Let's Play Final Fantasy VII

[Acacia Sgt]

Chapter 13: Furetchen's time in the Spotlight

Okay, we've reached North Corel, of which Furetchen seems to be known here.

But apperantly not well-known. He even admits it. What? Anyway, the shops here don't sell anything new, so go to the left to reach the Ropeway.

Once here, Furetchen explains. There used to be a town called Corel that was into coal mining. Everything was going fine until... the Shinra came. They had plans of building that reactor we saw before. Everyone was quite happy to abandon the coal and live with the Mako, yes, even Furetchen back then. Everyone, well, except for Dyne, Furetchen's best friend. The reactor was built anyway and things seemed to be going fine, until...

Apperantly, an explosion happened at the reactor, probably at the hands of a rebel group, (Before Crisis explains this further saying the AVALANCHE before Furetchen's was responsible of this) and the town was blamed, so it ended in this. Furetchen and Dyne were away at the time it happened. Furetchen blames himself of this for having heard Shinra, since after all, he lost almost everyone back there, even his wife (So Furetchen was married? I wouldn't have known if not for this and hopefully not to a trap... ), and boards the Ropeway after. Everyone feels bad about him and boards too, well, expect for Saloma who thinks he doesn't deserve sympathy for having been involved with Shinra (very obvious she hates them A LOT then).

So, the Ropeway departs, and heads into the Golden Saucer.

This place is basically one giant amusement park, fill with stuff to do for fun and profit. Once you arrive you have to pay either 3000 Gil for a one-time pass, or 30000 for the life-time one. Get the one-time, you may not have the money for the other one, plus you can get it easier a little later. Once inside Furetchen is still angsting, and storms off. Oh well...

Now here you can take one character to explore around with Life. If you accept any of the traps it'll increase the relationship value with the one you choose, and if you decline it'll drop. This'll only happen with the first one you make either choice, so declining GJ will allow you to still change the values and choosing him first will likewise lock you out of changing them, so make your choice. The Ghost Square has a hotel which functions like an inn, but more importantly...

Yeah, haven't seen one of these in a while. With this one that's half of them now. Next go to the Wonder Square. In here you'll meet a... Caith Sith riding a Moogle (okay...)... Anyway, the cat says he's basically a fortune-teller machine and introduces himself as...

Okay, so now Furby shows up... as a doll basically... (Are we going to have a normal party member for once? Ever since Life and Furetchen we don't seem to... <_< ) Anyway, Life asks what else can he do, to which Furby says he can do things like read the future, find people, etc. Life is interested, as he may find a clue about where Sephiroth is now, but Furby can't seem to help him there, he just seems to get random answers in his fortune-telling. So much for the try, eh Life? But on the third try...

Hey! That's similar to what they later did in KH:CoM, though I'm sure it won't be true, especially with the skill Furby is showing in his fortunes.

Anyway, even Furby is surprised with the fortune, so he gets curious and decides to tag along. Yay...? Well, considering he was vital for defeating a certain red and a certain green, if you know what I mean (and no, it's not the Mario Brothers lol), then yeah, it's probably the best thing ever to happen yet. ;)

Anyway, Furby comes with a Transform and Manipulate Materia, the latter allows to control an enemy. Now getting Enemy Skills has become easier with this. Now further in the Wonder Square is where you can play games for GP. One of my favorite would be the Super Dunk. You have to score points with a basketball, holding O to gather force and release to throw, it's 1 GP for each one. It's over if you miss even once. Every 10 throws you have the chance to double your GP, but if you miss this one, it'll drop to 1. With this, you can quickly gather the GP. There is a girl here you can exchange your GP for prizes. The life-time pass is 300 GP, so I'd recommend to get this one here and now to save the trouble of wasting Gil on it later.

To continue with the plot, head to the Battle Square.

Now here everyone is death (yeah, it's becoming a pattern now)... except, it wasn't Sephiroth this time, the wounds are actually from a gun. The party fids someone still alive that with her last breath says...

Uh oh, Furethcen, what have you done??!! :o Just then, Dio, the owner of the Golden Saucer, arrives and well, mistakens the party as the ones responsible. And get sent to the Corel Prison down on ground-level in the desert. Great... <_<

Now down here head south. You cna find Mr. Coates inside the truck, he'll tell you the only way out of here is to participate in the Chocobo Races and win, but you can only get premission from the boss of the prison down here. You can rest here, though. Anyway, head to the northern cabin on the right. Furetchen'll appear. He's quick to deny he was responsible for the death up there, and explains.

Turn out, as Furetchen and Dyne were heading back, they found out about the town burning. Just then Shinra soldiers and Executive Scarlet arrive and start shooting at them. Dyne looses his step on the cliff edge and Furetchen is quick to grab his arm.

But the soldiers keep shooting and manage to hit both men's arms, causing Dyne to fall to his doom... or is it? Furetchen afterwards got himself his gun-arm, and the doc that did the operation said he had done the same thing to someone else. Hm, so Dyne survived, and since if Furethcen didn't killed those guys up there, then Dyne must have done it. Time to find him then. At this point, Furetchen is forced into the party, so you can only chose one other for the party. You can't use the PHS here so to make further changes talk to any of the party members in the cabin.

Now prepared, time to head north. Once you reach the desert's edge, you can walk there if you want, but you may get lost easily in there, fortunetly a Chocobo Cart can be (eventually) be found to have a ride back to the prison. Only than unique enemies Land Worm and Cactuar, there is nothing else here. The Cactuars do drop 10000 Gil if defeated, but are very rare to find. They also have high evasion but low HP, so use something like Matra Magic or Choco/Mog for easy hits. Don't worry, these guys won't use 1000 Needles, despite being, well, Cactuars. You'll eventually be confronted with the move later, however.

Anyway, there is a new Enemy Skill, Laser, to be found in the prison area. The Death Claws have it, and you can manipulate them for easier casting. Laser is basically a cheaper and earlier Demi2 (damage is 50% current HP) to one target, which is nice. The Bullmotors here have Matra Magic for the second Enemy Skill Materia.

Now at the desert's edge, if you head right you'll reach a scrapyard, and further in we find Dyne. Furetchen is glad to see him. Dyne... not so much. Seems after all what happened before, he has lost his sanity apperantly. He is devasted from losing his wife and daughter. Furetchen tries to calm him, saying his daughter is still alive, which turns out to be Marlene. He had returned to the town afterwards, and she was the only survivor then, so he adopted her. Dyne doesn't seem to be better hearing that, as he is set in killing everyone, even Furetchen and Marlene. Someone has to stop this guy and Furetchen takes up to the task. Alone...

Boss 12: Dyne

Furetchen has to fight this guy one-on-one. It's an easy fight, though. He can be poisoned, so use Bio. And unleash all you got and heal when needed. You'll get a Silver Armlet for winning, the next armor upgrade.

After the fight, Dyne has finally regained his senses. He regrets his actions and admits he can't possibly face Marlene, not after all this. He gives Furetchen's a pendant that used to be his wife's and then suicides by falling in the nearvy ravine.

After all this events, the party head back to Mr. Coates's. With the pendant in hand, he quickly catched up that Dyne is death. He says that as it is, they are allowed for a chance at freedom. But for that to happend:

So yeah, Life is chosen to participate in the race. You'll get up to the jockeys' room, whre you can find the Ramuh Materia, the lightning summon. If you don't get it now, you'll never be able to do so. Once you're ready to race, talk to the manager. The controls are simple. Chocobos have a Stamina gauge, and can be depleted by using [] to speed up the birds, and holding O to have it dash. Using X will slow it down. There are Manual and Auto options, you can use Start to toggle. In Manual, you can use the D-Pad to move left or right. There is a glitch you can use to have an easy victory. If you hold R1 and R2, the Stamina gauge will fill up, so use it if you have trouble winning. You can try until you win so nothing to worry about there.

Once you win, you'll be free to go. You'll get a letter from Dio. As apologies for the mix-up earlier, he'll give you a gift, and adds that he has met up with Sephiroth. He has headed out south, to Gongaga, so that's our next destination apperantly. Youll be back in the Wolrd Map now, aboard Dio's gift.

A Buggy. In addition of faster traveling, this thing can cross through rivers and desert. You can even bring it with you in the boat between Costa del Sol and Junon. Yes, you can now head back to the eastern contient. You will still get into battles in the Buggy, though. So now, we're on the move again! Until next time...

Edited October 21, 2010 by Acacia Sgt

[Acacia Sgt]

Chapter 14: Backward and Forward

Now with the Buggy on our hands, time for some backtracking. The desert around the Golden Saucer have Harpies, of which you can learn Aqualung. It's quite powerful and Water elemental. Water elemental attacks are quite few for our use, so be sure to get this one now.

The beaches to the south of the continent have Beachplugs, of which you can manipulate to obtain Big Guard. Big Guard is basically Barrier, MBarrier, and Haste on the whole party.

