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=============FINAL FANTASY VII - CRISIS CORE: BOSS GUIDE============
============Guide is written based on the Japanese release==========
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Written by Kelvin "Rocketdive2001" Leen
Version changes:
Version 1.0 written on 10/10/2007 7:28:23 PM (initial)
Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core is a prelude to the original Final
Fantasy VII story. In this game, you will play as Zack Fair, a
charcter that was previously only seen in short cut scenes and in
part of conversations with certain characters in FFVII. The reason
he takes on a huge role in this game because of his involvement
with a conspiracy of epic proportions; which lasted on even after
the story of FFVII ended.
Crisis Core belongs to a series of interlinked substories (either
in game or anime/animation format) that will see several people
taking lead as the story moves on. For the benefit of those
keeping track, here is the loop:
BEFORE CRISIS (Mobile phone game) -> CRISIS CORE (PSP game)
+ LAST ORDER (Anime)-> FFVII (The main plot - PS1/PC game) ->
ADVENT CHILDREN (CG Movie) -> DIRGE OF CERBERUS: Lost Chapter
(Mobile phone game) + DIRGE OF CERBERUS (PS2 game)
This is a series that has come to be known as the "Compilation of
Final Fantasy VII."
In Crisis Core, you will play as Zack, one of Shinra's best
soldier as he takes part in a mission that changed his life.
If you are fan of the original FFVII plot, this game will draw
you back to the universe that you are familar with.
If you are a newbie to the FFVII universe, this would be a good
start to experience the beginning.
My thanks goes out to:
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There are some online guides of the game that I've read and
provided me useful hints on how to get by the stages.
For this boss guide, I've basically used my own experience
to provide the advice. (I had to die a few times in some of
the fights to know what to prepare before hand!!)
To the other authors of the guide, thank you for your knowledge in
helping me and other gamers to get through the game ... I hope I
did not steal your info in this guide, but if you feel that way,
email me and I'll credit it to you.
What is this guide for:
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The reason I am writing this guide is to provide a some handy
overview of the bosses you will face in the game.
The main reason why I'm not writing a full guide (I know I should!)
is because I don't know really understand Japanese and may not be
in the best position to tell you what's going on (from a storyline
prespective).
But I can tell you that writing a boss guide is straight forward
enough, I already completed the game and without doing too much,
I managed to survive all the major fights and watch the ending.
This goes to show you that this game isn't all that hard, but you
might struggle less than I did if you really understood all the
name and effects of all the materia and items in the game.
So ... is this guide dependable at all?
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Yes it is. I am writing from a perspective where I mostly depend
on simple tactics to get by my fights.
I DID NOT hack or cheat in anyway, so everything I have done are
done via experience and experiment.
If you are just hack and slashing because you know nothing about
the Japanese language or it's just your style, this guide
will work for you as I did just about that till the last battle.
If you do understand what's going on, then let this guide serve
as an overview of what the bosses will do and how you can best
prepare for them during the battle.
My experience with writing guides -
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I have written several major guides for games in the past,
you can see them at www.gamesfaq.com under my current pen name
of "rocketdive2001" or my old pen name of "K Leen".
One of the guides that brought my name to fame back in the days
of old is the FFVII PC guide.
Yes, it's my masterpiece and I hope this one will provide help
to gamers all over once again.
Things you need to know before we begin (if you don't know already)-
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The overall controls of the game is quite simple:
Non-battle situations:
*Direction pad, Analog toggle pad
= Moves Zack around / Moves cursor when making choices
*L / R button
= Moves the camera angle around (at times it will be
limited to Zack's line of sight)
*Triangle button
= Opens the Menu screen
*Circle button
= Confirms a selection on the game
screen / Confirms a selection in the menu screens
*X button
= Deselects/Cancel an option made on the menu screen
Battle situations:
(This will be educated to you in the beginning of the game)
**Direction pad, Analog toggle pad
= Moves Zack around the battlefield
**L / R button
= Toggles and highlights between your command choices from
Attack Command -> Materia Command Effects -> Item Command***
(***This will toggle into an item selection where you will
use L/R to highlight and item)
**Circle button
= Select a highlighted command
**Triangle button
= Guard attacks (Direction is based on where Zack is facing)
**Square button
= Evade
Aiming will be automatic in nature, get close to someone
and the auto aim will select that target.
During battles, as long as space permits, you can move around
the allocated space. The moment you move away and select Zack
to attack, he will run up to the target and attack as commanded.
The process is automatic.
