Corneo Colosseum

Trophy: Returning Champion
Complete a Corneo Colosseum challenge.

The Corneo Colosseum is located in the wild and dangerous Wall Market. The winner of a colosseum tournament receives not only glory and fame, but a substantial prize.

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Corneo Colosseum is a battle arena in Final Fantasy VII Remake. It is part of the main quest in Chapter 9, "The Town That Never Sleeps" and afterward the player can partake in matches there for various rewards, including manuscripts and the party's Level 2 limit breaks. The arena is located in the Wall Market along the way to Don Corneo's mansion, the proprietor of the colosseum who runs the entertainment district.

Completing an optional challenge in the Corneo Colosseum unlocks the bronze trophy Returning Champion.

The Corneo Colosseum is a callback to the Gold Saucer's Battle Square from the original Final Fantasy VII.

History[]

The Corneo Colosseum hosted sporadic events such as the Corneo Cup, in which Scotch and Kotch commentate, with a few matches at the colosseum in-between with the gatekeeper as the announcer.^[1] The prize for the Corneo Cup went up to a million gil,^[2] with money collected from placing bets on the events.^[1]

In "The Town That Never Sleeps", Cloud Strife and Aerith Gainsborough competed at behest of Madam M to win a million gil for a dress for Aerith. Entering as Madam M's champions, they were booed and ridiculed at first, before the gatekeeper and the audience instead began to cheer for them. They fought matches against the beastmaster in the quarter-finals, Beck's Badasses in the semi-finals, and Chocobo Sam's robot champions in the final. Because of the size of the bets and excitement around the matches, Don Corneo requested a bonus match be added against the Hell House, which Cloud and Aerith triumphed against, impressing Andrea Rhodea in the crowd and winning the prize for Madam M.^[1]

Kyrie Canaan stole from some Shinra Electric Power Company men, unaware that they were Shinra, and was set to settle it in a battle with the beastmaster in the Angel Cup at the colosseum. Kyrie flaked on her match, leaving Cloud, Tifa Lockhart, and Barret Wallace to fight in her stead. The three defeated the beastmaster and returned to Kyrie.^[3]

Geography[]

The Corneo Colosseum is a grandiose building with strong resemblances to Japanese architecture. The building has a red and gold theme running throughout, with large statues of warriors fighting monsters both in the courtyard and inside the building. The actual arena itself is located below ground, an elevator leading down to it. The lobby has a ticket booth for the audience members, and a merchandise stand that offers explosive plushies, as well as clothing memorabilia.

Two gates at opposite ends of the arena pit allow for the contestants to enter and exit. Giant tv sets over the gates provide information on the contestants. At least one of the gates leads to a concrete hallway with an elevator to the Arena lobby, which several waiting areas for the contestants between rounds.

Stands overlook the arena itself, and an immense monitor overlooks the battle to provide updates for the audience. A VIP seating area, where Corneo's trio sit, is also located above the stands contained in a balcony. Fireworks light up the arena in between battles. Three statues of warriors in Asian-styled armor and weapons line three of four corners among the stands. There is an empty space, seemingly where one such statue is meant to be placed. Hotch and Kotch, the arena commentators, stand in front of one these statues during the matches. On the ceiling around the arena lights are decals of two eastern dragons.

Challenges[]

For tonight, the most gruesome spectacle anywhere in Wall Market or beyond shall be yours to witness! Here in the Corneo Colosseum!

Scotch

The first set of challenges, the Corneo Cup, is mandatory and part of the story progression, taking place during the quest "Underground Colosseum" in Chapter 9, "The Town That Never Sleeps". Later, separate challenges appear in the sidequests "Shears' Counterattack" or "A Dynamite Body", and during "In Search of Hope", the quest "Tomboy Bandit" leads to another separate challenge.

