How's it going? Despite having as much fun as I am playing through Final Fantasy VII, my writing has really slowed down D:
Then again, I've been applying for a TESOL course, which is kind of a labyrinth. Gotta get back into that teaching for the next academic year. I never realised how boring summer holidays were :P
But besides all that, it's Part 9 of Apoqliphoth's walkthrough for Final Fantasy VII!
Junon Harbour[]
Items[]
The shops are fairly unimpressive, and it seems pretty deserted to boot. Equip Cloud with Element-Choco/Mog on his weapon, as well as the Long Range Materia. Now head west to the 'beach'.
Here you'll find a girl called Priscilla trying to communicate with a dolphin. As you do. A monster appears and seems to eat the dolphin. I don't know; the graphics don't exactly allow for much detail here. It knocks out Priscilla (face-down in the water, that can't be good).
| Boss Battle: Bottomswell |
 Level: 23 Attacks:
This thing is a bit of a nuisance. Waterball creates a Waterpolo around one character, which is like Reno's Pyramid attack only it drains the HP of the character inside, and can be broken only with magic. Have an All-Magic (preferably Magic 2) pairing to hit the boss as well as break the Waterpolo. With the Materia setup I outlined previously, Cloud will be able to attack indirectly, as well as exploit Bottomswell's weakness to Wind. It uses Big Wave as a final attack, which does around 150 damage to the party, so try not to be in critical condition when you land the finishing blow :P |
I'm fairly sure water + pylons = bad idea?
"I used to play water polo, but then my horse drowned."
In the aftermath, it looks like Priscilla's dead. Well, almost. Cloud has to give her CPR. To complete this obnoxious 'mini-game', press 
to start inhaling, then press it again when the bar is at the top of the gauge to breathe into Priscilla. It takes 41 'breath points' to revive her, with each gauge having a maximum of 10 breaths. So four full breaths and one tiny breath will bring her back from the brink.
After that fun, head to the house near the town entrance. Talk to the woman outside, who'll offer you a room. Cloud hears voices overnight regarding Tifa and the Nibelheim incident. In the morning, go and find the rest of your party members. Priscilla will fork over the Shiva Materia.
Head to the beach and talk to Priscilla again. She gives you a dolphin whistle. The idea is to swim into a position where the dolphin will launch you up to the platform. The easy way to do it, however, it to just call the dolphin twice in a row without moving. Job done.
Junon Military Base[]
Items[]
- Enemy Skill Materia
- Mind Source
- Luck Source
- Guard Source
- Power Source
- Speed Source
Compensating for everything.
Climb up to the military base. Nice airship...examine the yellowish box to the south to lower the platform. Head through the obvious-looking south exit. You'll be called by a guard to change into your uniform. Find one in a locker.
As the parade proceeds, follow the leader in red. You get a nice view of a pretty huge gun -- wonder if that'll become relevant later? Talk to the captain to initiative the god-awful marching mini-game. You're supposed to march in-line with the rest of the troops, and do the gun-shouldering movement in time with everyone else. You know what I find works? Setting the controller so that 
is confirm and 
is cancel. Then just running back and forth across the spot you're supposed to be occupying and mashing to confirm all of the captain's messages. I got about 68% this way, and have never topped it.
Depending on the TV Ratings your antics create, you're rewarded with the following:
<29%: Grenade
30-39%: 6 Potions
40-49%: 6 Ethers
50%+: 5000 Gil
Fuck this minigame.
After the scene, Rufus and Heidegger (Gya ha ha ha!) are busy discussing shenanigans. Apparently Sephiroth's presence has got Rufus worried, and he takes it out on Heidegger (Gya...) who nearly gets left behind. I love the fat little guy.
Fun fact: He's apparently based on BRIAN BLESSED.
Respond however you like to the captain; you get your break taken away regardless. Jerk. He demonstrates the sending-off ceremony, which is another mini-game that's coming up. You get a good weapon for Cloud if you ace it though, so do pay attention.(You get the weapon if you get 170 or more)
After that's done, we can now go shopping. The first shop is a Materia shop, which sells Seal and Revive Materia, the latter of which is one in which you should definitely invest.
In the nearby alley is a weapons shop -- you should have everything here or better bar the Boomerang (if you're using Yuffie). There's also a humble item shop next door (and I mean humble; there's hardly anything worthwhile here). Lastly, there's a house. Talk to the man on the ground floor in the corner to gain access to another Beginner's Hall, inhabited by the ghosts of the original hall in Sector 7. Odd. The main point of interest down here is the second Enemy Skill Materia.
Head back upstairs and take the staircase by the door. In the first room you'll find a Mind Source and a 1/35th Soldier, which does absolutely nothing so I'm not even going to include it in the items list. I only list things that are useful. Speaking of useful, in the adjacent room you can find a Luck Source. Head upstairs and raid the Guard Source and Power Source.
Now leave the house and head on through Junon. The angle changes awkwardly as you go, but adjust the directional pad accordingly and you'll get there.
Inside the first building is a bar where the Turks are hanging out. In the second building is an inn on the ground floor (1st floor for Americans :P), a shop full of panhandling girls on the 1st floor (2nd floor for you in the US) and a rather scanty equipment shop on the top floor (...yeah). Buy a Headband -- Sleep-resistance will be a thing in the future.
In the third building, there's a Speed Source on the ground floor and another bloody 1/35 solider on the first. The last building is a weapon shop, but the owner hashed up his order and has only weak stuff. Continue!
You'll perform the president's send-off. Simply obey the captain's commands to increase Rufus-kaichou's mood (and gain 10 points per correct non-turning pose). You receive the following rewards for your efforts:
- 0-50 Points: Silver Glasses
- 60-90 Points: HP Plus Materia
- 100+ Points: Force Stealer
The Force Stealer is great -- it's powerful and offers double AP growth. Also note that immediately after the send-off, you can use the buttons to make Cloud do silly stuff like shrug and scratch his back with his rifle. It's rather like the passport photo thing in Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga.
When you regain control, enter the boat. It's time to cross continents and track down that silver-haired bishounen.
← Home
← Part 8: Loose Lips.
→ Part 10: Marshmallow Hell.