Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade · walkthrough

Chapter 14: In Search of Hope

Story mode. Written for a first playthrough and kept free of spoilers — it will not tell you what happens here, only what the game is asking of you.

This is the chapter the game has been saving its side content for. Nine jobs, three locked treasure rooms, new fights at the colosseum, a handful of music discs, and every shop you have used in Sector 5 and Wall Market open again. It is also the last time on this playthrough that any of it is open. Plan on a long session.

The first night

The chapter opens with a quiet scene. Who turns up in it depends on choices you made a long way back, and there is nothing to do but watch.

When you step outside, look at the ground in the garden. There is a materia lying there called Pedometer. Equip it and forget about it: after 5,000 steps it turns into something much better, and you are about to do a lot of walking.

Do the jobs in this order

All nine jobs open at once, and two of them depend on others. Save yourself a second trip:

Do Wymer’s underground job before the doctor’s. The doctor wants three ingredients, and one of them only exists after Wymer’s job.
Do Johnny’s job before the reporter’s treasure hunt. The hunt needs a key, and Johnny’s job is where it comes from.
The treasure hunt cannot finish yet. It has three locked rooms. Two are out in the open; the third is somewhere the story only takes you later. More on that below.

The rest go in any order. The teacher outside the kids’ hideout, the stablehand on Station Way, Madam M in Wall Market, the gym, and the woman by the park jukebox each want something small. Wymer’s job is the longest — a dive down through somewhere you have been before, with no bench at the bottom — and it pays Barret a new weapon. Rest before you go in.

Madam M’s job ends in a fight against a small, slow thing carrying a knife. It kills outright if it reaches you, and it punishes anyone who has been using abilities. Keep your distance, slow it down if you can, and carry Phoenix Downs.

Look at people, not just chests

Four people in this chapter will simply hand you a music disc if you talk to them: a woman by the water on the road between Sector 5 and Wall Market, an old man in the Wall Market inn lobby, a girl in the alley beside the Honeybee Inn, and a man with a gramophone on the road west of the colosseum. The colosseum’s souvenir shop sells one more. Three of those five are exactly what the woman by the jukebox is asking for.

Things worth your money and your time

The Moogle Emporium in the kids’ hideout has a new stock. One of the doctor’s ingredients costs a single medal there. The treasure rooms are full of medals, so do not worry about running short.

The box-smashing game in the kids’ hideout now has a Hard tier, and only this chapter has it.

Chadley is back in the Center District with a new summon fight. It hates lightning.

The colosseum has new courses, including solo runs for Tifa and Barret that pay limit breaks and Manuscripts. Wall Market itself has three chests tucked down alleys you probably walked past last time: a dead end north of the entrance, another in the south, and a squeeze-gap across from the Honeybee Inn. Anything you missed in Sector 5 or Wall Market in earlier chapters is still waiting, too.

When the story takes you underground

Eventually the story heads below ground. Bring fire magic, which almost everything down there hates, and buy Maiden’s Kisses from the vending machines. One of them also sells a music disc.

Read this before you climb out. Down there you will find a door bearing the same crest as the treasure rooms, and a console beside a ladder that drains the water. Use the console, then walk back to that crested door before you climb the ladder. Behind it is the third treasure room and a fight against a pack of fish-men who turn you into toads. Everything there closes once you go up.

Before you say yes

Back on the surface you get a short walk with one chest on it and, if you finished every job, a small thank-you lying on the ground.

At the end of that walk the game asks if you are ready to go on. Saying yes ends the chapter and closes everything in this guide for the rest of the playthrough — the jobs, the shops, the colosseum, the treasure. It is fine to say no, walk back, and finish what you wanted. Hand the three treasure-room prizes to Marle in Evergreen Park first.

Game Notes

The original game moved briskly at this point. The Remake does the opposite: it opens every door it has and asks you to wander for a few hours. Whether that is a stall or a gift depends on how much you liked these towns.

It is mostly a gift. Almost every job here is a callback to someone you helped earlier, and the chapter quietly checks whether you remember them. The fights are better than the quests deserve, too — Madam M’s job and Wymer’s dive are two of the best optional bosses in the game.

The one trap is the order. A player who wanders into the underground part of the story first, or answers the last question without thinking, loses an hour of work for this run. Do the jobs in the order above, keep that crested door in mind, and the chapter is generous.

Worth doing on a first run

Pedometer Materia (Aerith's garden)materiaOn the ground in the garden just outside the house. Equip it, walk 5,000 steps, then examine it and it becomes AP Up Materia. This chapter is the best place in the game to do the walking.
Prayer Materia (stash 1, Steel Mountain)materiaOn the floor of the Steel Mountain stash. A party-wide heal; Barret wants it for the bosses ahead.
Music Disc: 16. Good Night, Until TomorrowcollectibleThe grey-haired man in the Wall Market inn lobby, across from the receptionist. One of Betty's three for The Power of Music.
Music Disc: 30. Stand UpcollectibleThe girl in the back alley to the left of the Honeybee Inn entrance. One of Betty's three.
Music Disc: 12. Fight On!collectible50 gil at the souvenir shop by the colosseum lift. The third of Betty's discs.
Side quest: Subterranean MenacesidequestWymer in Evergreen Park. The entrance is under the white dome beside him and leads back down through the test site to a taped door on Underground Lab B5. There is no bench inside. A Type-0 Behemoth waits behind the door. Pays the Wrecking Ball and the Behemoth Horn. One guide's chapter page gives Sharpshooter's Companion Vol. III instead; that belongs to The Power of Music.
Wrecking Ball (Barret)weaponWymer's reward for Subterranean Menace, and the weapon that teaches Barret Smackdown.
Side quest: Tomboy BanditsidequestJohnny at the Sector 5 Undercity Station. Find Kyrie at the church, take the colosseum's Special Match from the gatekeeper, report back. The match is a Beastmaster and his Hellhound: put out the red flame with ice and the purple one with Cure, and each one counts toward the stagger. Pays the Corneo Vault Key and Johnny's Wallet. Hand the wallet back at the station for the last piece of The Johnny Experience trophy.
Side quest: Corneo's Secret StashsidequestDamon the reporter gives you the Map to the Hideout. Mireille on Lookout Point, then the Vault Key from Tomboy Bandit, then all three stashes: Steel Mountain, the Collapsed Expressway and the sewers, each emptied completely. The third is only reachable once the story takes you underground. Hand the three tiaras to Marle in Evergreen Park for The Art of Swordplay Vol. III.
Chakra Materia (Kotch, mansion basement)materiaMiddle door into Corneo's office, then through the door downstairs. Free Kotch from the table and he leaves the materia behind.
Before you climb: drain the stash stairsprogressionFollow Leslie into the room after the shoat. The console beside the ladder drains the flooded stairs down to the stash. Do not climb the ladder; walk back to the ornate Corneo door just off the path and clear the stash first.
Emerald Tiara (stash 3, sewers)key-itemThe third tiara. Without it Corneo's Secret Stash cannot be finished on this run.
Letter from the Guardian Angel (Elemental Materia)key-itemLies on the ground near the end of the Urban Advancement District, before the wall, if the side quests are done. It comes with the game's second Elemental Materia and the Divine Gratitude trophy. You walk past it on your way to the point of no return, so the quests must be finished before you take that last stretch.
Point of no return: answer "yes" to BarretprogressionAt the wall, the game asks if you are ready. Yes ends the chapter and you do not come back to Sector 5, Wall Market, the colosseum or any of the nine quests on this run. Say no until the checklist above is done.

