Disc One




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3 .    D  I  S  C      O  N  E      W  A  L  K  T  H  R  O  U  G  H
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(Note that the beginning of this game has been altered somewhat from the
FF7 demo disc packaged with Tobal No. 1 and other FF7 demos.)

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  3 . 1      m a k o r o   p o w e r   p l a n t
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ITEMS IN THIS AREA:  Potion x3, Phoenix Down, Restore materia,
                     Assault Gun.

At the start of the game, you'll have 3 Potions, a Phoenix Down, and an
Ether.  You can't equip Materia until you reach Section 3.3, by the way.

Once you leave the train, check the body of the closest guard twice to
get two Potions.  Then head north.  You'll be attacked by some guards.
Take them out with your sword (you may win a Potion for killing them)
and then move left to go outside.  Now, talk to your teammates (Biggs,
Wedge, and Jessie), then name yourself and Barret.  Make your way to the
northwestern door, and head up in the next room to enter the heart of
the power plant.

Talk to Barret, (who joins you) and then talk to each Avalanche member
to open the doors.  After opening the second door, head right to enter
another chamber with a treasure chest (Phoenix Down).  Then, go back
and enter the elevator (you'll have to talk to Jessie first).  Press the
arrow switch to activate it.

Work your way down the stairs and go through the door to the left.  Then
follow Jessie down the ladder.  When he stops, search the area in front
of him for a Potion (it's hard to see because of the steam).  Climb
down, cross the pipes, descend the nearby ladder, and take note of
the Save Point before heading down the walkway.

Pick up the Restore materia on the ground in the next area and set the
bomb.  An alarm will sound and you'll have to fight the boss, a huge
scorpion-like machine.

_________________________________________________________________________
BOSS TIPS: GUARD SCORPION                          LV: ??  HP: 800  MP: 0

Cloud's Bolt magic works well, while Barret should be attacking.  The
Search Scope won't damage you, it just warns as to who the boss will
attack next.  When you've done enough damage, the boss will start to
shake and Barret will warn Cloud.  From this point onward, don't attack
the boss and heal yourself or simply guard until the boss attacks you.
If you try to hurt it during this time, the boss responds with a damaging
laser ray shot from his tail.  A few more hits after it stops shaking and
the boss dies.  You'll get an Assault Gun when you kill it.
_________________________________________________________________________

You now have ten minutes to escape from the power plant.  You'll need
to make your way back to the upside-down T-shaped entrance hall where
one of the Avalanche members is waiting.  (If you've played the demo
disc, know that you don't need to 'search' for the other members; just
talk to Jessie to free him and then get out.  Since Barret gets a new
gun after the battle, be sure to equip it.  Also, talk to the other
members to open the two doors on your way back.
 

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  3 . 2      m i d g a r   c i t y
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ITEMS IN THIS AREA:  Potion.

After the Avalanche members blow up the passage, head up the stairs.
You'll meet Aeris here, but she won't join you yet.  In the next
screen, there's a Potion to the southwest of the circular structure
(near the lampposts).  Walk south when you're done.  In this next area,
you'll meet up with guards and have the choice of running (bottom
choice) or fighting (top choice).  After a few more encounters with the
Shinra guards, Cloud'll jump onto the passing train and run into the
Avalanche gang.  After talking to them, walk to the 'front' of the
screen and you'll jump off into another area.  Talk to the people here
and one of the members (Jessie) will show you a picture of the Makoro
plant on the train's screen.  Approach Barret and you'll end up going
to the group's base.
 

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  3 . 3      a v a l a n c h e   b a s e
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ITEMS IN THIS AREA:  1500 gil, All materia, Ether.

Head west and go upwards.  Talk to the kid by the fence, then head west
again (there's a Save Point nearby, too).  Talk to the people here,
then check out the bar.  At the top of the tallest building in the south-
east is a bedroom.  The kid here will let you spend the night for 10 gil.

In the bar, you'll meet Tifa, who is also a member of Avalanche, as well
as Marlene, who is supposedly Barret's daughter.  After naming Tifa,
Barret shows up when you try to leave and reveals the hidden base
underneath the bar.  After talking to Barret, Tifa shows up.  Leave the
base and you'll have a short intermission with Tifa.   When you meet
Barret afterwards, he'll give you 1500 gil.  If you go to the Beginner's
Hall above the Weapon Shop outside, you can learn more about playing the
game.  You'll also find that there inside the huge cage.  The man in
the right corner of this room has a Materia by his feet (All).  Take it
and a chest will drop down that has an Ether inside of it.  If you
haven't already noticed, the two buildings that were locked the other
day are now open.

When you're ready, go back to the train station to prepare for
Avalanche's next mission.  If you like, you can go to the far right to
enter a train yard, but there's not much of interest there.
 

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  3 . 4      m a k o   r e a c t o r   n u m b e r   f i v e
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ITEMS IN THIS AREA:  Ether x2, Potion, Tent, Titan Bangle.

Board the train.  When the timer appears after you talk to Tifa, go
through each train car until Tifa jumps off one of the cars and you and
Barret follow her.  You'll end up in an underground railroad passageway.
If you go south (towards the 'front' of the screen), you'll go through
the same screen 5 times before coming to two guards who you can fight.
When the battle's over, choose the bottom option to keep fighting or the
top option to run away.  You can fight the same battle over and over,
so when you get tired of fighting, just pick the top option.  An OK place
to gain some experience, gil, and AP, if you think you'll need it.

Anyway, it's a lot faster to just head north to where the green barrier
is and go down the hatch to the west (examine it and choose the top
choice twice or the middle option once).  Pick up the Ether in the
adjoining passage, climb down the two ladders, and talk to Wedge.  Then
go up the ladder near him to reach a room where Jessie is waiting for
you.  Take the Potion that's next to him and climb down the ladder on the
far left end of the room to reach a chamber where you can find a Tent, a
Save Point, and Biggs.

Go up the ladder here to reach the No. 5 Reactor.  The room you're in
should be familiar.  Slide down the pipe and then work your way back to
the heart of the plant.  After Cloud fiddles with the machinery, go back
to the large room and climb up the stairs and into the elevator.  It'll
take you to a new floor.  Grab the contents of the treasure chest outside
(Ether) and then head to the left where there are three control panels.
You'll need to hit your panel as the same time Barret and Tifa hit
theirs (using the O button), so give it a shot.  Instead of waiting for
them to raise their arms, you'll have an easier time if you time it so
that you hit your panel _just_ before they do.  You can't use the panel
if you didn't go back to the heart of the power plant.  Afterwards, go
through the opened gate (there's a Save Point here), and head north.

In the T-shaped room, you'll be stopped by a group of guards, and then
meet President Shinra.  After that, a helicopter and a hydrofoil-like
machine show up.  The Shinra president leaves in the helicopter, but
the huge machine attacks you and your friends.

_________________________________________________________________________
BOSS TIPS: AIR BUSTER                             LV: 15  HP: 1200  MP: 0
                                                  Weak against Lightning

This machine turns to face (and attack) whomever hits it.  So, if one of
your characters is low on life, have the person on the opposite side
attack to draw the boss' attention away.  Be especially careful of it's
Big Bomber--it causes tons of damage  (but also increases your Limit
meter quickly).  Remember that even if it's back is turned, it can use a
weak machine gun attack on you.  Use potions and the Restore Materia to
keep up your HPs and use Bolt as well as your Limit Break attacks to take
this machine out.  You'll receive a Titan Bangle if you win the battle.
_________________________________________________________________________
 

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  3 . 5      m a k o r o   c i t y   s l u m s
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ITEMS IN THIS AREA:  5 gil, Potion, Phoenix Down, Cover materia, Ether.

After the battle, the boss will explode, sending Cloud off the walkway
in the ensuing blast.  When you awake, you'll find yourself in a church.
Aeris is here, and you can name her after talking to her several times.
Reno shows up afterwards with some guards.  In the next room, Aeris
falls down while trying to escape with Cloud.  Tell her to hold on.
You now have the option of fighting the guards using Aeris or trying to
bean the guards on the head with barrels on the upper floor (if you
miss, you'll have to fight using Aeris anyway).  Remember, she starts off
in the back row, so to increase damage, make her move up by choosing
'Change' at the start of each battle (do this by pressing left, then the
O button).

The correct order of barrels to drop is: the leftmost barrel (in the
back), the far right barrel (in the back), and the far right barrel
(in the front).  Simply tell Aeris to hold on each time, examine each
barrel, and choose the top option to drop it.  This way, Aeris won't
have to fight anybody.  When Aeris meets you at the top of the chapel,
she'll hook up with Cloud.

In the upper area, climb up the second beam on the left and jump out of
the hole in the roof.  After you and Aeris make it back to ground level,
head left to find a Save Point.  To the northwest is a town.  Be sure to
meet the man in the pipe near the entrance.  In one of the houses, you
can also find 5 gil if you talk to the drunk man in bed, then examine
the drawers nearby.  There are several stores here in the slums,
including one that sells Materia.  To the far, far right is a path that
leads to Aeris's house and a garden.   You can spend the night here once
you've met Elmyra, Aeris's mother.  When you wake up, look between the
desk and the bed for a Potion and a Phoenix Down.  Then, sneak downstairs
(or Aeris will make you go back to bed) and leave the house (you can do
this by not touching the walls and not running, either).  In the lower
flower bed to the right, you can get a Protect materia and an Ether.
There's another Save Point near Aeris' house if you need to use it.

Leave the town and go left to the hole in the wall.  Aeris will be here
waiting for you and will rejoin you.  In the next location, work your
way upward (by going across the hole-filled metal length, then down the
iron beams and through the passage, then up the brown pipe and finally
down the stairs and heading to the left).  After Aeris leaves you at the
playground, head east, then go north to arrive at the Wall Market.
 

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  3 . 6      w a l l   m a r k e t
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ITEMS IN THIS AREA:  Ether, Phoenix Down, Hyper.

Aeris rejoins you (again) here.  There's a Save Point in the upper-right
part of the village.  The building in the lower left is an inn, where you
can spend the night for 10 gil.  To the right of it is the entrance to a
brothel.  The building in the middle has nothing in it but a computer.
(If you touch it, a machine gun will fire at you and Cloud jumps away.
You can't do anything here until later).  Just above that building is an
item shop.  North of the shop is a sushi bar.  Finally, there is a
clothing store to the upper left and some sort of pottery store to the
upper right.  A path by the clothing store leads to another part of town.
Here, there is a gym, a restaurant, and a weapon shop.  In the northern
area lies a large building.  If you go east from here, you'll reach a
dead-end area.