Now with the events of Corel Prison over, the Battle Square back at the Golden Saucer is open once again. You can head back there with North Corel's Ropeway. Basically how that place works is that for 10 GP, you can have one character battle through 8 consecutive battles.

Off course? After every battle, if you continue through the next you'll be inflicted with a disadvantage chosen by slots dependant on your battle actions or so. Since the battles get harder, it can be very tedious due to the handicaps inflicted on you. One strategy I found useful is to use Choco/Mog or Matra Magic, as they seem to always have Mini on the slots. That way you choose that one all the way keeping your Magic in shape for casting despite the defence and attack penalties. If you talked to a woman outside the Battle Square and battled through a gauntlet, she'll give you the Sprint Shoes accesories, which grants you Haste when equiped. Winning through battles here gets you BP, which can be exchanged for rewards. If you leave the Battle Square all your BP will reset back to 0.

Anyway, head back to Costa del Sol while riding the Buggy. Talking to the sailor near the ship you can pay 100 Gil to head back to Junon. Afterwards, you can skip walking all the way back to the World Map by talking to a sailor nearby to call a Heli-Taxi, which can take you there or to the other side of the upper city. Back on the world map, encounter Zemzeletts, which can be manipulated to obtain White Wind, which can heal the party. How much it heals depends on the caser's HP. So basically: Current HP = HP restored. It can also remove bad status ailments.

Since we're back here, head to Fort Condor, in time for the 4th battle. The reward is a Megaelixir. Afterwards, with the Buggy over here, you can now head into a cave northwest of Fort Condor.

Inside there is a sleeping man that can tell you how many battles you have fought and how many times you have escaped. If your number of battles fought's last two digits are both odd (as in, 11, 33, 55, etc), he'll give you some Mythril. If those two digits are even (as in, 22, 44, 66, etc. except for 00), he'll give you a Bolt Ring accesory, which nullifies lightning damage. You can only receive one Bolt Ring per playthrough, but with the Mythril you can get another one as long as you no longer carry the one you already have.

Another thing to do back here is to get the missing Enemy Skills for the second Enemy Skill Materia. Now with the Fire Ring getting Beta from the Midgar Zolom is much easier.

With all that done, time to continue onwards. South of the Golden Saucer you can find Gongaga. The area is optional to visit actually, but let's do so anyway. As soon as you enter, you'll find Reno and Rude...

Like seriously? They're talking about this...? Anyway, yes, they do. And turns out, Rude likes Esau (Maybe he should take off those shades, must be affecting his vision or something lol), while Elena likes Tseng, who likes Integrity (okay, he has no excuse...XD). The talk gets interrupted as Elena arrives and alerts of the party being there. As she goes to tell Tseng, we get to fight the other two...

Boss 13: Reno and Rude

Not a hard fight, and you can make it easier. Remember how Rede mentioned having a crush on Esau? If you have her on the fight, he'll attack the other party members and ignore her. And even if she's the only one not KO'ed, there is a 1/3 chance he'll hesitate and not attack. Now, when you defeat one, the other will run away on his next turn, so either finish the other quick, or use mutil-targeting attacks. Reno will drop a Fairy Tale, weapon for Integrity. Very usefull as it has the full 8 Materia slots. Unlinked all, though. Rude will drop an X-Potion.

Afterwards the party is surprised the Turks were waiting for them. The party members suspect a spy within the group.

Quite optimism eh Life? Well, I'm sure that isn't the case.

Anyway, after the fight, head through the right path to reach an abandoned and ruined Mako Reactor. As you head in, a helicopter arrives and the party hides.

Scarlet and Tseng seem to be looking for Materia. Scarlet talks about Huge Materia to use in some kind of 'perfect weapon'. This doesn't sounds good. After they leave, you can check the wreckage to find a Titan Summon Materia, the Earth summon. Now return to the intersection and got left. In the next branch, head right. You'll reach a village. The Materia shop sells new Materia: Mystify and Time. A house here has an old couple. They recognize in Life's eyes the mark of SOLDIER, and ask him if he knows their son, a fellow SOLDIER, though Life doesn't.

If Esau and/or Integrity are in the active party, they'll leave the house after implying they do know Zack. Talking to them outside, and they'll deny knowing Zack and quickly change the topic (considering this, it seems likely Zack was Integrity's boyfried if she recognized the name). Another house has a White M-Phone, Furby's Double Growth weapon. Nothing else to do here so head out of the village. The left path leads back to the World Map, but before exiting you can find a Deathblow Materia on the ground. The Deathblow command allows for an attack with double damage but with a penalty of 1/3 of your Hit%.

Back on the World Map, in the forests of the area you can find Touch Me's. They have the Frog Song to learn. It casts Toad and Sleep on a single target. Further in you'll cross a river and into rocky terrain. You'll soon reach a new place, Cosmo Canyon. WARNING, be sure to get off the Buggy a little away from the place. If you try to drive past Cosmo Canyon, the Buggy will break down and won't be able to leave the area, as rivers surrounds the area, forcing you to enter Cosmo Canyon anyway. And second warning, if you want to see Furetchen's date scene, be sure he is in the active party before entering the place. Why is it important all this? Well, you'll soon find out. Now entering Cosmo Canyon...

Quite the surprise now here. GJ, or Nanaki now I guess, will leave the party. Exploring a little, the inn is to the east.

Wait, 5? What happened to 4? Oh well, now back outside approach GJ. He'll say this is his hometown, a place dedicated to the study of the planet. His tribe was the protector of the place until an attack against a fellow tribe, and now is the last of his tribe. He mentions his mother dying fighting, but his father fled, and hates him for it. Just then someone calls, and GJ runs off, so follow him.

Ah, so here was No 4. Now one more to go. The Weapon/Armor shop here sells weapons that actually are better than what we have, plus Silver Armlets. I'd still hold the Double Growth weapons, but the difference in attack is now enough to consider upgrading. I'd do so, but don't sell the Double Growth weapons obviously for later use.

A door at the back of the area and you'll find Furetchen.

Now here's the thing. Talking to him will have him mention how the philosofy of Cosmo Canyon is what inspired him to create AVALANCHE. There are two choice sets to do here. The top ones will change +3 his relationship value. But if you choose the other choice in the second set, and leave and come back, the conversation will reset with the values still changed. So you can abuse this for +3 each talk until sattisfied with a fnial +3.

Keep heading upwards, you'll pass the Materia Shop. Here they sell the HP Plus and MP Plus, doing exactly what they are named for. When you reach the top, enter the house here.

Adopted to be more exact, but his grandfather nonetheless. Anyway, Bugehagen is a man full of wisdom and all that stuff. He mentions GJ's species have higher life spans than humans. GJ right now is 48 years old, which would be like 15-16 years for humans (wow, that old? :o ). He'll mention that from here you can hear the planet's cries, of which are of pain and suffering. Not good I'm afraid. GJ will mention Life and company here are in a mission to save the planet. Bugehagen then mentions they have something to see. Head back down finding a party member to edit the active party. Fill all 3 slots and head back to Bugenhage. He'll lead you upstairs to his apparatus, which a telescope and a 3D holophrafic display of space.

Cool, huh? Bugenhagen will explain about living beings and the planets. Living beings when they died their bodies return to the planet. As for their souls, they all merge and turn into some kind of spirit energy called 'Lifestream'. This energy allows for the birth of new beings who'll eventually join the Lifestream as well. Bugenhage explains that Shinra has been using this, Mako as they call it, and as a result gets used up and trashed away, no longer useful for the planet. If such thing continues the planet will eventually die.

After the lesson, head back down to ground level. The party is gathered around a campfire. Talking to them here will have them talk about stuff. Afterwards GJ will comment again about his coward father. Just then Bugenhagen arrives asking if he's still thinking that.

GJ is now forced into the party and I hope this is enough for you to stop asking <_< , so choose the remaining party member. But before following Bugenhagen, it's time for another Fort Condor battle! (yay...?) That's why I told you to not trigger the Buggy breaking down, so you can head back there. The prize are 5 Hi-Potions, despite the game saying they were Potions.

Now back to Cosmo Canyon follow where Bugenhagen went. You'll find him near a sealed door he'll unlock and join you (but obviously not as a party member). So now head inside and down.

Just beyond lies the Cave of the Gi. So what is it that Bugenhagen wants to show GJ? Well, until next time to find out.

Edited October 24, 2010 by Acacia Sgt

[Acacia Sgt]

Chapter 15: Truth

Onwards into the Cave of the Gi. This place is filled with undead, some of which can cast Death-Sentence to learn. It's basically Doom on one target, timer runs out, instant-KO. Obviously doesn't work on undead. Anyway, the cave itself is somewhat straightforward. In this room there are some little caves which house rocks, with the option to break them. Some have battles, but the last will open the path further.

