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This is the battle arena. Show me your fighting skills. Just you, my boy, I'm expecting a good fight!

Dio

The Battle Square, also known as battle arena, or the Colosseum, is a section of the Gold Saucer in Final Fantasy VII. It is a battle arena where the player selects a single character and fights in a gauntlet-style match, facing eight enemies in a row to earn points to exchange for prizes.

The Battle Square is first visited in "Sanctuary of Amusement" after Cait Sith joins, when the party meets Dio, but its battles are not open to the player. They become available following "The Desert Prison", after the player acquires the buggy. The player must participate in one mandatory battle in "Secret Date", Dio tells the party he'll give them the Keystone if Cloud agrees to "entertain" him. After Meteor is summoned, when Cloud rejoins the party, the Battle Square is open once again with a variety of very valuable prizes. Cloud also may become eligible for a special round at the arena.

Starting a battle at the Battle Square earns the Battle Square achievement in the PC version re-release of Final Fantasy VII.

Layout[]

Overview[]

The Battle Square is one of the eight zones in the Gold Saucer, and the fifth from the left from the Gold Saucer's entrance. It is accessible from all zones. The player enters the Battle Square from its entrance.

The Battle Square is divided into various locations. The main attraction is the arena accessed during battles, and the player will otherwise spend their time in the arena lobby. The Battle Square houses Dio's museum, a showroom off to the side of the lobby. A secluded area beyond the lobby is a room where prisoners can be trapped and thrown into the Corel Prison.

Entrance[]

Battle square outside

Entrance.

The Entrance ("Battle Square" in the menu) is the first location of Battle Square and the only way to access it. It has eight doorways leading to the other areas of the theme park, each titled above with the Battle Square's name in a unique color. A doorway to the Gold Saucer entrance appears on either side.

A purple-carpeted stairway leads to the Square's attraction. From the outside it appears like a castle, a drape on purple cloth depicting a sword and shield on either side. Beneath the drapes lights shine a ray of yellow and purple into the sky. The door leads into the arena lobby. In the center above the entrance is a shield symbol with two-crossed swords.

On the player's first visit to the Battle Square in "Sanctuary of Amusement", a male staff will prevent them from climbing the stairs, citing renovations. When the player returns after recruiting Cait Sith from the Wonder Square, they will find a falling guard and Cloud will run into the lobby. When the player returns from "The Desert Prison" onward, a man will tell of the curator's collection displayed at the arena, but he will no longer be here after the "That Which Waits in the Northernmost Reaches" events at Part 2.

A woman standing next to the long stairs can be found here on the player's return. Speaking to her (she appears only after the party was jailed), selecting "That's the idea", and then beating the eighth round at the arena and speaking to her again, earns Sprint Shoes. Beating either the Special Match or the regular match counts. If one chooses "Not interested", even after winning eight consecutive battles, she'll disappear, and the player won't get the accessory. She only gives the accessory once.

Whenever the player enters the entrance their BP will become 0, meaning every time the player exits the lobby they will lose their accumulated points.

Arena Lobby[]

The Arena Lobby (闘技場ロビー, Tōgijō Robī?) is where the player can sign up for battles and earn rewards. To the left and right of the entrance are machines where the player can spend accumulated BP on prizes. A man standing by the machine on the right will explain the Battle Square, but only once. At the back of the room in the corners are two help desks whose staff allow players to sign-up for matches.

In the center at the back and up some stairs is a door into the arena. Above the door is a sign with a skull and the word "CHALLENGER". On the left and right are blue drapes with the symbol of the sword and shield like the ones at the entrance. A purple carpet runs down the middle of the room. On the right hand side is a doorway with the sign "DIOs SHOW ROOM" leading to Dio's Museum.

The first time the player is here a number of gunned-down Shinra infantrymen will lie on the floor, and Dio and security apprehend the player party. The party will then run on into the arena.

Dio's Museum[]

Dios museum

Dio's Museum.

Dio's Museum (ディオの展示場, Dio no Tenjijō?), also known as Dio's Show Room, can be entered from the arena lobby. The area is bordered with Dio's prized possessions. At the back of the room is a portrait of Dio, while the center-piece remains empty for a portion of the game, otherwise containing the Keystone.