How this page was made

Researched across 5 community walkthroughs and written from scratch — no source’s wording appears here.

How we decide what to print

Completionist mode. Full spoilers, in play order, with every permanent loss called out before you reach it. 10 entries below are marked where our sources disagree with each other — we have not picked a winner for you.

Spoilers from here.

Chapter 14 is the Remake’s last open hub on a run, and the most crowded. After the Sector 7 plate comes down and Aerith is taken, the party regroups at Elmyra’s house, and the game opens Sector 5, Sector 6, Wall Market and the colosseum one final time before the climb to the Shinra Building.

The deadlines

The hard one: answering “yes” to Barret at the wall. At the end of the Urban Advancement District (objective Over the Wall), Leslie hands over the grappling guns and the party stands at the foot of the wall. Say yes and the chapter ends. Every one of the nine side quests, the three stashes, the slum and Wall Market shops, the colosseum, Chadley, the Moogle Emporium and Whack-a-Box are gone for this run. Some guides phrase the cut-off as “entering the Shinra Building”; in practice it is this answer.

The soft one: the ladder into Corneo’s hideout. In the sewers, the third stash sits behind a flooded stairway you drain from a console beside the ladder. Drain it, walk back and clear the stash, then climb. Once you are up the ladder and Abzu is dead, one guide says the sewers are closed to you and readers of another report both answers. Do not test it on a run you care about.

The letter sits before the wall. The Letter from the Guardian Angel, with the second Elemental Materia and Divine Gratitude, lies on the path you walk just before Barret’s question. The quests have to be done before you walk that stretch, not merely before you say yes.

Ordering locks. Secret Medicine needs the Behemoth Horn from Subterranean Menace. Corneo’s Secret Stash needs the Vault Key from Tomboy Bandit and the Emerald Tiara from the sewers, so it can only be turned in after the sewers and before the wall.

The first night: who visits Cloud

The chapter opens with Cloud woken by footsteps and following them into the garden. Tifa, Aerith or Barret keeps him company, decided by a hidden affinity tally running since Chapter 2. What moves it:

Aerith: “How much?” for her flower in Chapter 2; all the Chapter 8 side quests and The Language of the Flowers; kind answers about her dress at Madam M’s in Chapter 9 (“It’s alright”, “Looks comfortable” — “Does it matter what I think?” counts against her).
Tifa: ordering “something hard” in Chapter 3; all the Chapter 3 side quests and Alone at Last; telling Sam that Madam M is “in great shape” in Chapter 9.
Whoever you help up first in the Chapter 10 sewers.
Barret: be cool to both women and skip the Chapter 3 and Chapter 8 jobs.

No trophy depends on it. How the scene behaves on a Chapter 14 replay is not documented anywhere reliable, so do not count on Chapter Select to show you a different visitor.

Outside, the Pedometer Materia is on the ground in the garden. Walk 5,000 steps with it equipped and examine it to turn it into AP Up Materia. A replay that finds one already in your inventory gives Healing Materia instead.

Everything else, in play order

All nine quests open after the opening scene. This is a loop that covers them with the least backtracking.

Sector 5 slums. Shops are back. The Moogle Emporium sells Steel Pincers, Silver Staff, Enfeeblement Ring, Whistlewind Scarf, Salvation Badge, Moogle’s Mortar (1 medal), 20. Gold Saucer and the four Vol. I Manuscripts. Whack-a-Box gets a Hard tier in this chapter only: 30,000 points pays a Transference Module and clearing every Hard tier is Whack-a-Box Wunderkind; Normal still pays a Spectral Cogwheel. Chadley is in the Center District. Pick up Missing Children (Ms. Folia), Chocobo Search (the stablehand — Gysahl Greens x3), Secret Medicine (the doctor — Doctor’s List), Corneo’s Secret Stash (Damon — Map to the Hideout) and Tomboy Bandit (Johnny, at the station). The Medicinal Flowers are on the church floor in the far north-west once you have the list.

North: Nuts ‘n’ Bolts Hills to Steel Mountain. The cemetery holds the Missing Children fight. Past it, at the north end of the hills, is the first chocobo and its Rust Drake. On Lookout Point, Mireille waits at the Guardian Angel’s hideout with the Corneo Vault Note behind her. East from that branch, past Lesser Drakes and north of the boarding-only chocobo post, is stash 1 behind a red-and-gold dragon gate. With the Vault Key it gives up eight chests:

Chest	Contents
Floor	Prayer Materia
Back right corner	Ruby Tiara
—	Circlet
—	3,000 gil
—	Moogle Medal x2
—	Adrenaline x4
—	Molotov Cocktail x3
—	Maiden’s Kiss x2

Smash the breakable Corneo boxes too; they hold Elixirs and a lot of medals, and a stash only counts as cleared once it is empty.