Bugenhagen will explain the story about this place on the way. So basically these are the Gi's undead, the tribe that fought with GJ's. On this area some part of the floor has some sort of goo. If you run over it, you'll slip and may end up knocking the spiked wall, loosing HP. So walk over it. A path here leads to the previous area, on a ledge with the Added Effect Materia. It's like Elemental, but for Status Ailments. Back to the second area, there is a chest here with the Black M-Phone for Furby. This one has Double Growth as well, but with an extra Materia slot and more attack so it's better than the other Double Growth weapon, but the weapons of Cosmo Canyon are still stronger in Attack.

Clear as it is, the Gi were going to ambush them through here. Of course, the fact the place is filled with their undead is an obvious sign that it failed. In the next area there are 5 tunnels. The middle one is a dead-end and the outermost ones are connected, leading the middle left and middle right to check. The middle right leads to a X-Potion. The middle left is the way to go. The spider webs over the paths are forced encounters with Stingers. Frog Song is useful against these as they can be aflicted with both status ailments, making the fight easier. A chest over here has a Fairy Ring accesory, which prevents Poison and Darkness.

And that is why they failed, someone was aware of the plan. This is becoming clear about the whole thing. Now into the final area, the spirits of the Gi seems to have gathered into...

Boss 14: Gi Nattak and Soul Fire x2

This one is a little tough. The Soul Fires are capable of possessing a character. You can still control them, but they'll cast Fire2 on the character every now and then. The boss itself knows Drain and Aspil, HP and MP draining respectively, in addition of DeBarrier, which negates effects like Barrier and MBarrier. Since these guys are undead, healing spells and items can hurt them. A useful one to use is White Wind, as it's effect of removing status ailments will be reversed as well, inflicting the ones they are weak to in addition to hurting them. If you want, that X-Potion gotten earlier can one-shot the Gi Nattak. For winning you get the Wizer Staff, Integrity's 4-Slot Double Growth weapon, and some Phoenix Downs.

Afterwards, there is a Gravity Materia on the floor. Bugenhagen will say they are close now, so follow everyone to the next area. You'll be outside now, and find, GJ the most schocked, none other than Seto Kaiba, GJ's father.

Turned to stone. Bugenhagen will explain that while Seto was thought of having ran away, he actually defended the Canyon from the Gi through these tunnels. He fought until he was petrified by the enemy, but had managed to defeat them all. GJ is surprised. Bugenhagen explains only he and GJ's mother knew of this, but had decided to not tell until the time was right. At this GJ has now changed his mind, and no longer hates his father and being his son, and proudly declares himself as such. Just then, they are surprised to find actual tears falling from the statue, and GJ starts to howl. That's quite sad. :(

And if anyone even dares to think of posting: ''ZOMG! THEY ARE DUMB ON NOT USING A SOFT TO DEPETRIFIED HIM, LOLOLOLOL!!!!111!1!1!'' will have to face my wrath.

Bugenhagen says that GJ should continue traveling with Life and the others. Though he doesn't think stopping eventual death of the planet, he has come to think that something can be done to stop it's current suffering, and that they are probably the ones to be able to.

Afterwards, back at Cosmo Canyon, if the Buggy broke down, you'll be told it was repaired. The party gets ready leave, but as they do GJ appears saying he'll go with them. You'll also have a Seraph Comb in your inventory. At this point it almost doubles the Attack of your current weaponry, making GJ having the lead in damage output. And if you start once more to say about using you again constantly, I'll just ignore you.

Now to get once again on the road. But first, it's time for another Fort Condor battle. The prize is once again 5 Hi-Potion, and once again the text box claims they're Potions. This game wasn't that well proof-readed, isn't it?

Anyway, heading now beyond Cosmo Canyon, you'll soon reach the next town...

Nibelheim?! :o And it looks fine, despite being burned down 5 years ago. Well, that's enough time to rebuild... but this is still a little creepy. Especially the people here. Like half of them act as if the whole thing of years ago didn't happen, they even don't seem to know Life and Esau. And the other half, well, are covered in black coats with numbered tattoos, like that guy back in Midgar, and all talk about a Reunion and Sephiroth.

Although, a good thing of talking to them is that most will give you items, like the Platinum Fist, Esau's 4-Slot Double Growth weapon. There is nothing else to do in town, but the Shinra Mansion is still here as well. It's optional to visit, but the loot inside is worth the trip.

Inside, be sure to fight the Jerseys. They have the ???? Enemy Skill (yes, it's name is just like that). ????'s power is how much HP you've lost. So Max HP - Current HP = Damage Dealt. The Jerseys will only use it if they haven't been attacked, so do't attack until you learned it. You'll find a note here as well, it's author seems to not have wanted to be disturbed in his experiments, and has grabbed a Turk that was meddling around, experimented on him, and left him here. There is also mention about a safe and it's combination. The note also gives clues. There are 4 of them. But don't forget to grab the items here.

You can find a Silver M-Phone, Furby's 8-Slots weapon. In my opinion, I'll use these than the Double Growths, as they have higher attack, not to mention on average, you'll get the same result due to the 4x2 = 8x1 deal in comparision. Likewise, you'll find the Twin Viper and Enemy Launcher, Saloma and Furetchen's 4-Slot Double Growth weapons respectively. Now for the clues of the combination. The first one is in the back of the Enemy Launcher chest. The second near the piano of the mansion, the third near the entrance of the room with a Magic Source on the chest. And the fourth is back on the note. When it gives you the choice of checking the clues, there is a fourth, hidden option, with the last one.

The combination is: Right 36, Left 10, Right 59, Right 97. These are the actual numbers, keep in mind. Now for the tedious part.

You have 20 seconds to open the safe. When you reach each number, you have to press O. If you by accident get ahead by even 1 number, you'll have to start from the beggining. Even saying it's tedious would be an understatement. <_< Anyway, once it's open...

Boss 15: Lost Number

This guy pops out. Now this optional boss is very tough. Casting Big Guard is very helpful. At first the fight is not that hard, but once his HP reaches half he'll morph into one of his halves. If it was hit by a physical attack, it'll be his form with high defense only magical attacks will be effective. And vice versa if it was attacked with a magical attack. As long as you keep Big Guard and use spells like Beta, Aqualung, and White Wind, you'll be fine. By winning you'll get the Cosmo Memory. These, along with others, are the most powerful Limit Breaks that the party can get. They are all of the highest level, 4, so it'll be still a while until you'll be able to use them. Cosmo Memory would be GJ's.

After the battle you can find the Odin Summon Materia on the floor. Inflicts instant-death to all enemies, with a powerful attack if the enemies are immune to it. Inside the safe lies the Key to the Basement, grab it. Now into the basement itself. Before heading into the library, now with the key you can open the door to the side of the passage. Inside you'll find some coffins. Guess what are we going to find inside one of them...

Well, if you guessed a vampire, you're sort of right. :/ So yeah, this guy here has been in the coffin for quite some time he says. He mentions he's here because of atonement of a sin. Great, so he's an emo vampire-wannabe lol. Anyway, when Life mentions about Sephiroth, both are surprised the other knows. Life asks who he is.

Yeah, he's Sporon/Soren. No wonder he is down here acting so emo lol. Anyway, Sporon then mentions he used to be a Turk, while Life says the same about being in SOLDIER. Sporon asks if he knows about someone called Lucrecia. Life says no, and Sporon mentions she was a scientist working on the Jenova Proyect, and is actually Sephiroth's mother. Life is surprised to know that since Sephiroth mentioned Jenova was his mother. Sporon says that is not true. He mentions Lucrecia used to be his lover (and no, he isn't Sephiroth's father despite what you may think with this information), and with the way things went, that Lucrecia got involved in Gast's proyect and with how Sephiroth is now, he blames himself for it. So yeah, he's down here angsting and being all emo like.

Anyway, he says the party to leave him alone (Geez, we get it already emo! lol). So leave the room and try to head back upstairs. As you do, however, Sporon will catch up saying if they know of Hojo. When Life says they do and are going after Sephiroth, Sporon says he has decided to go with them. So yeah, he joins us now. He's also the other optional party member of this game. His weapons are guns. Remember that one we got all the way back in Kalm? Well, now to put it in use. It's his 3-Slot Double Growth weapon. Now with Sporon in the party, head into the library.

In here, you'll find Sephiroth again.

He also mentions that Reunion. His comment about Jenova makes Life suspect Jenova may not be an actual Cetra, but Sephiroth just says he'll head north, beyond Mt. Nibel, and leaves before dropping a Destruct Materia. Grab it, and now it's time to get out of here.

Nibelheim has nothing else of interest, so heal up and when you're ready, head north back into the World Map. Until next time.

Edited October 25, 2010 by Acacia Sgt

[Momo]

If he was a Turk, where the hell did he get those clothes?

[grandjackal]

I always liked the cave of the Gi. Such a creepy dungeon, but has such nice treasure. Speaking of the Black Megaphone though, you gotta keep in mind that Cait Sith is a more magic oriented character statistically speaking. Though the weapon form the latest shop is probably stronger as you say, Cait probably prefers the double growth on his weapon.