**Start button = Pauses the game in movie cut-scenes, battles etc
**Home button = Menu to quit current game application
**Volume toggle buttons = Increase or decrease the volume
THE GUIDE BEGINS HERE-
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Opening - The assualt at the train station:
Location: Midgar, city area
Boss Fight #1:
Behemoth
What to do:
If you have gotten enough practice from defeating the guards
at the train station area, this fight should be quite tough for
poor Behemoth to live through.
Once you begin, run to the back of Behemoth and do a couple
of slashes. You will notice that your damage done is critical in
nature so use it to your advantage (back-stabbing effect).
As he can attack with his tail also, you are best hacking it
twice or thrice and do an immediate guard after that. If you get
knocked by his tail, you take full damage and also get pushed aside.
Guarding keeps damage low and helps hold your position.
Once it stops attacking with the tail, repeat the cycle as again.
Be on stand by to heal when your HP is low and also pray hard for
a DMW move to hit.
The damage done will help you end the fight faster.
Use this fight to do some practice on hacking and blocking.
You'll find that it works wonders even for later stages.
Once you get to use your menu screen, scroll to your equip
command (2nd option in main menu)
Your first slot is basically the first command next to the Attack
command. What I recommend strongly to equip there is a curative
materia (e.g. Cure), as it will be you will toggle to it
almost immediately when you get into trouble.
This is really handy when you need to spam your recovery after
heavy attacks. Trust me on this.
After that you can equip other materias as you wish. I personally
go for the following formation:
Mission in Wutai: Case of the missing 1st Class Soldier Genesis
Location: Wutai
Inside the fortress that you are invading, you will find
a save point. Checking the "tombstone" shaped object next to it
triggers a fight, which I consider is quite boss-fight-like for
an early stage; you'll be fighting a group of soldiers who are
quite organized in their attack formation.
You're adviced to save first. I got careless and almost got
wiped out by them.
Boss fight #2
A pair of Minotaur-like beasts
Estimated HP: 3000+
Geee ... don't they look like something out of Devil May Cry and
a "certain" Guardian Force from FFVIII?? What an ugly pair!
Be on standby to get slapped around. As always, run for their
backs and slash with caution. Slip in the habit of blocking after
2-3 slashes (4 slashes if you feel lucky, punk!), if you are
careless, prepare to cure yourself often.
Avoid hitting them from the front, best if you can, hit both as
much as possible. If you concentrate on one too much, you might
be caught and attacked by the other one.
ULTIMATE ATTACK: Twin Axe Slash / Solo Axe Slash
Both with join forces and execute a cross slash onto you or the
one left behind will execute a huge slash on you.
The Twin Axe Slash is a pain and if you defeat one, the other can
execute a Solo Axe Slash for a slightly lesser damage.
Both are painful though.
Here's the thing about bosses Ultimate Attack -
you get to watch a cool cut scene of the boss handing over
your butt with their attack. Note that it is unblockable
(99% of the time) and you just take the damage in full.
Prepare your cure spells as soon as the animation is over!
Boss Fight #3
Ifrit
Estimated HP: 6000+
As Zack will put it the moment he realized it's Ifrit he's facing ...
"HOLY CRAP, A SUMMON!"
This fight can be a no-brainer if you are used to hacking
and blocking. His attacks are generally easy to avoid and block
against, whip out your Ice spells on him.
ULTIMATE ATTACK: Hellfire!
You WILL suffer damage here, but at least the pay-off is to
watch a cool CG cutscene.
As any FF fan would know, Ifrit executes his trademark Hellfire
attack on you. Can be very damaging for a low level Zack. I would
recommend that cure yourself fast.
He was inflicting damage that was nearly 3/4 of my health bar at
that point of time.
Turks and SOLDIER working hand in hand
Location: Village of Banora
Boss fight #4
Spider Mech
Estimated HP: 7500-8000
I would say that Lightning works like a charm on it, I would
recommend that you stay a short distance away, facing it and
spamming your Lightning spell on it.
Block all the attacks it throws at you, the mech is able
to "STOP" you with it's attacks so watch yourself.
Golden rule here: Robots/Mechs = Lightning works best
Boss fight #5
Bahamut
Estimated HP: 9000+
Dang, the summons really hate you in this game.
This is one of the battles that will teach you the importance
of patience, you really can't be greedy when trying to fight
Bahamut here.
When you get close to it, slash twice and BLOCK. It will
perform an attack or two once getting hit twice. You might get
pushed away but don't worry, clicking Attack will send Zack
running to it. Just remember to BLOCK after every 2 slashes
(3 if you dare to take a chance) and keep your HP as high as
possible at all times ...