Aside from these, the following challenges are available:

Challenge	Description	Rank	Gil	Enemy level	Reward	Condition
Cloud vs. Wild Animals	A series of solo battles for Cloud. Fight a succession of Don Corneo's pet monsters.	1	100	20	Legacy: Ascension	Ch.9, Ch.14
Barret vs. Wild Animals	A series of solo battles for Barret. Fight a succession of Don Corneo's pet monsters.	1	100	20	Legacy: Catastrophe	Ch.14
Tifa vs. Wild Animals	A series of solo battles for Tifa. Fight a succession of Don Corneo's pet monsters.	1	100	20	Legacy: Dolphin Flurry	Ch.14
Aerith vs. Wild Animals	A series of solo battles for Aerith. Fight a succession of Don Corneo's pet monsters.	1	100	20	Legacy: Planet's Protection	Ch.9 with Aerith in party
Two-Person Team vs. Slum Outlaws	A series of two-person team battles in which you pick your team. Take on a succession of the colosseum's regular fighters.	2	200	20	Clarity Pendant	Ch.9 with Aerith in party, Ch.14
Cloud vs. Shinra Thugs	A series of solo battles for Cloud. Take on Shinra troopers who prefer fighting over keeping the peace.	3	300	25	The Art of Swordplay Vol. II	Ch.9 with Chapter Select, Ch.14
Barret vs. Shinra Thugs	A series of solo battles for Barret. Take on Shinra troopers who prefer fighting over keeping the peace.	3	300	25	Sharpshooter's Companion Vol. II	Ch.14
Tifa vs. Shinra Thugs	A series of solo battles for Tifa. Take on Shinra troopers who prefer fighting over keeping the peace.	3	300	25	Way of the Fist Vol. II	Ch.14
Aerith vs. Shinra Thugs	A series of solo battles for Aerith. Take on Shinra troopers who prefer fighting over keeping the peace.	3	300	25	Telluric Scriptures Vol. II	Ch.9 with Chapter Select and Aerith in party
Three-Person Team vs. Shinra Warriors	A series of three-person team battles in which you pick your team. Fight mixed teams of Shinra operators and monsters united only by a shared bloodlust.	3	300	25	Tarot Cards	Ch.14
Two-Person Team vs. Team Payback	A series of two-person team battles in which you pick your team. Fight powerful foes who are a menace to the slums.	4	400	25	Moogle's Amulet	Ch.9 with Chapter Select and Aerith in party, Ch.14

Each challenge lasts five rounds, and between each round, 50% of HP and MP is restored. Items cannot be used. Enemies cannot be stolen from.

Which challenges are available depend on the chapter. During "The Town That Never Sleeps", only challenges involving Cloud and Aerith can be participated in, available after defeating the Hell House. During Chapter 14, "In Search of Hope", parties can involve Barret and Tifa. Three-person teams are only available during this chapter.

vs. Wild Animals[]

The vs. Wild Animals challenges are solo battles, which award the manuscripts that provide the character's second limit break level. Each battle is against biological enemies, meaning that equipping Ice Materia allows the player to exploit their weakness. Using ice materia paired with Elemental Materia can be an effective strategy, as can pairing it with Magnify Materia to wipe out waves completely, if available. Immunity to Poison or Sleep helps in this gauntlet.

The first round is against two wererats, making it a straightforward round where only normal attacks are required. The second round has two gorgers and a blugu. The blugu is capable of inflicting Sleep, meaning it should be defeated first after avoiding its bubbles, while the gorgers are less powerful, but can still stun a character. The enemies can be defeated using character abilities.

Two guard dogs are fought on the following round. Though they are more durable, the strategy is mostly the same. Players may wish to stay defensive and use either ice magic or abilities to defeat them. The following round features a hedgehog pie and a grashtrike. The former can be killed faster, allowing the latter to be focused down next.

The final round is against a lesser drake, a flying enemy (meaning Cloud and Tifa must use aerial attacks, while Barret and Aerith rely on their range). The easiest way to defeat this enemy is using magic after normal attacks build up its stagger gauge.

Two-Person Team vs. Slum Outlaws[]

As a two-person team battle, the party can either include Cloud and Aerith during "The Town That Never Sleeps", or can be a combination of Cloud and Barret, Cloud and Tifa, or Tifa and Barret if attempted during "In Search of Hope". As many enemies are capable of stunning melee characters, it is preferable to pair a ranged with a melee character. Because the enemies are human, Fire Materia is most effective, and as before, elemental and magnify materia are good pairs for it.