Clear as it is, the Gi were going to ambush them through here. Of course, the fact the place is filled with their undead is an obvious sign that it failed. In the next area there are 5 tunnels. The middle one is a dead-end and the outermost ones are connected, leading the middle left and middle right to check. The middle right leads to a X-Potion. The middle left is the way to go. The spider webs over the paths are forced encounters with Stingers. Frog Song is useful against these as they can be aflicted with both status ailments, making the fight easier. A chest over here has a Fairy Ring accesory, which prevents Poison and Darkness.

Hate those spiders. Didn't know they were vulnerable to Frog Song though.

Inside, be sure to fight the Jerseys. They have the ???? Enemy Skill (yes, it's name is just like that). ????'s power is how much HP you've lost. So Max HP - Current HP = Damage Dealt. The Jerseys will only use it if they haven't been attacked, so do't attack until you learned it. You'll find a note here as well, it's author seems to not have wanted to be disturbed in his experiments, and has grabbed a Turk that was meddling around, experimented on him, and left him here. There is also mention about a safe and it's combination. The note also gives clues. There are 4 of them. But don't forget to grab the items here.

I'm surprised you didn't mention how annoying this detour is due to those damned Pumpkin Heads with their Funny Breath. If ever there is a remake of this game, those things betterbe renamed Trollfaces.

You can find a Silver M-Phone, Furby's 8-Slots weapon. In my opinion, I'll use these than the Double Growths, as they have higher attack, not to mention on average, you'll get the same result due to the 4x2 = 8x1 deal in comparision. Likewise, you'll find the Twin Viper and Enemy Launcher, Saloma and Furetchen's 4-Slot Double Growth weapons respectively.

Well, it's not quite an exact trade off because even though you're growing a greater quantity of materia witht he 8 slots, you aren't growing them at double the rate. Double growth weapons allow you to get stronger spells earlier, 8 slots just gives you more materia to equip at a time. That being said, Cait indeed probably prefers the 8 slots for above mentioned reasons, and hte added attack doesn't hurt either. Though, it might be mitigated due to the fact that if you're equipping so much materia, that's quite a bit of attack power lost.

By winning you'll get the Cosmo Memory. These, along with others, are the most powerful Limit Breaks that the party can get. They are all of the highest level, 4, so it'll be still a while until you'll be able to use them. Cosmo Memory would be GJ's.

Technically not my strongest limit. My best nuke for random encounters? Sure. But for a boss fight I'd prefer multi-hit, since that can do more damage than a 9999 roof for a single hit. Earth Rave or Stardust Ray are probably preferred for such occasions.

Wish I had a better one than Earth Rave. Stupid ground only limit...

He also mentions that Reunion. His comment about Jenova makes Life suspect Jenova may not be an actual Cetra, but Sephiroth just says he'll head north, beyond Mt. Nibel, and leaves before dropping a Destruct Materia. Grab it, and now it's time to get out of here.

Well, he doesn't so much DROP the Destruct materia as much as he beams you with it.

Nibelheim has nothing else of interest, so heal up and when you're ready, head north back into the World Map. Until next time.

Ahh yes, Mt. Nibel is next. Probably the most annoying dungeon in the game, since it's so damn hard to see the path forward, all the treasures are so out of the way, you can wind up going the wrong direction towards the reactor (which is pointless to visit. Seriously, side-quest opportunity wasted much?), and the boss is a troll imo. He's also a noob trap because you just got Vincent, and a noob would be all like "Oh cool, new character!" put him in their team and so when they go to fight him and have Vincent use his limit break...he ends up not only uncontrollably healing the boss from time to time, but you can't make him stop outside of flat out killing him.

Stupid Materia Keeper...

[Acacia Sgt]

Well, it's not quite an exact trade off because even though you're growing a greater quantity of materia witht he 8 slots, you aren't growing them at double the rate. Double growth weapons allow you to get stronger spells earlier, 8 slots just gives you more materia to equip at a time. That being said, Cait indeed probably prefers the 8 slots for above mentioned reasons, and hte added attack doesn't hurt either. Though, it might be mitigated due to the fact that if you're equipping so much materia, that's quite a bit of attack power lost.

Well, that's whay I mentioned it was on average. If the AP you gained were more set, then yeah, but it all depends if you just mostly fight through or stay a little to grind. Besides, if you want powerful spells at this point Enemy Skills are already covering that. Beta, Aqualung, Big Guard, White Wind, all these are pretty much covering your magic needs for no stat alterations that the Magic Materia has.

Technically not my strongest limit. My best nuke for random encounters? Sure. But for a boss fight I'd prefer multi-hit, since that can do more damage than a 9999 roof for a single hit. Earth Rave or Stardust Ray are probably preferred for such occasions.

Wish I had a better one than Earth Rave. Stupid ground only limit...

Well, but what are you going to be doing most of the time in this game? Fighting bosses or random crowds of enemies? Either way, it is quite powerful.

Ahh yes, Mt. Nibel is next. Probably the most annoying dungeon in the game, since it's so damn hard to see the path forward, all the treasures are so out of the way, you can wind up going the wrong direction towards the reactor (which is pointless to visit. Seriously, side-quest opportunity wasted much?), and the boss is a troll imo. He's also a noob trap because you just got Vincent, and a noob would be all like "Oh cool, new character!" put him in their team and so when they go to fight him and have Vincent use his limit break...he ends up not only uncontrollably healing the boss from time to time, but you can't make him stop outside of flat out killing him.

Stupid Materia Keeper...

Well, what's wrong with the reactor being there just for show? Not everything in a game has to be for a purpose in the gameplay other than to visit or something. It is a world, with stuff, it adds to the atmosphere. Besides, it had it's purpose in the Kalm Flashback so there, it's time of usefulness has just passed, that's all.

[Acacia Sgt]

Chapter 16: @&%$#!

Okay, time to cross Mt. Nibel. The path is straighforward with a few side-paths leading to the Rune Blade and Great Barrette, Life's and GJ's 4-Slot Double Growth weapons. Once you cross the are you'll find the bridge. Don't worry, it won't fall like last time. Afterwards you'll be here:

First of all, head down the ladder to release one below it to have a shortcut up. After drop down through Tube #2 for a Powersoul, Esau's 4-Slot Double Growth weapon. This one also powers up if Esau's HP is low so use it upon risk, you've been warned. Now drop through Tube #4 for an All Materia. The boss is down here, but first, head south, and drop down into the cave below.

Remember that Dragon Sephiroth easily defeated in the flashback? Well, you can fight them here. They are still tough to fight but you can steal Gold Armlets from them. They are the next armor upgrade. They also know the Flame Thrower Enemy Skill. Now here you'll walk through the same path to the reactor as in the flashback, now grabbing an Elemental Materia and Sniper CR. This last one is a weapon for Sporon. It increases his Hit% to max, 255. Now he no longer has to fear of Darkness and can use Deathblow safely. Anyway, you'll be back in the pipes room. Now to fight the boss.

Boss 16: Materia Keeper

This fight can be somewhat tough. It knows the Trine Enemy Skill. It's a powerfull lightning attack on all targets, as powerful as Bolt3. Be sure to learn it know as it's one of the few Enemy Skills you have limited chances to learn. Usage of Bolt Ring, Lightning=Elemental on armor, and Big Guard can lessen Trine's damage. Other than that, it's not that tough, it only has high HP. It can cast Cure2 when it gets low but that's only postpoing the inevitable. Winning gets you a Jem Ring accesory which prevents Paralyse, Petrify, and Slow-Numb.

Afterwards, grab the Counter Materia, it allows to counter attacks of course. The exit back to the World Map is just a little beyond.

Once back here, head north into Rocket Town.

Well, should be ovbious why it's called like that.

Anyway, the Armor/Accesory shop here sells Gold Armlets if you didn't bothered to steal from the Dragons. Near the Item shop is an old man that asks if you want to see the rocket with him. Do so and he'll give you a Yoshiyuki, weapon for Life. It has only 2 slots but can deal double damage is one party member is KO'ed and triple if both. Again, use at your own risk. The Item shop itself sells new Materia: Barrier and Exit. Barrier is virtually obsolet if you have Big Guard, but get it anyway for another thing to get from it.

Once you're done, get into the backmost house. In the backyard, you'll find an airplane, the Tiny Bronco. The party thinks of using it to chase after Sephiroth. Just then, a woman named Shera arrives.

She also mentions Rufus is on his way here. Now that we talked to her, it's time for another Fort Condor battle. Yeah, going there and back is now bothersome due to having to pass through Mt. Nibel twice, but anyway, the prize is a Superball, weapon for Saloma. It's as powerful as the Seraph Combbut has no slots. Now with that out of the way, let's talk to the Captain shall we? ;)

Head into the rocket, climb the stairs and enter. He's right here, and is...

None other than me, and my theme even starts to play for the scene.

