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ITEMS IN THIS AREA: 'Summon Ifrit' materia, Power Source x2, Motor Drive,
Fire Ring, Double Machinegun, Turbo Ether,
Transform materia, Wizard Staff, Star Pendant,
Soft x2, Phoenix Down x10, Mind Source, Tent.
Grab the red Materia (Summon Ifrit) after the battle and wait for the
boat to dock. Talk to the people here and then go up the stairs. A
short automatic sequence follows. In the next area, go into the door
to meet a shady guy who will sell you this room for 30,000 gil; you can
sleep here for free anytime you want afterwards. Climb down the stairs
in the bottom part of the room to reach a basement with a sleeping man.
You can get a Power Source and a Motor Drive here, as well as a Fire Ring
from the treasure chest. You'll meet Mukki (from the cabaret in the
Wall Market) in the bar, as well as some of his friends. If you go down
to the beach, you'll run into Hojo (the scientist you met in the
Shinra HQ). You can talk to him if you want, but you won't get anything
out of it.
Outside of the town, head through the mountains and across the bridge.
You'll find a cave-like entrance. Talk to the man on the hill, then
keep heading north. Eventually, you'll reach a walkway that leads to
a large Makoro furnace. Head south and follow the train tracks; there's
no point in looking around here. Keep going, and you'll come across
some curving tracks and a Save Point. As you walk along the tracks, you
can get the following items: Double Machinegun, Turbo Ether, and a
Transform materia.
These tracks are rickety, and when you walk across them in certain areas
a message will appear telling you to press O so that you don't fall
through them. It's better to let yourself fall, because you can then
hold left or right and rapidly press O to land beneath the tracks. Then,
press Up to climb back up. If you landed on the left side of the tracks,
you can pick up a Wizard Staff. If you landed in the middle, you can't
get anything, but if you landed on the right side, you'll find a Star
Pendant. There are three places where you can fall through the tracks,
so be sure to get these items.
Take the upper rail path to the next area. Are your friends waiting for
you on the lower track? If they're not, then go back and take the lower
path. You'll get an option to summon them using the PHS system (NSS).
Assuming they're there, take the upper path and keep walking until you
find a wooden shed. Enter it and pick the top choice when you're
prompted to make a decision. This will lower the tracks on the bottom
path. Before returning to the lower rail path and following after your
allies, you can walk to the end of the path you're on and climb the wall;
you'll hear birds chirping if you're in the right place.
After finding the nest, you can choose to take the treasure in the nest
(the top option), or leave the birds alone (the bottom option). If you
choose the top option, you're attacked.
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TIPS: KOKATORISU (Cocatrice) LV: 17 HP: 420 MP: 0
This guy's easy; just attack until it dies. You'll get 10 Phoenix Downs
should you kill it. You can get two Softs from it; one by
stealing, the other by killing it with Morph.
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You'll get 10 Phoenix Downs after the battle is over. Cloud will then
return to the train tracks. Keep in mind that this is a one-shot deal;
whether you decide to take the treasure or not, you can only make a choice
one time. As you're traveling along the lower rail path, you'll see a
part where the track splits in two directions. Take the left path (the
one that turns back). Walk north (towards the bridge), then right (under
the first bridge). It may sound confusing, but you'll end up in a little
shack where there's a bunch of items and a man resting on a bulldozer.
There's a Mind Source and a Power Source here, and the chest has a Tent
inside of it. Leave and follow the other path across the bridge in the
next area to reach the town of North Corel.
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g o l d s a u c e r
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ITEMS IN THIS AREA: Silver Armlet, 'Summon Ramuh' materia.
There's some merchants here at North Corel and an inn. You can also
learn more about Barret here, whether he's in your party or not. When
you're done shopping and chatting, go to the sky lift. After Barret has
a flashback about his friend Dain, take the lift up to the Gold Saucer.
You can return to the World Map by heading right from the bottom area of
the town, but there's nothing to do out there (aside from saving your
game or riding around on a Chocobo).