Your objective in this part of the game is to sneak into the large
building where Tifa is being kept.  To do this, Cloud will have to
dress up as a woman in order to get inside since men aren't allowed
into the building.  So, follow these steps to get the items you need
to 'alter' Cloud's appearance.  You may want to read this entire
section before starting so that you'll know how your choices will
affect the game.

a)  Go to the brothel and talk to the big guy with silver hair who's
    chatting with the bouncer at the door.  Talk to him and pick the
    first option to inquire about Tifa.

b)  Go back to the building at the end of town (Corneo's mansion) and
    talk to the guy near the door.  Aeris and Cloud will move away and
    have a short conversation.  She tells Cloud that he'll have to
    dress up if he wants to find out if Tifa's okay.

c)  Return to the first screen, go to the clothing store, and talk to
    the store owner by standing near the bottom edge of the counter.
    She'll tell you that you can't get a dress unless you do something
    about her drunk father.

d)  Go to the bar in the second screen and talk to the lone man by the
    door.  During the conversation, you'll have to make two decisions.
    So when you're asked a question, pick either the first or second
    choice.  After you're done talking to the man, return to the
    clothing store.

e)  At the store, you'll see that the man from the inn is now behind
    the counter.  Talk to him and you'll receive an item based upon
    your decisions:

    - If you answered: first choice, first or second choice, you'll
      get the Cotton Dress.
    - If you answered: second choice, first choice, you'll be given
      the Satin Dress.
    - If you answered: second choice, second choice again, he'll give
      you the Silk Dress.

f)  Cloud will try on the dress, but won't actually wear it.  Leave
    the clothing store and go to the second screen.  Enter the gym
    and converse with the woman (heh) by the fighting ring.  When you
    have the chance, pick the bottom option twice to start fighting,
    although if you want to practice, you can choose the bottom
    option, then the top one.  Anyway, as soon as the message box
    disappears, start pressing the S, X, and O buttons repeatedly in
    that order.  The object of the game is to go fast enough to make
    Cloud do more squats than the African gymnast, but you don't want
    to press the buttons too fast or Cloud can't keep up.  It's not
    too hard to win since the other guy will often stop to scratch his
    head, but you only have 30 seconds, so get in as many squats as you
    can.

    - If you are able to do more squats than the gymnast, you'll be
      given the Blonde Wig.
    - If you and the gymnast have the same score, the lady will give
      you the Dyed Wig.
    - If the gymnast does better than you, then the lady will give
      you the Wig.

At this point, you can just return to the clothing shop and enter the
stall; Cloud will dress up as a woman and you can return to Corneo's
mansion to get inside.  You can also choose to not change yet and
explore more of the Wall Market, picking up items that you can use to
make Cloud more 'feminine'.  If you're finished, then skip down a ways
to find out what to do next.  Otherwise, keep reading (these events
can be done in any order):

g)  Go to the pottery shop.  When you have to choose an answer, pick
    the top one twice.  (You can't talk to him unless you chatted with
    the guard at the north building).  Then go to the inn and pay 10 gil
    to spend the night.  In the middle of the night, you'll find
    yourself in front of the vending machine in the outer hallway.  Pick
    any option (I hope you have enough gil).  The next morning, return
    to the pottery shop and talk to the man to get an item:

    - If you bought the first item (200 gil), he'll give you the
      Diamond Tiara.
    - If you bought the second item (100 gil), he'll give you the
      Ruby Tiara.
    - If you bought the third item (50 gil), he'll give you the
      Glass Tiara.

    (Note that the dialogue here was changed from the Japanese version,
    in which you were buying a 'gift' for the shopkeeper's girlfriend
    that he was too embarrassed to buy <can you guess?>  Why this was
    changed, I have no idea.)

h)  Enter the sushi bar and walk past the empty seat.  When a message
    appears, choose the top option.  Then choose any option, (you'll
    need 70 gil), followed by the middle choice ("the food was all
    right") to get a Pharmacy Coupon.  Now go to the item store and
    talk to the man behind the Counter Attack.  Choose one of the three
    options to get an item, then head back to the restaurant.  Go to
    the bathroom and talk to the woman inside.  Accept the first choice
    and:

    - You'll get the Cologne if you traded the Coupon for the
      Disinfectant.
    - You'll get the Flower Cologne if you traded the Coupon for the
      Deodorant.
    - You'll get the Sexy Cologne if you traded the Coupon for the
      Digestive (medicine).

i)  Talk to the large man in the white shirt who's standing near the
    edge of the screen in the first area to get the Member's Card.
    He won't give it to you unless you talked to the guard by the door
    of the Corneo's mansion. Head right to arrive at the brothel.
    If you talk to the bouncer, he'll let you in once he sees the Card,
    but Aeris won't come with you (yes, they messed up the dialogue
    here, too).

    Inside the Honeybee Inn, you'll find that the doors on the right side
    are locked, but if you chose the bottom option, you can look inside
    them and peer around using the control pad and the O button.  If you
    look in the upper-right keyhole, you'll see a familiar face...a small
    version of Cait Sith!  If you go to the north room and talk to the
    farthest girl on the right several times, you can choose the top
    option to make her dance faster and faster.  When you're ready (you
    better brace yourself), you can do one or the other:

    Examine the lower-left door and pick the top option twice.  In the
    room, talk to the girl and pick the top option three times to take
    a soak with Mukki and his friends.  Answer however you like while
    in the tub and Cloud will be given the Bikini briefs.

    Or, examine the upper-left door and pick the top option twice.
    Inside, talk to the ghostly Cloud near the stone tub and Cloud
    will have a psychotic episode.  When you come to, all your HP
    and MP is restored, thanks to...Mukki :(  Talk to him and choose
    the bottom option.  Then talk to the girl and you'll get the
    Lingerie.

All done?  There's nothing left to do now but return to the clothing
store and dress up as a woman.  When you finish, go to the large building
in the north and talk to the man by the food carts again.  He'll let you
into a posh-looking parlor.  Now, go up the stairs and into the door on
the far left after talking to the receptionist.  Then, go down the
staircase to the torture room (!) where you'll find Tifa and an Ether by
the smoldering coals.  Once she's joined you, head back up the stairs
and go into the middle door.  Inside is Tifa's kidnapper, the nefarious
Don Corneo.  He will examine each of you when you try to approach him.
Who he picks for his 'friend' is determined by what items you collected
in the Wall Market:

- He'll pick Cloud if you're wearing the Silk Dress, Blonde Wig, and
   have the 'best' extra items (the Diamond Tiara, Sexy Cologne, and
   Lingerie or Bikini briefs.
- He'll pick Aeris if you're wearing the Silk Dress, the Blonde Wig,
   the Lingerie and the Sexy Cologne (in addition to anything else you
   may have).
- He'll pick Tifa if you're wearing the Silk Dress, Blonde Wig, and one
   or two of the extra items not mentioned above (or anything worse than
   that).

If Corneo picked Tifa or Aeris, then read below:

In the next room, examine the item bag by the bed to get a Phoenix Down,
and talk to the man by the television set after talking to the other
henchmen.  After revealing your true nature to the love-struck goons,
they'll fight you.  This is followed by another fight with the other
three punks.  Afterward, get Aeris from the torture chamber and then
go into the middle door again (if Aeris was picked, then you'll meet
Tifa when you go outside).  When you're through intimidating Corneo,
look behind his bead for a Hyper, then stand by your allies.  He'll
make you choose one of three options.  No matter which one you choose,
you'll fall through a trapdoor.

If Corneo picked Cloud, then you'll end up in his room.  Search behind
his bed for a Hyper, then talk to him and answer anyway you like (if
you try to make Cloud kiss Corneo, then maybe you need to get out of
the house more....^_^;)  Your friends will burst in and threaten him
(yeowtch!)  and Corneo will ask you a question; pick any answer you
like and you'll still plummet to the sewers below.
 

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  3 . 7      t h e   s e w e r s  /  t r a i n   y a r d
             r e v i s i t e d
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ITEMS IN THIS AREA:  Potion x4, Phoenix Down, Steal materia,
                     Hi-Potion x3, Echo Screen, Ether x2.

Once the cut scene with the Shinra flunkies ends, you'll find yourself
in a sewer.  Before talking to Tifa or Aeris, climb up the stairs to
the south and go along the walkway to nab a Potion.  When you try to
escape, a blue monster appears attacks your party.

_________________________________________________________________________
BOSS TIPS: APS                                    LV: 18  HP: 1800  MP: 0
                                                  weak against Fire

His Sewer Tsunami attack hurts all members, so use Potions and the
Restore Materia to heal your wounds.  Luckily, the Tsunami will damage
him, too (he uses this attack as a counterattack before dying if he can
manage it).  When he does the reverse Sewer Tsunami, it causes less
damage to him.  Fire spells work the best on him.  Use Cloud's Limit
Break to harm the boss and use Aeris' Limit Break to heal yourselves.
You'll receive a Phoenix Down for winning the battle.
_________________________________________________________________________

Climb up the ladder and head right.  Go down into the sewage, then up the
stairs.  Grab the Yellow Materia (Steal) and go down the hatch.  In the
next room, go down the stairs, then climb up the side of the curved
structure.  Climb up the ladder and you'll go outside.  There's a Save
Point here.  Check out the oil drum nearby by entering the train car
(near the Save Point) to get a Hi-Potion.  Get another Hi-Potion on the
roof of adjacent car, then hop off onto the iron beam and check the oil
drum to the north for an Echo Screen.  Walk east, then south and enter
the nearby train car to get a Potion.  Climb up the ladder, head north,
and climb down again.  Go north once more through the train car, then
exit to your left to find a second Potion.  Then, go north to arrive at
the next screen.

Here, circle left around the car to get a Potion.  Circle left again to
find an oil can with an Ether inside of it.  Go north and enter the
train to the right to move the other train car out of the way.  Climb
atop the formerly blocked car to net a Hi-Potion.  Now, ride the other
train back backwards, climb onto the eastern train car, jump onto the
train you just moved, and climb across it and the last car before going
down the ladder to get back to the front part of the Train Graveyard.

Head left.  The Avalanche members will be fighting atop the support
pillar you first saw when you arrived at the base.  After Wedge plummets
to the ground, save your game at the Save Point and talk to the man on
the left if you need to buy items.  Climb up the stairs and you'll meet
Barret, who is firing at the Shinra helicopter you saw back at the
plant.  Reno will jump out, and you'll have to fight him.  Good thing
Barret joins you.  When you inflict enough damage, the boss runs away!

_________________________________________________________________________
BOSS TIPS: RENO                                   LV: 17  HP: 1000  MP: 0

This guy packs a wallop.  He can imprison your friends using his golden
Pyramid attack, and if he does this to all your members, you lose.  To
break the pyramids, attack your allies (they won't be damaged).  Watch
for his spark bolt attack (which can paralyze you) and use your Limit
Breaks whenever possible.  Ice works well on him.  For some players,
this may be the first battle they lose!  You'll get an Ether for scaring
him off should you win.
_________________________________________________________________________
 

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  3 . 8      i n t o   t h e   s k y
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ITEMS IN THIS AREA:  Sense materia, Battery x3, Ether.

After fending off the boss, Tseng will kidnap Aeris (and p**p slap her)!
As he escapes, the entire city explodes and falls down a level,
destroying it.  Cloud, Tifa, and Barret all come to in the playground at
the Sector 6 Slums.  After Barret yells for Marlene, Wedge, and his other
friends, he and Tifa join you in the next area when you try to leave.  Go
back to get a sparkling yellow Materia (Sense), before returning to Wall
Market.  The man in the pottery store will now sell you Materia, and if
you go back to the parlor, you have the option of freeing one of Don
Corneo's men from the torture chamber.  Even if you got the Member's Card
the first time around, you can no longer enter the brothel, by the way.

When you're done, leave and go south from the playground.  Return to the
Sector 5 Slum and go to Aeris's house.  Talk to Elmyra, her mother.  You
can spend the night in the upstairs bedroom once the intermission ends.
Return to the Wall Market and go to the dead-end area near the parlor.
(you'll see a bunch of kids run in there).  Climb up the pipe, and you'll
find yourself high above the town.  If you haven't gotten them already,
go to the 'Machine & Gun' store and talk to the man at the left end of
the store; he'll sell you 3 Battery for 300 gil.  You'll need them
to activate the boxes in this part of the game.  With that in mind,
examine the box-shaped object in the lower right to try and start a
nearby propeller.  Head up, and you'll jump onto the propeller.  From
there, make your way to the other box and activate the painted barrier.
Climb up it, and use the O button to jump onto the swinging metal pipe.
Despite what Cloud says, jump when it is close to you (just as it stops
squeaking).  After that, climb up to the next screen.