The player must enter this area after obtaining the Tiny Bronco to take the Keystone. Dio asks Cloud to enter the arena, but the player earns the Keystone regardless if they escape, are defeated, or if they succeed in all eight battles. The player earns no BP from the battles, but if they win all eight, Dio awards the player with a Protect Vest and a Choco Feather.

Arena[]

Battle square

Battle arena.

The Arena (闘技場, Tōgijō?) is an area visited only briefly. In the center of the location is where the fights occur. The arena is down a flight of stairs, and has a walkway around it and a moat of purple water. In the center a phrase is written on the circle surrounding the arena: "The brave do not fear the grave." At the back of the arena is an entrance to the Gateway to Heaven room.

Battlesquare-ffvii-floor

The Battle Square floor.

The arena is entered when the player chooses to fight at the Battle Square, and starts with the player running into the arena and preparing for battle before the actual battle begins. The player is chased into the area during the story where they are surrounded by security robots that take the party into the Gateway to Heaven.

Although the player can never control the character in this room, exits are still programmed. This is evidence that the Gateway to Heaven room is behind the arena, which is otherwise only transitioned do by fading to black from the arena.

Gateway to Heaven[]

Gateway to heaven

Gateway to Heaven.

The Gateway to Heaven is a slime-covered stone room behind the arena. In the center is a circular trapdoor with the text "GATEWAY TO HEAVEN" around it. The door is operated by a machine in the corner. This gate is used to bring monsters for battle, the chains on the wall are used to restrain them.

The area is visited when Cloud and his active party are arrested by Dio. The security robots grab the prisoners and jump down the gate into Corel Prison.

Arena minigame[]

Rules[]

FFVII Limit Break Aeris Sealevil

Battle on the Battle Square.

You fight here and collect battle points. You can then exchange those points for prizes.

NPC

The player pays 10 GP to participate. The player must first select a party member to fight with, who is then sent into the arena. They fight a battle, after which they see how many Battle Points they have accumulated, and are allowed to choose to continue or quit. If they continue on, a slot reel appears and spins, giving the player a handicap based on the result. The player continues fighting until they either quit, win all eight matches, or are defeated.

If the player loses, they receive a worthless consolation prize. If they quit or win, they receive Battle Points (BP). BP can be exchanged for items (see below) at the Battle Square, including Cloud's ultimate Limit Break manual, Omnislash. BP is reset when the player leaves the Battle Square, so players should attempt to expend all points before exiting.

However the player enters the Battle Square, is how they leave the Battle Square. HP and MP return to the values as before entering, and if one were to go in with a full Limit Break bar, one would leave the Battle Square with a full Limit Break bar, regardless of whether they used a Limit in the battle. Status effects that one enters the Battle Square with remain intact, such as Fury or Sadness. Because no Battle Results are shown even after winning all battles, the player will not earn Experience Points or Ability Points, and the enemies killed in Battle Square do not count toward learning new Limit Breaks.

Because the player's status returns to the moment they were in before entering the Battle Square battles, the player cannot learn Enemy Skills from the monsters there; even if it appears the skill was learned, it will be gone from the Materia when the player is returned to the field. Any used items, however, will be lost from the player's inventory, and the player is still able to morph opponents into items and steal from them.

Enemies[]

Battlebg-ffvii-battlesquare

Battle background.

The monsters in the Battle Square change depending on the point in the game the player is at. There are two "pools" of enemies from which the encounters are drawn at random, and the chance of ending with Group A or Group B is equal. Many types of enemies are found in either pool, and the enemies in the final rounds are always the same in both Group A and Group B. Some of the enemies encountered in the Battle Square are very rare and dangerous, including the Stilva, Malboro, Blue Dragon, Ghost Ship, and the Serpent.

Arena enemies have twice as many hit points as they normally do, and their Attack and Magic Attack receive a 25% boost, making them stronger than regular encounters.