You'll see a Save Point in the background of the first area of the Gold
Saucer, but you'll need GP (not gil, like what you've been using) to
activate it. Pay the man to get in (the first choice is for a one-time
entrance, the second choice will let you enter as often as you'd like),
and then choose the path of your choice after your companions separate.
If you try to leave the Station Square (the area where you're at; all
the areas in the Saucer are divided into 'squares'), Aeris will join
you. As you explore the rest of the Gold Saucer, you'll discover that
Shinra soldiers are snooping around, looking for Sephiroth. When
you're ready to move on, go to the Wonder Square. Here, you'll meet
Cait Sith, a would-be fortuneteller. He'll automatically join you since
you only have two members (you and your friend) at this point.
Go to the Battle Square and you'll find a bunch of dead bodies; the
handiwork of Sephiroth. As you're talking to the few who are still
alive, Dio, the proprietor of the Gold Saucer shows up and promptly
blames you for the carnage. Cait Sith makes a dash for freedom, but
after following him, the party is trapped. Dio and his henchmen then
summon three large robots that throw you and your allies through the
'Gateway to Heaven' to a desolate area, the Corel Prison, which lies
at the base of the Gold Saucer.
Here, you'll find Barret. After he runs away, examine the dead body
and talk to the other guy before going though the southern gate. There
is a treasure chest here (in the chamber at the base of the ladder), but
it's already opened (anyone know if there's supposed to be something in
it that you could have gotten earlier?)
In the second area, talk to everyone here. The building to the far
southeast is a bar, and a man inside will sell you items. After looking
around here, enter the building to the east (it doesn't matter which
entrance you take). Barret will show up once you're inside, as will
Tifa and Aeris. After Barret's flashback (in which his best friend
falls down a gorge and North Corel is razed to the ground), reassemble
your team and go back to the first area. Examine the guard (who is
dead), then either leave through the gate. If you exit by going through
the area between the gate and the building to the right, you'll end up
wandering around in a wasteland until a caravan (the same one that Tifa
was captured in) shows up. When it does, pick the top option to get a
ride back to the area beyond the gate or choose the bottom option to
stay where you are (in the middle of nowhere...you'll have to keep
wandering around until the caravan shows up again).
Anyway, once you've gone past the gate, talk to the man out here and go
to the _right_. Any other direction leaves you stranded in the desert
(read the above paragraph again if you want to get back on track). This
takes you to the caryard. Go up from here and you'll run into none
other than Dain (the guy from Barret's flashback). He tells Barret
about Erenoa and Marlene (who is actually his daughter), then (for what
reason, I have no idea), decides to attack Barret. In the battle,
you're forced to fight using just Barret.
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BOSS TIPS: DAIN LV: 23 HP: 1200 MP: 20
The easiest way to kill this boss is simply let him hit you; his attacks
increase your Limit meter quickly. Use the Kaifuku Materia to restore
lost life, then hit him with the Heavy Shot when your meter maxes out.
A summoning Materia (like Shiva or Ifrit) is also a good way to inflict
added damage. Just make sure you have all the MPs you need, and you can
win in no time. The boss can pull off a final attack before dying, so
keep your life up (but he can't do it if you kill him fast enough). You
get a Silver Armlet for beating him.
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After Barret's friend dies, you'll find yourself back in the trailer.
After talking to Kooshi (Coach?), you'll be invited to become a Chocobo
racer. In the elevator shaft, choose the top option to have the racing
process explained to you (NSS), or pick the bottom one to skip it. In
the room with the other men, check the alcove by the Chocobo poster for
a red Summon Materia (Ramuh). Then, talk to the girl in pink (Esuto) to
start racing.
Your controls as a Chocobo racer are:
S Speed Plus Source
X Speed Plus Down
O Dash (uses up your Dash Meter)
Select Switch between Automatic and Manual control
R1+R2 Hold these buttons to refill your Dash Meter.
The more you Dash, the slower your walking Speed Plus is, so conserve your
Dash Meter for when you really need it. You have to keep racing until
you win, so get good fast! Esuto will explain the controls to you again
prior to the race if you choose the top option, or you can conclude your
conversation with her and start racing by choosing the bottom option.