Here, climb up, then drop down to activate the next box and you'll find
an Ether.  Climb down the lefthand pipe and make your way back up again.
Instead of dropping down, continue up, and you'll find yourself at
Shinra's headquarters.
 

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  3 . 9      s h i n - r a   h e a d q u a r t e r s
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ITEMS IN THIS AREA:  Elixir, Elemental materia, Star Pendant, Four Slots,
                     All materia, Phoenix Down, Ether, Poison materia,
                     Grenade x1~3, Talisman, Enemy Skill materia,
                     Potion x4, Mythril Armlet, Protect Vest, Guard
                     Source.

There's a Save Point here.  You have the option of either heading to the
left and climbing up a stairwell (sneaking in) or barging in through the
front door ('kick some Shinra butt!', as Barret would say).

Going up the stairs takes forever, but it's free of enemies and you can
get an Elixir that's lying on one of the landings.  On the other hand,
going through the front door and taking the elevators in the back is
faster, but you have to fight several battles along the way.  Not only
that, but you can chase around the Shinra staff before taking the
elevator :)  (or at least, you could in the Japanese version.  They
all ran away....)  You can't use the circular lifts by the doors yet, but
you can use them once you reach the 60th floor.  If you go up the stairs,
you'll see a door marked 'Accessories'.  Inside the room, you can look
at a monitor to see a short FMV sequence about Shinra's producs (this
is the most overlooked FMV in the game).  There are two chests here, but
the lady won't let you open them.  She will sell you items, though.
Remember, if you go through the front, check the control panel in the
elevator (the one that goes haywire) after each enemy enounter in order
to continue upwards.  If you go up the stairs then change your mind and
go back down, you won't have to fight anybody on the elevators, and the
main area of the ground floor will be empty (an easy trick for not
having to fight anyone :)).

No matter what method you use, you'll eventually reach the 59th floor.
Head southeast and kill the armored guards to get the Keycard 60, then
take the lift to the 60th floor.  Here, you'll have to head to the room
in the upper-left and make it to the other side without being seen by
the patrolling guards.  In order to stay hidden from them, pause behind
the gold statues, then lead Tifa and Barret across using the O button.
If you mess up, not only to you get attacked (ambush-style combat), but
you'll have to start all over again.  Keep in mind that the set of
guards on the right half of the screen move faster than the ones on the
left.

Take the stairway up to the 61st floor.  Talk to everyone here.  A man
who asks you about Aeris will give you the Keycard 62 if you answer
"......".  On floor 62, talk to the man in the room, Domino, and the man
in white, (Hart) then check out the two library rooms.  Answer Domino's
question and he'll give you the Keycard 65.  The problem with this is
that the answer changes with each game you play.  It seems like it would
be easy enough to simply try each answer until you get it right, but you
get an Elemental Materia for free if you answer correctly the first time.
So, it's in your best interest to just reset and keep trying in order to
get the materia.  Hart will help you out if you need it, but he'll want
you to pay him first.  To get the answer, simply look for the misplaced
files, write down the first letter of the file name, and when you get
all four, try to organize them into a word.  Then talk to Domino, and
find which word matches the one you came up with (or at least hast the
letters you found).  He gives you varying items depending on how many
tries it takes you (you'll get lesser items if you mess up each time).

The 63rd floor is tricky.  You have to collect 3 Coupons from all three
rooms, but you're only able to open 3 doors at a time.  You can reset
the doors by investigating the computer in the right-hand room, but that
also resets the location of the Coupons.  You can move around using
walkways in the ducts; to enter them you have to climb into the black,
box-shaped structures (there's one in the computer room).  You can't do
that unless you have at least one of the three items.

To get the items, follow this procedure: activate the computer, then
head to the top of the screen and open the gate farthest to the right.
Head right and open the left-hand gate, then walk right and go south
to enter the room where A Coupon is.  Choose the top option to climb
into the black box and use the walkway to get to the room where B Coupon
is.  Finally, go through the door in this room and open the door to the
left, then go north to enter the room containing C Coupon.  Then use the
walkway to return to the computer room.

Now if you want, you can just trade one of the Coupons for an item,
but if you have all three then you'll get all three items.  The trade
setup works like this (choose 'Coupon Change'):

- Trade Coupon A for the Star Pendant accessory
- Trade Coupon B for the Four Slots bracelet
- Trade Coupon C for the All materia

To get your items (depending on how many coupons you have) go to the
computer and choose the bottom option,  then the top.  Keep in mind
that you can only do this once.

On the 64th floor, you'll find a Save Point and bedroom to your left.
You can use the machines in the exercise room, or waste 250 gil trying
to get a health drink (which you can't actually get, BTW.)  If you
examine the lockers in the back room, you can find a Phoenix Down,
an Ether, and a M-phone (HP Shout), but you can only take the first
two items for now.  Head to the 65th floor.

Here, you have to open a treasure chest, then examine a broken section
of the model in the circular room and choose the top option to repair
it.  This unlocks one of the other chests, allowing you to open it and
use the part inside to repair another section of the model.  When you
have finished, you'll get the Keycard 66 from the final chest.  You
must fix the model in a counter-clockwise fashion starting from the
bottom.  The order of the chests you open goes like this:

- Upper-left room:   bottom chest
- Upper-left room:   top chest
- Lower-left room:   left chest
- Lower-left room:   top chest
- Upper-right room:  chest
- Middle-right room: get the Keycard 66 from here when you're done.

On the 66th floor, you can either run into the meeting hall as quickly
as you can (if you took the elevator...it's a glitch, and was possible
in the Japanese version, at least :)), or you can enter the stall in the
bathroom located in the northwest corner of the floor.  Choose the
middle option, and you'll climb on top of the toilet and enter an air
duct.  Move forward to see what the Shinra members (Reeve, Palmer,
President Shinra, Heidegger, Hojo, and Scarlet) are discussing.

Climb back out, then climb up the stairwell after Hojo (the pony-tailed
scientist) in the room to the right of the meeting hall.  Note that
you'll end up in the air duct even if you ran into the hall...heh, heh.
On the next floor (67), talk to the people and keep following the
scientist.  After looking in the purple chamber (and after Cloud gets
another headache), move beyond the crates and to the right to find a
Save Point and a treasure chest with a Poison Materia inside.

Enter the elevator to the north, and then watch as the scientist toys
with Aeris.  Now, choose who you want to protect Aeris, (either
Barret or Tifa), and then you can name the lion-like creature (Red 13)
that was attacking Hojo.  He'll fight alongside you when the mutant
boss shows up.  Don't forget that Red 13 comes equipped with his own
Materia!

_________________________________________________________________________
BOSS TIPS: Sample:HO512                         LV: 19  HP: 1000  MP: 120
           Sample:HO512-OPT                     LV:  7  HP:  300  MP:  48

Don't try to kill this guy's little guardians; he'll only create more.
Instead, use Bolt or Fire on him and try Restore to keep up your own
life power.  Avoid using physical attacks, Ice, or Poison.  This means
that Red 13 is better off using Fire against the boss than attacking.
This battle is easier if you have Barret, who can inflict more damage.
Don't worry about getting poisoned since you can get infected again when
the boss uses the pink gas attack on your characters (there's no point in
trying to de-poison yourselves).  You'll get a Talisman should you kill
the boss, and Grenades depending on the OPTs that you killed.
_________________________________________________________________________

Tifa or Barret return after the battle (depending on who you chose).
You'll be asked to make a new party (but you can keep the old one you had
before, if you wish).  When you're in control of Cloud again, be sure to
grab the yellow materia (Enemy Skill) that's left behind in the sample
chamber.  Then go up the ladder and head south.  Talk to the man in the
gray coat to get the Keycard 68.  Go back down to floor 66 and try
entering one of the lifts; you'll get caught by Rude (he's a Turk who
you'll be running into constantly throughout the game).  He and Tseng
will 'escort' you to a meeting with the president of Shinra.  Afterwards,
you'll end up in the jail cells on floor 67.  Here, listen to everyone,
then go to sleep.

The next morning, you'll find that your door is unlocked.  Investigate
the guard, then talk to Tifa.  Check the guard again to unlock the doors,
then look in on Barret and Red 13.  After freeing your companions, return
to the lab and talk to Red 13.  Talk to him again after taking the
elevator up to the 68th floor, then use the incline to reach the walkway
again.  Go all the way along it until you find two purple Potions, then
climb back down and enter the door from the ground floor.  The green bars
of light won't hurt you; run through them and pick up two more Potions
before climbing up the stairs to the 69th floor.

Go out the center door to reach a Save Point.  Then, run up either of
the purple stairs.  Check out the dead Shinra president, capture Palmer,
then go through the door to the north to exit the room.  Outside, talk
to the man in white.  He's Rufus, son of the Shinra president.

The other characters will return to the floor below, and you must lead
them outside (you can also choose to unequip Aeris' and Cloud's materia
in case you want to juggle them around for the upcoming battles).  Your
team now consists of Red 13, Barret, and Aeris; don't forget to re-equip
your Materia (it seems as if the top option removes it....)  Head to the
lift (by taking the lower door).  When you activate it, you are attacked
by a huge gun-wielding machine while going down the side of the Shinra
building.

_________________________________________________________________________
BOSS TIPS: HUNDRED GUNNER                          LV: 18  HP: 1600  MP:0
                                                   weak against Lightning

You can only use long-range attacks, so use Barret's attacks and his
Limit Break as well as magic to harm this foe.  Poison-based magic
inflicts no damage, while Bolt does the most damage.  Red 13 is a
sitting duck if he doesn't have any spell Materia equipped, so be sure
to deck him out with some magic spells (he can still use his Limit
Break).  When you inflict enough damage, the boss starts to break down.
After the second collapse, he starts firing heat blasts that damage all
members, so be careful.
_________________________________________________________________________

After killing the boss, you must fight a flying machine.

_________________________________________________________________________
BOSS TIPS: HELI GUNNER                            LV: 19  HP: 1000  MP: 0
                                                   weak against Lightning

As with the other boss, don't use Bio but do use Bolt.  You may be weak
after the last battle, so make use of Potions, the Restore Materia, and
Aeris' B1/1 Break (Healing Wind) to restore lost life.  You'll win a
Mythril Armlet when the boss dies.
_________________________________________________________________________

The scene switches back to Cloud.  Heal yourself if necessary, equip
Materia, then press Start.  Rufus will then attack you.  Feel free to
adjust his equipment/Materia if need be before the battle.

_________________________________________________________________________
BOSS TIPS: RUFUS                                  LV: 21  HP: 500  MP:  0
           DARK NATION                            LV: 18  HP: 140  MP: 80

Kill the panther guardian first, then go after the boss.  Although you
can't do anything about the panther casting Barrier on Rufus, you can
use magic instead to inflict damage.  He can only hurt you with his
shotgun, so don't worry about healing yourself after each round (just
heal yourself when your life gets lower).  Sock him with your Limit
Breaks and he'll escape onto the circling helicopter after you've
damaged him enough.  Cloud will get a Protect Vest and a Guard Source
when the battle ends.
_________________________________________________________________________

Leave the rooftop and head back to where Tifa is waiting for you.  As
Aeris, try to approach the front doors.  After a short conversation,
you and the gang will escape by motorcycle (and truck).  Your team is
now made up of Cloud, Tifa, and Barret.