Two enemies, the Ho-chu and Tonberry, are fought exclusively in the Battle Square. Both enemies were originally intended to be fought elsewhere, however, the formations cannot be fought by ordinary means in the final game. Ho-chu was planned to be an inescapable encounter in the Ancient Forest, and Tonberry an encounter in the Whirlwind Maze. Its counterpart, the Master Tonberry, can still be found within the final dungeon areas of the Northern Cave.

Until Tiny Bronco becomes available[]

Available immediately after getting the buggy.

Battle Group A Group B
1st Battle 305: 2x Mono Drive
310: 2x Grunt
313: 3x Grunt
325: 1x Guard Hound
326: 2x Guard Hound
327: 1x Grashtrike
331: 2x Chuse Tank
333: 3x Grashtrike
2nd Battle 360: 3x Blugu
369: 2x Hedgehog Pie
376: 2x Whole Eater
389: 2x Sahagin, 1x Ceasar
368: 3x Hedgehog Pie
377: 1x Whole Eater, 2x Hedgehog Pie[note 1]
388: 3x Ceasar
395: 1x Sweeper
3rd Battle 396: 2x Cripshay, 1x Deenglow
398: 3x Ghost
399: 2x Ghost, 1x Deenglow
400: 1x Eligor
397: 2x Deenglow
401: 3x Deenglow
404: 2x Aero Combatant
411: 1x Eligor
4th Battle 427: 2x Sword Dance
436: 1x Moth Slasher
444: 2x Brain Pod
449: 1x Vargid Police, 1x Zenene
425: 1x Sword Dance
428: 3x Sword Dance
438: 2x Moth Slasher
445: 1x Brain Pod
5th Battle 032: 1x Devil Ride
044: 3x Kalm Fang
049: 3x Levrikon
053: 2x Elfadunk
033: 2x Custom Sweeper
048: 1x Levrikon, 2x Mu
054: 1x Levrikon, 2x Elfadunk
059: 2x Levrikon
6th Battle 472: 2x Madouge
436: 3x Castanets
444: 3x Crawler, 1x Ark Dragon
449: 5x Crawler
473: 2x Madouge, 3x Crawler
477: 4x Castanets
478: 2x Castanets, 1x Ark Dragon, 1x Crawler
484: 4x Scrutin Eye
7th Battle 064: 2x Nerosuferoth
066: 1x Zemzelett
075: 5x Capparwire
093: 4x Beachplug[note 2]
065: 2x Nerosuferoth, 1x Formula
071: 2x Formula
072: 1x Zemzelett
083: 1x Nerosuferoth, 2x Capparwire
8th Battle 070: 1x Hell Rider VR2
085: 1x Grangalan[note 3]
479: 2x Bagnadrana
102: 1x Harpy
070: 1x Hell Rider VR2
085: 1x Grangalan[note 4]
479: 2x Bagnadrana
102: 1x Harpy

When Tiny Bronco is available[]

Available before passing beyond the third atmospheric wall in the Whirlwind Maze.

Battle Group A Group B
1st Battle 525: 1x Bullmotor
526: 2x Bullmotor
095: 2x Spencer
107: 4x Flapbeat[note 5]
100: 2x Joker
117: 1x Flapbeat
118: 2x Flapbeat
119: 3x Spencer, 1x Flapbeat*(Covered by Spencer A)
2nd Battle 108: 1x Grand Horn
109: 2x Gagighandi
110: 2x Grand Horn
136: 1x Crown Lance
113: 3x Gagighandi
114: 2x Gagighandi
492: 3x Needle Kiss
494: 1x Needle Kiss, 1x Search Crown, 1x Bagnadrana
3rd Battle 528: 1x Kimara Bug
534: 1x Flower Prong
538: 1x Heavy Tank
115: 1x Gagighandi, 2x Touch Me
529: 1x Touch Me
530: 2x Kimara Bug
532: 1x Flower Prong
536: 1x Heavy Tank
4th Battle 120: 3x Bagrisk
125: 1x Griffin
126: 1x Golem
129: 2x Desert Sahagin
121: 1x Griffin
122: 2x Desert Sahagin
127: 2x Skeeskee, 1x Griffin
134: 2x Crown Lance
5th Battle 124: 3x Skeeskee
540: 4x Heg
543: 3x Sneaky Step
553: 2x Gi Spector
542: 2x Heg, 1x Sneaky Step
545: 5x Heg
548: 1x Sneaky Step, 3x Heg*(Heg B is covered by Sneaky Step)
554: 3x Gi Spector
6th Battle 144: 2x Bahba Velamyu
146: 6x Battery Cap[note 6]
148: 3x Nibel Wolf
150: 2x Nibel Wolf, 1x Velcher Task
145: 4x Battery Cap, 1x Valron*(Covered by Battery Cap B, Battery Cap C)
149: 2x Velcher Task
155: 3x Valron
144: 2x Bahba Velamyu[note 7]
7th Battle 569: 4x Black Bat
582: 1x Sonic Speed, 2x Kyuvilduns
589: 3x Twin Brain
592: 2x Screamer[note 8], 1x Twin Brain
568: 3x Black Bat
581: 3x Kyuvilduns
584: 3x Sonic Speed
596: 5x Kyuvilduns[note 9]
8th Battle 558: 1x Ghirofelgo
573: 1x Ying, 1x Yang
591: 1x Zuu
599: 1x Dragon
558: 1x Ghirofelgo
573: 1x Ying, 1x Yang
591: 1x Zuu
599: 1x Dragon