And finally, I enter the scene, took long enough, eh? Anyway, I say no to borrowing the plane. So much for that. Asking about the rocket, and I'll explain it's the Shinra No. 26, and 5 years ago it was going to fullfill the goal of the Shinra Space Division by sending it to space, with me as pilot to become to the first man in space. But due to an accident involving Shera, said dream got grounded (lol). Shinra canceled the program in favor of profiting with Mako, and so much for this.

Anyway, head back to my house. And I proceed to treat my guests the best I can:

Heh, in-game me is so much the opposite of Real-Life me. XD After I proceed to work on the Tiny Bronco. The party ask Shera why I act the way I act and goes on to explain. Flashback time!

Turns out, on the day of the launch, the final preparations were being done.

As excited as I was for this day, I told her to hurry up and leave while there was still time. But when countdown started, she was still down there making sure everything was fine. And now I faced a very big dilema: continue with the launch and she would die as the area she's in would overheat, or cancel the launch but save her life.

Since I wasn't going to let her die, I cancel the launch.

I'm sure the rocket wouldn't end like that with the sudden stop. Oh well...

And so the rest I already said it back in the rocket. So yeah, and I basically yell at her and treat her bad for this. If you think that's bad just see Shera who doesn't protest or does anything against it as she blames herself as well and is why she's basically my maid now. What a happy couple we make, eh? lol

Anyway, not long after this Rufus finally arrives. I quickly go to talk to him in hopes it's because he's reopening the Space Program. Well, it turns out it's not because of that.

Turns out Rufus plans to use it to chase after Sephiroth who is now crossing the ocean. As I argue against giving up my plane, Shera tells the party that now it's their chance to grab the plane. But as you go back there, you'll find Palmer. He recognizes them, and so fights them...

Boss 17: Palmer

Compared to the last bosses, this one's easy. Just cast Big Guard and unleash all you got. You can posion him with Bio/Bio2 or use Choco/Mog to Stop him. either way, ti shouldn't be too hard. You'll get an Edincoat for winning. It's defense is better than the Gold Armlets' and has 8 unlinked slots as well. As a final note, is it just me, or his evade is very high? Every time I fought him my physical attacks mostly missed. Not even Deathblow!Sniper CR!Sporon could hit that well, but at least better and more often. that's the power of 255 Hit% I tell you. :D

Anyway, still in the battle screen before the EXP, AP, Gil, and Item gains, after Palmer's defeat the Tiny Bronco will start up and moves, almost knocking down Palmer, who ducks just in time and proceeds to run away, except that...

HAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!

Anyway, Big Lipped Aligator Moment much? The truck doesn't even appears before or after the battle screen, and zero importance whatsoever. It's just there for a few seconds to knock Palmer and is never seen again. Moving on...

The party quickly jumps into the plane as it takes off.

Hey, don't leave me behind!!

Unfortunetly the Shinra soldiers manage to hit the plane, sending it to a forced landing on the ocean. It won't fly anymore. Fortunetly we can use it as a boat, opening new areas for exploration. And I, disliking Shinra like the party, join the party as well knowing what they are up to. And finally, the cast is complete!

Fortunetly Rufus told me where exactly Sephiroth was heading. But first, optional things to do now that we have the Tiny Bronco. It can only travel through shallow water and rives, we can disembark on any shore. So, until next time!

[Momo]

Only fitting that you get to be the best character in the game.

Where the hell is that surge protector money going, if it isn't towards building planes? The Shinra company needs to do an investigation on their accounting.

Edited October 27, 2010 by Saloma

[Acacia Sgt]

Chapter 17: Time for Sidequest

Now that we have the Tiny Bronco, it's time for more optional stuff. First, heading to the north continent. Disembark on the south to find the Bone Village nearby. It's an excavation site where eventually we may dug up some stuff from here, but not for the moment. A guy here sells new equipment, Rune and Diamond Bangles. The Rune Bangles have 4 unlinked slots and Double Growth, while the Diamond Bangles have 5 with two linked pairs but regular growth. I'd get a few of both, as both will be of use.

Afterwards, head north into a forest, then further north. You won't be able to move further from here, but there is a Materia to find here. This one is actually moving around the place. It'll appear for a few seconds, then disappear, reappear somewhere else, and repeat.

After this small chase, you'll get the Kyata Summon Materia. When summoned Kyata unleashes a tri-elemental attack (Fire, Lightning, and Ice). Now, this is a double-edge sword. Due to the nature of the multi element of the attack, the overall damage will increase if the targets are weak to either or more of the elements, but will decrease if they even resist, are immune, or absorb even one. And, despite it, linking it to an Elemental Materia will result in nothing, so it's basically a reverse situation of Choco/Mog's.

That's all to do here for now. A guy back at the Bone Village mentions that a man in black (Sephiroth of course) passing through here, but heading back saying something about the Temple of the Ancients, which is supposedly found south in the eastern continent, and you can only enter if you have a 'Keystone'. Well, let's head back there. But instead, let's first go to a single house found near Gongaga.

Inside you'll find a Weapon Dealer. Talking to him will result in choices about what to talk to him about. About the Keystone, he used to have it, but says he has sell it to Dio. We'll go to the Golden Saucer later, but first, keep talking to him. About the Temple of the Ancients, he'll mention that legends say there is a powerful Materia of destruction inside, but doesn't believe the Materia and Temple exist. Talking to him about something else, he'll say...

You should have a Mythril if you talked to that old man. After giving him the Mythril, you can open either the big chest on the floor or small chest on the wall for your reward. The big one has a Gold Armlet, the small one has the Great Gospel, Integrity's L4 Limit Break, and quite game-breaking I may add. I'd definetly go for it than the Gold Armlet. And interesting note here, is that if you go back for more Mythril, you can exchange it for another prize, and so on, as long as you keep choosing the Great Gospel. Not sure why to bother to stock on them but it's there. So yeah...

Anyway, it's time for another Fort Condor battle, and with the Tiny Bronco it should be easier to reach the place now. The prize are 3 Turbo Ethers. Now, head to the westermost land on the map, that long island streching from north to south. Disembark on the southern shore and head north up some cliff-face. At the top you'll be sent into a little scene. This is the start of a sidequest, but Saloma has to have joined to access it. You can only do this one in Disks 1 or 2, so I'd say to do it now being the earliest to do so. It's not quite hard, only thing to warn is to stock on items beforehand.

So, once you enter the scene, Saloma (doesn't matter if she's in the active party or not), will appear saying she knows the area ahead, and is dangerous. The party will suspect she's up to something, and just then Shinra Soldiers appear. They don't seem to specifically be looking for us, all while Saloma quickly says she's not responsible for this. For 'this'?! And she runs north as we get attacked by the sodliers anyway. They are not that tough, but you may be quickly aware of something, but the party doesn't realize until after the battle that, well, their Materia is gone...

WHY YOU LITTLE...?! Anyway, no turning back now, we have to continue on. By the way, if you had enough Materia, you'll still have some left. Saloma usually steals a set number and goes for the most important or rare ones. So you'll usually end with basic ones like Restore or something. Anyway, after the scene you'll be back in the World Map, keep heading north until you reach Wutai, that placed that used to be in war with Shinra, and well, lost. We'll have to chase Saloma around the place. First, head to the bar. You'll find the Turks here. Elena wants a fight, but Reno says they're on vacation and decide to not fight us today. Even Rude agrees, to which Elena has no choice but to leave us for now as well. Good for us I guess.

Head out and northwest to another part of town. The house to the east has a place where we can rest for free. To the left is a secret hallway (behind the wall, you have to press O like with any other door) with a Magic Shuriken, weapon for Saloma (this should be clue enough that she'll rejoin once this is over). To the right side of the house is another secret hallway with a Hairpin, weapon for GJ which is long ranged but has no slots.

Now talk to the man lying nearby. He, called Godo, will deny knowing Saloma, and will comment about Shinra soldiers being around, and ask if we're related to them, and if we do, we should leave like, now. Just then Saloma appears and calls him a coward, that just because he lost once to Shinra he shoudln't just accept it like that and should follow our example as we continue to fight against them. Godo is not amused, and both of them start arguing, ending with...

So Godo is Saloma's father, eh? Well, Saloma being a ninja and this being a Japan-styled town, what should we not expect? Trying to follow Saloma after this scene will get you nothing, so get out and back into the main part of town. Head into the house nearest the Save Point, and open the chest here for an MP Absorb, allowing you to, well, drain MP from enemies and aquire it if you link it to a Materia and use that one. Then suddenly...

WHY YOU LITTLE...?! (Exepct this to turn into a running gag while here) Anyway, head into the house nearest the town's entrance, and talk to the people here, then check the screen on the left. Saloma will quickly flee. Follow her outside then check the pot near the pub. The party will catch her this time (FINALLY! <_< ), and Saloma will agree on returning the Materia. As they all leave some Shinra soldiers will enter the Pub.

