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p. GONGAGA TOWN / COSMO CANYON
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ITEMS IN THIS AREA: Fairy Tail, X Potion x2, 'Summon Titan' materia,
Certain Kill materia, Additional Effect materia,
Ether, Black Megaphone, X Potion, Fairy Ring, Ether
Turbo, Confusion/Vizier Rod, Gravity materia (and
you can get an Elixir, Magic Up, 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 Ruudo are here. After Iriina 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 Ruudo at the same time.
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BOSS TIPS: RENO LV: 22 HP: 2000 MP: 80
RUUDO 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 Ruudo, 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 Tail and
a X Potion should you win the battle.
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After the Turks leave, head northeast, then go north to reach a pile of
scrapped machinery. As you're looking around, Sukaretto and Shon 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 Certain Kill 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 Megaphone). 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 headleft.
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 Megaphone. 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 Ether Turbo inside.
When you approach the giant face in the next cavern, it begins to move
and you are attacked.
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BOSS TIPS: GI*NATATAKU LV: 29 HP: 5500 MP: 200
Don't worry about the Soul Fires this boss has with him; just use your
Summon Materia, then concentrate on attacking and using Limit Breaks on
the big guy himself. If your spell Materia has hit second level, then
Cold and Thunder 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 Confusion/Vizier Rod should
you be successful in battle.
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Grab the spell Materia (Gravity) 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.
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q. RETURN OF SEPHIROTH
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ITEMS IN THIS AREA: Luck Up x2, Elixir x2, Platinum Fist, Ether Turbo
Silver Megaphone, Twin Viper, Enemy Launcher, Magic
Up, Annihilation materia, Rune Blade, Platinum
Baretta, Overthrow, Affect All Materia, Attribute
Materia, Sniper CR, Jewel 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 Up. You can get an Elixir from another one of the creatures
in the Item Shop, and a second Luck Up 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
Ether Turbo 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 Annihilation
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 Megaphone 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 Up
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 (Annihilation) 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
Platinum Baretta. 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 Overthrow 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 Affect 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 Attribute 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.
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BOSS TIPS: MATERIAKIIPAA 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 'Chocobo and Moogle' 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 Affect 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 Techniques of the Enemy materia equipped so
that you can learn this enemy technqiue. You'll get a Jewel Ring should
you be victorious.
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After the battle is over, examine the purple materia that is left behind
in order to take it (Counter). Then follow the path outside--it leads
back to the World Map. |