When it flies off, stay put and block. When it lands, keep
your distance as the gale it creates upon landing will do you
some harm. When it lands on the isolated platform, use your magic
spells (I prefer Fire and Ice spells) to hit it.
ULTIMATE ATTACK: Mega-flare
Okay, like Ifrit's Hellfire, you get a CG cut scene. It's one of
the nicest one in the game and I wish poor Zack didn't have to be
at the end of it, taking the Mega-flare!
Interesting note here, when this chapter opens, head to the Training
Room and meet Professor Hojo (yes, the same creepy freak from FFVII)
and talk to him (select the first option twice when asked) to have a
rematch with the Behemoth.
Boss fight #6
Genesis (Clone)
Estimated HP: 8500+
He fights in combos and counterattacks, get used to it quick.
If you want, block out his moves and attack him once he misses last
combo blow is blocked. You should squeeze out a full combo
strike on him.
Not too hard, just prepare to cure yourself if you get hit by
his combos attacks.
Boss fight #7
The Chainsaw Mech, The Rocket Launcher Mech, The Driller Mech
Estimated HP: 7500-9000+
Okay, if you had played all sorts of training missions, you might
have fought more difficult versions of the Chainsaw and Rocket
Launcher Mechs (The mission difficulty should be VERY HARD).
If you did, then this is a breeze.
Remember, your Lightning spell is a good weapon here and if you
can line them up, you can kill all three at one go.
Seriously, spamming Lightning spell here works like a charm.
The Chainsaw Mech is able to poison you (It blows greenish smoke
onto you), so make sure you don't get too close to it. The rest
deal mainly physical damage with no effects.
When the Rocket Launcher fires it's missiles, I've noticed that
running head on to it makes the missiles lose guidance and randomly
explode elsewhere.
The Driller one is a pain if you don't block it's attacks. I
recommend the usual hack twice and block to get around it.
Remember: Lightning just rips them apart.
I had a flawless victory here! The one and only one!
The Church of a new addiction
Location: Midgar Church / Slums / Streets + Shinra HQ
Boss fight #8
Bahamut RETSU (as mentioned in Wikipedia)
Estimated HP: 17000+
Whoa. Think of this a golden version of Bahamut Zero. You will
after you see it's ultimate attack.
I would advice you to arm yourself with as much HP boosting items
or materias as possible.
It has a swipe attack the swats you away, a triple fireball (huge
ones) blast that goes 3 directions and it's detachable wings will
gather together for one united strike on Zack ...
Block first and get close to attack, look into curing when you
have lost 1/2 your life bar.
This can be a drawn out fight, and your additional HP goes into
helping survive the following ...
ULTIMATE ATTACK: Exa Flare (as mentioned in Wikipedia)
It packs a punch. No, a ton of punches. Your HP kept high will
help survive this blast, the longer you fight him, the more times
you have to deal with this attack. I was hit twice by it, but I came
out alive because of my HP.
Patience will win out at the end, so keep on blocking.
Boss fight #9
Genesis
Estimated HP: above 10000 for sure!
He is a pain to fight against here. I would caution that you best
hit once and block quick, as you have faced his clone, you would
know Genesis has the tendency to counterattack almost once
he gets hit. The damage ratio here is that you will be on the
losing end most of the time, so hit and run tactics will be your
best friend here.
I depended mostly on DMW attacks to finish him off. A miracle
chain of Sephiroth and Angeal DMW attacks helped tackle him and
put him down.
If you are not confident in defeating him, use a Phoenix Down.
Boss fight #10
Angeal (Beastial form)
Estimated HP: above 20000 for sure!
Ouch. This battle will hurt a lot, I recommend you equip a Phoenix
Down as soon as you begin the battle. This form will damage you in
bulk; you will need to block fast as his attacks are
quick and damaging.
Here's a nifty hint, his elemental attacks are Lightning based,
so you might want to equip an item that protects against that
element. At least one headache off would mean better chance of
survival.
Remember to keep a Phoenix Down used. In the messy battle, you
might be killed off too quickly without much effort. I acutally
used about 2 to get through the fight.
Adventures of a Buster Sword Zack
Location: Costa De Sol / Junon
Boss fight #11
Tank
Estimated HP: 25000+
Lightning works here as the tank is like the various mechs you
fought; just plain weak against this element. Your best bet is not
to stay in front of the tank as it's cannons can pack a punch
against you.
Keep to the side as the tank moves and keep slashing away.
