you can't understand
how it's possible, I suggest that you start a new game, follow the FAQ and beat
the challenge yourself. You might end up having fun. I highly recommend it if
you think FFVII is too easy.
You can find me on the FFVII message board as well. I'm not very active, but as
long as I'm doing the perfect speed run, you can find me in the Speed Run
Discussions Topic. Due to lack in activity, I decided to stop making the
General Challenge Discussions Topics. If you want to do this challenge, you can
post a topic about it and I'll most likely drop by.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.3 <> Version History
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Simply a list over current and earlier versions of the guide. Current version
is always on top.
Version 3.0 -> April 12th, 2007 (165 kB)
----------------------------------------
Re-wrote the FAQ completely again. If you think it looks very similar to the
LLNMIENA FAQ at times, it's because I copy/pasted all the text from where the
challenges are similar.
The main difference this time, except for being re-written, is that some of the
bosses have gotten easier strategies. That's pretty much it.
Version 2.01 -> November 12th, 2005 (140 kB)
--------------------------------------------
Fixed some typos and small errors. I actually did this a few weeks after the
last update, but I forgot to submit it. Ah well, no harm done.
Version 2.0 -> June 2nd, 2005 (140 kB)
--------------------------------------
Re-wrote most of the guide with better language, fixed more typos, made a new
battle plan and many bosses have gotten easier strategies. I also added the
challenge beaten by author/challenge suggestions section.
Version 1.02 -> October 17th, 2004 - (116 kB)
---------------------------------------------
Fixed more typos and small errors. More people helped out this time, so I made
a list for people finding such smaller mistakes.
Version 1.01 -> September 27th, 2004 - (116 kB)
-----------------------------------------------
Less than 24 hours online, and things had to be fixed. I didn't notice I had
used tabs in my EXP Guide, but they are gone now. Other random mistakes and
typos have been fixed as well. Thanks to FeuFeu for finding most of them.
Version 1.0 -> September 24th, 2004 - (114 kB)
----------------------------------------------
Well, this is the first version of this guide. It's complete, with all the info
you should need to finish this challenge. Let me know if you find mistakes,
typos, grammar error or whatever needs to be fixed.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.4 <> Credits
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Giving credits to whoever helped out is a golden rule here on GameFAQs and this
is the section where that will be done. I would like to thank the following:
Terence: The AI info in his Enemy Mechanics FAQ made it possible for me to
create easier strategies.
Apathetic Aardvark: I borrowed the explanation on how to get all the items on
floor 63 from his FAQ/Walkthrough. I hate explaning that part.
Thundaka: For discovering the Mythril Trick.
People helping out finding small errors and typos: FeuFeu, Mr. YonaZ, Prince,
iamthemissinglink, lolo26, essentialism.
CJayC and GameFAQs: CJayC created GameFAQs, the best place to go when you're
stuck in a game, needs tips or strategies or just want to discuss a game with
people from all around the world. This FAQ would most likely not exist if CjayC
hadn't created GameFAQs. Of course, GameFAQs wouldn't exist without the FAQ
contributors either, so thanks to everybody who put their time and effort into
making all the FAQs.
Squaresoft: For creating many of my favorite games. Keep up the good work!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.5 <> Final Words
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now that the very first LLNM Walkthrough is up, I hope this challenge will get
more attention and that more people will play it. I think it's a very good
challenge for the more advanced players that want to continue on after the
regular LLG, and it's a shame so few people have played it. This is a very
simple challenge, with only two restrictions, and it's just as difficult as it
should be.
I hope this guide will motivate you to play the challenge, and I hope it will
be helpful if you do. Of course, the best thing is to play independent from
guides and figure out the strategies for yourself, but that's your choice. I
did write the guide after all, so don't hesitate using it if you need help.
Cheers...!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(c) Audun Arnseth (GarlandG), 2004 - 2007
===============================================================================
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