Must be the one those soldiers from before were searching. Reno will pull the 'We're on Holiday' card again, but the soldiers say Headquarters itself sent that order. Reno insists, and the soldiers leave on their own. Elena protests they shouldn't act like that being Turks, but Reno says one shouldn't be that focused on their work, lest they are fools. Elena leaves anyway. Meanwhile, with the party, Saloma will lead you to where the Materia is. Follow her.

And find the last of those fliers. We'll soon claim the reward, but for now, the Materia. Down here, Saloma will first tell you why she stole the Materia. Wutai used to be a grand place, but after the war with Shinra, it basically became a resort town. So Saloma went traveling the world thinking:

1) Get Materia

2) Sell Materia

3) ????

4) PROFIT!

Or something like that I guess. Anyway, she'll tell you to pull the left lever here, but it doesn't matter which one you actually pull since...

WHY YOU LITTLE...?! Pull the lever again to free the party and head out. Go back to the northwest part and ring the bell here. A door will appear. Inside you'll find none other than...

WHY YOU LITTLE...?! (Okay, this wasn't because of Saloma) Yeah, this guy again. He'll comment of how he has now two girls under his possession. Two? Ah, turns out he has Elena captured as well. Oh boy, he'll be in for a surprise with Saloma. lol Get the chests here before heading up. Shinra soldiers will block the Don's escape path, but he'll quickly get out of the way and we end up fighting them instead while he runs. Now head outside you'll find Reno and Rude. Both parties agree to focus on their common target than each other, and Reno says they went to those stone monuments on the cliff-face overlooking the city. Those are north of the main part of town so head there.

Over here, follow the Turks. At the interscection, follow Reno then go around the statue's head. Then follow Rude into a cave. You'll find a Dragoon Lance here, my 8 slots weapon. Some flames block the path so head back outside. Heal up, then go south to find the Don.

If you can't tell, he's doing mostly the same as back at Wall Market, though of course now with the candidates tied up and against their will. And by the way, he chooses Saloma. XD The party will arrive just in time, but Corneo has a trick up his sleeve.

Boss 18: Rapps

No much of a strategy here since your Materia-less so only attack, heal when needed. But, you may want to use Furetchen and his Mindblow limit break as it will drain Rapps's MP. Thing is, it's strongest attack is casting Aero3, which is powerful enough to maybe KO someone here at this point. So Mindlblow will easily take care of it. Rapps can only cast Aero3 up to 6 times (50 MP per cost with his 300 MP total), so if you manage to survive through it, the fight will be much easier. Life's Yoshiyuki will be useful as well if Aero3 KO's someone, so take that into consideration as well. For winning you get a Peace Ring.

After the fight, Corneo has one last trick, he threatens to release Elena and Saloma to their doom. But fortunetly, the Turks show up as well and prevent that from happening. And it is Corneo who falls to his doom instead. Afterwards Reno gets a call from the company saying to find Life. The party is quick to get into battle posicion again, but Reno once again says they're still off duty. Which is basically their way of saying thanks without actually disobeying the company. Very astute. Anyway, we'll be back in town and Saloma will give back the Materia now, even the MP Absorb. But their set-up will be all mixed up from what you have, so you may need to reorganize them again. Oh well, and Saloma rejoins now. Finally, this whole thing is over. We'll be back in the World Map. Now that we are here and with the Materia, let's do more optional stuff.

Razor Weeds on the green plains know Magic Hammer, an Enemy Skill which drains 100 MP from an enemy and gives it to you. Adamantaimai on the beaches know Death Force, which protects you from Instant Death until you get KO'ed or the battle ends. You can also steal Adaman Bangles from them, which have very high defense, but only two slots. Now head back into Wutai. Head straight into the house there. It's full of cats. Go upstaris to find a chest with a HP Absorb Materia. Same deal as MP Absorb except for HP instead. The Weapon Store is now selling stuff, which is mostly better than what you have right now. Now read the sign outside the Pub. This is the place those fliers were talking about. If you've read them all go inside and talk to the owner. You'll get your reward of a few Sources and a Megaelixir. Nice.

That's everything to do here for now. There is one more thing but it's best to wait until later. Now, head into the Golden Saucer. But even here, there is more optional stuff to do before moving on to the plot. The Battle Square now has Omnislash, Life's L4 Limit Break. It costs 50K BP, but by now you'll have a better set-up to fight here. A good one would be having Materia like Counter, Long Range, Enemy Skill, then many healing items, and your best weapon and armor, most likely an Adaman Bangle. Other prizes to get here would be the Championship Belt, which increases Strength and Vitality by 30. It costs around 25K, so it's still quite a job to get that many BP.

And that should be the optional stuff to do for now, so until next time with actual plot progression. And most importantly, the date scene. Oh boy, that's more blackmail for Life and now Furetchen as well.

Edited October 30, 2010 by Acacia Sgt

[Life]

With Omnislash, I am god of the overworld. So fuck you Sephy.

[grandjackal]

You forgot the Pagoda at Wutai. You can climb the tower to fight 4 enemies with Yuffie to get her lvl 4 Limit All Creation, along with the Leviathan Materia.

[Acacia Sgt]

You forgot the Pagoda at Wutai. You can climb the tower to fight 4 enemies with Yuffie to get her lvl 4 Limit All Creation, along with the Leviathan Materia.

That's what I meant with 'There is one more thing but it's best to wait until later'.

Since I want to get Trine on all 4 Enemy Skill Materias. If I do it now, the 4th one will miss out on learning it.

[Momo]

Funny that Coreno has picked a guy both times he's shown up. Maybe there's something about him we don't know ;)

[Acacia Sgt]

Funny that Coreno has picked a guy both times he's shown up. Maybe there's something about him we don't know ;)

Well, he was really surprised when he learnt Life was really a guy. Maybe he just needs... well, needed glasses or something.

Edited October 30, 2010 by Acacia Sgt

[Momo]

Are you implying my manliness can't be seen by someone? I'll have you know, the last person who did that ended up dead.

[Life]

Your signature is a deer with a fucking canary on its head. I question your manliness based on that.

[Acacia Sgt]

Chapter 18: A Night to Remember

Alternate title: Even more blackmailing for Life.

The Keystone is found in the little museum at the Battle Square. As Life tries to get his hands on it, Dio shows up. Life asks if he can borrow it, to which Dio says on one condition:

You'll be immediantly sent to the gauntlet, so be sure to be properly equipped beforehand. You don't have to win to get the Keystone, but if you do, you'll also get a Protect Vest and Choco Feather, this last one is an accesory that increases Dexterity by 10.

Head back to the Ropeway, only to find it's broken and needs to be repaired. So to pass the time, we'll be staying at the inn, a free stay courtesy of Furby since, after all, he works here. And as series tradition goes, if it's a free stay, expect stuff to happen. The whole party is here. You can have Life give another recap of what's happened so far. But of course, it's mostly stuff we already know, about Sephiroth, the Promised Land, the Cetra, the Black-Caped People with Numbered Tattos (though you leanr something new here, GJ's been tattoed with the number 13 by Hojo). Even with this, the party will still seem to not be aware of everything and just decide to continue pursuing Sephiroth, and go to their rooms, and I so happened to have fallen asleep already right there during the talk. lol

So, Life will be in his room, when suddenly enters none other than...

That's right, folks, it's what everyone's been waiting for: THE DATE SCENE! With none other than your host, me, as the narrator, and our gay pair of the night, Life and Furetchen! And tonight just so happens to be the 'all atractions are free' night. Coincidence, I think not. ;)

So, the Date Scene is composed of two parts, the Event Square, and Round Square. But, with Furetchen here, both get mostly skipped. You see, what comes first, the Event Square, is about entertainment in form of a theater, and again as if by coincidence, when you arrive it just happens that...

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! XD Yeah, Furetchen is just too manly for the guy to be fooled, unlike the traps. Now, if Life instead had went with any of those three, they'd have received the prize of participating in tonight's play. You would get to choose how it plays out, some outcomes with hilarious results, but there won't be any of that since Furetchen went with Life instead. Now, into the Round Square. It's a Ropeway-like trip around the Gold Saucer.

I tell you, this almost looked like a conspiracy all set-up for the Date Scene. There can't be that many coincidences, does it? Anyway, the two of them board and go on their merry way.

lol You can have Life move his head around with the D-Pad, looking at the window will give some some views of the Gold Saucer attractions, and them some fireworks. Furetchen doesn't seem too happy being here. He says Life could have taken anyone else, from the traps to... Marlene? Furetchen quickly regrets having suggested that.

You said it Furetchen! Speaking of Marlene, Furetchen gets all sentimental. He blames the Fireworks... and start shooting. Fortunetly he just fired aimlessly towards nothing. And that would be it. Again, Furetchen makes this shorter (and less hilarious). If Life had brought any of the traps it would have resulted in a longer sequence. Oh well, I guess that's the trade off for having him on the scene...

Just then, as they both head back to the Ghost Square, they stumble across Furby.