An option screen appears where you have the following options:

S       Left Attack
X       Switch members
O       Right Attack
T       Main Menu
Start   Return to game

Be sure to re-equip Materia before returning to the game!
 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
  3 . 1 0    e s c a p e !
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ITEMS IN THIS AREA:  Star Pendant.

Use the controller to move any any direction.  Pressing S makes you slash
to the left, and pressing O makes you slash to the right.  The object
here is to protect your friends in the truck from enemy cyclists.
Eventually, you'll reach a dead end and fight the boss.  The amount of
life you start off with during the battle depends on how much life you
and your friends lost during the high-speed escape.  If a character lost
all his life, he begins with only 1 point when the battle starts, but
since the boss gets to make the first attack, they'll have to be revived
using Phoenix Downs if there are any party members who survived.  The
boss is a spiked, armored robot with six wheels.

_________________________________________________________________________
BOSS TIPS: MOTOR BALL                               LV: 19  2600  MP: 120
                                                   weak against Lightning

This boss gets a free attack from behind...sheesh.  Most of his attacks
do little damage, but his Firethrower and flying fire sweep attacks
can kill your party in a single blast (the fire sweep does around 220
damage)!  The best way to beat this group is have your party consist of
Aeris and Barret.  Give the All and Restore materia to either Cloud or
Barret, and give the other character Lightning.  This way, you can heal
with one character, attack with another, and then use Aeris' Limit Break
to keep your life up at all times.  Ice works better than Fire against
the boss (for those characters that don't have Lightning equipped).
Remember, your rows are reversed when attacked from behind, so put Cloud
and Barret in the back and Aeris in the front if you want them to line
up properly when the boss shows up (assuming that's who you use...I found
that they worked the best).  If you beat the boss, you'll get a Star
Pendant.
_________________________________________________________________________
 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
  3 . 1 1    k a l m   t o w n  /  c h o c o b o   f a r m
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ITEMS IN THIS AREA:  Ether x3, Peacemaker, Guard Source, Choco/Mog
                     materia

You'll find yourselves outside of the gate after beating the boss (you
could also see this scene by going south from the church where you met
Aeris the first time).  Decide who will be in your group, then head
towards the screen to exit and arrive at the World Map (the outside
world).

Outer World Controls

T               Menu Screen
L2/R2           Change from overhead/side view
L1/R2           Same effect as L2/R2
                Turn left/right (during side view)
Start           shows World Map
Start x2        Shows Large World Map
Start x3        No map is shown
Select          Same as Start

Kalm Town isn't far from Midgar; you should be able to see it if you
walk north a ways.  Go into the inn to see the rest of the gang waiting
for you.  Cloud will talk to the others about Sephiroth via a series of
semi-interactive flashbacks:

- You'll start off in a truck being driven by Shinra soldiers.  After
  talking to the soldiers and Sephiroth (Cloud's former ally in the
  Shinra army and now a wanted criminal), the truck will be stopped
  by a dragon.  You'll have to fight it, but Sephiroth (who is Shotgun-
  powerful) can kill it in two hits.  In the flashback, Cloud's
  portrait is different; this 'Young Cloud' is of a low level, but
  Sephiroth is so strong that you need not worry about losing battles.
  However, you can't control Sephiroth's actions and you can't hurt
  him (because of your low level), either.  Although Young Cloud comes
  equipped with an Pre-emptive materia and Sephiroth has several
  mastered materia equipped, you can't take them for your own (although
  you can if you use a Game Shark code...see section 14).  Also, Young
  Cloud and Sephiroth can't use Limit Breaks (because they don't have
  any).

- After the battle, you'll end up in Nivelheim, Cloud's hometown.
  Talk to Sephiroth and the guards if you wish, then head north.
  If you want to look around the town, feel free to, but nothing
  you do during this part of the game has an affect on the rest of
  your quest (although is does affect the character's questions
  and reactions to Cloud's story).  One thing you might want to do
  is go into Tifa's house (the large building on the 'southeastern'
  side of town).  You can read her stuff, play the piano (if you
  play the 'Highwind' theme, Cloud will act like he remembers it
  from somwhere), or even search her closet (hey, they changed
  'slightly-stretched underwear' to 'orthopedic underwear'.  What's
  the big deal? :))  Also note that you can't get Vincent Valentine
  during Cloud's flashback because you can't examine the safe :(

- When you're done looking around town, go to the inn and head
  upstairs.  Talk to Sephiroth and choose to get some sleep.
  The next day, talk to Sephiroth and get your picture taken, then
  sit back and watch the FMV.  When you're in control of Cloud,
  head along the bridge and talk to Tifa, then talk to her again
  further along the bridge and it will break.  After you've
  recovered, head northeast into the cave, then keep heading north.
  Eventually, you'll arrive at the Jenova plant.  Enter it, head
  along the beams, then walk onto the wood platform and climb down
  the chains and go after Sephiroth.  Talk to him in the next area,
  examine the chamber to the left of Sephiroth, then talk to him
  twice, once to make him move out of the way and once to make Cloud
  look inside the chamber.  After Sephiroth goes ballistic, you'll
  return to Kalm Town.  Pick the top option to save your game, or
  the bottom option to continue.  Cloud's narrative starts off back
  at Nivelheim, where he enters the large mansion at the edge of
  town.

- Inside, climb the two staircases and head to the right.  Enter the
  lower door and make your way into the next room; if you examine
  the circular part of the stone wall, a passage appears.  Enter it
  and climb down the spiraling walkway until you reach the bottom;
  keep walking from here to find a library.  Leave after Sephiroth
  finishes talking.  After Cloud wakes up, return to the library.
  Sephiroth gives a little speech then he exits the mansion; return
  to the town square.  Try entering the house to your right.

- Back at the Jenova plant, return to the area with the chambers after
  witnessing the struggle between Tifa and Sephiroth.  Examine Tifa to
  carry her out of harm's way, then run up the stairs and enter the
  door that Sephiroth opened.  After the FMV sequence, Cloud's
  flashback ends and you are returned to Kalm Town.

Note that you have to go to Kalm Town to proceed with the game; you
can't make your way through the Mythril Mines beforehand, although you
can visit the Chocobo Farm if you want to.  As for treasure, there's an
Ether in the door beneath the stairs in the house near the inn, another
Ether in the cabinet on the second floor of the house to the right of
that house, and a Peacemaker in the chest on the second floor of the
third house (take the curving stairs).  If you take the normal stairs in
the same house, you can get a Guard Source in the cabinet by the little
girl.  Finally, in the house on the other side of the town, there is an
Ether in the door beneath the stairs on the north wall of the first
floor.  Oh, you'll be given the PHS (Party Hensei System) when you talk
to your allies on the first floor of the inn; it allows you to switch
group members whenever you want, providing that you're in the World Map
or standing on a Save Point (there are a few exceptions to this rule).

Leave the town and head east to reach the Chocobo Farm.  Talk to the
Chocobo at the front end of the pen and choose the top option to see
the big yellow birds dance; you'll get the Choco/Mog materia afterwards.
Then, talk to Choco Billy (the man with the hat) in the stables behind
the pen.  Choose the first option, then the 4th option, then the top
option again.  Providing you have 2000 gil to spare, he'll sell you a
Chocobo Lure materia, which lets you attract chocobos to ride.

To catch a chocobo, wander around outside on the chocobo tracks (in
this area of the game, you can meet them on the light patches of
grass, too), until you are attacked.  If a chocobo is one of your
opponents, then kill off the other enemies and when the battle ends,
you'll be riding the chocobo.  If you attack the chocobo, it will
hurt you and the other enemies, then escape, so you'll have to try
again.  Don't forget, you can only fight chocobos if you have the
Chocobo Lure materia equipped.  When riding a chocobo, your can move
around normally, and you won't get attacked by enemies.  You can press
X to dismount, but if you do this, the Chocobo will run away and you'll
have to catch another one.

A little to the south and directly west of the Chocobo farm is a cave,
but a creeping snake in the marsh before the cave entrance will rise up
to attack you.  Instead of trying to kill it now, go get a Chocobo
instead, who can outrun the snake and enter the cave.  Yes, you will
still get attacked if the snake touches your chocobo.

Note that you can run across the marsh on foot, but nothing special
happens if you do so (and it's nigh-impossible to pull off without
running into Midgar Zolom).

_________________________________________________________________________
BOSS TIPS: MIDGAR ZOLOM                         LV: 26  HP: 4000  MP: 348

This boss has two deadly attacks: one is a tail swipe that knocks a team
member off-screen and puts them out of commission for the rest of the
battle.  The other one is the Beta enemy skill, which inflicts around
1000-1200 points of damage (which spells instant defeat if your allies
are weak, although you should try to pick up this skill if you have a
Teki no Waza equipped).  Along with his bite attack, this serpent can be
a tough enemy if you try to fight him earlier in the game.  It's easier
if you try to defeat him after you have Cid's airplane, since you can
use Limit Breaks and powerful summon and magic spells to kill it.
Unfortunately, you get a measly amount of EXP, AP, and gil for beating
the boss and what's worse, he reappears when you return to the World
Map, so you're right back where you started.
_________________________________________________________________________

Note that if Midgar Zolom knocks one of your allies off-screen, the
game won't end should the other members be killed; instead, you'll find
yourself standing at the edge of the marsh.

The first time you get across the marsh, you'll see a large snake
impaled on a tree.  Just exit the screen to continue playing.  Also, if
you get off your chocobo while on the patch of grass before the mine
entrance, he'll stay there in case you need to return to the farm (this
doesn't seem to happen all the time--I don't know why).  If you're
strong enough, you can get to the Mythril Mines without ever having to
go to the Chocobo Farm.
 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
  3 . 1 2    m i t h r i l   m i n e  /  j u n o n   t o w n
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ITEMS IN THIS AREA:  Ether, Tent, Long Range materia, Mind Source x2,
                     Elixir, Power Wrist, Shiva materia, Grenade or
                     Potion x6 or Ether x6, Enemy Skill materia, 1/35
                     Shinra x2, Luck Source, Power Source, Guard Source,
                     Speed Plus Source, Silver Glasses or HP Plus or Force
                     Stealer.

Inside the Mythril Mine, head northeast to find a green Ether on the
stone steps.  In the chest is a Tent, so be sure to grab it.  If you try
climbing up the brown vine on the western rock face, you'll find a purple
materia (Long Range).  Climb back down, return to the first area, then
head left.  Make your way southeast to find a chest with a Mind Source
inside, then head west to reach the next area.

Here, you'll run into some of the Turks again: Rude, Elena, and Tseng.
Once they leave, walk north.  There's a chest with a Elixir inside it
and a Hi-Potion just to the north of the chest.  Return to the area
where you met the Turks, climb up the vine, and go through the door to
exit the mine and return to the World Map.  From now on, you can meet
Yuffie in the forests and have her join you (refer to section 8.1 for
details).

Nearby is a rocky outcropping with a huge bird statue atop it, the Condor
Fort.  Enter it and choose the second option when talking to the man out
front.  After climbing up the rope, you'll find yourself in a town built
into the rock itself.  There is a Save Point, item shop, bedroom (you can
sleep for free), and Materia shop here.  Talk to everyone.  If you have
enough Gil, you can hang around and fight the 'mini-battle' as many
times as you want (it's fun!).  Otherwise, leave and go northwest through
the forest to Junon Town by the shore.  For information on fighting the
battles, refer to section 7.8 (Having Fun).
 

<KM's note - Okay, folks, from here on out, it's all based on the
Japanese version of my FAQ (mostly).  So enjoy, and I'll be back with
more info and additions next time!>
 

Once you arrive at Junon, talk to the villagers, then go down the stairs
to the shore.  Here, a young girl named Purishira is playing with a
dolphin.  Out of nowhere, a big flying boss shows up and attacks her,
then your party.

