The Nightmare Begins
Kalm to the Mythril Mine Entrance
Items/Skills/Materia
Matra Magic Skill |
Atomic Scissors |
Megalixer |
Ether - 3 |
Guard Source |
Peacemaker |
L4 Suicide Skill |
Miscellaneous Greens |
Choco/Mog Materia |
Chocobo Lure Materia |
Beta Skill (I'd hold off on learning this, but you can try if you want) |
Chocobuckle Skill |
After you split from the rest of the group, head towards Kalm. You can head straight there to meet them, but why not engage in some combat around Midgar? Just walk around and look for a fight. Make sure someone has the Enemy Skill Materia equipped so you can learn your first skills. Also give someone Steal; it will come in handy. Walk around the outskirts of Midgar fighting enemies and gaining experience until you run into the Custom Sweeper enemies. These big metal junk heaps are easy to kill, but you can do many other things to them. First off, they hold the Atomic Scissors, a new weapon for Barret that you can't buy until you reach Junon! Throughout the game, you'll encounter enemies that hold powerful weapons that can be stolen long before they can be bought, so you may as well take advantage of this and steal them. After you steal the Atomic Scissors, put off killing these guys until they cast the Matra Magic spell on you. This is your first on many opportunities to learn this spell, which costs only 8 MP and hits all enemies with type-less damage. Other than that, it's pretty weak, but still nice to have. After you've gotten into enough fights for your taste, head towards Kalm, which is northeast of Midgar.
When you arrive in Kalm, you'll need to go to the inn and meet with your party. Go through Cloud's flashback about that Sephiroth guy from the Shinra Building. (You know, he's not really a nice guy) During the flashback, on the night when you can visit your friends and family, go visit Tifa's house and play her piano. Write down those notes: they will be important later on! After you finish the flashback and learn why Cloud wants to pursue Sephiroth, you can move on. Head over to the bar and talk to the miners there. They'll tell you of your next destination: the Mythril Mine.
Don't leave Kalm just yet. It may seem like a simple little town, but there are many goodies to be found here. Your first stop should be the shops. The weapon store sells some new weapons and armor, but I wouldn't bother with these. Cloud, Aeris, and Barret should have better weapons than the ones sold here, while I recommend waiting until Junon to buy better stuff for Aeris and Tifa. The Mythril Armor is decent, so you might want to pick up one or two of these. The Materia Shop sells some decent materia, so stop here next. This is your first chance to buy Earth and Heal Materia, so make sure to pick up both. Earth magic is a decent attack magic, while Heal magic removes those nasty conditions enemies can cast. The item shop carries standard fare: Potions, Phoenix Downs, Tents, etc. Make sure to check out all the houses before skipping town. Search them thoroughly for some nice items and the Peacemaker, a powerful weapon that gives you double AP. (Unfortunately, you can't use this weapon just yet) After looting the town, head towards the mines.
Before you attempt to enter the mine, make a quick stop at the Chocobo Ranch. As you enter, talk to the Chocobos and watch them dance. After they finish, they'll reward you with the Choco-Mog Summon Materia for being such a great audience. Then head into the house and meet with Choco Bob, who'll inform you of the Midgar Zolem that patrols the Mine area. After meeting with him, go to the stables and speak with Choco Billy, who can sell you the Chocobo Lure Materia, which you will need if you want to catch a Chocobo. (You can cross the mine without a Chocobo, but you'll need to be very powerful or very lucky!) Buy Chocobo Lure and leave the farm. Before you try your luck at bird-catching, partake in a few battles with the local monsters. Equip Enemy Skill and fight until you face off with the Mu enemies, who look like squirrels. Rarely, they'll cast L4 Suicide on you, which is a learnable Enemy Skill. After learning Enemy Skill, you can either try to catch a Chocobo on the tracks, or you can try to learn the Chocobuckle Enemy Skill. If you want this elusive skill, read the following paragraph; if not, just skip it.
Chocobuckle is an interesting skill. It does damage based on how many times you run away, so those that run often will definitely want to pick this up. To learn Chocobuckle, you need several things. First, you have to have the L4 Suicide Skill, which you can learn in this area. Second, you'll need 4500 gil. If you don't, fight random battles until you have enough to do this. After you accumulate this much money, go back to the Chocobo Ranch and buy 3 Mimmett Greens from Choco Billy. After you have all this and equip your Enemy Skill Materia, you can get Chocobuckle. Go run around on the Chocobo tracks near the Ranch and wait for a Level 16 Chocobo. These Chocobos appear very rarely, unlike the more common Level 13 Chocobos. You'll want to use Sense to make sure that the Chocobo is at the right level for you to learn Chocobuckle. However, you can usually tell the level based on the enemies with the Chocobo. If it is accompanied by 2 Levrikons, which resemble ostriches, or 2 Elfadunks, which resemble elephants, it is usually Level 16. Once you find a Level 16 Chocobo, feed it all 3 Mimmett Greens. Do this through the item menu, targeting the Chocobo. After stuffing him, cast L4 Suicide on the Chocobo. He'll respond by casting Chocobuckle on you, enabling you to use it. The skill does damage based on how often you run, so if you keep chickening out, you can deal out heavy damage early on for a cost of only 3 MP! Once you have Chocobuckle, proceed on toward the mines.
If you don't know how to catch a Chocobo, talk with the guys on the ranch and learn. Catch one and cross the swamp, taking care to avoid the Midgar Zolem. If you do want to fight this guy, beware. He's very powerful and can remove a character from the battle with a swipe of his tail. He has 4000 HP and a powerful attack spell called Beta, which is a learnable Enemy Skill that deals out about 1000 points of Fire-typed damage to all enemies. You'll want to come back for this later, but don't try to now, unless you have a death wish. Anyways, cross the swamp and enter the mines.