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l. RETURN TO THE ANCIENT CITY / MIDGAR CITY UNDER SIEGE
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ITEMS IN THIS AREA: Ultima Weapon, Elixir x3, Last Elixir, Aegis
Bracelet, Starlight Horn, Maximum Ray, Power Up x2,
Guard Up, Magic Up, Mind Up, Double Item materia,
Master Fist, Pile Banker, Marvelous Cheer, Ragnarok,
Missing Score.
Get in the Highwind and return to Cosmo Canyon. Make your way up to the
observatory and talk to Buugen Haagen. Cloud will use the PHS system to
call the rest of his friends up to Buugen Haagen's home. They'll all
talk about Sephiroth and Aerith, and then leave Cloud alone with Buugen
Haagen, who offers to keep the Huge Materia at his observatory for
safekeeping. Touch any of the Huge Materia you have and pick the
bottom option to return to the Highwind. Buugen Haagen will accompany
you. Pilot the Highwind back to the Northern Continent and land in the
canyon where the Ancient City is located. At the crossroads, take the
left path and follow it into the chamber with the blue crystal that
you couldn't do anything to earlier. Head right along the upper path
and take the stairs up to the crystal. Buugen Haagen will talk to
Cloud and his friends. If you already got the Old x x no Key, Buugen
Haagen uses it to create a waterfall. If you didn't get it yet, he'll
remain here in the Ancient City until you find it and return to himwith it.
Once the waterfall has been activated, walk towards the crystal a
second time. Pictures of Aerith will be shown in the falling water
while Buugen talks to your party. Now, leave the Ancient City. As
you do, Cait Sith calls on Cloud's phone and tells him that the Sister
Ray in Junon Town has been re-installed in Midgar City, and that it's
going to be used to destroy the barrier around the crater (where
Sephiroth's at). After seeing some more FMV, return to the Highwind.
Just as you're about to board it, another Weapon monster shows up and
starts advancing towards Midgar City. Since you can't attack it while
in the Highwind, and you can't reach it using the submarine, wait until
it reaches dry land, then try and touch it in order to see another FMV
sequence in which the Sister Ray is used to kill the Weapon and break
the shield at the same time.
At this point in the game, if you return to the lake near Junon Town,
the Ultima Weapon will be hovering over the lake. You can battle the
Ultima Weapon by ramming into it while aboard the Highwind. However,
it will fly away after fighting with you for awhile. From this point
on, it will fly around the sky and make it's way to various random
locations. It might seem as if you could just wait around for the
Ultima Weapon to show up here and there, but the beast will fly in
circles unless you find it and ram into it repeatedly. After 4 or 5
tries, it will then head towards a new location and sit there until you
attack again. After escaping a few more times, it will make a final
stop at Cosmo Canyon. You can fight it to the death here (it's a
pushover, so don't expect too much of a challenge), and when it dies,
you get Cloud's Ultimate Weapon (the Ultima Weapon). Furthermore,
it will create a crater when it crashes into the ground, wiping out
several of the rock formations around Cosmo Canyon. However, you can
now walk across the crater and go into the Old Forest! Normally, you
can't reach this place unless you're using a colored Chocobo. If you
don't want to fight the Ultima Weapon now, you still fight it duringDisc 3.
Anyway, pilot the Highwind back to the crater when you're ready. Before
you can explore it further, Reeve (y'know, the guy who controls Cait
Sith) reveals that Hojo (one of the members of the Jenova Project) is
planning to use the Sister Ray again, even though the results could be
catastrophic considering how much energy it used up last time. So you
have to get back into Midgar City and stop Hojo beforehand.
When you're ready to raid Midgar City, fly the Highwind straight towards
it, as if you were going to ram into it. Cloud and his allies will
gather together on the airship's deck. You can now choose the top
option to assemble a new party, or the bottom option to leap off the
ship and parachute into the city. When you can move, follow your
friend to an alleyway where your pals are waiting. There's also a Save
Point here. Talk to whoever is by the wooden panel and they'll open it
to reveal a ladder leading down into the depths of Midgar City. At the
bottom of the ladder, go along the metal passage and down the slope.
