Final Fantasy VII

Disc 1: Bone Village and Forgotten City

Bone Village

Pilot the Tiny Bronco south and east around the tip of the eastern continent, then head north to the northern continent.

Stop at the first beach on the northern continent and head toward the large skeleton just offshore.

Talk to people in Bone Village to get an idea of what’s going on here, then go to the guy in the bone near the entrance and ask him to start digging. You can dig for good treasure if you want, but the important item is the .

For the dig:

Choose to look for the .
Place up to five workers around the lower and upper areas.
Avoid the far edges and spread them around the middle.
Detonate the bomb, watch where the workers look, then dig where their sight lines converge.

Once you have the , head for the Sleeping Forest through the dark tunnel at the top of the screen.

Sleeping Forest

On the second forest screen (the top-down view where the Sleeping Forest wakes up) you can catch the floating Kjata Materia if you did not get it earlier.

Continue straight through the forest until you reach the huge log bridge.

Optional: Fort Condor

Fort Condor Battle 11 is available now. If you are doing those battles, backtrack to the Tiny Bronco, follow the coast south and east around the lower continent, and return through the now-awake Sleeping Forest when finished.

At the log bridge screen:

The vine on the right looks suspicious, but the useful path is under the bridge.
Go right of the spiny red-coral plant and under the bridge for .
Go back around the red-coral plant and through the log. Ignore the left path after the log; it does not lead anywhere.

On the next screen, go straight, head down the long ramp, and you will appear on the overhead map in a trench.

Forgotten City

Go north to the large rock blocking the path. Save if you want, then continue to the city. You will have three path choices: left, straight, and right.

Take the right path first:

The first branch leads to a spiral-shaped building with at the top.
Exit and continue down the right path.
The next building has an and beds.
Do not sleep yet.
Behind the main column at the top, just left of the last bed, pick up the third Enemy Skill Materia.

Go back to the entrance and take the left path:

Enter the small building where you can save.
Open the chest for a .
Continue farther down the path.
In the cave, take the stairs down.
On the lower level, go all the way right for an .

Return to the city entrance and take the center path:

Go down the long path into the building at the end.
Climb to the top of the ramp to get the Comet Materia.
Partway back down the ramp, near the floating fish, there is a hidden path to the area below, but you cannot use it yet.

Now return to the building on the right path with the beds and sleep. You wake up in the middle of the night.

Optional: Fort Condor

Fort Condor Battle 12 is available now. Yes, in the middle of the night. If you’re doing this side quest, you’ll have to do it now. Backtrack through to the city entrance and leave the way you came. Finish anything else you want to do before advancing the plot (see below), and then return when finished.

Before Moving On…

This is your last chance to tie up Disc 1 loose ends.

Do you have all the enemy skills you want on all three of your Enemy Skill Materia?

Recommended Enemy Skills to obtain:

Near the Chocobo Farm, fight Midgar Zolom and learn Beta.
Near Fort Condor, manipulate Zemzelett to learn White Wind.
On beaches near Gongaga or the weapon seller, manipulate Beach Plug to learn Big Guard.
Near Wutai, manipulate Adamantaimai to learn Death Force.
In the dark green grass near Wutai, manipulate Razor Weed to learn Magic Hammer.
Ride the buggy in the desert around the Gold Saucer and manipulate a Harpy to learn Aqua-Lung.

Be strategic in which Enemy Skill Materia you junction - don’t have one character with all of them. If one equipped Enemy Skill Materia already knows a skill, another equipped Enemy Skill Materia that does not know it will not learn it. Arrange your materia so the copies that need a skill are the ones that can learn it.

NOTE: If you are a completionist, I would avoid having Yuffie learn Trine on the third Enemy Skills Materia at this time. You’ll get a fourth later, and the optional Wutai Pagoda side quest is the only way for that one to learn Trine.

You can also use this time for source farming if you want to follow the Leveling Up section.

When you are ready to advance the plot, head to the center-path of the Forgotten City and head forward to the building with the floating fish. Moonlight should now reveals a stairway. Go down the long spiral stairs and save near the bottom.

Equip any Enemy Skill Materia that does not know Aqualung. If Yuffie is in your party, there is a small bit of extra flavor during the upcoming scene.

Jenova-LIFE

When Cloud sees Aeris from the bottom of the stairs, press left and up to jump across the pylons to her. Walk over to her and examine her to start the scene.

Afterward, you fight Jenova-LIFE.

Jenova-LIFE is level 50 with 10,000 HP and 300 MP. You cannot steal from it. Let any equipped Enemy Skill Materia learn Aqualung before ending the fight.

Strong limit breaks can finish this battle quickly. If your damage is lower, use Magic Hammer three times to drain its MP, but be careful: Reflect can bounce Magic Hammer and other Enemy Skills back at you. You will receive a after the fight.

Listen to Cloud for a minute, “I’m not a puppet!” (All I hear is, “I’m a real boy!” I wonder if anyone has evaluated Cloud for a Pinocchio complex?) and then watch the “baptism” cut scene. How is Cloud standing shoulder-deep in water that she can just sink all the way down in… Oh yeah, sorry. Suspension of Disbelief. I forgot about that. Save your game BEFORE opening the console (trust me >.< - it didn’t work on a ps1. I don’t have the courage to try on my PS3) then you’ll be told when to swap the disc out. When you have control again you’ll be shown where you need to go.