What? Don't tell me... that thief! :o Quick, after him! A small chase, just follow Furby across the squares until you finally corner him, but not in time as...

Ah, so he was the spy! But now he has nowhere to run. Knowing this, Furby now tells, well, not everything, but enough. A Shinra employee using the toy to spy on the party. He won't say who exactly he is, though. He proceeds to say to continue like this whole thing didn't happened, adding that the way the party acts makes him question and doubt the way he leads his life. Life and Furetchen are not amused. Furby expected this, and says he has no choice, and asks them to hear something:

Oh man, they captured Marlene. WHY YOU LITTLE...?! Furby says he regrets it had to come to this, but says that's how things are. He's willing to guide them to the Temple even though Shinra has the headstart on this now, and departs back to the inn. Life and Furetchen follow soon after.

Come next morning, Furby says the Temple lies east, across the sea. Now it's time to form a party. Integrity is forced to come, so you only have a choice for the remaining slot. Anyway, before heading out of the Gold Saucer, head into the Speed Square. This is optional to do, but anyway, the Speed Square is basically a railed-FPS. You fire with O and you have a power bar that depletes as you fire and replenishes as you dont. If you score 5000 points here you'll get the Umbrella, Integrity's joke weapon. Every character has one (which makes for an amusing moment later when Zack uses an Umbrella as well in Crisis Core). Well anyway, let's head out of the Gold Saucer now.

With the Keystone stolen, it's time for another Fort Condor battle, whose prize is another 3 Turbo Ethers.

The Temple of the Ancients is found south of Junon, on an island. What awaits us inside? Well, until next time to find out.

Edited October 31, 2010 by Acacia Sgt

[Acacia Sgt]

Chapter 19: The Temple of the Ancients

We're finally here, the Temple of the Ancients. Integrity is already picking up the voices of the Planet, or so. Even so she still can't completely get what it's saying. Oh well...

Just then another of those black-caped guys emerges from the entrance, and collapses. He has the 9 tatto. His last words are: 'Black Materia', before vanishing. Hm, a black materia... Let's go inside, shall we?

Inside we find none other than Tseng, injured. He mentions the Promised Land isn't what Sephiroth is after, meaning, he is here as well. He'll give us the Keystone back so we can go inside as he remains here. I wouldn't worry about him, he'll live (though unless I'm mistaken or forgot, this is the last time we see of him for the rest of the game). More importantly, let's go after Sephiroth. Place the Keystone on the altar Tseng was supporting himself on, and we will be taken inside. Note, once in, you can't get out until you complete the area.

First we'll be in a maze-like room. There is a wierd old guy here that'll run off. Okay now, take the second stairs down then the vines to the right. Then right, under the stairs, to find a Trident, weapon for me, but I'd keep the Dragoon Lance as the Trident has less attack and only 6 slots.

Now head right and climb the vines. The doorway here is sealed off, so head left. That old guy is here and will run off again. Follow him up some vines and into a room. Integrity will explain these are Spirit Bodies of the Ancients, and their role is to protect the Temple. Integrity can barely undertand him, but they all seem to be afraid of something, perhaps Sephiroth or something. Anyway, this guy here will sell you items, heal the party, and allow you to save. The chest next to him has a Silver Rifle, weapon for Sporon.

Now head out and down the vine. Then head left and down the stairs, them more stairs, and the vines to a chest for a ROCKETTO PAUNCH! Rocket Punch, weapon for Furetchen.

Now keep going up some vines. Another spirit body guy will be here. But first, head into the doorway, around, and up some vines to reach a Luck Plus Materia, which increases Luck. Now head back down and follow the guy to a new area.

Next room is a corridor with rolling stones. They, however, have a missing piece. The only way to pass through is to run, then stop where the missing part will roll.

You'll have to start over if you get squashed. Halfway through you'll have a branched path leading to a purple liquid with a Morph Materia nearby. This one allows you to morph enemies into items. It'll be quite useful especially if you plan to max stats way later on. Once you reach the end of the corridor the boulders will stop rolling. Integrity will lead you back to the purple liquid, saying it contains the knoledge of the Ancients. Or more like, a living soul. Integrity can barely understand it as well, but manages to understand something about a warning about an evil consciousness, as well as to show the party something. That something happens to be what happened before our arrival, involving the Turks and Sephiroth.

Deeper in the temple, Tseng and Elena were inspecting some images on the walls. As Elena goes on to report HQ, Sephiroth appears.

And now about time we learn of Sephiroth's goal. He plans to merge with the knowledge and wisdom of the Ancients, and become, basically, one with the Planet. And says death awaits everyone else and when they merge with the Lifestream, they'll become part of Sephiroth as well. And then is when he attacks Tseng. Creepy. Now head back to the end of the corridor. The spirit body we chased towards here will be here now, and will likewise allow you to rest and save. No item-selling, though, and continue on. You'll reach the Clock Room.

This room is simple to navigate. Press /\ to move the hands manually, O for randomly, and X to cross. If you do so manually, /\ is to go backwards and O for forward, with X to proceed. For randomly, press O again to stop the hands. But first, allow the moving hand to knock you down. You'll fight some enemies, and the chest down here has the Nail Bat, Life's joke weapon. It's easy to tell due to it's lack of Materia slots (and the name I suppose), all joke weapons lack them (The Superball (Saloma's), Hairpin (GJ's), Silver Rifle (Sporon's), and Rocket Punch (Furetchen's) are these as well, I forgot to add). Anyway, heading out of this room will lead you to the once-previously sealed doorway of the Maze Room. You'll have to backtrack to the Clock Room from here.

Back here, time to head into some of the numbered rooms. VIII contains a Megaelixir. VII the Trumpet Shell, Furby's joke weapon. V a Ribbon accesory, which protects you from almost many Status Ailments, and IIII (IV for those not aware of how 4 was previously written in Roman) has the Princess Guard, Integrity's Ultimate Weapon. Has 7 Materia slots, with 3 linked pairs, and like the Yoshiyuki, it doubles or triples it's power depending on how many party members are KO'ed. Why would we get her's this early? Well... you'll see why later. Anyway, the other rooms, except X and VI, contain either enemies or nothing. X was where we entered, so to proceed, head into VI.

You'll find another spirit body here. It'll run off as well. There is a locked door here too. The spirit body has the key.

All these caves are interconnected, but not both ways, so it can get a little mazey here too. The spirit body moves in a set course, so it's not that hard to catch him. You can also jump off to a lower level from the left side. In here there is also a chest with the Work Glove, Esau's joke weapon. Anyway, once you catch it, the door gets unlocked. Heal with the guy, then head inside. You'll find Sephiroth, saying things the party don't get. Follow him right. At the end of the hallway, he'll explain more of his plan. When the Planet gets injured, it gathers spirit energy to heal the wound. Sephiroth plans to greatly hurt the planet, then be at the center of the wound to absorb all the energy that would be required to heal the wound, merging with it and becoming basically the ruler of all souls. How he plans to accomplish that? Well...

Meteor... that is what the Black Materia contains. Sephiroth leaves, and then Life seems to have lost it, acting unlike himself... again. But quickly gets back to his senses. The party stares at the mural showing Meteor. Just then the place starts to quake, and then Sephiroth's voice says it's not him, and it's true, as it actually is...

Boss 19: Red Dragon

This fight is not too tough. Cast Big Guard and unleash the big cannons like Aqualung. Just avoid using Fire as the boss absorbs it, so that means no Beta or anything else Fire-Elemental. For winning you get a Dragon Armlet, slightly better armor than the Diamond Bangles. Not reaching Adaman Bangles' level of defense, but it does halves Fire, Ice, and Lightning attacks.

Grab the Bahamut Summon Materia the boss leaves behind. Cool, now we have Dheginsea the King of Dragons to summon. lol Now head back right. You'll find a model of the Temple. You can't take it, though. There is some writing with 'Black Materia'. Huh? Integrity will ask the Temple, and turns out:

This whole thing? :o And turns out, there are mechanisms in the form of puzzles, that once solved, will gradually shrink the Temple until you can actually use it as a Materia, but obviously killing the dude left inside. Now that's what I call... a poor plan? Not exactly flawless, mind you. Though of course, leaving the Temple as it is would be the best thing to do, if it wasn't for the fact Sephiroth could get his hands on the Temple as well leaving someone else to die. So let's do it ourselves first. But who to...?

Of course, Furby! :3 He's not even 'with us', so to speak. He even knows this, offering to use the doll to stay inside (either right there if in the party or hearing it all through the PHS). Well, of course, with Shinra without way of reaching here in time, it's not a bad idea after all. But first, we must get out of here.

Head back to the previous room, heal with the guy here, and go back to the Clock Room. You can only head into the XII room. But before you do, UNEQUIP INTEGRITY. Well, you don't have to, but at least give her a non-rare Weapon and Armor (so no Princess Guard or Umbrella or something like that). You should know why, you should know. But if you don't happen to know... well, you'll see soon enough. Anyway, the exit of the temple is right here in the XII room, but we'll have one last fight before we're out of here...