After acquiring Highwind[]

Available after "Searching for the You of That Day", when the Gold Saucer reopens.

Battle Group A Group B
1st Battle 604: 3x Razor Weed
606: 2x Jayjujayme, 1x Bizarre Bug
609: 2x Foulander
610: 3x Foulander
613: 2x Garuda
614: 2x Jayjujayme, 1x Garuda
617: 3x Garuda
182: 2x Dual Horn
2nd Battle 179: 1x Adamantaimai
185: 2x Under Lizard
186: 1x Tonadu
190: 2x Kelzmelzer
177: 2x Bizarre Bug, 1x Tail Vault
180: 1x Under Lizard
187: 1x Tonadu
189: 5x Slaps
3rd Battle 641: 1x Doorbull
642: 3x Ancient Dragon
647: 3x Toxic Frog, 1x Jemnezmy
650: 2x 8 eye
636: 1x Doorbull
640: 2x Ancient Dragon
645: 2x Toxic Frog, 1x Jemnezmy
651: 2x 8 eye
4h Battle 192: 1x Vlakorados
194: 2x Trickplay
656: 1x Boundfat, 3x Malldancer
668: 1x Acrophies
661: 1x Trickplay, 2x Boundfat
201: 2x Jumping
209: 2x Ice Golem
212: 1x Hippogriff
5th Battle 672: 3x Shred
692: 2x Lessaloploth
696: 1x Magnade
210: 3x Jumping
673: 2x Frozen Nail
674: 2x Shred, 1x Frozen Nail
680: 1x Lessaloploth
694: 1x Snow, 1x Lessaloploth
6th Battle 705: 1x Stilva
713: 1x Cuahl, 2x Headbomber
727: 2x Gremlin, 1x Sculpture
732: 1x Ironite, 2x Wind Wing
700: 3x Headbomber
706: 2x Headbomber, 1x Zolokalter
711: 3x Evilhead
712: 2x Cuahl
7th Battle 701: 1x Malboro
714: 1x Blue Dragon
721: 1x Gigas
731: 1x Dragon Rider
724: 3x Gremlin
730: 2x Wind Wing
733: 2x Ironite
956: 1x Tonberry
8th Battle 804: 1x Serpent
227: 1x Sea Worm
795: 1x Ho-chu
765: 1x Ghost Ship
804: 1x Serpent
227: 1x Sea Worm
795: 1x Ho-chu
765: 1x Ghost Ship

Battle Points and prizes[]

The player always starts with 10 points and goes on to win more Battle Points for the second and successive matches, i.e. every time they take a handicap. The handicap determines the amount of points awarded, worse handicaps giving better BP, but this is only noticeable for the final rounds. If the player wins all matches, or if they choose to quit between battles, they get to take away the BP they had accumulated; no points are awarded if the player is killed or petrified in battle. BP are awarded even if the player uses Escape magic or Smoke Bombs, but not if the player uses the Escape battle menu command. The maximum BP one can obtain in one run is 12,586. After various runs the player can accumulate a maximum of 65,000 BP, in which if it get more BP these will be lost.

