-------------------------------------------------------------------------
k a l m t o w n / c h o c o b o f a r m
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
ITEMS IN THIS AREA: Ether x3, Peacemaker, Guard Source, Choco/Mog
materia
You'll find yourselves outside of the gate after beating the boss (you
could also see this scene by going south from the church where you met
Aeris the first time). Decide who will be in your group, then head
towards the screen to exit and arrive at the World Map (the outside
world).
Outer World Controls
T Menu Screen
L2/R2 Change from overhead/side view
L1/R2 Same effect as L2/R2
Turn left/right (during side view)
Start shows World Map
Start x2 Shows Large World Map
Start x3 No map is shown
Select Same as Start
Kalm Town isn't far from Midgar; you should be able to see it if you
walk north a ways. Go into the inn to see the rest of the gang waiting
for you. Cloud will talk to the others about Sephiroth via a series of
semi-interactive flashbacks:
- You'll start off in a truck being driven by Shinra soldiers. After
talking to the soldiers and Sephiroth (Cloud's former ally in the
Shinra army and now a wanted criminal), the truck will be stopped
by a dragon. You'll have to fight it, but Sephiroth (who is Shotgun-
powerful) can kill it in two hits. In the flashback, Cloud's
portrait is different; this 'Young Cloud' is of a low level, but
Sephiroth is so strong that you need not worry about losing battles.
However, you can't control Sephiroth's actions and you can't hurt
him (because of your low level), either. Although Young Cloud comes
equipped with an Pre-emptive materia and Sephiroth has several
mastered materia equipped, you can't take them for your own (although
you can if you use a Game Shark code...see section 14). Also, Young
Cloud and Sephiroth can't use Limit Breaks (because they don't have
any).
- After the battle, you'll end up in Nivelheim, Cloud's hometown.
Talk to Sephiroth and the guards if you wish, then head north.
If you want to look around the town, feel free to, but nothing
you do during this part of the game has an affect on the rest of
your quest (although is does affect the character's questions
and reactions to Cloud's story). One thing you might want to do
is go into Tifa's house (the large building on the 'southeastern'
side of town). You can read her stuff, play the piano (if you
play the 'Highwind' theme, Cloud will act like he remembers it
from somwhere), or even search her closet (hey, they changed
'slightly-stretched underwear' to 'orthopedic underwear'. What's
the big deal? :)) Also note that you can't get Vincent Valentine
during Cloud's flashback because you can't examine the safe :(
- When you're done looking around town, go to the inn and head
upstairs. Talk to Sephiroth and choose to get some sleep.
The next day, talk to Sephiroth and get your picture taken, then
sit back and watch the FMV. When you're in control of Cloud,
head along the bridge and talk to Tifa, then talk to her again
further along the bridge and it will break. After you've
recovered, head northeast into the cave, then keep heading north.
Eventually, you'll arrive at the Jenova plant. Enter it, head
along the beams, then walk onto the wood platform and climb down
the chains and go after Sephiroth. Talk to him in the next area,
examine the chamber to the left of Sephiroth, then talk to him
twice, once to make him move out of the way and once to make Cloud
look inside the chamber. After Sephiroth goes ballistic, you'll
return to Kalm Town. Pick the top option to save your game, or
the bottom option to continue. Cloud's narrative starts off back
at Nivelheim, where he enters the large mansion at the edge of
town.
- Inside, climb the two staircases and head to the right. Enter the
lower door and make your way into the next room; if you examine
the circular part of the stone wall, a passage appears. Enter it
and climb down the spiraling walkway until you reach the bottom;
keep walking from here to find a library. Leave after Sephiroth
finishes talking. After Cloud wakes up, return to the library.
Sephiroth gives a little speech then he exits the mansion; return
to the town square. Try entering the house to your right.
- Back at the Jenova plant, return to the area with the chambers after
witnessing the struggle between Tifa and Sephiroth. Examine Tifa to
carry her out of harm's way, then run up the stairs and enter the
door that Sephiroth opened. After the FMV sequence, Cloud's
flashback ends and you are returned to Kalm Town.