If you can't get the hang of it, then just keep racing using the
Automatic Sequence mode until you get first place.
After winning, you'll receive the Bagii (Buggy) as first prize, and can
now roam freely about the overworld and even pass through shallow rivers!
(Look for lighter-shaded fords along the rivers.) Your controls are set
up in the following manner:
X Exit buggy
O Enter buggy
T Main Menu
Select/Start World Map (press repeatedly to enlarge/hide map)
L1/R1 Rotate view (or return to side view if in overhead view)
L2/R2 Change view
You _can_ run into enemies in the buggy, so be careful. Also, you can
only return to the Golden Saucer if you take the sky lift from North
Corel Town; you can't get there using the buggy. If you go across the
river south from the Golden Saucer and look around, you'll find a house
on a peninsula; you can't explore it yet, so ignore it for now. BTW,
you can return to the desert if you get in the buggy, enter the dirt pit
surrounding the Saucer, and touch the houses at the base of the Saucer.
However, you'll find that there's nothing to do here but wander through
the desert--do so long enough and the same cart that Tifa was abducted
in will pull up and offer you a ride back to your vehicle. Choose the
top option to accept and the bottom option to stay where you are. And
as the help menu indicates, it's possible to return to Junon Town and
take the Buggy with you. After you've completed the scenario with Cid,
you can explore the house on the penninsula; you can also get Aeris's
Level 4 Limit Break manual at that point in the game (see section 14
for details).
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ITEMS IN THIS AREA: Fairy Tale, X Potion x2, 'Summon Titan' materia,
Deathblow materia, Added Effect materia,
Ether, Black M-phone, X Potion, Fairy Ring, Ether
Turbo, Wizer Staff, Demi materia (and you can get an
Elixir, Magic Source, and the Full Cure materia here
from Disc 2 onwards).
Your next goal should be to head south from the Golden Saucer across the
river to a forested area. Go into the black structure (it's called
Jungle, for some reason). Reno and Rude are here. After Elena shows
up and alerts the other Turks to your prescence, you'll be asked a
question. No matter what your answer is, you'll have to fight
Reno and Rude at the same time.
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BOSS TIPS: RENO LV: 22 HP: 2000 MP: 80
Rude LV: 23 HP: 2000 MP: 135
Use Summoning spells to even the odds at the start of the round, then go
after either one. Once you injure one enough times, he'll leave, then
the other one will. It may be better to attack Rude, since he can heal
himself and Reno, but then again, Reno can inflict more damage. In any
case, this fight isn't too hard either way. You'll get a Fairy Tale and
a X Potion should you win the battle.
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After the Turks leave, head northeast, then go north to reach a pile of
scrapped machinery. As you're looking around, Sukaretto and Tseng show
up in the Shinra helicopter and talk about 'Huge Materia' (which you'll
learn more about in Disc 2). After they leave, examine the area where
Sukaretto was standing and choose the bottom option to get the 'Summon
Titan' materia. Then go back to the first area and head left. In the
second area, there is a Deathblow materia near the left path (which
returns you to the World Map). If you take the north path, you'll
arrive at Gongaga Town.
Be sure to visit the stores (don't forget that you can climb up the pole
in the Accessory Shop to reach a room where you can buy weapons) and
get the treasure chests from the inn (X Potion) and the old man's
house (White M-phone). If you go into the far right house, you'll meet
an old couple who apparently know Cloud (or someone just like him), and
someone else named Zekkusu. When you're done here, return to the World
Map. Head southwest, then turn toward the river and go over the
shallows, and then make your way up through the mountains to reach Cosmo
Canyon. If you try to drive past the town, the buggy will short out,
so you don't really have any choice but to enter the town (and you can't
get anywhere else without the buggy, so even if you didn't drive it past
Cosmo Canyon and entered on foot, it wouldn't matter....)
When you approach the man at the gate, Red 13 will talk to him (he'll
either bound up the steps past your party if he's not with you, or he'll
just leave your party and start talking if he was with you previously).