Sanctuary Way and the Collapsed Expressway. The second chocobo is halfway up the path to the church, with no fight. Kyrie is at the church. Inside the expressway, take the left fork to stash 2 and the Diamond Tiara; the third chocobo is deeper in with its three Trypapolis. Guides number the two outdoor stashes in opposite orders, so go by location.

S6-5 Road. The woman at the platform edge by the water, midway along, gives you 7. Turks’ Theme.

Evergreen Park. Wymer starts Subterranean Menace; the dome beside him leads back into the Chapter 13 test site, down to a taped door on Underground Lab B5. There is no bench inside, and the B1 vending machine still sells 14. Main Theme of FFVII if you missed it. Marle is here too; she takes the tiaras.

Wall Market. Madam M (Malicious Goons), the gym (Wavering Heart), Betty at the jukebox east of the inn (The Power of Music), and the colosseum gatekeeper’s Special Match for Tomboy Bandit. Discs: 16. Good Night, Until Tomorrow from the grey-haired man in the inn lobby, 30. Stand Up from the girl in the alley left of the Honeybee Inn, and 12. Fight On! for 50 gil at the souvenir shop by the colosseum lift. Three new chests: a Moogle Medal in the dead-end alley north of the entrance, an Elixir in the dead end in the south, and a Sorcerer’s Armlet through the tight gap across from the Honeybee Inn.

Urban Advancement District. The man by the gramophone on the side path west of the colosseum gives you 24. Wutai.

Every chest you skipped in Sector 5 and Wall Market in Chapters 8 and 9 is still in place now. This is your last chance at them on this run.

The side quests

Quest	Giver	Fight	Reward
Missing Children	Ms. Folia	2 Phantoms (cemetery)	Time Materia
Chocobo Search	Stablehand, Station Way	Rust Drake; 3 Trypapolis	Sam’s Delivery Lifetime Pass
Malicious Goons	Madam M	Tonberry	none (Elixir off the Tonberry)
Wavering Heart	Jules / Andrea	pull-up contest	Way of the Fist Vol. III
The Power of Music	Betty	none — three discs	Sharpshooter’s Companion Vol. III
Secret Medicine	Doctor	none — three items	Telluric Scriptures Vol. III
Subterranean Menace	Wymer	Type-0 Behemoth	Wrecking Ball + Behemoth Horn
Tomboy Bandit	Johnny	Beastmaster + Hellhound	Corneo Vault Key + Johnny’s Wallet
Corneo’s Secret Stash	Damon	Sahagin Prince (stash 3)	The Art of Swordplay Vol. III

Subterranean Menace pays the Wrecking Ball. One guide’s chapter page gives Sharpshooter’s Companion Vol. III here; that is The Power of Music’s reward, and the same guide’s own side-quest page agrees. The same page also lists The Power of Music as Way of the Fist Vol. III, which is Wavering Heart’s.

Malicious Goons has no quest reward of its own in most guides; one lists an Elixir, which is what you steal from or win off the Tonberry.

Missing Children. The Phantoms are weak to fire and resist ice. They blink behind you, drain HP in an area with Essence Drain — learn it as Spirit Siphon with Enemy Skill Materia equipped — and throw up Reflect after enough spells, which Breach strips. One guide says the quest needs Chapter 8’s kids’ quest done first; the rest list it as open from the start.

Chocobo Search. The Rust Drake resists magic while it is wrapped in darkness and moves from Gravity to Black Hole to Fire Breath. One guide calls it weak to ice and wind; another says it has no magic weakness. The Trypapolis stun with Screech, follow with Aeroga, and Dance into copies; they are slow to kill. Sam can complete the quest without you going back to him.

Tomboy Bandit. The Hellhound carries a red flame (put it out with ice) and a purple one (Cure), and each counts toward stagger; Blizzaga can stagger it in a hit, and it enrages after. Give Johnny’s Wallet back at the station — it is easy to steal it again by accident — and that closes out The Johnny Experience if you took Sam’s branch in Chapter 9.

Corneo’s Secret Stash. Damon starts it on Sanctuary Way in one guide and at the fork north of the Center District in another; if you already took Tomboy Bandit he is at the church. One guide claims Chapter 8’s The Angel of the Slums is a prerequisite; the others do not. With all three tiaras, the hand-in to Marle comes up on its own.

Wavering Heart. Clearing every pull-up tier afterwards is Peeress of Pull-Ups.

The colosseum

Party for every team course is drawn from Cloud, Tifa and Barret. Items are disabled throughout; repeat clears pay a Grab Bag.

Course	First clear	New here?
Barret vs. Wild Animals	Legacy: Catastrophe	yes, Chapter 14 only
Tifa vs. Wild Animals	Legacy: Dolphin Flurry	yes, Chapter 14 only
Barret vs. Shinra Thugs	Sharpshooter’s Companion Vol. II	yes, Chapter 14 only
Tifa vs. Shinra Thugs	Way of the Fist Vol. II	yes, Chapter 14 only
Three-Person Team vs. Shinra Warriors	Tarot Cards	yes
Two-Person Team vs. Team Payback	Moogle’s Amulet	yes
Cloud vs. Wild Animals	Legacy: Ascension	from Chapter 9
Cloud vs. Shinra Thugs	The Art of Swordplay Vol. II	from Chapter 9
Two-Person Team vs. Slum Outlaws	Clarity Pendant	from Chapter 9

Shinra Warriors is a three-person course; one guide prints it as two. It ends on a Queen Grashtrike and two Venomantis. This colosseum is also the standard place to grind AP and EXP after the credits.