Go up the the next slope and when you reach the wall, head right to
find a chest containing an Elixir, and then run to the left to find a
chest with a Last Elixir inside of it.
Make your way back to the area with the ladder and take the stairs down
to an area with a ladder. If you climb down the ladder, you'll reach a
long walkway; head east and then go north to arrive at another ladder.
Climb up it and you'll have access to the green chest you saw earlier;
it contains an Aegis Bracelet. Climb back down to the long walkway and
run to the right. The floor will give way and you'll be deposited on a
lower walkway. Head left, jump on top of the pipe, and then ascend the
ladder. When you arrive at another ladder, climb up it, too.
Eventually you'll arrive at a path just below the one you were walking
around on earlier. Walk along it until you reach a chute; walk into it
and you'll be deposited in a new area. Check out the green chest to the
left (there's a Starlight Horn inside it). Then go to the right and open
the chest that's near the ladder (it contains an Elixir). Climb down the
ladder and press against the right lip of the platform in order to jump
down to the chute labled '42'. Enter the chute, and when you arrive at
the other end, head left and then go up the ladder. At the top, you'll
find a chest to the left; there's a Maximum Ray inside it. Retrace your
steps until you're back at the other area, press left to jump off the
chute and back onto the platform, and then climb up the ladder and go
up the stairs to your left (it's right next to the chute labled '12').
At the top of the stairs is a Save Point. To the right of it is a
crawlway. Make you way along it and you'll arrive in an underground
tunnel system. Climb down to the floor and head south. While many of
the passages here split off in two directions, one direction will always
end in a blocked door, so keep going south. As you keep going, you'll
run into your friends (remember, who you meet up with depends on who is
and isn't in your group). After heading south for a couple of screens,
you'll find a treasure chest lying against the left wall of one of those
'split-passage' areas I mentioned earlier. Inside it is a Power Up. At
the next split-passage area that you come across, there is a treasure
chest in the area between the doorways. There's a Guard Up inside it.
Keep going south, and when you reach the next split-passage area, there
will be two chests lying in the area between the doorways. The one to
the left has a Magic Up inside it, and the one to the right contains a
Mind Up. If you go south from here, you'll arrive at a dead end. In the
left corner of this area is a Save Point, and in the right corner there
is a yellow materia (Double Item). If you press against the wall,
you'll discover that you can't go any further.
So, go all the way back to the first area (where the ladder was). Try
to head to the north and guess who shows up! It's the remaining Turks,
and they're here for a final showdown with Cloud and his friends. I
could swear that the first time I came through here, they asked if I
wanted to fight or not...but I guess not, since nothing like that
happened this time around. Perhaps it has something to do with
completing Yuffie's sub-quest before coming here?
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BOSS TIPS: IRIINA (can't see her stats.)
RENO LV: 50 HP: 25000 MP: 200
RUUDO LV: 51 HP: 28000 MP: 250
Iriina is healed by lightning attacks, Reno by ice attacks, and Ruudo
by fire attacks. Ruudo has a punch attack that hits one character for
2000 points of damage, Iriina can throw a firebomb that inflicts 500 to
600 points of damage (in addition to a charm attack), and Reno uses a
spark attack which will cause 800 HPs worth of damage. They all have
more attacks than these; but I'm listing the ones the seem to use most
often. Alone, they aren't much, but with all three of them fighting
together, this becomes one of the toughest battles in game. Barrier
and Haste your allies, then use spells like Ultima and Tornado to soften
the Turks up in addition to Limit Breaks. Try to save Phoenix until you
really need it, since it will revive your members but heal Ruudo. All
three Turks will escape once you've defeated them in battle. You'll get
an Elixir when the battle is over.
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After the battle, go north. When you reach the split passage area, go
north again. If Cid isn't in your party, he'll show up here. Take the
right path and at the next split passage, take the left path. You'll
arrive at a blocked passage, but there's a ladder against the left wall
that leads to the Shin-Ra Building. If Cait Sith is in your party,
he'll talk to you. Otherwise, you'll see him hop out of the building.