_________________________________________________________________________
BOSS TIPS: BOTOMUSUWARU  (Bottom Swayer)        LV: 23  HP: 2500  MP: 100

There's not much to worry about; just attack with Lightning or Poison-based
spells and keep your life up.  Since this guy's flying, some characters
can't attack him (like Tifa), while some can (like Cloud).  Find out
which guys should be casting magic and which should be attacking early on
in the battle.  Sometimes, the boss puts an HP-reducing bubble around a
character.  It only disappears if you cast a magic spell upon it (this
won't hurt the 'bubbled' person).  If you have the Affect All materia,
you can use this to cast a spell on the bubbled person and the boss at
the same time.  Before dying, the boss will attack with a wave, (he
can do this normally, but always does one before he disappears) so watch
out and make sure your hp is high enough to withstand an attack.  If you
want, you can equip characters (like Barret) with weaker, long-ranged
weapons so that they can attack the boss, but it may not be worth it.
You'll receive a Power Wrist when the battle is over.
_________________________________________________________________________

After killing the boss, you'll have to revive Purishira.  To do this,
watch the lung-shaped meter that appears in the upper right.  Press
the S button once to make the meter start to raise.  Just as it reaches
the top, press S again to make Cloud breathe into the girl's mouth.
It will take a couple of tries.  Afterwards, go to the house near the
entrance to town and talk to the person there (for some reason, choosing
the top option won't make Cloud go to bed, but if you go back in the
house and try again, he will go to sleep).

During the night, Cloud will have another bad dream.  In the morning,
leave and go to the house above the stairs (your friends will be
gathered near it).  Purishira will give you the 'Summon Shiva' materia,
a gift for saving her life.  Follow her to the shore, then talk to her
a second time.  Barret will show up and the girl will keep talking;
when you have the chance, choose the middle option.  Your goal in this
part of the game is to leap atop the iron beam above the electrical
tower so that you can sneak into the heart of Junon Town.  Your
controls are:

X        Swim faster
S        Makes the dolphin flip you into the air

If you get to close to the electric blasts traveling along the tower,
you'll get shocked and will have to try again (just pick the second
option).  The easiest way to get up there is to simply not move and
press S.  The dolphin will miss and deposit you near the bottom of
the screen.  However, you'll be perfectly positioned, so if you press
X again, Cloud will land on the beam.  Once you're on it, head to the
left to get a good view of the flying airship 'Highwind'.  Make your
way south (towards the 'front' of the screen) to continue.

The next area has a higher and lower level.  If you investigate the box-
like switch, you'll be taken to the lower level.  From there, head south
to find a building.  There is a projecting roof nearby which has a door
underneath it; just press against the edge and you'll enter a hallway
filled with soldiers.  In the halls, go up to find a locker room.  Check
out the half-open locker and choose the second option to dress up as a
guard.  When the captain of the guards asks you another question, pick
the bottom answer.

Then, leave the locker and take note of the Save Point before heading
through the door (follow the other soldiers).  Now that you're outside,
go into the first alleyway.  You'll come across a group of marching
soldiers.  The head guard will want you to join in and march with them
perfectly, so it may take a couple of attempts before this event will
end.  You also have to move your gun in time with the soldiers by
pressing and releasing the O button.  Depending on how high or low the
counter was during this scene (the one in the lower right-hand corner),
you will get the following:

   PERCENT      NAME        TYPE
   21%       =  Grenade    Item
   37% - 39% =  Potion x6   Item
   45% (?)   =  Ether x6    Item
   (I'll figure out the rest later....)

Afterwards, you'll have to stand at attention while Rufus and Heidegger
talk to each other...press in any direction and the captain of the guard
will tell you to get back in line.  After the rest of the soldiers leave,
the captain will give you an option; choose either option and you'll
return to the locker room for some training on the next event.  There,
you can try to follow the captain's orders, if you wish.  When he asks
you a question, choose the top choice to try training again, or the
bottom option to finish the training.  Once the soldiers leave, follow
them outside.

Now's your chance to do a little shopping and treasure hunting.  You'll
run into Rude in the basement of the first weapon shop, but he won't
recognize you in your Shinra guard uniform.  Go through the third door
and talk to the guard near the back of the room, then jump down to an
area with several Shinra guards and some holograms.  In the far corner
of the room is a yellow materia (Enemy Skill).  This place
(I believe) is similar to the 'House of Learning' back in Area 7 Town
where you could learn about the game's mechanics.   On the second floor
of the same building, you can get a 1/35 soldier and a Mind Source.  In
the room with the cats nearby is a Luck Source.  On the third floor is a
red Power Source and a green Guard Source.

If you enter the fourth door on the other side of town, you'll find that
that Elena, Rudo, and Tseng of the Turks are here.  It's a good thing
that you're in that uniform :)  Go through the sixth door to find a room
with a soldier; you can check the silver trashcan for a message and pick
up a yellow Speed Source in the side room.  On the floor above, you can
pick up another 1/35 soldier.

In the next area, Heidegger and Rufus show up again.  You have to do
your salute according to what the captain of the guard tells you to do
(remember your training)!  At the very end, all you have to do is be
facing forward: pressing any button will make you do the 'spinning gun'
salute.  Unfortunately, the order of commands is random each time you
play, so just do your best.  Afterwards, you can press the following
buttons to make Cloud do funny things:

S       Scratch back with gun
X       Put one leg forward
T       Shrug
Pad     Stand at attention

Depending on how well you did during the salute, Heidekkaa will give you
an item.  Each 'button press' action was worth 10 points, and the final
salute was worth 30 points.  Changing direction was worth 0 points, but
unless you were facing in the correct direction, any action you performed
was worth 0 points.  Also, performing an action was worth 0 points if you
did it too late (although you'll get full points if you do the action
early).  Your total score determines what you will receive (notice that
Rufus' reactions change depending on what item you will be given):

   SCORE        NAME                     TYPE
   000 - 050 =  Silver Glasses           Accessory
   060 - 090 =  HP Plus                  Independent Materia
   100 - 190 =  Force Stealer            Weapon (for Cloud)
      200    =  (I'll figure out this one later....)

After everyone else leaves, Red 13 (who was watching from just inside the
boat) will talk to you if you try to leave instead of boarding the boat.
Either way, you'll end up joining your friends in the boat's hull.
 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
  3 . 1 3    s h i n - r a   b o a t
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ITEMS IN THIS AREA:  Ether, Affect All materia, Wind Slash, White Cape.

Open the treasure chest to get an Ether, and be sure to pick up the blue
materia (All).  Talk to the people here, then go up on the deck and
talk to everyone else; you'll notice that they are your companions
(don't miss Red 13 :)).  The man in white will sell you items if you talk
to him.  Once you're done, go back down and talk to Aeris, then return
to the deck and go all the way to the left; one of the guards has left,
allowing you to sneak to the front of the ship.

Here, talk to Barret, who is spying on the Shinra members.  After talking
to him a couple of times, an alarm will sound.  Go back to the center of
the boat to find your friends.  Then, assemble your party.  If you want
to change the setup, talk to your friends again.  When you're ready, go
downstairs and head through the door that the one guard was standing in
front of.  In the next room, watch out for enemies and climb up the
ladder, the walkway leads to a chest with a Wind Slash inside.  Did you
get all the items on the boat?  When you're ready, go and talk to the
captain of the guards.  It turns out that he's dead.  Then, Sephiroth
shows up, and summons a huge monster for you to fight before he flies
away.

_________________________________________________________________________
BOSS TIPS: JENOBA*BIRTH  (Jenova*Birth)         LV: 25  HP: 4000  MP: 110

Earth, Fire, and Cold magic work well against it, but don't use Poison.
Attack with your Summon Materia and hit it with everything you've got.
Keeping your HP Plus is a priority, since it can use lasers to attack one
or all members.  Only use physical attacks if you are running low on MP.
The boss can cast 'Stop' on a single ally so make sure that you're not
too dependent on any one character during the battle.  Some Phoenix
Tails will also come in handy, since the boss sometimes uses a laser
that hits all allies (Terror Laser) twice in a row (which can inflict
loads of damage).  You'll get a White Cape when the battle is over.
_________________________________________________________________________
 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
  3 . 1 4    c o s t a   d e l   s o l
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

_________________________________________________________________________
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.
_________________________________________________________________________

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.
 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
  3 . 1 5    g o l d   s a u c e r
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

_________________________________________________________________________
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.
_________________________________________________________________________

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).
 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
  3 . 1 6    g o n g a g a   t o w n  /  c o s m o   c a n y o n
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

_________________________________________________________________________
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.
_________________________________________________________________________

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.

_________________________________________________________________________
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.
_________________________________________________________________________

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.
 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
  3 . 1 7    r e t u r n   o f   s e p h i r o t h
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ITEMS IN THIS AREA:  Luck Source x2, Elixir x2, Platinum Fist, Turbo Ether
                     Silver M-phone, Twin Viper, Enemy Launcher, Magic
                     Source, Destruct materia, Rune Blade, Platinum
                     Barrette, Powersoul, All Materia, Elemental Materia,
                     Sniper CR, Jem Ring, Counter materia (if you open up
                     the safe in the mansion, you can get the Cosmo Memory
                     manual and the 'Summon Odin' materia, not to mention
                     a Key Item (the gold key).

Get in the buggy and continue past Cosmo Canyon.  Head north to find a
river with a shallow ford you can cross.  Past it, the mountains are
of a different type than what you usually see.  Near them is a small
town, Nivelheim.  Look familiar?  It's the same one Sephiroth and Cloud
went to in Cloud's flashback.

First, go into the inn.  Talk to the black creature in the back to get
a Luck Source.  You can get an Elixir from another one of the creatures
in the Item Shop, and a second Luck Source if you talk to the small
creatures in the upper floor of the southeastern house.  The large house
to the east is Tifa's home, and you'll be given a Platinum Fist and an
Turbo Ether if you talk to the creatures here.  There's a piano in
Tifa's room that you can fool around with (see section 14 for details).

This next section is optional--you can just continue on through the
mountains if you want.  However, Sephiroth won't show up in the
mansion after you reach Disc 2, meaning you can't nab the Destruct
materia unless you get it from him during the first disc (read below
for details).

Now, go into the large mansion at the edge of town.  Left of the
entrance is a piece of paper written by the Turks (?).  It has
several hints on it that clue you in to the combination of the safe on
the upper floor (but it's useless if you don't know Japanese :)).
You can get the 4th number by chosing the blank space beneath the
first three tips (look at the paper, choose the top option, then move
the cursor down to the blank space and press O).

Head right and look for the sliver of light near the stairway, it's
very hard to see.  It's an opening that leads to the lower section of
another room.  There's a chest here, with a Silver M-phone inside.
Go back out and go into the northern door beneath the staircase.  In
the adjoining hall, head right and and up to find a chest with a
Twin Viper in it.  To the left is a room with a broken piano (which
you could have also reached by looking for the opening near the left
staircase in the main room).

Go up the stairs and head left.  In the circular room is a chest that
has an Enemy Launcher inside.  There's nothing in the northern room
except for a locked safe--you'll need the right combination in order
to open it (see section 14 if you don't know how).  If you want to
try your luck, examine it with the O button and choose the top option
to enter the combination or the bottom option to quit.