Chadley

Report 15 is the Leviathan VR fight: weak to lightning, Barret on the head, melee on the Dorsal Fin, guard through Briny Barrage. Report 20, Bahamut, unlocks once 01–19 are done, so this is the earliest chapter you can fight it; Chadley offers it again in Chapter 16. Report 18 (master one of each of the twelve magic materia) is the usual wall, and the colosseum is where to grind it. Report 16’s Enemy Skill Materia is worth having before the Phantoms.

Corneo’s mansion and the sewers

When the story sends you to Corneo, take two detours in the mansion. The Otherworldly Crystal is through the third door on the second floor and down to a basement chest — one reader reports reaching it in Chapter 9 by the rug, in which case it is gone. The Chakra Materia is through the middle door into Corneo’s office and the door downstairs: free Kotch from the table and he leaves it. Then Leslie takes you below.

Every chest in these sewers is new, even if you emptied them in Chapter 10.

Underground Waterway. An Ether past the gold-and-red Corneo door, down a short ladder, before the circular tunnel. Hi-Potion x2 and the Feathered Gloves (a Potion if you already have them) on the early stretch. One vending machine sells 9. The Oppressed again; the one by the trunk-line bench sells 13. The Chase for 50 gil. Both stock Maiden’s Kiss.

Chasing the shoat. A string of fights through the waterworks:

Wererats — Hazardous Material x2 in the chest on the right.
Three Sahagins, a ladder, then cross the bridge (not under the junk) for Phoenix Down x2.
An Abzu shoat. Fire.
A Blugu and two shoats — kill the Blugu first, it sleeps you. Poison Materia on the ground in the south-west corner.
Two shoats and a Sahagin, then two Scissorclaws and a shoat. Mega-Potion x2 after.
Two Blugus, a Scissorclaw and a Sahagin. Ether on the left before the next door.
Mischievous Shoat, which calls in more shoats. Fire. Steal an Antidote; it drops Hazardous Material. The key comes back and Leslie tells you who he is looking for.

Stash 3 (Former Disposal Area). Follow Leslie into the next room and use the console by the ladder to drain the stairs. Do not climb. Go back to the ornate Corneo door just off the path. The Sahagin Prince and two Sahagins guard it: fire, kill the small ones first, the Prince counters, and Salientian Curse makes toads. Inside: the Emerald Tiara, the Enfeeblement Ring (a Turbo Ether on a replay where you own one) and more medal boxes. Protective Boots sit in a corner chest nearby, and one more Ether in the maintenance rooms around the console.

Then climb, use the bench before the second door, and fight Abzu.

Bosses

Abzu + Abzu Shoats — weak to fire, lesser resist to ice, immune to Slow, Poison and Silence. Fira pins it. Clear the shoats fast, break the tail and horn, and get away from the pipes before Deluge or Blackwater Blast. Steal a Turbo Ether. 1,100 EXP, 10 AP, 1,100 gil. Corneo gets away.
Type-0 Behemoth (Subterranean Menace) — punishes magic until the horn breaks. Break the upper and lower body to stagger, then the horn. Comet drops rocks, Counter Flare follows its attacks, and you stop swinging during Rampage. Bio works unusually well. Steal an Enchanted Ring.
Tonberry (Malicious Goons) — no weakness. Chef’s Knife kills up close and dodging it leaves you Pressured; Doom and Gloom kills at range anyone who has used abilities. Sleep and Stop both land. Steal an Elixir.
Beastmaster + Hellhound, Phantoms, Rust Drake, Trypapolis, Sahagin Prince, Mischievous Shoat — see above.

Over the Wall

Leslie gives the party Grappling Guns and leaves. Before you follow the road, hand the tiaras to Marle and the wallet to Johnny if you have not.

On the path down from the gate you come out of, a chest holds Moogle Medal x3 (one map shows a single medal). Near the end of the Urban Advancement District, if every side quest is done, the Letter from the Guardian Angel lies on the ground: the second Elemental Materia comes with it, and so does Divine Gratitude. Two guides say the trophy wants every side quest available in the run; another says only the Guardian Angel quests. Do all nine here and the question does not arise.

Then Barret asks. Say yes when you are ready.

Hard mode

Eight Manuscripts in this chapter are Hard-only:

Way of the Fist Vol. X — the Phantoms (Missing Children).
Sharpshooter’s Companion Vol. XI — the Rust Drake (Chocobo Search).
Way of the Fist Vol. XI — the Trypapolis (Chocobo Search).
Sharpshooter’s Companion Vol. IX — the Tonberry (Malicious Goons).
The Art of Swordplay Vol. XI — the Beastmaster and Hellhound (Tomboy Bandit).
Sharpshooter’s Companion Vol. X — the Type-0 Behemoth (Subterranean Menace).
Way of the Fist Vol. XII — the Sahagin Prince (stash 3).
Way of the Fist Vol. IX — Abzu.

Each is given once per save; win again and the fight pays a substitute.

Chapter Select replays swap a few uniques once you own them: Pedometer and Chakra become Healing Materia, the Enfeeblement Ring becomes a Turbo Ether and the Feathered Gloves become a Potion. Nothing here is lost forever.

Game Notes

In the original game, this stretch was a train ride’s worth of story: Aerith is taken, you climb the wire, you go. The Remake turns it into the biggest optional chapter it has, set in a slum still digging out of the rubble of its neighbour. The tone is odd on paper — pull-up contests while Aerith is in a cell — and mostly works in practice, because nearly every job is someone you met before asking for help after the worst day of their lives.

The design trap is real, though. The sewer stash closes before the chapter does, the letter is placed before the point of no return rather than at it, and two quest chains lock each other. A first-time player who does things in story order loses the stash and the trophy without being told. Read the deadlines above before you leave the garden.

The reward for patience is solid: a summon, a Barret weapon, three Vol. III Manuscripts, two limit breaks, AP Up Materia, and the last real look at the people of the slums before the story stops being about them.

