The Right Path / The Left Path
The Right Path
Items:
Mystile, Elixir, Speed Source, Tetra Elemental, Megalixir (x2), Luck Source
The right path is fairly easy. There are a lot of items to find and you avoid the "sudden death" enemies.
The Left Path
Items:
Turbo Ether (x2), Speed Source, "Mega-All" Materia, X-Potion (x2), Vaccine, Remedy, Elixir, Remedy, Magic Source, Vaccine, "Shield" Materia, Imperial Guard, Hero Medicine, "Counter" Materia, "W-Magic" Materia.
The left path is actually two paths. The first takes you through some very natural-looking terrain; the second is a series of rocky ledges. Each path has great items, so make sure you explore them both.
To get the "Mega-All" Materia near the bottom of the rocky path, press the O button just as Cloud lands on the step next to it. If not, he jumps right past it.
When you reach the bottom of North Cave, talk to everyone on your team. They'll all hand over items they've located on their way to the bottom. This is also a great place to put the Save Crystal. When you're ready, head down the center path.
As you progress toward the center of the planet, you're forced to fight several battles against Iron Men and Dragon Zombines. Both of these enemies could pass as Bosses in their own right, so take the necessary precautions.
Warning:
There's no turning back at this point. Be absolutely sure you're ready to advance.
At the very center, you'll come face-to-face with Jenova.
Boss Fight: Jenova - SYNTHESIS
Jenov-SYNTHESIS is three parts torso, and two
parts arms. it's important that you enter this fight with Slash-All
or attacks that can damage all three parts at one time. Doing so enables you to
knock out the weaker arms quickly. When the arms fall, focus on the torso.
Begin the fight by setting up the usual defense of Wall, Regen,
and Haste. This makes it easy to keep your HP up and provides solid
protection from Jenova's attacks. Watch out for Jenova's final countdown.
After the count of five, it attacks the party with Ultima causing lots of damage. My Notes: Jenova-Synthesis
isn't as tough as you though it would be. Just cast Kinghts of the Round once or twice (with W-Summon attached) it will be defeated.
After defeat Jenova-SYNTHESIS, the team is dropped deeper into the planet's core. They arrive at the bizarre structure that is pulsing with the Lifestream power.
Note:
The final battle takes
place in this same area.
Depending on how your fight against Jenova went, you'll be prompted to split your party into one, two, or three groups. One group is the easiest configuration and three is the most challenging. No matter how many groups you make, the first group will face Sephiroth in the final battle. However, the second and/or third group must still be well equipped. The game ends if you lost any of the three groups during the fight against Bizarro-Sephiroth.
Boss Fight: Bizarro-Sephiroth
Tip:
For a quick win, use Knight of the Round to hit all the parts of Sephiroth's body for 70,000 points of damage.
The basic idea behind this fight is pretty simple. There are five parts to Bizarro-Sephiroth: the head, Torso, Core, Left Magic, and Right Magic. The Head, Left Magic and Right Magic are all easily destroyed, but Sephiroth can quickly regenerate them. The torso is tougher and is healed each turn by the core. This is what keeps Bizarro-Sephiroth going. If the torso goes, the whole creature dies. The core is incredibly strong and cannot be damaged until its defenses are removed. Once the Core is destroyed, the torso is easily conquered.
Biazrro-Sephiroth attacks with several types of magic. Be sure to keep Wall up and use a generous amount of Cure spells. The team can also be hit with some pretty nasty status effects, so equip your characters with any items that protect against negative statuses. Sephiroth's strongest attack is the Fallen Angel, which reduces each of the affected party member's life to one point. This is easily countered with Regen and Cure 3, but can be deadly to a poorly equipped team. The core can also blast the team with a powerful attack that not only does a solid amount of damage, but causes several negative status effects including confusion, poison, and slow.
In the single team fight, you'll want to concentrate on Sephiroth's Left and Right Magics. Once these are destroyed, the Core's defense drops. Destroy the Core, then attack the Torso section to finish off Bizarro-Sephiroth.
When using two teams, have the first team eliminate the Left Magic and the Head, then switch to the right team when given the chance. When the right team destroys the Right Magic and Head (it may be necessary to destroy the Left Magic as well), the Core's right defense drops. Have the right team destroy the right side of the core, then switch back to the left team. The Core's left defense should now be down. Attack the left core until it is destroyed, then focus your attention on the Torso.
Note:
Each time you switch to a new team, it's as if they haven't yet fought. They can use the maximum limit of any summons or all spells they're equipped with, even if they already used the maximum aount earlier in the battle.
In a three-team situation, you'll begin the fight in front of Bizarro-Sephiroth. Switch to the left team as soon as the middle team destroys a piece of Sephiroth. Follow the instructions for a two-team battle until you'be destroyed both sides of the Core. Immediately switch back to the middle team and have them finish off Sephiroth by taking out the Core and then the Torso.
Boss Fight: Safer Sephiroth
Your fist priority should be setting up Wall and casting Regon and Haste on the party. Also, heal anyone who may have been seriously injured in the last battle and restore MP to those who may have exhauted their supply. Sephiroth has several powerful attacks. The Pale Horse does a small amount of damage and hits the effected party member with every status effect in the book. Be sure you have Esuna or a Remedy handly to counter this attack. The Shadow Flare hits a single character for nearly 7000 points of damage. Unless your levels are high or you're packing a couple of "HP Plus" Materia, this is something to worry about . There's not much you can do about the attack, but the Wall is there to absorb some of the damage. Deen is a fairly weak attack that does about 1000 to 1500 points of damage, but in a battle like this you can't take anything for granted. Then there's Sephiroth's summon spell, the Super Nova. This lengthy summon engulfs the party in a blast of cosmic proportions and typically does about 3000 to 5000 points of damage. Be sure you have a Cure 3 ready after this one.
Keep Wall up through the battle and quickly remove any negative statuses Sephiroth might use on the party. Use DeBarrier to remove Sephiroth's barrier and to strengthen your attacks. Always try to use attacks that hit more than once, Limit Breaks, 2x Cut, Comet 2...anything. If you can keep your characters alive and more quickly, Sephiroth shouldn't be too tough to beat.
With Sephiroth defeated Holy is free to counter Meteor's power, but did the team work fast enough? Is the threat really removed? Well...I'm not about to spoil the ending for you, so defeat Safter-Sephiroth and find out for yourself!