Open the safe (or not), then go right and into the right wing of the
manor house.  If you go up, you'll find a chest with a Magic Source
inside.  Then go into the lower room and examine the curved wall to
open a secret passage.  Go down the spiralling walkway, and then head
right.  If you got the gold key from the safe, you can open the
northern door (refer to section 14 for details).  Continue to the
right to find a libarary.  Then go north and you'll run into none
other than Sephiroth, who will pelt you with a green materia before
flying away.  Be sure to get the materia (Destruct) before
leaving the mansion.

Once you're back outside, leave Nivelheim from the northern entrace
and contine along until you see a passage leading into the mountains.
In the next area, follow the path until it splits, and take the north
path, which wraps around the back of a spire and leads to a chest
with a Rune Blade inside of it.  Now go back and follow the original
path.  You'll notice that just before the bridge, there's a path that
curves away to the north.  Follow it up into the mountains and when
it curves south, take that path instead of continuing in the same
direction.  The path curves several times, but eventually you'll make
it to the top of the mountain, where you can find a chest with a
Plus Barrette.  It may help if you press SELECT so that you can see
yourself when a mountain is blocking your view, and if you can't seem
to get any further, press in other directions (like down) to scale the
back of the mountain.

Go back down to the main path and head up the bridge.  Inside the
cavern, take the ladder down instead of the tubes, or you won't be
able to get all the treasure in this area.  You don't have to worry
about the large boss near the door just yet.  Feel free to make use
of the Save Point, then climb back to the top of the area.  Enter the
pipe labled '2' to end up on a rocky ledge.  There's an item bag here
with an Powersoul inside; get it and then press down to jump down
to a lower ledge, then press down again to reach the floor.  Climb back
up one last time and go into the pipe labled '4' in order to reach the
treasure chest on the bottom ledge below; there's an All materia
lying within.  Walk against the right edge of the ledge to drop down
to the floor.

See the path heading south, just below the path that the boss is
blocking?  Follow it to go outside, then try to keep walking and you'll
drop down to the lower ledge.  Following the path here leads to a dead
end, so enter the cave instead and take the righthand path once you're
inside.  Ignore the exit at the other end of the cave and work your way
southwest, then go through the small hole.  Walk up, then left, then
down in order to reach the treasure chest you could see when you first
came in here.  Inside it is an Elixir.  Now go through the exit to
arrive at a wooded area.  On the ground, to the left of the mass of
crystalized Materia is an Elemental materia.  Take it and proceed north,
going through the opening to go back into the caves.

Inside, head to the right, then go up as far as you can and walk left
past the stone walls to reach a chest containing a Sniper CR.  Then
go back and take the rightmost passage.  It goes south and leads you
back to the outside.  From here, head left (going right leads you to
a dead end).  You'll eventually end up at the Jenova Plant you visited
in Cloud's flashback.  There's nothing to do inside the plant, so
continue beyond it to the door set in the rock wall.  Enter it and
you'll end up back in the chamber with the pipes again.

It's true that you could have taken the door and done this entire
sequence in reverse, but then you couldn't have scaled the ledge and
you would have to go all the way back, instead of taking the express
route like you just did :)  Now climb down and examine the boss, and
it will attack you.

_________________________________________________________________________
BOSS TIPS: MATERIAKIIPAA  <Materia Keeper>      LV: 38  HP: 8400  MP: 300

Don't use Honou-related attacks; it'll only heal him.  Red 13's Limit
Break B1/1 works well, as does Cloud's B2/1 Limit Break.  I'd also
suggest using the 'Choco/Mog' materia as much as you can--it's
ability to stun this boss is very useful.  Physical attacks should do the
trick if you have good weapons; save your MPs for healing yourselves.
Kealra and All Materia are a good combination (remember to link
them when selecting holders) if you want to stay alive, since the boss
can inflict 300-800 points of damage with its stabbing/mauling attacks.
Also, he can heal himself (around 1000 hp's worth), and use the damaging
Tryne skill, which causes about 500 points of damage to all those still
alive.  If Red's learned his B1/2 break or someone knows Haste, it would
be a wise idea to use it at the start of the round.  Since the Materia
Keeper is one of the few enemies that can use Tryne, it comes highly
recommended that you have a Enemy Skill materia equipped so
that you can learn this enemy technqiue.  You'll get a Jem Ring should
you be victorious.
_________________________________________________________________________

After the battle is over, examine the purple materia that is left behind
in order to take it (Counter Attack).  Then follow the path outside--it
leads back to the World Map.
 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
  3 . 1 8    t h e   i n v e n t o r
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ITEMS IN THIS AREA:  Power Source, Yoshiyuki, Drill Arm, Edincoat.

Head southwest, then turn north (you're making a big C around the
mountains).  Keep walking and you'll see Rocket Town up ahead.  In
the Accessory Shop, you'll recieve a message if you go to the left end
of the counter and examine it (anyone know what it means?)  If you go
into the house farthest to the right, you can find a chest with a
Power Source inside of it in next to the stove.  Then talk to the old man
standing near the house that's just left of the rocket's launch pad.
Talk to him again, and he'll ask you a question.  Pick the top answer
and the view will pan up to show the rocket.  Then the old geezer will
give you the Yoshiyuki; it's a weapon for Cloud.

Go into the house to the right of the old man.  This is the home of
Shiera and Cid, although neither of them are around at the moment.
There's a chest here with a Drill Arm inside it.  If you go out the
back entrance, you'll find a light airplane in the backyard--it's one
of Cid's inventions, the 'Tiny Bronco'.  After looking at the airplane,
Shiera will show up.  When she leaves, go outside and head north to
arrive at the rocket--climb inside it to find Cid.  After chatting with
him, name him.  You can then ask him several questions; you have to at
least ask the first one (top choice) in order to proceed with the game.
Then leave the rocket and return to Cid's house.  Shiera will show up,
then Cid, too.  After Cid goes out back, Shiera will explain how Cid
was going to pilot his rocket into outer space some time ago, but
aborted the launch when he discovered that Shiera was still making last-
minute checks and hadn't left the launch pad yet; she would be burned
to ashes since the launch could only be aborted, not delayed.  By saving
her life, Cid's dreams were shattered, since he did not have the
resources to repair the rocket, which tipped over after falling back
onto the lauch pad.

Cid comes back into the house, then Palmer shows up--an employee of
Shinra.  Go outside and you'll run into Rufus and a Shinra guard, who
have come to 'borrow' the Tiny Bronco.  After Shiera brings you back
inside the house, go out the back entrance to find Palmer standing
atop the Tiny Bronco.  Talk to him and he'll attack you.
 

_________________________________________________________________________
BOSS TIPS: Palmer  <Palmer>                    LV: 38  HP: 6000  MP: 240

His gun causes a fair amount of damage since it has the effects of Fire 2,
Ice 2, and Bolt 2, so make sure Aeris is in your party or that you
have some Restore Materia.  Use Haste and All on your party as
well as Slow magic and/or Summon Chocobo on him to even the odds a bit.
You'll want to have Cloud's B2/2 by now--it comes in handy.  Your prize
for beating Palmer is an Edincoat.
_________________________________________________________________________

After the boss gets wasted (heh, heh), your party and Cid will escape
on the Tiny Bronco.  Although it gets damaged during your escape it
can still be used to skim across shallow water and traverse rivers
(although you can't go up or down waterfalls).  Here are the airplane
controls:

X               Exit airplane
O               Enter airplane
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 now have several options that are available to you: you can get
Aeris's Level 4 Limit Break manual (see section 14 for details) or
go on Yuffie's sub-quest (if you have her in your party, see section
6 for further information).  Even if you don't have Yuffie, you can
purchase some pretty good weapons and find some treasure chests
lying around in Uutai, so you may want to stop there anyways.  You
can even go back and kill the big snake you had to flee from in
section 3k, if you've been itching to do so (you'll now have enough
HPs to learn the enemy skill 'Beta' from it without dying). In any
case, it would be a good idea to explore other areas and pick up items
you missed/buy stuff you couldn't afford before instead of continuing
on your quest just yet.  I would suggest checking out the excavators'
site to the north, since you can pick up the powerful 'Summon Kjata'
materia there as well as buy some useful bracelets and items (see
section 3u for details).
 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
  3 . 1 9    b e t r a y a l
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ITEMS IN THIS AREA:  Protect Vest, Choco Feather, Elixir.

Pilot the Tiny Bronco back to the Gold Saucer area.  Go to the
weaponsmith's house on the penninsula near the dirt pit and talk to
him--he'll explain that you need the Kiiston (Keystone), which he no
longer has.  Get back in Cid's airplane, and leave it on the shore by
the dirt pit.  You need to get to the Golden Saucer, so either walk or
find a wild Chocobo and ride it back to North Corel.  Then take the
sky lift up to the Gold Saucer.  Go to the Battle Square and look for
an opening on the right side of the room labled 'Dio's Show Room'.
Inside, examine the glittering object on top of the large stand; it's
the Kiiston.  Dio, the big lug who threw you out of the Gold Saucer
before, will show up and offer you a challenge: fight in the Battle
Square and he'll give you the Kiiston.  When you have a choice, pick
the top option to accept or the bottom option to temporarily decline.
You'll now have to fight in the Battle Square using only Cloud.  Keep
in mind that even if you lose the very first battle, Dio will still
give you the Kiiston.

If you want to try and see if you can win all the battles, then keep
fighting.  After each battle, the message 'GREAT!' will appear,
followed by two options.  Choose the right option to stop fighting,
or the left option to continue fighting.  If you choose to continue,
a jackpot-like device will appear.  You can stop it from spinning
by pressing the O button, and whatever comes up when you press O will
take affect prior to the start of the next battle.  Depening on what
you get, different things will happen to you, although certain
accessories can render you immune to some of the more debiliating
effects.

Furthermore, the status ailments that you are afflicted with as a
result of the jackpot stay with you from battle to battle, and you're
forced to stop the jackpot after each battle, so you could end up
being a poisoned, petrified frog in a few rounds, if you're not
careful.  If you last through seven battles, then the fighting ends.

Refer to the 'Having Fun' section for a complete explanation of how the
Battle Square works, but keep in mind that although you will earn
Battle Points during the battle, they are reset to zero when the battle
ends since you end up in the Show Room (and the way things work you lose
all the Battle Points you earn if you leave the main room at any time).
Should you make it through all the battles, Dio will give you a Boudan
Chokki and a Choco Feather, in addition to the Kiiston.

There's nothing else you need to do at the Gold Saucer now, but when
you try to leave, you'll discover that the ropeway that the sky lift
travels up and down is broken, leaving you stranded in the Saucer.
Cait Sith will either show up (or leave your party, if he's already
with you guys) and suggest that you all meet him at the Ghost Hotel.
At the Hotel, you and your allies will chat for awhile.  In the next
scence, you'll find yourself in your room.

At this point in the game, a character will come into your room and ask
to go on a date with you.  While it's usually Aeris, it's been
confirmed that you can go on a date with Tifa instead, if you were nice
to her and mean to Aeris throughout the course of the game.  It's much
harder to do, but if you have had Yuffie in your party for a while, she
may wish to date Cloud as well.  If you're really mean to all the women
in your party, Barret will date you (so be nice!)  It's not what you
think--just a friendly outing (he had a wife, so what are you thinking
^_^;)  I'll write down the exact method to date each character when I
learn what they are.

Both times that I've played through this part, it's always been Aeris
who comes to ask Cloud to go on a date, so I'll write the next section
with her in mind, although you may end up with someone else.

First, you'll go to the Event Square.  Since you're the 100th person
to come here that day, you and Aeris will be offered a role in the
upcoming play.  What you do here doesn't affect the game in any way,
so just pick whatever options you'd like and watch one of the many
humorous endings.  If I wrote it out, it would ruin the fun, so....
Next, you'll ride the gondola in the Round Square.  When Aeris looks
out the window, you can press left to look out, too, and see various
FMV sequences showcasing the events at the Gold Saucer.