Everything in this area

The first night

Scene: who keeps Cloud company on the first nightreferencePlays on its own at the start of the chapter. Tifa, Aerith or Barret appears, decided by a hidden affinity built up since Chapter 2: the flower price and the drink order, the Chapter 3 and Chapter 8 side quests and their closing scenes, the Chapter 9 dress comments and Sam's question, and whom you help up first in the Chapter 10 sewers. Being cool to both women and skipping the Chapter 3 and 8 jobs gets Barret. No trophy rides on it.
Pedometer Materia (Aerith's garden)Copy missablemateriaOn the ground in the garden just outside the house. Equip it, walk 5,000 steps, then examine it and it becomes AP Up Materia. This chapter is the best place in the game to do the walking.Lost after: Answering "yes" to Barret at the end of Chapter 14.Get another: Chapter Select. A replay with one already in your inventory gives Healing Materia instead.

Sector 5 slums

Medicinal Flowers (Sector 5 church)Copy missablekey-itemOn the church floor, far north-west of Sector 5. One of the doctor's three ingredients for Secret Medicine; it only appears once you have his list.Lost after: Answering "yes" to Barret at the end of Chapter 14.Get another: Chapter Select.
Moogle's Mortar (Moogle Emporium, 1 medal)Copy missablekey-itemThe Moogle Emporium in the Kids' Secret Hideout sells it for a single Moogle Medal. The second of the doctor's three ingredients.Lost after: Answering "yes" to Barret at the end of Chapter 14.Get another: Chapter Select.
Moogle Emporium stock (Chapter 14)Copy missablereferenceSteel Pincers (Barret), Silver Staff, Enfeeblement Ring, Whistlewind Scarf, Salvation Badge, Moogle's Mortar, Music Disc 20. Gold Saucer, Ether, Turbo Ether, Elixir and Vol. I of all four characters' Manuscripts at 5 medals each. This is the last time the Emporium is open on this run.Lost after: Answering "yes" to Barret at the end of Chapter 14.Get another: Chapter Select.
Whack-a-Box, Hard tier (Transference Module)Copy missableitemThe kids' hideout. Hard opens in this chapter only; 30,000 points pays a Transference Module and clearing every Hard tier is the Whack-a-Box Wunderkind trophy. Normal pays a Spectral Cogwheel, with an Elixir and a Crescent Moon Charm on the lower tiers and a Moogle Medal for taking part. Bring a weapon that knows Infinity's End for the metal boxes.Lost after: Answering "yes" to Barret at the end of Chapter 14.Get another: Chapter Select.

Nuts 'n' Bolts Hills and Steel Mountain

Corneo Vault Note (Lookout Point)Copy missablekey-itemBehind Mireille at the Guardian Angel's hideout on Lookout Point, during Corneo's Secret Stash. It tells you the stashes exist; the key comes from Tomboy Bandit.Lost after: Answering "yes" to Barret at the end of Chapter 14.Get another: Chapter Select.
Ruby Tiara (stash 1, Steel Mountain)Copy missablekey-itemEast of the Lookout Point branch, past the Lesser Drakes and north of the boarding-only chocobo post, behind a red-and-gold dragon gate that opens with the Corneo Vault Key. Back right corner of the room. One of the three tiaras for Marle.Lost after: Answering "yes" to Barret at the end of Chapter 14.Get another: Chapter Select.
Prayer Materia (stash 1, Steel Mountain)Copy missablemateriaOn the floor of the Steel Mountain stash. A party-wide heal; Barret wants it for the bosses ahead.Lost after: Answering "yes" to Barret at the end of Chapter 14.Get another: Chapter Select.
Circlet (stash 1, Steel Mountain)Copy missablearmourIn the Steel Mountain stash.Lost after: Answering "yes" to Barret at the end of Chapter 14.Get another: Chapter Select.
3,000 gil (stash 1, Steel Mountain)Copy missableitemIn the Steel Mountain stash.Lost after: Answering "yes" to Barret at the end of Chapter 14.Get another: Chapter Select.
Moogle Medal x2 (stash 1, Steel Mountain)Copy missableSources disagreeitemIn the Steel Mountain stash. The breakable Corneo boxes in all three stashes hold more medals and Elixirs on top of the chests.Lost after: Answering "yes" to Barret at the end of Chapter 14.Get another: Chapter Select.Sources disagree: One guide credits two medals to the expressway stash instead. The chest belongs to the Steel Mountain set; the expressway medals come from the breakable boxes.
Adrenaline x4 (stash 1, Steel Mountain)Copy missableitemIn the Steel Mountain stash.Lost after: Answering "yes" to Barret at the end of Chapter 14.Get another: Chapter Select.
Molotov Cocktail x3 (stash 1, Steel Mountain)Copy missableitemIn the Steel Mountain stash.Lost after: Answering "yes" to Barret at the end of Chapter 14.Get another: Chapter Select.
Maiden's Kiss x2 (stash 1, Steel Mountain)Copy missableitemIn the Steel Mountain stash. Keep them: the sewer stash fight turns people into toads.Lost after: Answering "yes" to Barret at the end of Chapter 14.Get another: Chapter Select.

Sanctuary Way and the Collapsed Expressway

Diamond Tiara (stash 2, Collapsed Expressway)Copy missablekey-itemTake the left path at the fork just inside the expressway, to a red dragon gate. The only chest in this stash; smash the boxes for medals. A stash only counts once it is fully emptied.Lost after: Answering "yes" to Barret at the end of Chapter 14.Get another: Chapter Select.
Music Disc: 7. Turks' ThemeCopy missablecollectibleFree from the woman standing at the platform edge by the water, halfway along S6-5 Road between Sector 5 and Wall Market.Lost after: Answering "yes" to Barret at the end of Chapter 14.Get another: Chapter Select.