The Battle Points can be redeemed for items at the terminals, but if at any time the player leaves the Battle Square, their Battle Points reset to zero. Prizes may be purchased multiple times, with the exception of the Omnislash manual and the W-Summon Materia, which can be purchased only once.

Prizes[]

Prizes obtainable from terminals, and their costs (in BP)
Prize Before Tiny Bronco After Tiny Bronco After Highwind
Potion 80 N/A N/A
Phoenix Down 160 100 N/A
Shrapnel 320 N/A N/A
Ether 640 N/A N/A
Remedy N/A 200 100
Memmet Greens[note 10] 1280 400 N/A
Fury Ring 2560 N/A N/A
Enemy lure[note 11] 5120 800 250
Bird Wing N/A 1600 N/A
S-Mine[note 12] N/A 3200 N/A
Right Arm[note 13] N/A N/A 500
Pre-Emptive 10240 6400 1000
Regan Greens[note 14] N/A N/A 2000
Speed Plus 20480 12800 4000
Stardust N/A N/A 8000
Championship Belt[note 15] 40960 25600 16000
Omnislash[note 16] N/A 51200 32000
W-Summon[note 16] N/A N/A 64000

Handicaps[]

After each battle, the player must spin a slot reel; depending on what they stop the reel on, they receive a certain handicap. Some handicaps can be avoided, or their effects minimized, with equipment. The player receives more BP the worse handicaps they get, and the later the round they have fought to—if they receive the "All Materia is broken" handicap on the eighth fight, they will win over 10,000 BP. So while taking larger handicaps on purpose is risky, it can be rewarding.

The player can slow the reels slightly by tapping Square or switch. Another trick is to hold Square or switch, which would stop spinning the reel; however, it also hides the graphics of the reel. The player will want to stop the reel at the handicap before the one they want shows up. Once the reel is stopped, one must quickly let go of Square or switch and tap Circle or ok. With some practice on the timing, the player should be able to stop the reel at the desired handicap.

The first reel determines the results on all subsequent reels, as getting a reel with only one handicap will cause all subsequent reels to roll only one handicap as well, with a different handicap each time up until around match 6. If the player gets this unfortunate pattern, the reels will never spin a handicap the player would be immune to. The player may also get a pattern where they find a positive "handicap" in every reel. Another common pattern is for the reels to contain a specific handicap once on each reel, usually a status. This may still occur when the player has an immunity to that status, so the player can potentially get the same result for every reel and have no effect; however, the status handicaps do not offer significant BP.

The seventh and eighth matches earn much more BP than the earlier rounds; the amount awarded for taking handicaps is multiplied by successively higher numbers as the matches progress, with the last two being markedly higher.

Numbers marked in italics denote that the handicap cannot be earned in that round in normal gameplay.

