Gold Saucer

Explore the Gold Saucer in final fantasy vii. Purchase a pass for 3000 Gil and recruit Cait Sith.

The Gold Saucer marks a distinct contrast between the poverty at North Corel, and the bleakness of Barret’s mood. It’s pretty much the most insanely over-the-top amusement part ever. Ignore the Save Point (which costs Gold Pieces to use, which you don’t have yet) and go to the entrance, where the attendant near the large Chocobo will reveal that the happiest place in the world carries a hefty price tag. Purchase a single pass for 3000 Gil, or the lifetime pass for 30,000 Gil, if you can afford it… you’ll be coming back here again, don’t worry.

After you make your purchase, the attendant will tell you about GP, which can be won at various events in the Gold Saucer, and spent to purchase all kinds of fun things… of course, it costs Gil to play most of the games, so returning here later, when resources aren’t as scarce, is probably a better idea than trying your luck any time soon. Once inside the Gold Saucer Aeris will try to cheer Barret up rather aggressively. She instead succeeds at making him angrier, and he’ll run off. Once you’re back in control of Cloud again, you can talk to your team-mates and pick one to go play with. Whomever you pick will gain disposition (+3 Aeris, +3 Tifa, +3 Yuffie), but if you talk to somebody and don’t pick them, their disposition will lower (-2 Aeris, -2 Tifa, -2 Yuffie)… but you can only shift disposition like this once, so you can’t, say, decline somebody to low theirs, then pick somebody else to raise the latter character’s disposition. In any event, pick your favorite gal… or dog-thing… and turn your attention to the seven areas you can explore.

Starting from the west and moving clock-wise, there’s the Event Square, the Speed Square, the Round Square, the Ghost Square, the Battle Square, the Wonder Square, and the Chocobo Square. Most of these areas aren’t worth visiting at this time (like mentioned earlier, there will be better ways to earn GP later), but there are a few things worth picking up. First head to Ghost Square and make your way up the stairs to reach the Ghost Hotel. Is there some kind of theme here? From the entrance head north-west to find the Turtle’s Paradise No. 3 Newsletter on a wall near a doorway. Once you’ve read it, go through the nearby doorway and investigate the counter to meet Mr. Hangman, who will sell you a nice variety of items. Once you’re done here, leave the inn and return to the Station by clicking on the “Station” gravestone.

Item Shop

• Potion: 50 Gil
• Phoenix Down: 300 Gil
• Ether: 1500 Gil
• Antidote: 80 Gil
• Maiden’s Kiss: 150 Gil
• Soft: 100 Gil
• Echo Screen: 100 Gil
• Hyper: 100 Gil
• Tranquilizer: 100 Gil

After telling a couple of dubious fortures, Cait Sith will invite itself along. On the plus side, this annoying automaton has some Manipulate Materia equipped when it joined. Now visit Wonder Square, where you’ll be bothered by a giant moogle with an obnoxious cat on its back. It’ll read your fortunes, giving you generic woo responses twice, before finally reading you a rather ominous fortune the third time. As a concerned fortune-teller, this unusual companion (who will be referred to by the default name, Cait Sith) will invite itself into your party, over Cloud’s protestations. Too late, dude, he already walked into you and vanished. You’re stuck with it, now. It’s not all bad, though - Cait Sith does come equipped with the coveted Manipulate Materia you’ve been waiting for, as well as a piece of Transform Materia. Score.

Leave the Wonder Square and head to the Battle Square, which appears to have been the site of a… well, a battle. Cloud will investigate and rule Sephiroth out as the possible culprit before a survivor points us in another direction; a man with a gun-arm did it. Before long Dio, the owner of the Gold Saucer… a very, very unbashful man… will show up and question the party. Cait Sith gets us into trouble, and techno-carnie justice is passed without anything even resembling a trial. Bummer.

Corel Prison

In the badlands below the Gold Saucer, surrounded by a desert, is Corel Prison, your new home. Seems anybody who causes serious trouble in the Gold Saucer ends up here, at Dio’s discretion. Thanks, Cait Sith. Speaking of the pest, he’ll start to mention a way out, only to be interrupted by Barret, who apparently has something here he needs to deal with. Head south to reach the next screen, where some punk will follow us around and laugh. Jerk. Continue south to find a Save Point and save your game, then keep heading south to find a Shinra truck near some pipes. Head inside the pipe and talk to Mr. Coates, who will tell us the only way to get back to the surface is to become a Chocobo rider (athletes always get off, don’t they?), but in order to do that, you’ll need to get permission from the boss of this place.

Leave the truck and run north along the pipes to reach a small house, inside of which you’ll reunite with Barret. After some drama, he’ll tell you the rest of his sad story, following which you’ll need to reform your party again; Cloud and Barret are locked, but you get to pick the third character yourself, and whomever you pick may get a disposition bonus which varies wildly in potency (+10 Aeries, +3 Tifa, +2 Yuffie). Obviously you should under not circumstances pick Aeris if you care about “Best Bromance”, and once again Red XIII is athe safe pick. You can talk to your other, unused party members in this house if you want to switch later, which doesn’t affect your disposition any. Only the first choice counts. When you’re ready, leave out the southern door and