Wall Market

Music Disc: 16. Good Night, Until TomorrowCopy missablecollectibleThe grey-haired man in the Wall Market inn lobby, across from the receptionist. One of Betty's three for The Power of Music.Lost after: Answering "yes" to Barret at the end of Chapter 14.Get another: Chapter Select.
Music Disc: 30. Stand UpCopy missablecollectibleThe girl in the back alley to the left of the Honeybee Inn entrance. One of Betty's three.Lost after: Answering "yes" to Barret at the end of Chapter 14.Get another: Chapter Select.
Music Disc: 12. Fight On!Copy missablecollectible50 gil at the souvenir shop by the colosseum lift. The third of Betty's discs.Lost after: Answering "yes" to Barret at the end of Chapter 14.Get another: Chapter Select. No other shop in the game sells it.
Music Disc: 24. WutaiCopy missablecollectibleThe man next to a gramophone in the Urban Advancement District, on a side path west of the colosseum, midway along the road to Corneo's mansion.Lost after: Answering "yes" to Barret at the end of Chapter 14.Get another: Chapter Select.
Moogle Medal (Wall Market, north alley)Copy missableitemThe dead-end alley north of the Wall Market entrance.Lost after: Answering "yes" to Barret at the end of Chapter 14.Get another: Chapter Select.
Elixir (Wall Market, south alley)Copy missableitemA dead-end alley in the southern part of Wall Market, across the street.Lost after: Answering "yes" to Barret at the end of Chapter 14.Get another: Chapter Select.
Sorcerer's Armlet (Wall Market, tight alley)Copy missablearmourSqueeze through the narrow gap across from the Honeybee Inn entrance.Lost after: Answering "yes" to Barret at the end of Chapter 14.Get another: Chapter Select, or buy one; most vending machines from here on stock it.

Corneo Colosseum

Colosseum: Barret vs. Wild Animals (Legacy: Catastrophe)Copy missablelimit-breakSolo, items disabled, five rounds of Corneo's pets. First clear pays the manual.Lost after: Answering "yes" to Barret at the end of Chapter 14.Get another: Chapter Select. Barret's solo courses exist only in this chapter.
Colosseum: Tifa vs. Wild Animals (Legacy: Dolphin Flurry)Copy missablelimit-breakSolo, items disabled. First clear pays the manual.Lost after: Answering "yes" to Barret at the end of Chapter 14.Get another: Chapter Select. Tifa's solo courses exist only in this chapter.
Colosseum: Barret vs. Shinra Thugs (Sharpshooter's Companion Vol. II)Copy missablekey-itemSolo, items disabled. Any difficulty.Lost after: Answering "yes" to Barret at the end of Chapter 14.Get another: Chapter Select.
Colosseum: Tifa vs. Shinra Thugs (Way of the Fist Vol. II)Copy missablekey-itemSolo, items disabled. Any difficulty.Lost after: Answering "yes" to Barret at the end of Chapter 14.Get another: Chapter Select.
Colosseum: Three-Person Team vs. Shinra Warriors (Tarot Cards)Copy missableSources disagreeweaponPick three, items disabled. The last round is a Queen Grashtrike and two Venomantis.Lost after: Answering "yes" to Barret at the end of Chapter 14.Get another: Chapter Select.Sources disagree: One guide calls this a two-person course. It is a three-person team battle.
Colosseum: Two-Person Team vs. Team Payback (Moogle's Amulet)Copy missableaccessoryPick two, items disabled. Rounds include a Hedgehog Pie King, a Wrath Hound, a Doomrat with a Chromogger, a Bomb with a Cerulean Drake, and a Mark II Monodrive with a Jury-Rigged Cutter.Lost after: Answering "yes" to Barret at the end of Chapter 14.Get another: Chapter Select.
Colosseum: Chapter 9 courses still open (Cloud's solos, Slum Outlaws)Copy missablereferenceCloud vs. Wild Animals (Legacy: Ascension), Cloud vs. Shinra Thugs (The Art of Swordplay Vol. II) and Two-Person Team vs. Slum Outlaws (Clarity Pendant) are still on the board if you skipped them in Chapter 9. Repeat clears pay a Grab Bag.Lost after: Answering "yes" to Barret at the end of Chapter 14.Get another: Chapter Select.

Chadley

Leviathan Materia (Battle Intel 15)materiaChadley stands in the Sector 5 Center District again. Win the VR fight for Report 15 and the summon is yours. It is weak to lightning: Barret shoots the head, melee hits the dorsal fin, and you guard through Briny Barrage.
Bahamut Materia (Battle Intel 20)materiaOpens once Reports 01–19 are done, which in practice means this chapter at the earliest. Chadley offers it again later in the game. Report 18 (master one of each of the twelve magic materia) is what usually holds people up.