The first round has two Corneo lackeys and one bandit. They are simple to defeat with normal attacks and character abilities. From this point onwards, rounds become more difficult, and the next round features a single fast-attacking Corneo lackey who can stun a melee character. The player should engage the enemy with a melee character, and switch to the other once the lackey focuses on them, using the other character to destroy it from range.

The third round has two bandits and one Corneo lackey and all enemies are capable of stunning. The same tactics apply as before; one melee character should take the focus so the ranged character can destroy the enemies from a distance. The fourth round features The Huntsman, a durable enemy with a riot shield that will block frontal attacks. One character can rush in, after which the player can switch to the other to hit the Huntsman from a distance, and make use of magic to pressure it and leave it vulnerable. The final round is against one Huntsman and four bandits; after killing the bandits the player can focus on The Huntsman.

vs. Shinra Thugs[]

Similar to the vs. Wild Animals battles, the vs. Shinra Thugs round is a solo gauntlet where defensive tactics are preferred. Although many of the battles are fought against human enemies, Lightning Materia can exploit the weaknesses of many of the enemies, including the more powerful ones. Steadfast Block Materia and Parry Materia are also helpful, and for melee characters, Deadly Dodge Materia is especially useful.

The first round is against a security officer, two grenadiers, and one Sentry Gun Prototype. The security officer and grenadiers can be dispatched quickly with normal attacks and character abilities, allowing the Sentry Gun Prototype to be focused on, though it is important to evade its attacks. The second round is against two flametroopers, whose flame attack can be deadly if not avoided. Its flames can be avoided by dodge-rolling, and afterward the player can rush in to deal damage. The player can also simply use abilities that hit from range to defeat them.

The third round is against two Sentry Guns and a shock trooper. The guns should be dispatched first to allow the shock trooper to be focused on next. This can be done by using abilities it cannot evade (such as most spells, Cloud's Blade Burst, or Tifa's Divekick), or by simply attacking until it stops evading, and then focusing it down. The fourth round, against a riot trooper and two Slug-Rays, is a similar ordeal, though it is critical to destroy the Slug-Rays as quickly as possible as their attacks can stun the player. The riot trooper is best defeated using attacks it cannot block (which are similar to those that shock troopers cannot block).

The fifth round is against a Sweeper and a Sentry Launcher. The Sentry Launcher should be destroyed first, as its missile attacks can be dangerous due to their range, allowing the Sweeper to be focused on next with character abilities and lightning magic.

Three-Person Team vs. Shinra Warriors[]

This challenge can only be fought with Cloud, Barret, and Tifa during "In Search of Hope". It is important that at least two characters have materia with offensive spells, of which lightning materia is best to exploit the weakness of more powerful opponents. Time Materia is also useful on all rounds, but especially on the final round.

The first round is fought against an elite security officer, an elite shock trooper, and a ghost. The elite security officer can be dispatched the quickest, while the other two are more challenging. As the ghost becomes immune to physical damage, casting spells can destroy it. Meanwhile, the elite shock trooper is capable of dodging many attacks before becoming vulnerable briefly. Powerful attacks that it cannot dodge (such as Tifa's Divekick or Barret's Maximum Fury) are effective against it, though it is best to have one character draw fire from it and attack it with the other.

The second round is fought against two cripshays and one helitrooper. The former are easily dispatched with character abilities from Cloud and Tifa, while the latter is best fought with Barret. The third round has a sahagin and two elite grenadiers. The elite grenadiers can be defeated first, allowing all three to focus on the sahagin. Defending against its attacks is critical.

The fourth round is fought against four enemies: a Laser Cannon, a Sentry Gun, a scissorclaw, and an elite riot trooper. The cannons should be dealt with first to remove the ranged threat, and the scissorclaw can be defeated next. Against the riot trooper, the easiest way to defeat it is to have Cloud or Tifa engage it, taking its focus away, and then use Barret's Maximum Fury or Focused Shot from behind its shield to defeat it.