Boss 20: Demons Gate

Now this is a touhger fight than Red Dragon's. Cast Big Guard, and when it rans out, cast it again. This boss has high defense so use hard-hitters like Bahamut or throwing some weapons with the Throw Materia. White Wind is also useful when healing as the boss can inflict Slow-Numb with it's Petrif-Eye attack, or use Magic Hammer instead as Petrif-Eye uses MP. Limit Breaks are also a good way of dealing damage. Once you win you get a Gigas Armlet. It increases Strength by 30, which is nice, but has no AP growth.

Anyway, at this point is where Furby says his good-bye. And the whole scene gets even sad music. Geez guys, it's not like he's going to die. <_< Integrity asks for Furby to give one last fortune before he leaves, and is to know how much... compatible, she and Life are. Oh boy... lol Anyway, Furby's answer is very positive for that. >_< Well anyway, he now makes his way to the model of the temple, lamenting he'll 'die', but glad he's doing something to help the planet despite having spied on Life and company.

Like I mentioned, they're taking it way too seriously. :/ It's not like we're loosing him as a party member (how much you bet it'll be quite soon that 'Furby' sents another Cait Sith to us lol). If he had been here in person, then yeah, but it doesn't exactly work here since it's a doll what he's using. Anyway, outside the party will watch the Temple 'disappears' as it gets shrunk, leaving a big square-shaped hole. So until next time then...

[Acacia Sgt]

Chapter 20: OMG, HE KILLED KENNY INTEGRITY!!!

Quite the spoilerific title, isn't it? Anyway...

Alright, we got it, the Black Materia. Life and Integrity descend to get it. Integrity says that just as it is it can't be used, it's required a lot of spirit energy. Such a place would be somewhere like the Promised Land. Life thinks that, with Sephiroth not really being an Ancient, he shouldn't be able to find it.

Or not... Sephiroth says he has gained much of the knoledge and wisdom of the Ancients. And then proceeds to possess Life! :o

You then control... a kid version of Life? There is not much you can do here. Just, run around watching helplessly as Life's body slowly makes his way towards Sephiroth and... why aren't either Integrity or I doing something about it? Oh come on, my fighting style is like a Dragoon's, I can just jump down there! Oh wait, my Limit Bar's not full.

Well now, that's JUST great! After that Sephiroth flies off and Life regains his senses. Integrity asks if Life's okay, but Life is now blaming himself for what happened. Integrity tries to say otherwise but then suddenly Life starts beating her up!

GEEZ, YOU THINK!? <_< Worst timing possible! Then again, the rest of the party, especially Furby, would have no idea what's going on right now. Okay, he has an excuse. And NOW I finally do something which is to stop Life by knocking him out. Finally...

Just then Life seems to have a sort of dream. With that forest north of Bone village, and Integrity appears as well. Life apologizes for what he did, but Integrity says it's alright. She says that he doesn't have to worry, that she will take care of things. That only she, as a descendant of the Cetra, can stop Sephiroth, and then runs off. Before leaving she mentions this Sleeping Forest leads to the City of the Ancients. Just then Sephiroth appears...

Huh? What do you mean by 'we'? Just then the dream's over, and Life wakes up in Gongaga. Furetchen and Esau are here. They mention Integrity's gone. Well, Life already knew that. He mentions where Integrity is going. The other two are worried because of Sephiroth, saying they should go after her. Life has doubts of going near Sephiroth again. And rightly so. Furetchen won't stand this and they both leave. Finally back in control, head outside.

Furetchen and Esau are here. Furetchen says the choice is his, run away from it all or face it like a man. And if Sephiroth tries to control it again, they'll be there to stop him from doing something else foolish. Life fianlly composes himself, and is willing to go. Well finally!

Anyway, nothing new to do here at Gongaga so leave. The Tiny Bronco will be on the nearby beach, so get in there. It's time for another Fort Condor battle. The reward is 5 X-Potions, despite the text box having nothing on it. With this done, time to head back to Bone Village.

Now you'll play the digging minigame here. Talk to the guy standing at the doorway, he'll explain things to you. Some areas here contain treasure, but to know where they are, you can hire up to 5 diggers that'll place bombs that act as markers to pinpoint where treasure lies. You place them using [] where you stand. Afterwards you ignite them, and the diggers will face in a random direction, but always towards a treasure. You just dig where even two of their lines of sight cross. But, this won't be needed. Just choose done without placing a bomb, then dig here with []:

You'll get the Lunar Harp in a chest next morning. This is what we're looking for to be able to pass through the Sleeping Forest. You can also find other items in here, like the Buntline, a weapon for Sporon with Double Growth and 4 slots with 2 linked pairs; and my joke weapon, a Mop. Yeah... And another would be a Megaelixir. That's all gotten only once, the rest for now are items like Potions, Ethers, Turbo Ethers, and Elixirs. There would be more itmes to find later.

Anyway, with Lunar Harp in hand, head north to the Sleeping Forest. The Lunar Harp will unseal the way north. Grab the Kyata summon if you haven't yet, and before heading north, it's time for another Fort Condor battle (I know it's a long way back now, though again, they're not mandatory to do). The prize is once again 5 X-Potions, and again you get a blank text box with it.

Back here in the forest, head north.

That cave entrance over there is very odd. Why? Because there is just no way of ever being able to reach the place, despite being a vine nearby, you can't climb it. So no, it's impossible to get up there and enter. I think it's purpose may have been to house some item later discarded, and then prevented access as it was useless now. Oh well... Anyway, head under a tree trunk and you'll find a chest with a Water Ring accesory, it absorbs all Water attacks. Now go through the tree trunk untill you reach the World Map again. Head north to reach the Forgotten Capital.

At the start, head left at the first intersection. Enter the house to find a Save Point and Magic Source. Head out and continue further to the next area. Here head down the stairs to reach an Aurora Armlet. It has better defenses than the Dragon Armlet, and abosrbs Ice attacks. Now head back to the intersection and go east. The houses here have treasure as well. The first one a Guard Source, and the second has an Elixir and the third Enemy Skill Materia. Yeah, it'll take a while to fill it up to catch up with the other two. For now, just get the ones in the way, as it will be easier and saves trouble and time if we wait until we get the fourth one. There are beds here with the option to rest. You have to do so.

After the nap, Life says he feels that both Integrity and Sephiroth are here. Well, that should be a given. Anyway, if you want, head back to Fort Condor as there is another battle, for 5 more X-Potions, with another blank text box. 3 times in a row? Geez guys, how did you messed up those without knowing?

Anyway, having went there or not, now head north at the intersection. Head into the building. There is a Comet Materia at the top. Due to Meteor being plot-important, this is the closest you'll get in terms of casting it. Anyway, head downstairs now.

Keep going down until you reach a Save Point. You should know what's going to happen now, if you do. Anyway, before going further, equip the Water Ring on someone, trust me, you'll want to.

Oh look, there's Integrity. She looks like she's praying. Life tells us to wait. Now hop from pillar to pillar until he reaches Integrity. Just then, the screen goes red for a second, approach her now. Life will then take out his sword. Then remain rooted on the spot. You can't move him no matter how you try, just pressing O as if there were text boxes. Life then prepares to strike... oh no, is Sephiroth possessing him again?! What is he thinking?!

ALMOST! That was close! >_< Life manages to regain control of himself again. Now what...

INCOMING!!

OH NO HE DIDN'T?! WHY YOU LITTLE...?! Well, hope you guys Integrity didn't owe you money or something, cause there is no way you'll get it now. And that's one less trap in the world now. lol

And now, I CLIFF-HANG YOU! Until next time. MWAHAHAHAHAHA!!! >:)

Edited November 2, 2010 by Acacia Sgt

[мпд]

I like how Sephy just comes out of nowhere.

[grandjackal]

I like how Sephy just comes out of nowhere.

It's what makes Sephiroth so much like the Spanish Inquisition.

Also, lol, Cid calling Cloud a dumbass snaps him out of it. Cid's so epic.

Also, if I may say that the Temple of the Ancients is the most annoying part of the game for me aside from Wutai? Stupid flying dragons and their Southern Cross abuse...

[Momo]

It's just a little wound, some potion she fix 'em right up.

[Acacia Sgt]

It's just a little wound, some potion she fix 'em right up.

Oh man, I was saving it for next update but...

AND NO COMMENTS EITHER ABOUT USING A PHOENIX DOWN OR WHATEVER TO SAVE HER LIFE.

Heh, funny how no one said something about Seto being pretrified and using a Soft of something. Is he just not that worth of a mention of it? lol

Bah, I'll still say it next update anyway! XD

Edited November 3, 2010 by Acacia Sgt

[мпд]

Tifa is better for Cloud everyone knows.

[Life]

Shit, I wanted to be the one to kill Aerith!