After the date is over, Cloud and Aeris will return to the Station
Square only to find Cait Sith sneaking around with the Kiiston.  He'll
run away when Cloud yells at him, and you have to chase him around
various sections of the Gold Saucer.  (If you don't want to waste time
doing that, then go to the Chocobo Square, enter it, and chase Cait
Sith back outside).  Eventually, Cait will stop at the steps outside
of the Chocobo Square.  The Shinra helicopter shows up, and Cait will
toss the Kiiston up to Tseng.  When confronted by Cloud and Aeris, Cait
reveals that he is in fact a spy for the Shinra.  He insists that he
continues to travel with Cloud and his friends because he has taken
Marlene as a hostage back in Midgar (Right?  That's what he seems to say).

Once Cait Sith leaves, you'll find yourself back in the Ghost Hotel.
Check the iron maiden for an Elixir (notice the sound it makes; it
sounds just like Norstein Bekkler's laugh [the guy from Chrono
Trigger!]).  Leave the room to meet up with your allies again.  After
a brief talk, Aeris will join your party, becoming a permanent member.
Pick another ally and then leave the Saucer, since the ropeway is now
repaired.

Now that you're back at North Corel, leave and return where you parked
the Tiny Bronco.  Look at the World Map.  See the tiny chain of islands
near the bottom of the map?  Just to the right of them and to the left
of Mideel and the Fort Condor is a large island.  If you go there, you'll
see a large temple surrounded by a forest.  This is your next
destination, so land the Tiny Bronco at the shore and head to the temple.
 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
  3 . 2 0    t h e   t e m p l e
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ITEMS IN THIS AREA:  Trident, Mind Source, Silver Rifle, Turbo Ether x2,
                     Rocket Punch, Luck Plus materia, Morph materia,
                     Princess Guard, Ribbon, Hou xx, Mega Elixir, Nail
                     Bat, Dragon Armlet, 'Summon Bahamut' materia,
                     Gigas Armlet.

At the top of the temple is a black creature, similar to the ones you
met in Nivelheim.  If you talk to it, it floats into the air in a flash
of light.  Inside the temple, you'll find the Turk, Tseng.  He was badly
wounded by Sephiroth.  He gives you the Kiiston so that you can go after
his attacker; examine the dais in the center of the room and you'll be
transported into the depths of the temple.

This area has a very confusing layout; it's a mass of stairs, walkways
and passages.  There are chests everywhere, and a kooky old man in a
blue robe is also running around down here.  From where you arrived,
head up, then left, then up again and go down the stairs to the ground
level.  There's an opening just above you; go in it, turn to the right,
then climb down the vines clinging to the wall beneath you.  If you
run underneath the long staircase nearby, you can reach a treasure chest
that has a Trident inside of it.  From there, head right, go down the
stairs, then turn and climb up the wall using the vines.  Head past the
opening (which you can't enter at this point, anyway) and go up the
stairs.  The old man will dash away; ignore him for now and climb up the
vines to reach a platform.  There's a shiny pink item here (Mind Source).
Take it and go down the stairs, then enter the door to your left to find
a room with a treasure chest and the old man.  Inside the chest is the
Silver Rifle.  Talk to the geezer twice and he'll offer his services
to you:

- Purchase Items
- Restore HP and MP to maximum
- Save your game*
- Nothing

*  Choose the top option to decline or the bottom option to accept and
   save your game.

Outside, go back up the stairs and down the vines, but this time, head
down and to the left.  You can pick up a green item here (Turbo Ether).
Then go down the long stairway.  At the bottom, climb down the smaller
set of steps to your left, then work your way towards the southwest
corner of the screen.  Ther's a small patch of vines here that you can
climb down.  Be sure to open the nearby chest; there's a Rocket Punch
inside of it.  Now, go down the stairs and walk northeast along the
path to find some more vines and the old man, who scampers away when
you get too close.  Climb up the vines, then go up the stairs next to
you, go through the archway, turn east and go down the stairs, and
climb up the long stretch of vines on the nearby wall.  Head left,
underneath the staircase, and you can nab a purple materia (Luck Plus).

Now, go back the way you came (go right, down the vines, up the stairs
and down and out through the archway so that you're back on the path
that the old man was standing on, just above the vines).  Walk to the
east until the path stops, then head south and turn east again to enter
the nearby door.  As you enter, the old man will dash away.  There are
huge hollow boulders that are rolling down this walkway.  To get past
them, time your dashes so that the hollow part will be directly over
you, causing Cloud to kneel as the boulder rolls over you.  Then keep
going until you reach a side path that leads to a pool of water.  Grab
the Morph materia near the pool, then continue along the
walkway, avoiding the boulders.  Once you reach the end of the path,
they'll disappear for good, but remember that if you get hit by a
boulder, you'll be dragged all the way back to the beginning of the
path (ouch!)  Alternately, you can wait until the boulders disppear and
then go back and pick up the materia after the sequnce with Sephiroth.

Once the boulders are gone, Aeris will sense a powerful prescence in
the chamber and return to the pool.  Light will erupt from the surface
of the pool, and you'll be able to see what I presume is a flashback of
Tseng and Elena (both Turks) running around in the shrine.  After Elena
leaves, Sephiroth shows up and creates a double of himself.  While he
busies himself with attacking Tseng, the laughing double flies up into
the air.  After this sequence is over, Sephiroth's double will descend
into the pool and then fly away (is this supposed to mean anything?)
When you return to the end of the passage, the old geezer will be
waiting for you, and will once again offer his help:

- Restore HP and MP to maximum
- Save your game
- Nothing

When you're ready, go down the stairs.  There's a huge room here with
twelve doors labeled I to XII.  In the center of the room is the ever-
annoying talking clock.  I was ready to use my FF7 discs as frisbees
by the time I figured out how to solve this little 'mini-game'.  Here's
how it works:

If you press O (Roulette), the hour and minute hands move around very
quickly.  Even when you press O again to stop the hands, they'll both
move three more spaces in the direction they were traveling.

If you press T, you're given two options: one in blue, one in green:

        BLUE:  This gives you four _more_ options, one in blue, one
               in green, one in red, and one in white.

                - BLUE   The hour hand moves ahead by one space.
                - GREEN  The hour hand moves ahead seven spaces.
                - RED    The hour hand moves ahead by 17 spaces.
                         This invariably sets the minute hand ahead
                         by at least one space.
                - WHITE  This does nothing.

       GREEN:   This gives you _another_ four options, in blue,
                green, red, and white, respectively.

                - BLUE   The hour hand moves back by two spaces.
                - GREEN  The hour hand moves back by ten spaces,
                         setting the minute hand back by one.
                - RED    The hour hand moves back by 20 spaces.
                         This makes the minute hand decrease
                         by at least one space, too.
                - WHITE  This does nothing.

If you press X, the damn clock shuts up and you're free to move onto
the hands of the clock (providing you've aligned them properly).  You
can only walk on the hour and minute hands of the clock.

Isn't this fun?  Well, there are twelve passages (labeled I to XII),
and you get to explore them by setting the clock to various positions.
Here's a list of what's in each passage:

        I       -  When you open up the chest, you'll be attacked by
                   monsters.  You won't get anything for beating them,
                   either.

_________________________________________________________________________
TIPS:  JEMINISUMII                               LV: 24  HP: 800  MP: 80
       POIZUNFUROGGU  <Poison Frog>              LV: 26  HP: 500  MP: 100
       POIZUNFUROGGU  <Poison Frog>              LV: 26  HP: 500  MP: 100

The Poison Frogs are weak against Reiki, so use cold-based attacks/spells
on them.  Their attacks will turn you into a frog, but they attack so
often that it's better for you to wait until they hit you again (turning
you back into a human) instead of wasting a Maiden's Kiss or other
restorative item.  The woman (Jeminisumii) is weak against Poison, so
use one of the Bio spells on her for good results.  The only point in
fighting this battle is if you want to learn Song of the Frog from the
frogs (providing you have a Enemy Skill materia equipped).
_________________________________________________________________________

        II      -  This passage is blocked off by rocks.  You can't
                   do anything here, so return and pick another path.

        III     -  A treasure chest.  It contains monsters, too.
                   You won't get anything for defeating them.

_________________________________________________________________________
TIPS:  HEKUTOAIZU  <Hecto-Eyes>                  LV: 30  HP: 500  MP: 220
       HEKUTOAIZU  <Hecto-Eyes>                  LV: 30  HP: 500  MP: 220

Both of these red, multi-eyed monsters are weak against Poison, so use
the best Bio spell you've got, or simply attack to dispatch them.  If
you've got Morph equipped, you can morph both of them into
Magic Source items, which is really the only point in fighting this battle.
Although weak, either enemy can drain _lots_ of HP from you (around 1200-
1400 points!)
_________________________________________________________________________

        IIII    -  Shouldn't this be IV?  Anyway, there's a chest
                   here, and Aeris's Ultimate Weapon, the
                   Princess Guard is inside.

        V       -  This passage leads outside to the gold chest you
                   could see but not normally reach.  Inside it is
                   a Ribbon.

        VI      -  Read below to find out what to do here.

        VII     -  There's a chest here.  A weapon for Cait Sith,
                   the Hou xx, is inside it.

        VIII    -  You can get a Mega Elixir from the chest in
                   this room.

        IX      -  A passage blocked by fallen rock.

        X       -  This is where you came in, bud!

        XI      -  Yet another blocked passage.

        XII     -  What a creepy room!  You'll be seeing more of
                   it soon enough.

At some point, you should stand on the hour or minute hand and let the
second hand approach.  When it passes over you, it will knock you down
into the pit below.  When you land, you'll find yourself in a room with
a treasure chest.  Before you can open it, you'll be ambushed by two
monsters.

_________________________________________________________________________
BOSS TIPS: ENSHYANTODORAGON  <Ancient Dragon>   LV: 34  HP: 2400  MP: 450
           ENSHYANTODORGAON  <Ancient Dragon>   LV: 34  HP: 2400  MP: 450
                                                (weak against Demi)

Using Demi or some Summon Materia will kill these dragons quickly.
Even physical attacks work well.  Either enemy can only attack for about
500 points of damage, or use a Sazankurosu (Southern Cross) attack that
hit's one enemy for the same amount of damage, so they don't pose too
serious a threat.  You can also control them, even though they're bosses.
You'll win an Turbo Ether for defeating both of them.
_________________________________________________________________________

In the chest is the Nail Bat, the strongest weapon Cloud can get during
Disc 1.  Take it and leave the room.  You'll find yourself back at the
door you couldn't enter earlier (in the area with the vines and
staircases.  Simply work your way back to the talking clock, and pick
up any items you might have missed the first time around.

PASSAGE VI
Before going down this passage, make sure you've cleared out the other
rooms since you won't be able to go back to them after the next event.
When you step out into the open, the bouncing old man will see you and
run away.  When Aeris asks you a question, pick the bottom answer if
you want to return and explore more of the clock puzzle room (NSS), or
choose the top answer if you want to hunt down the old man.  To find
him, simply go through the passages; you want to end up going into a
passage that he plans to come out of.  You can go down to another set
of passages by going to the left end of each ledge and pressing the O
button to jump down a level.  The passage entrances and exits are
random, but you can catch him without too much difficulty.  Don't forget
to take the chest lying on the lowest level; there's a pair of Army
Cotton Gloves inside.  As usual, beat the old man at his own game and
he'll help you in return:

- Restore HP and MP to maximum
- Save your game
- Nothing

Now that you've caught the old man, the large door on the top level will
open.  Go inside and head to the right.  You'll encoutner Sephiroth four
times.  Up to his usual evil, Sephiroth talks about the energy within
the temple as he as swings his sword around, his every motion trailed by
the double that he made earlier.  After disappearing, Cloud will suffer
from some sort of fit (something about the Materia taking over his body?)
After coming to his senses, the party examines a mural on the wall which
shows a meteorite speeding towards the people of the earth.  Aeris talks
about the spell 'Meteo' which Sephiroth is planning to cast, when the
party hears Sephiroth's voice.  The temple starts to shake, and a large
red dragon appears and attacks the allies.