Note that you have to go to Kalm Town to proceed with the game; you
can't make your way through the Mythril Mines beforehand, although you
can visit the Chocobo Farm if you want to. As for treasure, there's an
Ether in the door beneath the stairs in the house near the inn, another
Ether in the cabinet on the second floor of the house to the right of
that house, and a Peacemaker in the chest on the second floor of the
third house (take the curving stairs). If you take the normal stairs in
the same house, you can get a Guard Source in the cabinet by the little
girl. Finally, in the house on the other side of the town, there is an
Ether in the door beneath the stairs on the north wall of the first
floor. Oh, you'll be given the PHS (Party Hensei System) when you talk
to your allies on the first floor of the inn; it allows you to switch
group members whenever you want, providing that you're in the World Map
or standing on a Save Point (there are a few exceptions to this rule).
Leave the town and head east to reach the Chocobo Farm. Talk to the
Chocobo at the front end of the pen and choose the top option to see
the big yellow birds dance; you'll get the Choco/Mog materia afterwards.
Then, talk to Choco Billy (the man with the hat) in the stables behind
the pen. Choose the first option, then the 4th option, then the top
option again. Providing you have 2000 gil to spare, he'll sell you a
Chocobo Lure materia, which lets you attract chocobos to ride.
To catch a chocobo, wander around outside on the chocobo tracks (in
this area of the game, you can meet them on the light patches of
grass, too), until you are attacked. If a chocobo is one of your
opponents, then kill off the other enemies and when the battle ends,
you'll be riding the chocobo. If you attack the chocobo, it will
hurt you and the other enemies, then escape, so you'll have to try
again. Don't forget, you can only fight chocobos if you have the
Chocobo Lure materia equipped. When riding a chocobo, your can move
around normally, and you won't get attacked by enemies. You can press
X to dismount, but if you do this, the Chocobo will run away and you'll
have to catch another one.
A little to the south and directly west of the Chocobo farm is a cave,
but a creeping snake in the marsh before the cave entrance will rise up
to attack you. Instead of trying to kill it now, go get a Chocobo
instead, who can outrun the snake and enter the cave. Yes, you will
still get attacked if the snake touches your chocobo.
Note that you can run across the marsh on foot, but nothing special
happens if you do so (and it's nigh-impossible to pull off without
running into Midgar Zolom).
_________________________________________________________________________
BOSS TIPS: MIDGAR ZOLOM LV: 26 HP: 4000 MP: 348
This boss has two deadly attacks: one is a tail swipe that knocks a team
member off-screen and puts them out of commission for the rest of the
battle. The other one is the Beta enemy skill, which inflicts around
1000-1200 points of damage (which spells instant defeat if your allies
are weak, although you should try to pick up this skill if you have a
Teki no Waza equipped). Along with his bite attack, this serpent can be
a tough enemy if you try to fight him earlier in the game. It's easier
if you try to defeat him after you have Cid's airplane, since you can
use Limit Breaks and powerful summon and magic spells to kill it.
Unfortunately, you get a measly amount of EXP, AP, and gil for beating
the boss and what's worse, he reappears when you return to the World
Map, so you're right back where you started.
_________________________________________________________________________
Note that if Midgar Zolom knocks one of your allies off-screen, the
game won't end should the other members be killed; instead, you'll find
yourself standing at the edge of the marsh.
The first time you get across the marsh, you'll see a large snake
impaled on a tree. Just exit the screen to continue playing. Also, if
you get off your chocobo while on the patch of grass before the mine
entrance, he'll stay there in case you need to return to the farm (this
doesn't seem to happen all the time--I don't know why). If you're
strong enough, you can get to the Mythril Mines without ever having to
go to the Chocobo Farm.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
m i t h r i l m i n e / j u n o n t o w n
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
ITEMS IN THIS AREA: Ether, Tent, Long Range materia, Mind Source x2,
Elixir, Power Wrist, Shiva materia, Grenade or
Potion x6 or Ether x6, Enemy Skill materia, 1/35
Shinra x2, Luck Source, Power Source, Guard Source,
Speed Plus Source, Silver Glasses or HP Plus or Force
Stealer.
Inside the Mythril Mine, head northeast to find a green Ether on the
stone steps. In the chest is a Tent, so be sure to grab it. If you try
climbing up the brown vine on the western rock face, you'll find a purple
materia (Long Range). Climb back down, return to the first area, then
head left. Make your way southeast to find a chest with a Mind Source
inside, then head west to reach the next area.
Here, you'll run into some of the Turks again: Rude, Elena, and Tseng.
Once they leave, walk north. There's a chest with a Elixir inside it
and a Hi-Potion just to the north of the chest. Return to the area
where you met the Turks, climb up the vine, and go through the door to
exit the mine and return to the World Map. From now on, you can meet
Yuffie in the forests and have her join you (refer to section 8.1 for
details).