If you didn't read Kamedouraku Flyer No. 2 the first time around, you
can check out the billboard at the back end of the first floor to read
it now. Go up the stairs near the front and look for a door marked
'Accessories' near the other end of this floor. In the adjoining room,
you can open two chests that a Shin-Ra employee wouldn't let you
examine eaarlier. The one to the right contains a Master Fist and the
left one has a Pile Banker inside of it. Before leaving, go up to the
64th floor and look for the lockers (go north from the elevators). If
you examine the left end of the row of lockers against the wall, you'll
find the Marvelous Cheer (Cait Sith's Ultimate Weapon that you couldn't
take earlier).
Return to the underground passages again. Go south past one split-
passage room, and when you reach the second room, take the left path.
You'll go outside. Walk towards the lefthand red beam to climb up it
and jump onto the main street. Head north and a huge mechanical monster
will appear from behind you; it's being controlled by Haidekkaa and
Sukaaretto. After laughing in your face, they'll attack you.
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BOSS TIPS: PURAUDO KURADDO (can't see it's stats.)
JAMAAAAAMAA LV: 62 HP: 20000 MP: 300
This mechanical monstrosity has two parts; a head and a chest area that
you can aim your attacks at. The boss can only cause around 500-800
points of damage, but it can kneel and fire a ray from it's back (the
Beam Cannon attack) that causes 1100 damage to all members. Even after
disabling the Jammer Armor (it can use it's Materia Jammer attack to
disable your Materia), you'll still have to keep attacking the main part
if you want to kill it. Spells and summonings work nicely, and you
shouldn't worry about your HP until the boss kneels and readies it's
laser attack. You'll get the Ragnarok sword once the fight is over.
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Once the machine explodes, it starts to rain. Head north. There are
two chests near the entrance. The one closest to you has an Elixir in
it, while the one that's further away contains a Misutiiru. Use the
Save Point that's nearby if you want to, then climb up the ladders.
If he's not in your party, Vincent will be on the lower landing. The
second landing is normally empty, but if Barett is in your party, you
will see a green chest there. Open it to get Barett's Ultimate Weapon,
the Missing Score. If Barett's not in you party, you won't find anything
on the landing, even if you search it thoroughly. Once you've climbed
all the way to the top, run to the right. Sitting at the Mako Cannon's
(Sister Ray's) controls is Hojo, who will attack your party when youtalk to him.
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BOSS TIPS: HOUJOU LV: 50 HP: 13000 MP: 250
PUDUREA SANPURU LV: 42 HP: 10000 MP: 200
IBIRURAPPU SANPURU LV: 34 HP: 11000 MP: 120
HERETIKKU HOUJOU LV: 55 HP: 26000 MP: 200
MIGUIDE LV: 55 HP: 5000 MP: 300
SAUDE LV: 55 HP: 24000 MP: 400
xxxxx HOUJOU NA (can't see his stats.)
Hojo can use his 'Capsule' power to summon the two 'Sample' monsters
every time you kill them. So, concentrate on defeating Hojo instead of
the lesser monsters. He'll then reappear as a huge monster with two
independant arms (Heretic Hojo). Since Hojo can bring the arms back
to life, aim your attacks at the main body of the boss. He may cast
Confuse or Silence on you, so I hope you have some Ribbons equipped.
The right arm will also inflict a lot of damage, so cast Barrier
beforehand. In his final form, Hojo can cast Slow and employ a
multiple-hit attack (Combo), which will poison whoever is hit by it.
As long as you keep your HPs up, this battle is a cinch. You'll receive
a Power Up once you've killed Hojo.
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You'll return to the Highwind after killing the boss. There's a short
sequence with Tifa and Cloud afterward, then the Highwind blasts off
into the sky. Well, that's the end of this disc! My time...17:25 the
first time around, and 14:24 for the rewrite. |