Everyone here knows Red 13 by the name 'Nanaki'. After Red heads up the
stairs, talk to the guard and choose the bottom option to be let into the
town (Red 13 will reappear to make sure you guys get in). If he was in
your party, you'll have the option to make a new team; otherwise, you can
look around town freely. Don't miss the Save Point located in the
Tigerlily Arms Shop. In the Item Shop, there is a passage with a red
rope across it that prevents you from checking out the room in the back.
Keep this place in mind because if you return to Cosmo Canyon in Disc 2
or 3, the rope will have been removed and you can get an Elixir, a Magic
Up, and the Full Cure materia orb from the back room.
Eventually head up to the observatory, where you'll run into Red 13
and Buugen Haagen, an old geezer who knows all kinds of things. After
Red 13 leaves, go back down and talk to your friends in order to make
a new party. Then talk to Red 13 in the room connected to the inn
before returning to the observatory. Enter the side door, chat with
Buugen Haagen, and you'll see a short FMV sequence.
When it's over, return to the large bonfire to the right of the
entrance. Your friends are here. Talk to everyone here, then chat
with Red 13 a second time. Buugen Haagen will show up, and you'll
make a new group (with Red 13 as a permanent member). If you want
someone else, just talk to another ally (it doesn't matter which one).
Follow Buugen Haagen back to the sealed door above the weapons shop
and talk to him, then choose the top option. He'll open the door for
you. Enter and climb down to the very bottom of the shaft, then head
left.
In the next area, head right and up until you see a hole facing left*.
Enter it and you'll be given an option. Pick the top one to make an
opening appear nearby. Go through it, then head up and left. You'll
slide on the oil and hit a spiked wall, reducing every member's HP by
500 points. Then go south, through the hole, and head right to reach
the Combination materia you couldn't get in the first area (Additional
Effect). Go back and carefully _walk_ along the edge of the path to
avoid slipping across the oil. Then go right, up, left, down the
stairs, and through the underpassage to reach a chest with an Eeteru
inside of it. Then return to the stairs and go left, then down to
find a second chest containing a Black M-phone. Then climb back up
the stairs and head to the upper-left to leave this area.
* If you enter any of the other three holes, you'll be given the
same option, but if you choose the top choice, you'll be attacked.
Doing this doesn't seem to alter the level in any way, but you're
better off doing this after you've cleared the _whole_ area out
instead of doing it right now; I'd rather be safe than sorry, in
my opinion.
There are five passages in this area; you only want to take the 2nd and
4th passages from the left. First, take the 4th passage. When you
touch the web beyond it, you'll have to fight a giant spider (Stinger).
When you've killed it, follow the path north to find a chest with an
X Potion inside. Then go back and take the 2nd passage from the left.
Kill the Stinger that attacks you when you touch the web and then head
left and down. As you're going through the tunnel, hold right and
you'll find an alternate path that leads to yet another treasure chest.
You'll find a Fairy Ring in it. Go back up to where the web was and
walk north to find another web. Past it is the exit, but try holding
left and Cloud will go along a passage hidden by the rock that leads to
a chest. There's an Turbo Ether inside.
When you approach the giant face in the next cavern, it begins to move
and you are attacked.
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BOSS TIPS: GI*NATATAKU LV: 29 HP: 5500 MP: 200
Don't worry about the Soul Fires this boss has with him; just use your
Summon Materia, then concentrate on attacking and using Limit Breaks on
the big guy himself. If your spell Materia has hit second level, then
Cold and Lightning work nicely on him. You don't even need to worry
about your life much; the boss can be taken down before any serious
damage is done to your party. You'll get a Wizer Staff should
you be successful in battle.
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Grab the spell Materia (Demi) that's left behind and follow Buugen
Haagen up the steps. After the sequence with Red 13 and the other
creature (his father, who was transformed into metal or something?),
make a new party and leave the town. Don't worry, Red 13 will rejoin
you when you try to leave. Oh yes, the Buggy will be working again
when you leave Cosmo Canyon.