Nearby is a rocky outcropping with a huge bird statue atop it, the Condor
Fort. Enter it and choose the second option when talking to the man out
front. After climbing up the rope, you'll find yourself in a town built
into the rock itself. There is a Save Point, item shop, bedroom (you can
sleep for free), and Materia shop here. Talk to everyone. If you have
enough Gil, you can hang around and fight the 'mini-battle' as many
times as you want (it's fun!). Otherwise, leave and go northwest through
the forest to Junon Town by the shore. For information on fighting the
battles, refer to section 7.8 (Having Fun).
Once you arrive at Junon, talk to the villagers, then go down the stairs
to the shore. Here, a young girl named Purishira is playing with a
dolphin. Out of nowhere, a big flying boss shows up and attacks her,
then your party.
_________________________________________________________________________
BOSS TIPS: BOTOMUSUWARU (Bottom Swayer) LV: 23 HP: 2500 MP: 100
There's not much to worry about; just attack with Lightning or Poison-based
spells and keep your life up. Since this guy's flying, some characters
can't attack him (like Tifa), while some can (like Cloud). Find out
which guys should be casting magic and which should be attacking early on
in the battle. Sometimes, the boss puts an HP-reducing bubble around a
character. It only disappears if you cast a magic spell upon it (this
won't hurt the 'bubbled' person). If you have the Affect All materia,
you can use this to cast a spell on the bubbled person and the boss at
the same time. Before dying, the boss will attack with a wave, (he
can do this normally, but always does one before he disappears) so watch
out and make sure your hp is high enough to withstand an attack. If you
want, you can equip characters (like Barret) with weaker, long-ranged
weapons so that they can attack the boss, but it may not be worth it.
You'll receive a Power Wrist when the battle is over.
_________________________________________________________________________
After killing the boss, you'll have to revive Purishira. To do this,
watch the lung-shaped meter that appears in the upper right. Press
the S button once to make the meter start to raise. Just as it reaches
the top, press S again to make Cloud breathe into the girl's mouth.
It will take a couple of tries. Afterwards, go to the house near the
entrance to town and talk to the person there (for some reason, choosing
the top option won't make Cloud go to bed, but if you go back in the
house and try again, he will go to sleep).
During the night, Cloud will have another bad dream. In the morning,
leave and go to the house above the stairs (your friends will be
gathered near it). Purishira will give you the 'Summon Shiva' materia,
a gift for saving her life. Follow her to the shore, then talk to her
a second time. Barret will show up and the girl will keep talking;
when you have the chance, choose the middle option. Your goal in this
part of the game is to leap atop the iron beam above the electrical
tower so that you can sneak into the heart of Junon Town. Your
controls are:
X Swim faster
S Makes the dolphin flip you into the air
If you get to close to the electric blasts traveling along the tower,
you'll get shocked and will have to try again (just pick the second
option). The easiest way to get up there is to simply not move and
press S. The dolphin will miss and deposit you near the bottom of
the screen. However, you'll be perfectly positioned, so if you press
X again, Cloud will land on the beam. Once you're on it, head to the
left to get a good view of the flying airship 'Highwind'. Make your
way south (towards the 'front' of the screen) to continue.
The next area has a higher and lower level. If you investigate the box-
like switch, you'll be taken to the lower level. From there, head south
to find a building. There is a projecting roof nearby which has a door
underneath it; just press against the edge and you'll enter a hallway
filled with soldiers. In the halls, go up to find a locker room. Check
out the half-open locker and choose the second option to dress up as a
guard. When the captain of the guards asks you another question, pick
the bottom answer.
Then, leave the locker and take note of the Save Point before heading
through the door (follow the other soldiers). Now that you're outside,
go into the first alleyway. You'll come across a group of marching
soldiers. The head guard will want you to join in and march with them
perfectly, so it may take a couple of attempts before this event will
end. You also have to move your gun in time with the soldiers by
pressing and releasing the O button. Depending on how high or low the
counter was during this scene (the one in the lower right-hand corner),
you will get the following:
PERCENT NAME TYPE
21% = Grenade Item
37% - 39% = Potion x6 Item
45% (?) = Ether x6 Item
(I'll figure out the rest later....)