Side quests

Side quest: Missing ChildrenCopy missableSources disagreesidequestMs. Folia outside the Kids' Secret Hideout. Follow the purple smoke north through Nuts 'n' Bolts Hills to the Slum Public Cemetery and talk to Oates. Two Phantoms: weak to fire, resist ice, teleport behind you and cast Reflect after enough spells. Pays Time Materia.Lost after: Answering "yes" to Barret at the end of Chapter 14.Get another: Chapter Select.Sources disagree: One guide says this needs the Chapter 8 kids' quest done first; the others list it as open from the start of the chapter.
Enemy Skill: Spirit Siphon (Phantom)Copy missableenemy-skillTheir Essence Drain becomes Spirit Siphon if Enemy Skill Materia is equipped when they use it on you. Report 16 is what sells you the materia, so finish that first if you can.Lost after: Finishing Missing Children.Get another: Chapter Select. The Phantoms appear nowhere else.
Side quest: Chocobo SearchCopy missableSources disagreesidequestThe stablehand on Station Way hands over Gysahl Greens x3. Bird one is at the north end of Nuts 'n' Bolts Hills past the cemetery, guarded by a Rust Drake that shrugs off magic while wrapped in darkness. Bird two is halfway up Sanctuary Way toward the church, no fight. Bird three is deep in the Collapsed Expressway behind three Trypapolis that stun with Screech and split into copies. Report to Sam for Sam's Delivery Lifetime Pass, which makes chocobo rides free.Lost after: Answering "yes" to Barret at the end of Chapter 14.Get another: Chapter Select.Sources disagree: Guides disagree on the Rust Drake: one says ice and wind hurt it, another that it has no magic weakness at all.
Side quest: Malicious GoonsCopy missableSources disagreesidequestMadam M in Wall Market. The goons wait in the little clearing short of Aerith's house and send in a Tonberry. Its knife kills outright up close, and Doom and Gloom kills from range anyone who has used abilities.Lost after: Answering "yes" to Barret at the end of Chapter 14.Get another: Chapter Select.Sources disagree: One guide lists an Elixir as the quest reward. The others say the quest itself pays nothing and the Elixir is what the Tonberry gives up.
Side quest: Wavering HeartCopy missablesidequestJules and Andrea at the Wall Market gym. Tifa's pull-up contest: button prompts in a random order, a steady rhythm, getting faster. Pays Way of the Fist Vol. III. Clearing every pull-up tier afterwards is the Peeress of Pull-Ups trophy.Lost after: Answering "yes" to Barret at the end of Chapter 14.Get another: Chapter Select.
Side quest: The Power of MusicCopy missablesidequestBetty at the jukebox in the park east of the Wall Market inn. Bring her Good Night, Until Tomorrow, Fight On! and Stand Up; a short scene plays for each. Pays Sharpshooter's Companion Vol. III.Lost after: Answering "yes" to Barret at the end of Chapter 14.Get another: Chapter Select.
Side quest: Secret MedicineCopy missablesidequestThe doctor across from the Sector 5 community center gives you the Doctor's List. Moogle's Mortar from the Emporium, Medicinal Flowers from the church floor, and the Behemoth Horn from Subterranean Menace, so do Wymer's job first. Pays Telluric Scriptures Vol. III.Lost after: Answering "yes" to Barret at the end of Chapter 14.Get another: Chapter Select.
Side quest: Subterranean MenaceCopy missablesidequestWymer in Evergreen Park. The entrance is under the white dome beside him and leads back down through the test site to a taped door on Underground Lab B5. There is no bench inside. A Type-0 Behemoth waits behind the door. Pays the Wrecking Ball and the Behemoth Horn. One guide's chapter page gives Sharpshooter's Companion Vol. III instead; that belongs to The Power of Music.Lost after: Answering "yes" to Barret at the end of Chapter 14.Get another: Chapter Select.
Wrecking Ball (Barret)Copy missableweaponWymer's reward for Subterranean Menace, and the weapon that teaches Barret Smackdown.Lost after: Answering "yes" to Barret at the end of Chapter 14.Get another: Chapter Select.
Side quest: Tomboy BanditCopy missablesidequestJohnny at the Sector 5 Undercity Station. Find Kyrie at the church, take the colosseum's Special Match from the gatekeeper, report back. The match is a Beastmaster and his Hellhound: put out the red flame with ice and the purple one with Cure, and each one counts toward the stagger. Pays the Corneo Vault Key and Johnny's Wallet. Hand the wallet back at the station for the last piece of The Johnny Experience trophy.Lost after: Answering "yes" to Barret at the end of Chapter 14.Get another: Chapter Select.
Side quest: Corneo's Secret StashCopy missableSources disagreesidequestDamon the reporter gives you the Map to the Hideout. Mireille on Lookout Point, then the Vault Key from Tomboy Bandit, then all three stashes: Steel Mountain, the Collapsed Expressway and the sewers, each emptied completely. The third is only reachable once the story takes you underground. Hand the three tiaras to Marle in Evergreen Park for The Art of Swordplay Vol. III.Lost after: Answering "yes" to Barret at the end of Chapter 14.Get another: Chapter Select.Sources disagree: Guides place Damon in different spots at the start: on Sanctuary Way, or at the fork north of the Center District. He waits at the church if you already took Tomboy Bandit. One guide also says this quest needs the Chapter 8 Angel of the Slums quest finished; the others list it as open from the start.

Corneo's mansion

Chakra Materia (Kotch, mansion basement)Copy missablemateriaMiddle door into Corneo's office, then through the door downstairs. Free Kotch from the table and he leaves the materia behind.Lost after: Answering "yes" to Barret at the end of Chapter 14.Get another: Chapter Select. A replay with one already in your inventory gives Healing Materia instead.

The sewers

Ether (sewers, past the crest door)Copy missableitemThrough the gold-and-red door with Corneo's mark, down a short ladder, before the circular tunnel. Every chest down here is new, even if you cleared these sewers in Chapter 10.Lost after: Climbing the ladder into Corneo's hideout.Get another: Chapter Select.
Hi-Potion x2 (sewers, early)Copy missableitemAlong the first stretch, before the trunk line.Lost after: Climbing the ladder into Corneo's hideout.Get another: Chapter Select.
Feathered Gloves (sewers, early)Copy missableweaponAlong the first stretch. If you already own the Feathered Gloves from Chapter 10, this chest holds a Potion instead.Lost after: Climbing the ladder into Corneo's hideout.Get another: Chapter Select.
Music Disc: 13. The ChaseCopy missablecollectible50 gil from the vending machine by the bench at the trunk line. The other sewer machine sells 9. The Oppressed again if you missed it in Chapter 10. Both stock Maiden's Kiss.Lost after: Climbing the ladder into Corneo's hideout.Get another: Chapter Select. No other machine sells it.
Hazardous Material x2 (shoat chase, Wererat room)Copy missableitemRight-hand side of the room where the Wererats jump you, first fight of the chase.Lost after: Climbing the ladder into Corneo's hideout.Get another: Chapter Select.
Phoenix Down x2 (shoat chase, across the bridge)Copy missableitemAfter the three Sahagins, climb the ladder and cross the bridge rather than ducking under the junk pile.Lost after: Climbing the ladder into Corneo's hideout.Get another: Chapter Select.
Poison Materia (shoat chase)Copy missablemateriaOn the ground in the south-west corner of the arena where a Blugu and two shoats attack together. Kill the Blugu first; it puts people to sleep.Lost after: Climbing the ladder into Corneo's hideout.Get another: Chapter Select, or buy one from almost any vending machine.
Mega-Potion x2 (shoat chase)Copy missableSources disagreeitemAfter the rooms of shoats, Sahagins and Scissorclaws.Lost after: Climbing the ladder into Corneo's hideout.Get another: Chapter Select.Sources disagree: One guide's map lists a single Mega-Potion. The chest holds two.
Ether (shoat chase, before the last door)Copy missableitemOn the left before the next door, after the fight with two Blugus, a Scissorclaw and a Sahagin.Lost after: Climbing the ladder into Corneo's hideout.Get another: Chapter Select.
Boss: Mischievous ShoatbossThe thief at the end of the chase. Weak to fire, calls more shoats in. Steal an Antidote; it drops Hazardous Material. Winning gets the key back.