I would recommend that you equip yourself with an item that helps
you deal Lightning based damage on your enemies. It does seem to
help alot in this battle as everything is mechanical here.
The other flying machines that are launched can be irritating
also but your attacks should take them down quickly. If all are
cleared, the tank relaunches more flying machines.
Not a difficult battle, just takes a while to finish it off.
Boss fight #12
Spider Mech
Estimated HP: *never kept track*
This one is quite easy. You can just hack it a few times and
block. If you have equipped yourself with the item that allows
your weapon to inflict Lightning based damage, you will can
easily end this fight without a struggle.
When it uses it's tail to target around, I noticed that running
head on to it would make you totally out of sight to the tail
when it shoots laser around.
Everyone knows the story that occurs here. Interestingly enough,
there's a certain important conversation here in this chapter that
will occur ... that is only covered in this game and not in the
main FFVII game. Watching the Last Order anime provides another
version of the last part of the incident.
I recommend your setup for Zack to be equipped with his strongest
attack and HP boosts. You will need it for the next few fights.
Boss fight #13
SEPHIROTH
Estimated HP: Above 40000 for sure!
This battle is all about staying calm and attacking when possible.
Charging like a mad man will only kill yourself faster, so stay
calm and attack fast and block faster.
When he warps, just keep blocking. I noticed that when I do hit
him when he appears out of a warp, I get hit by a sudden Heartless
Angel (yes, you will know it's that INFAMOUS attack once your HP
goes to 1 point!!) ... it's a black purple energy ball that
silently falls onto you when it is executed.
Hit your cure spell at once when your HP is 1!
He has a slash blast that pushes you away. It's a blade wave that
is fast but very easy to block against.
He uses a slash combo that ends with an uppercut. Block all his
frontal strikes and keep blocking until he does an uppercut slash.
Once he is up and landing, rush over and attack at once.
He also has a summon skill; he will summon 4 materias (gem shaped)
in 4 colors, Red (which does not get damaged by physical attacks
and guards against Fire based attacks), Green (which heals
Sephiroth), Yellow (blasts out damaging Lightning attacks) and
Blue (have yet to see what it does but usually the first materia
to be destroyed out of the 4.
My take is when the materias appear, quickly disable the green
one as it will cure Sephiroth for quite some HP. Then focus all
your attacks onto Sephiroth. You might get zapped by his materias,
remember your main focus is only on him and not the materias.
ULTIMATE ATTACK: A different variant of the Sephiroth DMW attack
It's damaging but not as painful as Heartless Angel.
Get yourself cured at once after this move connects, especially
if the 4 materias are floating around.
Boss fight #14
Sephiroth Part II
Estimated HP: 30000+
Part II of this fight has a instant kill condition for Zack.
If Sephiroth forces his way to the end of the path, he kills Zack
instantly by tossing him into the Mako pit. (Yes, i died here.)
Whatever you do, keep going up to him and attacking. No matter how
many times you get pushed back, keep running back and attacking.
It's honestly quite a challenge; pray hard your DMW attacks are
unleashed to rack up the damage, if not you're gonna have to fight
him all over again from #13!
His usual attacks (including his Ultimate Attack) other than
the 4 materias summon still remains.
The Escape
Location: Shinra Mansion, Nibelheim, Gongaga
Boss fight #15
Genesis soldier (Transformed)
Estimated HP: 50000+
Okay, this freak of nature does a heap of damage. Block or dodge
all the elemental attacks (a fire based attack and lightning based
attack) and throw in a quick attack or two.
It's attacks are quite strong and damaging, so don't get too
greedy to attack too many times. Even blocking his attacks will
mean your life gets drained fast, so keep your cure spell on
standby at all times.
I managed to squeeze out Aerith's DMW move ... stayed invincible
for a good part of the fight and that settled the freak for good.
Pays to be lucky at times I guess.
Boss fight #16
Dr.Hollander ~ with Genesis cells
Estimated HP: *lost track ~ quite a lot*
Thankfully, this one is just a long battle but not a hard one.
Dr.Hollander has become a Genesis convert this time, and he's
playing hide and seek with you.
He has a status attack that messes you up with poison and
curse effect. Once you get hit, use a remedy to recover and get
back at him. He's hardly attacking back so just keep at him until
he falls over and just keep hacking at him.
From time to time, he does toss out a potion that renders him
"invincible" for a short time. He can also cure himself (if i am
not wrong).
Dr.Hollander will also toss out a pack of white worms that
will also join in the battle. As much as you can, strike them all
(worms and Hollander) and keep hacking at them.