Handicap Symbol Effect Battle Points, at round
2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Magic Materia is broken MagicMateriaIsBroken-ffvii-BSreel The player is no longer able to use Magic Materia. Any stat changes caused by equipped Magic Materia are negated. 15 28 58 145 445 1755 9425
Summon Materia is broken SummonMateriaIsBroken-ffvii-BSreel The player is no longer able to use Summon Materia. Any stat changes caused by equipped Summon Materia are negated. 10 18 37 90 276 1127 6527
Support Materia is broken SupportMateriaIsBroken-ffvii-BSreel The player's Support Materia breaks. Any stat changes caused by equipped Support Materia are negated. 10 18 37 91 281 1159 6808
Independent Materia is broken IndependentMateriaIsBroken-ffvii-BSreel The player's Independent Materia breaks. Any stat changes caused by equipped Independent Materia are negated. 11 20 40 99 301 1196 6645
Command Materia is broken CommandMateriaIsBroken-ffvii-BSreel The player is no longer able to use Command Materia. Any stat changes caused by equipped Command Materia are negated. 5 8 17 41 132 633 4983
All Materia is broken AllMateriaIsBroken-ffvii-BSreel All of the player's Materia breaks. Any stat changes caused by equipped Materia are negated. 15 28 59 149 463 1866 10000
Accessory is broken AccessoryIsBroken-ffvii-BSreel The player's accessory breaks, negating whatever effects it had. 10 18 35 84 248 953 5083
Item command is sealed ItemCommandIsSealed-ffvii-BSreel The player can no longer use items. 13 23 48 118 355 1368 7201
Armor is broken ArmorIsBroken-ffvii-BSreel The player's defenses decrease. Any elemental resistance acquired by the armor is negated. The player is still able to use any Materia equipped on their armor. The effect is cumulative. 10 17 33 73 194 654 2903
Weapon is broken WeaponIsBroken-ffvii-BSreel The player's attack power sharply decreases. The player is still able to use any Materia equipped on their weapon. The effect is cumulative. 15 27 57 140 419 1602 8246
1/2 speed 1-2Speed-ffvii-BSreel Character's speed is halved; differs from Slow. The effect is cumulative. 5 7 11 19 35 77 202
Minimum Minimum-ffvii-BSreel Inflicts Small on the player. 5 8 16 36 108 453 2940
Poison Poison-ffvii-BSreel Inflicts Poison on the player. 4 6 9 16 33 82 257
Toad Toad-ffvii-BSreel Inflicts Frog on the player. 6 10 19 44 130 520 3069
Time x30 damage TimeX30Damage-ffvii-BSreel The player receives damage equivalent to how long they have been fighting - the longer they have been fighting, the more damage they take. The total game time (hours) * 30 is the damage done. If the calculated damage is greater than the character's current HP then their current HP will be reduced to 1. 9 15 26 54 130 379 1401
Down 5 levels Down5Levels-ffvii-BSreel The player's level decreases by 5, reducing principally player’s physical and magical damage dealt to enemies. 5 8 13 25 58 166 627
Down 10 levels Down10Levels-ffvii-BSreel The player's level decreases by 10, reducing principally player’s physical and magical damage dealt to enemies. 10 16 28 53 118 308 968
1/2 HP 1-2HP-ffvii-BSreel The player's max HP is halved (calculations based on current[note 17] actual[note 18] max value). Does not affect their current HP, unless their current HP is higher than half of their max HP. The minimum HP is capped at 10 [note 19]. 13 22 40 84 204 591 2119
1/2 MP 1-2MP-ffvii-BSreel The player's max MP is halved (calculations based on current[note 20] actual[note 21] max value). Does not affect their current MP, unless their current MP is higher than half of their max MP. The minimum MP is capped at 10 [note 22]. 12 20 36 73 173 485 1669
1/2 HP&MP 1-2HP&MP-ffvii-BSreel The player receives the above two handicaps. 13 22 43 94 244 775 3134
Zero MP ZeroMP-ffvii-BSreel The player's MP is reduced to zero. MP may still be recovered with items. 11 19 33 70 171 502 1855
Yesss! No handicapp! YesssNoHandicapp-ffvii-BSreel The player receives no handicap. 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
HP restored HPRestored-ffvii-BSreel The player's HP is restored equal to a half of the player's maximum HP. 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

[1]

Strategy[]

It is recommended the player comes equipped with their character's strongest weapon and a powerful armor, and a Ribbon, if available. The Ribbon prevents status ailments, giving the player a handful of "safe" handicaps, as Small, Frog, and Poison will not affect them if they come up on the reel. The player can also pair an Added Effect Materia with a Hades Materia to protect against many status effects. The status effect Resist doesn't protect against statuses gained from the handicap reels, which can lead to a serious handicap, as once applied, the Resist status will prevent the player from removing the status with normal Esuna spells and healing items.

The player can make use of an Enemy Skill Materia with Big Guard (for Haste, Barrier and MBarrier), Magic Hammer (for replenishing MP) and Dragon Force (for boosted defense) learned. HP Plus, MP Plus and Luck Plus (for higher critical hit chance) Materia are also useful, as is a high-leveled Restore Materia. If the player's Materia breaks, or they lose all their MP due to a handicap, they should have several useful items to compensate. In endgame Elixirs and X-Potions can be easily obtained through the W-Item duplication bug, or stolen/dropped from enemies in the Northern Cave.