_________________________________________________________________________
BOSS TIPS: REDDODORAGON  <Red Dragon>           LV: 39  HP: 6800  MP: 300

Slow the dragon and Haste yourself to gain the upper hand.  Some Summon
Materia will also even the odds, but don't use Kjata since it will heal
the boss by about 2100 points.  Also, Demi won't work against it.
Limit Breaks and physical attacks should do the trick.  You'll win a
Dragon Armlet should you win the battle.
_________________________________________________________________________

Pick up the summon materia that's left behind (Bahamut).  Then go back
and examine the floating gold object on the dais.  Aeris refers to it
as the 'Kuro Materia' (Black Materia) but it's _gold_...in any case,
Aeris will then ask you a question.  It doesn't matter which answer
you choose.  At this point, if Cait Sith isn't in your party, you'll
here a ringing sound and Cloud will answer the PHS phone.  Cait will
talk to him through the phone.  If he is in you party, then he starts
hopping around and talking to you.  When he finishes, leave this
chamber, let the old man heal you if you need it, then go back to the
clock room.  The only direction you can go in is straight up through
passage XII.  When you examine the door in the room beyond, yet another
boss appears to finish you off.

_________________________________________________________________________
BOSS TIPS:  DEMONZUGEITO  <Demon's Gate>       LV: 45  HP: 10000  MP: 400

The bad news is that the boss can hit for lots of damage.  The good news
is that most of his attacks (especially the earthquake and body slam
attack) quickly max out your Limit bars.  Now's a good time to try out
the Bahamut materia, but most other Summon materia don't do much damage.
Make good use of Aeris's B1/1 and Cloud's B2/2, and you'll want to
Barrier and Haste yourselves.  Luckily, this boss can't instantly kill
you as a similar boss in FF2 could.  You'll win a Gigas Armlet from
this boss if you're victorious.
_________________________________________________________________________

Once the boss is defeated, Cait Sith will have an animated conversation
with your party.  If he's not in your group, then he bursts out of the
door and starts talking.  He'll then return to the chamber where the
Black Materia was and take it.  Afterwards, the entire temple vanishes!
In the following scene, Cloud and Aeris go down into the foundation
of the temple and retrieve the Black Materia, but Sephiroth shows up
and forces Cloud to give the Materia to him.  During this time, you
control a ghostly image of Cloud as a child.  If you stand in Cloud's
path and keep talking to him, you'll prevent him from approaching
Sephiroth, but there's no point in doing this since Cloud will continue
to advance until you give up.  After Cloud gives Sephiroth the Black
Materia, he will attack Aeris (and you can't do anything about that,
either).  Cait Sith will show up (actually Cait Sith 2--the same person,
but with a new robot body since the first one got trashed when the
temple was destroyed.  He sure got there fast, huh?)  Then your other
party member will leap down and prevent Cloud from killing Aeris.

After what I take to be a dream sequence, you'll awake in, of all
places, the inn at Gongaga Town, with Barret and Tifa by your side.
Answer Barret's question any way you like, then go outside.  Tifa and
Barret will join your party, but you don't have to keep them as
permanent members.  Look for the Tiny Bronco on the southern shore near
Gongaga Town.

Also, Aeris has left your party for good.  However, you'll have all of
her weapons, equipment, accessories and materia in your item menu.  Now,
you need to go to the forest that you saw in Cloud's dream.  First, get
in the Tiny Bronco.
 

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  3 . 2 1    e x c a v a t o r s '   s i t e  /  t h e   f o r e s t
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ITEMS IN THIS AREA:  'Summon Kjata' materia, Water Ring.

Make your way up to the Northern Continent by going around the left side
of the Western Continent after going along the river by the Gold Saucer.

Head to the right edge of the continent, where you'll find a forest
surrounded by mountains.  In the middle of the forest is a big rib cage
and a large skull.  Approach it, and you'll find yourself in a excavation
site where a bunch of archaeologists spend their time digging.  Before
doing anything else, you might want to head up the ladder and go through
the hole in the back to reach a forest, the same one from Cloud's dream.
Keep walking until you reach the second forest screen.  If you stand here
for a moment, you'll see a red Materia floating on the left side of the
screen.  It will switch to the right side and back again every few
seconds.  Try to predict where it will show up and use the O button to
grab it.  Your reward is the Summon Kjata materia.  If you try to
continue through the forest, you'll find that this screen repeats
endlessly.  So, go back outside.  Before going on to the next part of
the game, you may want to buy some bracelets and items; talk to the
man sitting near the rib cage and pick the second option in order to
buy things from him.

What you need to do at this point in the game is comission one of the
men to dig up the Runahaapu (Luna Harp) for you.  As long as you have
it in your possession, you're able to pass through the 'endless'
forest.

- First, talk to the man sitting just outside of the rib-cage room.
   Pick the first option twice*.  The screen will fade out.

- When the screen fades back in, all the men will be gone.  What you
   do is choose a place where you want a digger to stand and press the
   S button.  It costs 100 gil to place a digger.  Use the top option
   to place a digger, or the bottom option to quit.  You can place up
   to five diggers.

- You'll quit once you choose the bottom option or after you've placed
   five diggers.  Now, press the S button to set off an explosion.
   You'll hear a music cue, and the diggers will turn in different
   directions.

- Stand where you want one of the diggers to search through the night
   and press S again after clearing the dialogue box.  You'll find
   yourself back at the bottom of the screen the next morning.  The
   treasure chest nearby will be closed, and it may or may not hold an
   item, depending on where you chose to dig.

- The key to getting the right item is to watch the diggers after the
   explosion occurs.  They'll all look toward the location of the item
   you need, so try placing them in compass-point style layout so that
   you can follow their vision to the place where the item lies.  If
   you're really stuck, the Runahaapo lies just a little ways to the
   west and ever so slightly south of the tent on the upper ledge.

*  Normally, the first option is used to dig for the Runahaapu (all
   the diggers will look in the direction of the harp).  The other
   two options are used to dig up other items (the diggers will look
   in the direction of the closest item/next item to be found).  But
   not only do you not have to place diggers in order to find an item,
   but you can use any of the three choice to dig up the Runahaapu or
   any other item--it's just that the diggers won't look in the correct
   direction if you don't use the first option, and you can't use the
   first option after obtaining the Runahaapu.

How do you know if you got the right item?  Well, it will show up on the
Key Item menu (where the important stuff like the PHS is kept).  Also, if
you talk to the digger sitting by the room, and choose the first option
twice, he won't let you select and place diggers.  Finally, try going
into the forest.  If the screen turns green, then you've got the right
item.

When you've got Runahaapu, go into the forest.  When you reach the second
area, the screen changes to a green color, and the forest will no longer
repeat.  Beyond the forest is a rocky area.  First, go under the tree
trunk to reach the treasure chest with a Water Ring inside.  Climb up the
rocks near the pink mass of coral, then go through the fallen trunk and
head north to reach the next area (you can't climb up the vine in the
first area, so ignore it).  Walk along the curving path and you'll find
yourself back in the World Map, in the canyon near the forest.  Head
straight forward to the top-like object to continue your quest.
 

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  3 . 2 2    a n c i e n t   c i t y
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ITEMS IN THIS AREA:  Magic Source, Aurora Armlet, Comet materia, Guard
                     Up, Elixir, Enemy Skill materia, Wizard
                     Brace.

This area looks a lot like the floor of the sea; there's shells and coral
everywhere.  At the crossroads, take the left path.  It leads to a stone
building--inisde of the building is a Save Point, and there's a chest on
the upper ledge with a Magic Source inside it.  Leave the building and
continue past it, following the path east into the rock face.  Inside,
go down the stairs and head all the way right to find a chest with an
Aurora Armlet in it.  You can check out the blue crystal if you want,
but there's nothing you can do with it at this point in the game.  Return
to the crossroads and take the middle path.  Enter the shell building and
climb the spiraling walkway to the very to to find a green materia lying
on the ground (Comet).  Go back to the crossroads yet again and take
the right road.  It leads to an area with several shell buildings.  Go
all the way to the right, then go north to enter the building before you.
Climb all the way to the top level.  There's a chest here containing a
Guard Source.

There's nothing else to do in this area but enter the last shell house;
your friends won't let you take the path leading out of the city, and
the main path leads to another part of the chamber with the blue crystal,
but there's nothing you can do there.  So, if you're ready to proceed,
enter the shell house to the right of the main path.  On the ground
floor is a chest holding an Elixir.  Take it and climb up the ladder.
When you approach the beds, you'll be given an option.  You can choose
the bottom option, grab the yellow materia behind the headboard of the
third bed (Enemy Skill), exit the house, then enter it again,
approach the beds, and choose the top option to go to sleep.  Or, you can
just pick the top option the first time around, go to sleep, and when you
wake up in the night, grab the materia (it's easier to see at night, too).
Originally, I though this was a 'bug' materia (don't I feel silly now),
but it's not.

No matter what you decide to do, go to sleep when you're ready to.
You'll wake up in the middle of the night.  After Cloud's companions join
him, return to the crossroads a final time and take the middle path again.
When you enter the shell building, the fish floating in the middle of the
spiraling passageway will have disappeared; there are blue steps in it's
place.  Go down them and you'll find yourself in an underwater palace.
At the bottom of the stairs, leave the building and take note of the Save
Point before going down both sets of stairs below.

Aeris's here, and you have to get to her by jumping across several
pillars.  Press in the direction of the next pillar to get proceed,
but you'll have to use just Cloud; your allies will wait for you back
on the ground.  Once you get close to Aeris, Cloud has another spastic
fit and will draw his sword.  You can press the controller and the
buttons to make Cloud do different things, but pressing O three times
will make him try to strike Aeris.  Luckily, he'll come to his senses
beforehand with some help from his friends, but Sephiroth makes an
appearance and attacks Aeris.  After her death, Sephiroth escapes,
leaving behind another monster in his wake.

_________________________________________________________________________
BOSS TIPS: JENOBA*LIFE  <Jenova*Life>          LV: 50  HP: 10000  MP: 300

This boss is weak against earth attacks, so use Earth and Titan.  Also,
Comet, Bahamut, and Kjata all work very well.  Physical attacks do a
surprising amount of damage.  The boss will cast Reflect on itself the
first time you cast a spell on it, so be wary about using spells too
often.  Jenova*Life's attacks are not that strong (about 400-700 points),
but it has an ultra-deadly blue bubble attack (Aqua Breath) that inflicts
+1500 damage to each character.  Be sure to have some Restore Materia
handy.  Considering it's the last boss on this disc, this is not a very
hard battle.  You'll get a Wizard Bracelet when you win the battle.
_________________________________________________________________________

After beating the boss, there's another FMV sequence, then you're given
the option to save your game.  Guess what?  You just finished Disc One!
My times (if you're interested, and even if you're not :)) were 29:04
initially, and 25:20 for the rewrite.