The sewer stash

Before you climb: drain the stash stairsCopy missableSources disagreeprogressionFollow Leslie into the room after the shoat. The console beside the ladder drains the flooded stairs down to the stash. Do not climb the ladder; walk back to the ornate Corneo door just off the path and clear the stash first.Lost after: Climbing the ladder into Corneo's hideout.Get another: Chapter Select.Sources disagree: Guides split on whether you can walk back down after the hideout boss. One says the area closes behind you; readers of another report both outcomes. Treat the ladder as the cut-off.
Boss: Sahagin Prince and two Sahagins (stash 3)Copy missablebossGuards the Former Disposal Area. Fire. Kill the two small ones first; the Prince counters, and Salientian Curse turns you into a toad, so carry Maiden's Kisses.Lost after: Climbing the ladder into Corneo's hideout.Get another: Chapter Select.
Emerald Tiara (stash 3, sewers)Copy missablekey-itemThe third tiara. Without it Corneo's Secret Stash cannot be finished on this run.Lost after: Climbing the ladder into Corneo's hideout.Get another: Chapter Select.
Enfeeblement Ring (stash 3, sewers)Copy missableaccessoryIn the sewer stash with the tiara. Smash the Corneo boxes for medals too.Lost after: Climbing the ladder into Corneo's hideout.Get another: Chapter Select (a replay with one in your inventory gives a Turbo Ether), or buy one with medals at the Moogle Emporium.
Protective Boots (by the sewer stash)Copy missableaccessoryA corner chest near the stash, before the main tunnel.Lost after: Climbing the ladder into Corneo's hideout.Get another: Chapter Select.
Ether (sewers, near the stash)Copy missableitemThe maintenance rooms around the drain console and the stash.Lost after: Climbing the ladder into Corneo's hideout.Get another: Chapter Select.
Boss: Abzu and Abzu ShoatsbossCorneo's hideout, after the ladder; bench before the second door. Weak to fire, and Fira pins it. Clear the shoats fast, break the tail and horn, and get away from the pipes before Deluge and Blackwater Blast. Steal a Turbo Ether. 1,100 EXP and 1,100 gil.

Side quests

Boss: Type-0 Behemoth (Subterranean Menace)Copy missablebossFour parts: upper body, lower body, horn and core. It punishes magic until the horn is broken, so break both body halves, stagger it, then take the horn. Comet drops rocks; Counter Flare follows its attacks; stop hitting it during Rampage. Steal an Enchanted Ring.Lost after: Answering "yes" to Barret at the end of Chapter 14.Get another: Chapter Select.

Over the wall

Moogle Medal x3 (Urban Advancement District)Copy missableSources disagreeitemBehind the gate you come out of after the sewers, on the path down.Lost after: Answering "yes" to Barret at the end of Chapter 14.Get another: Chapter Select.Sources disagree: One guide's map shows a single medal. The chest holds three.
Letter from the Guardian Angel (Elemental Materia)Copy missableSources disagreekey-itemLies on the ground near the end of the Urban Advancement District, before the wall, if the side quests are done. It comes with the game's second Elemental Materia and the Divine Gratitude trophy. You walk past it on your way to the point of no return, so the quests must be finished before you take that last stretch.Lost after: Answering "yes" to Barret at the end of Chapter 14.Get another: Chapter Select.Sources disagree: Two guides say every side quest you could have taken in this run must be done; another says only the Guardian Angel quests count. Doing all nine Chapter 14 quests satisfies every reading.
Point of no return: answer "yes" to BarretprogressionAt the wall, the game asks if you are ready. Yes ends the chapter and you do not come back to Sector 5, Wall Market, the colosseum or any of the nine quests on this run. Say no until the checklist above is done.

Hard mode only

Way of the Fist Vol. X (Hard)key-itemThe two Phantoms in Missing Children, on Hard.
Sharpshooter's Companion Vol. XI (Hard)key-itemThe Rust Drake guarding the first chocobo in Chocobo Search, on Hard.
Way of the Fist Vol. XI (Hard)key-itemThe three Trypapolis guarding the third chocobo, on Hard.
Sharpshooter's Companion Vol. IX (Hard)key-itemThe Tonberry in Malicious Goons, on Hard.
The Art of Swordplay Vol. XI (Hard)key-itemThe Beastmaster and Hellhound Special Match in Tomboy Bandit, on Hard.
Sharpshooter's Companion Vol. X (Hard)key-itemThe Type-0 Behemoth in Subterranean Menace, on Hard.
Way of the Fist Vol. XII (Hard)key-itemThe Sahagin Prince guarding the sewer stash, on Hard.
Way of the Fist Vol. IX (Hard)key-itemAbzu and its shoats in Corneo's hideout, on Hard. Each Manuscript is given once per save; a repeat win pays a substitute.

How this page was made

Researched across 8 community walkthroughs and written from scratch — no source’s wording appears here. 10 are marked where sources disagree with each other — we have not picked a winner for you.

How we decide what to print