For a more physical-aggressive strategy, the use of Double Cut or Slash-All is recommended. If Slash-All is upgraded to Flash, the player can instantly dispatch most enemies in a single turn.

It is also useful to place the fighter in the back row to take less damage and use the Long Range Materia (or a character with a long range weapon). Equipping counterattack Materia and Sneak Attack lets the player perform more turns, and equipping multiple counterattack Materia at once also stacks.

The battles won't reward the player with EXP, AP or item drops, so it is good to prioritize defense against the number of Materia slots when choosing armor; e.g. the Gigas Armlet (stolen from Gigas), Adaman Bangle (stolen from Adamantaimai), or even Ziedrich (stolen from Turks:Rude) are good for Battle Square because of high defense, despite having few Materia slots. One of the best possible armor to use is the Mystile (found in Midgar during the Part 2 visit, and in the Northern Cave), as its defense and magic defense evade rates are high.

Most status effects, both positive and negative, carry on to consecutive battles, so if the player casts Haste or Big Guard in the first battle, Haste will carry through the entire match. Regen is a useful way to keep HP up without having to repeatedly heal. Death-sentence does not carry through to subsequent battles (even though fellow countdown status Slow-numb does).

If the player comes up against a Tonberry, one can easily become invulnerable by casting Death Force from the Enemy Skill Materia, which makes Tonberry's instant death move miss.

If the player ends up breaking their weapon, they can use Goblin Punch from the Enemy Skill Materia to bypass the effect, although it will do only 75% of the normal attack (however, it can deal critical hits), and the player must be wary of not getting the All Break handicap, at least not in the early stages.

Since the handicap timing that earns the most BP is at the seventh and eighth matches, and the handicap types that earn the most BP are "Magic Materia Breaks" and "All Materia Breaks", the highest BP combination cannot be won with Escape magic, only Smoke Bomb items.

If the All Lucky 7s effect activates on the Battle Square, the player enters the next battle with 7,777 HP after dispatching the enemies, but without the All Lucky 7s effect. A single command will reactivate it.

A sensible strategy to being successful in the Gold Saucer is to go in with a full LIMIT gauge and the Mime command. The player can mimic their Limit Break through every round so long as the Command Materia does not break and a counter is not set-up.

Another effective method of completing the Battle Square is to equip the following Materia and combinations: Magic Counter linked with Odin. Since enemies can attack first so often, the Magic Counter-Odin combination allows the player to eliminate entire rounds of enemies without taking an action. Odin could also be linked to Sneak Attack. The Independent Counter Attack Materia as well as the Support Counter Materia can also be used for great effect.

After obtaining the Highwind in Part 2, there is a quarter chance of facing the Ghost Ship enemy in the final round, who can use the Goannai ability to eject the player from battle. Using L4 Suicide, or throwing healing items at it, can easily dispatch the Ghost Ship. Morphing the Ghost Ship nets a unique item the player can give to the Kalm traveler.

Special match[]

If the player has bought Omnislash and W-Summon, had Cloud learn Omnislash, and they have acquired Cloud's Ultima Weapon, they can enter a special match only Cloud can participate in. The receptionist comments Cloud is probably strong enough to take on the top fighters, and asks if he would like to participate in a private battle. The special match is harder than the normal battles, and the prize is the Final Attack Materia that can be won once. The player must not use Smoke Bomb in the last battle of the round against Proud Clod; this will net all the BPs as expected, but will not earn the Final Attack Materia. The player must eliminate all eight enemies.

If the player participates and wins multiple special battles, they will win worthless trophy items, such as Dio's autograph. Winning the special battles ten times earns a Ribbon, but there are easier ways to obtain one at this point. The player will still have the option to participate in the regular Battle Square battles.

The prizes change depending on the number of times won:

Win count Reward
1 Final Attack Materia
2 Autograph
3 Combat Diary
4 Gambler
10 Ribbon

If the player's Materia inventory is full on the first win, the player will receive no prize, and will never be able to obtain the Final Attack Materia.