Afterwards, you'll have to stand at attention while Rufus and Heidegger
talk to each other...press in any direction and the captain of the guard
will tell you to get back in line. After the rest of the soldiers leave,
the captain will give you an option; choose either option and you'll
return to the locker room for some training on the next event. There,
you can try to follow the captain's orders, if you wish. When he asks
you a question, choose the top choice to try training again, or the
bottom option to finish the training. Once the soldiers leave, follow
them outside.
Now's your chance to do a little shopping and treasure hunting. You'll
run into Rude in the basement of the first weapon shop, but he won't
recognize you in your Shinra guard uniform. Go through the third door
and talk to the guard near the back of the room, then jump down to an
area with several Shinra guards and some holograms. In the far corner
of the room is a yellow materia (Enemy Skill). This place
(I believe) is similar to the 'House of Learning' back in Area 7 Town
where you could learn about the game's mechanics. On the second floor
of the same building, you can get a 1/35 soldier and a Mind Source. In
the room with the cats nearby is a Luck Source. On the third floor is a
red Power Source and a green Guard Source.
If you enter the fourth door on the other side of town, you'll find that
that Elena, Rudo, and Tseng of the Turks are here. It's a good thing
that you're in that uniform :) Go through the sixth door to find a room
with a soldier; you can check the silver trashcan for a message and pick
up a yellow Speed Source in the side room. On the floor above, you can
pick up another 1/35 soldier.
In the next area, Heidegger and Rufus show up again. You have to do
your salute according to what the captain of the guard tells you to do
(remember your training)! At the very end, all you have to do is be
facing forward: pressing any button will make you do the 'spinning gun'
salute. Unfortunately, the order of commands is random each time you
play, so just do your best. Afterwards, you can press the following
buttons to make Cloud do funny things:
S Scratch back with gun
X Put one leg forward
T Shrug
Pad Stand at attention
Depending on how well you did during the salute, Heidekkaa will give you
an item. Each 'button press' action was worth 10 points, and the final
salute was worth 30 points. Changing direction was worth 0 points, but
unless you were facing in the correct direction, any action you performed
was worth 0 points. Also, performing an action was worth 0 points if you
did it too late (although you'll get full points if you do the action
early). Your total score determines what you will receive (notice that
Rufus' reactions change depending on what item you will be given):
SCORE NAME TYPE
000 - 050 = Silver Glasses Accessory
060 - 090 = HP Plus Independent Materia
100 - 190 = Force Stealer Weapon (for Cloud)
200 = (I'll figure out this one later....)
After everyone else leaves, Red 13 (who was watching from just inside the
boat) will talk to you if you try to leave instead of boarding the boat.
Either way, you'll end up joining your friends in the boat's hull.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
s h i n - r a b o a t
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
ITEMS IN THIS AREA: Ether, Affect All materia, Wind Slash, White Cape.
Open the treasure chest to get an Ether, and be sure to pick up the blue
materia (All). Talk to the people here, then go up on the deck and
talk to everyone else; you'll notice that they are your companions
(don't miss Red 13 :)). The man in white will sell you items if you talk
to him. Once you're done, go back down and talk to Aeris, then return
to the deck and go all the way to the left; one of the guards has left,
allowing you to sneak to the front of the ship.
Here, talk to Barret, who is spying on the Shinra members. After talking
to him a couple of times, an alarm will sound. Go back to the center of
the boat to find your friends. Then, assemble your party. If you want
to change the setup, talk to your friends again. When you're ready, go
downstairs and head through the door that the one guard was standing in
front of. In the next room, watch out for enemies and climb up the
ladder, the walkway leads to a chest with a Wind Slash inside. Did you
get all the items on the boat? When you're ready, go and talk to the
captain of the guards. It turns out that he's dead. Then, Sephiroth
shows up, and summons a huge monster for you to fight before he flies
away.
_________________________________________________________________________
BOSS TIPS: JENOBA*BIRTH (Jenova*Birth) LV: 25 HP: 4000 MP: 110
Earth, Fire, and Cold magic work well against it, but don't use Poison.
Attack with your Summon Materia and hit it with everything you've got.
Keeping your HP Plus is a priority, since it can use lasers to attack one
or all members. Only use physical attacks if you are running low on MP.
The boss can cast 'Stop' on a single ally so make sure that you're not
too dependent on any one character during the battle. Some Phoenix
Tails will also come in handy, since the boss sometimes uses a laser
that hits all allies (Terror Laser) twice in a row (which can inflict
loads of damage). You'll get a White Cape when the battle is over.
_________________________________________________________________________