The final round is against two venomantises and a queen grashtrike who can inflict inflicting poison and Slow; casting Haste counteracts Slow, while Poison can be healed through or counteracted by casting Regen or Chakra. These enemies are durable, but can be defeated with character abilities and spells. The venomantises should be destroyed first as they are weaker, allowing the queen grashtrike to be defeated last.

Two-Person Team vs. Team Payback[]

Much like the previous two-person team battle, a party may consist of Cloud and Aerith during "The Town That Never Sleeps", or be a combination of Cloud and Barret, Cloud and Tifa, or Tifa and Barret if attempted during "In Search of Hope". Enemies have a wide variety of elemental weaknesses, but lightning materia is best against some of the stronger enemies fought. Immunity to Silence can also be helpful.

The first round is fought against a hedgehog pie and a hedgehog pie king. The hedgehog pie can be killed first to allow the king to be focused on, against which the usual character abilities apply. The second round is fought against the Wrath Hound, which uses Throat Clamp to bind a character. When this happens the player should switch to the other party member and remain defensive while using attacks to try to stagger it. Sustained damage should eventually destroy it.

The third round is a more challenging round against a doomrat and a Chromogger. The doomrat should be killed first, but the Chromogger is more difficult due to its silencing attack and its powerful Skull Cracker attack that can deal crippling damage. The player needs to avoid this attack by remaining evasive, and otherwise stay evasive and burst it down using lightning magic or character abilities.

The fourth round is against a bomb and a cerulean drake. Spells are helpful against both ,and against the cerulean drake, aerial attacks help stagger it. Similar strategies apply as before.

The fifth round is against a Jury-Rigged Cutter and a Mark II Monodrive. The Jury-Rigged Cutter is best fought with lightning magic and abilities while remaining evasive. The Mark II Monodrive alternates between being immune to magic or immune to physical damage. Await the opportune moment to use the most powerful attack of either type against it, after first dealing with the more straightforward Jury-Rigged Cutter, to complete the battle.

Grab Bag[]

After completing a challenge in the Colosseum, repeating it will offer a "Grab Bag" as a reward. This gives a random set of rewards dependent on the challenge.

Match	50%	30%	15%	5%
Rank 1 Rank 2	500 gil	Hi-Potion x2 Antidote x2 Phoenix Down x1	Hi-Potion x3 Smelling Salts x2 Celeris x1	Mega-Potion x1 Grenade x1 Ether x1
Rank 3 Rank 4	1000 gil	Hi-Potion x3 Orb of Gravity x1 Phoenix Down x1	Mega-Potion x1 Remedy x1 Celeris x1	Mega-Potion x2 Molotov Cocktail x1 Ether x1
Three-Person Team vs. Shinra Warriors	1500 gil	Hi-Potion x1 Orb of Gravity x1 Phoenix Down x1	Mega-Potion x2 Remedy x1 Celeris x1	Mega-Potion x3 Molotov Cocktail x1 Ether x1

Souvenir Shop[]

The player can use the souvenir shop after completing the storyline parts at the Corneo Colosseum at "Underground Colosseum".

Name	Cost	Stock
Fight On!	50 gil	1
Fuzzy Wuzzy	100 gil	Infinite
Mr. Cuddlesworth	250 gil	Infinite

Other appearances[]

Final Fantasy Brave Exvius[]

Musical themes[]

The theme for the location is called "Corneo Colosseum" on the soundtrack.

Behind the scenes[]

The Corneo Colosseum was created to provide battles exciting enough to deliver a great climax to the chapter. It was designed to appear dubious and redolent of the Asian influences seen throughout Wall Market.^[4] The courtyard and building architecture were based on the designs of a traditional Japanese temple, and the VIP seating area was designed to appear as a Buddhist template repurposed, matching the rest of the colosseum for color scehme.^[5]

The mascot illustrations of Don Corneo were originally drawn by Roberto Ferrari to appear on drink labels in the colosseum waiting room, and Ferrari was surprised to see them appear on monitors. The original illustrations appeared more realistic, but became more cartoonish over time.^[6]

Hell House, which was a normal enemy in the original Final Fantasy VII, was made into a boss battle in the colosseum to give it spectacle, as the developers felt its bizarre nature would make it strange if it appeared in the world with no run-up.^[7]

Citations[]