In all other times won, the player will a receive a random prize at the following rates:

Rate Reward
86/256 Autograph
86/256 Combat Diary
84/256 Gambler

The enemy line-up is as follows:

Battle Enemy
1 960: Sea Worm
2 961: Ho-chu
3 962: Unknown 3
4 964: Serpent
5 965: Wolfmeister
6 968: Behemoth
7 972: Maximum Kimaira
8 973: Proud Clod, Jamar Armor

Other appearances[]

Final Fantasy VII demo[]

The Battle Square has appeared in a demo version of the PC port of Final Fantasy VII. The player must battle monsters as Cloud to win. The enemies fought on the rounds is an assortment of the same enemies that are fought in the full game after obtaining Highwind.

Final Fantasy Record Keeper[]

The Battle Square was the focal point for the Challenge Event The Battle Arena.

Castle Cornelia PSThis section about a location in Final Fantasy Record Keeper is empty or needs to be expanded. You can help the Final Fantasy Wiki by expanding it.

Musical themes[]

Like in the rest of the Gold Saucer, the eponymous theme "Gold Saucer" (ゴールドソーサー, Gōrudo Sōsā?) plays in the Battle Square. However, during the battles, "Hurry Up!" (もっと急げ!, Motto Isoge!?) is played.

Behind the scenes[]

Off-Course-Battle-Square-FFVII

Off course!

A commonly referred to mistranslation is used in the Battle Square: when the player is prompted whether or not they want to continue, they are given the options "Off course!" and "No, way!". This was corrected for the PC version to "Of course!" and "No way!".

The consolation prize "Tissue" has no value. The only conceivable purpose is to keep track of how many times one has participated in the battle arena. Tissues awarded as a "prize" may be a reference to advertising strategies in Japan (as well as China and Taiwan), as locals consider it crass to hand out ads, so they advertise by handing out items of marginal value instead. The artwork for the Tissue for Final Fantasy VII has an advertisement of the Honey Bee Inn on it.

"D Type Equipment", a piece in Dio's museum, refers to an episode of Neon Genesis Evangelion where Asuka Langley Sohryu fights an angel in magma and her armor is type D.

Gallery[]

Notes[]

  1. Hedgehog Pie B is covered by Hedgehog Pie A
  2. Beachplug D is covered by Beachplug B
  3. Grangalan Jr. is covered by Grangalan Jr.Jr. A; Grangalan is covered by Grangalan Jr.Jr. A, Grangalan Jr.
  4. Grangalan Jr. is covered by Grangalan Jr.Jr. A; Grangalan is covered by Grangalan Jr.Jr. A, Grangalan Jr.
  5. Flapbeat B is covered by Flapbeat A; Flapbeat C is covered by Flapbeat D
  6. Battery Cap B, C is covered by Battery Cap A; Battery Cap D is covered by Battery Cap B; Battery Cap E is covered by Battery Cap A, B, C; and Battery Cap F is covered by Battery Cap C
  7. The 7th and 8th battles are chosen from the Group A pool if this battle comes up
  8. Screamer B is covered by Screamer A
  9. Kyuvilduns D is covered by Kyuvilduns B; Kyuvilduns E is covered by Kyuvilduns B, Kyuvilduns C
  10. [sic], known as "Mimett Greens" in the menu.
  11. [sic], known as "Enemy Lure" in the menu.
  12. [sic], known as "S-mine" in the menu
  13. [sic], known as "Right arm" in the menu
  14. [sic], known as Reagan Greens in the menu
  15. [sic], known as Champion Belt in the menu
  16. 16.0 16.1 Only one
  17. Effect can be stacked by multiplication if picked more than once (1/4 of original for twice, 1/8 for thrice, and so on).
  18. Limitation of 9,999 HP is applied after the reduction. Halved max HP may exceed 4,999.
  19. if the player had less than 10 HP this handicap has not effect)
  20. Effect can be stacked by multiplication if picked more than once (1/4 of original for twice, 1/8 for thrice, and so on).
  21. Limitation of 999 MP is applied after the reduction. Halved max MP may exceed 499.
  22. if the player had less than 10 MP this handicap has not effect

References[]

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