ULTIMATE ATTACK: Missile-in-my-tiny-bag
Shessh. Dr.Hollander stole Felix the Cat's bag ... look at the size
of that Shinra missile that he uses for his attack and the size of
his bag!
It's not as damaging as it looks, but you might not want to be
caught off guard by it with low HP and poison status.
Drawn out fight but rest assured, this one is not as hard as
it seems.
There is an optional boss fight but you would have to slove a
small puzzle to get to it. No big rewards, other than bragging
rights that you have completely visited this place -
Optional boss fight -
Great Behemoth
HP: *lost track but not as much as Dr.Hollander*
I was expecting much more of a challenge but all I got was
a fight that was slightly longer than the original Behemoth ...
yet still as easy. Do what you did for the first Behemoth
and that's it!
Boss fight #17
Genesis Soldier (Transformed)
Estimated HP: Nearly as much as Dr. Hollander or more
Here's a nifty trick you can repeat. Equip yourself with
the item that protects against Lightning and you're free to
hammer this freak without worrying about it's Triple
Lightning strike (You'll keep getting GUARD status when it
hits you), and like before, it's standard attacks do hurt alot.
Best to keep a Phoenix Down used, the real pain comes in
the form of it's Ultimate Attack.
ULTIMATE ATTACK: Grab+Stab combo
Ouch. This attack hurts big time. And it does happen frequently,
so watch your distance from it ... and when you're hit, watch
your health. I was able to achieve 9999 health with the help of
DMW attacks, and this attack wipes a chunk of it off at once.
Really recommend you cure ASAP and ensure your Phoenix Down is
active also, just in case.
Boss fight #18
Genesis (Ultimate form)
Estimated HP: Maximum amount of HP of 99999
Another long fight and a hard one also. Fans of Kingdom Hearts
will find this one freakishly familar ... You face off against a
HUGE Genesis in a knight's armour.
The main focus here is the Sword in his hand which you can only
be attacked when it's stabbed to the ground.
However, shadow figures will be created and they will attack you.
There seem to be 2 variants of these shadows and they each have
their own way of attacking you:
Shadow with a sword - High HP, high attack damage, quite good
defence against your attacks
Shadow with a staff - Low HP, magic attack; fireballs & lightning
I forgot which one will attack you and also drain your MP off. The
sword one also uses Drain attacks to cure themself as they attack you.
Be on standby to cure and cure if they gang up on you. Happens very
often, especially the ones with swords!
The sword can also create a dark blast from the ground against you.
Very tiny damage if you block it.
This battle will go back and forth with you struggling to make it
over to attack the sword. The shadows gang up on you quite frequently,
blocking your way to attack the sword. Keep your focus on the sword
as much as possible.
Pray you active multi-hitting DMW attacks. I was lucky to get a few
DMW attacks that targetted the Sword, making my life easier during
the fight.
Boss fight #19
Genesis (as himself)
Estimated HP: 99999 (Has to be, he's the last one!)
This is it. The man himself vs the SOLDIER 1st Class Zack ...
unlike the famous one on one clash at the end of FFVII, this
one has to be played out and done by you. This battle compared
to some of the earlier battles is actually not that hard.
You just have to remember, he's able to do all those fancy combo
attacks from all the ealier fights you have face him (or his clone).
I'm pretty sure you would know when to block him and return him a
combo or two!
ULTIMATE ATTACK: Apocaplyse
Have you ever activated Genesis on you DMW before? This is it, his
version of that DMW attack. It packs quite a punch compared to his
standard attack moves. Other than that, you're gonna be doing more
damage on him with your DMW attacks.
Once this battle goes down ... you're done with the game ... kick
back and enjoy the ending!
I've compared my difficulty of playing the game to another friend
who has completed more mission mode and collected more powerful
items in the process. He would have an easier time clearing out the
bosses and enemies, and even mentioned the game seemed to lack the
challenge he hoped for.
For me on the other hand, it was a great experience to complete it,
struggling and being on my toes to all the battles I've fought ...
it's a decent challenge and the ending was a big reward to me!
So it's up to how one wants to play this game, maybe what I can do
now is to go complete the other mission mode stages (my final save
point is at the final stage) ... and if i want to replay this whole
game again, I'll wait for the US version!
- Accurate naming for all the bosses
- Accurate values of their stats
- More accurate evaluation of the bosses attacks
- Cover an additional section of facing the bosses in Mission Mode
- Items from boss fights, stolen from boss fights
- Hopefully, will cover the US version of the game!
