Final Fantasy VII (Original, PC): Complete Guide

This guide covers the original 1997 Final Fantasy VII in its Steam PC release: which Steam version to play, the Materia and Limit Break systems, the missables to watch for on each disc, Chocobo breeding, and the optional superbosses. It is not about Remake or Rebirth.

Researched September 2026 — current as of the February 2026 Steam re-release (the older build is now "FINAL FANTASY VII – 2013 Edition"). Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Which Version Am I Playing?

Version | Notes

1998 PC port (Eidos) | The original PC release. Long out of print.

2012/2013 re-release | Updated for modern Windows by DotEmu/Square Enix. Steam launch in July 2013. It has 36 achievements, cloud saves and the Character Booster (maxes HP, MP and Gil with one click). Now called FINAL FANTASY VII – 2013 Edition.

2026 Steam re-release (24 Feb 2026) | An upgraded version of the 2013 Edition with no story changes. It adds 3x speed mode (in battle, travel and some events), an option to turn random encounters off (story fights still happen), battle enhancement mode (HP/MP recovery in battle and a maxed Limit gauge) and autosave.

If you already owned the 2013 Edition, you got the new version free and both stay in your library. Saves don't carry over between the two: 2013 Edition saves only work there, and new-version saves only work in the new version. Pick one before you start a long playthrough.

The PC script uses the original translation, so Aerith appears as "Aeris".

Quick Start

• Materia is your build. Characters have no skill trees. Everything comes from the Materia you slot into weapons and armour. Moving Materia between party members is free.
• Get linked slots. Linked Materia slots let you pair Support Materia (like All) with a spell. Prefer gear with more linked slots even if its raw stats are a bit lower.
• Don't max Materia AP growth on a 0-growth weapon. Weapons have an AP growth multiplier. Some late-game weapons have 0x growth, so your Materia stops levelling while you use them.
• Limit Breaks level up by use. Using a Limit and landing kills unlock the next ones. Don't hoard a full bar through easy fights.
• Get the Enemy Skill Materia and learn blue magic. Enemy Skill learns certain moves when you're hit by them. It's one of the strongest Materia in the game (see below).
• Recruit Yuffie and Vincent. Both are optional and easy to miss.
• Save at every save point and Tent often. On the world map you can save anywhere.
• Use the new-version toggles wisely. 3x speed is great for grinding and backtracking. Turning off encounters or using battle enhancement removes the challenge, so treat them as accessibility options.

Core Systems

Active Time Battle (ATB)

Each character's ATB gauge fills over time and they act when it's full. In the options you can pick Active (enemies keep acting while you browse menus), Recommended, or Wait (time pauses while you're in the sub-menus). Wait is the forgiving choice.

Materia Types

Colour | Type | Examples

Green | Magic | Fire, Ice, Lightning, Restore, Revive, Heal, Barrier, Time, Comet, Ultima, Full Cure

Red | Summon | Choco/Mog, Shiva, Ifrit, Ramuh, Titan, Leviathan, Bahamut, Alexander, Phoenix, Knights of the Round

Yellow | Command | Steal, Sense, Enemy Skill, Deathblow, Manipulate, Morph, Mime, W-Summon, W-Magic, W-Item

Blue | Support | All, Elemental, Added Effect, Counter Attack, HP Absorb, MP Turbo, Quadra Magic

Purple | Independent | HP Plus, MP Plus, Cover, Long Range, Counter, Mega All

Key combos:

• Restore + All: heals the whole party. Get this early.
• Elemental + an element Materia on armour: resistance, or even absorption at high Elemental levels.
• Elemental + an element Materia on a weapon: adds that element to your attacks.
• Added Effect + Poison, Time or Mystify on armour: protects you from those status effects.
• Counter Attack, Long Range and Cover make a strong passive setup for characters in the back row.

Mastered Materia spawns a new copy, which is how you can build farms for strong Materia.

Limit Breaks

Each character has 4 Limit levels, and most have two moves per level. Early moves unlock by using Limits. Each character's final Limit comes from a specific item:

• Cloud's Omnislash: bought with Battle Square points at the Gold Saucer. It costs 51,200 BP early (once you have the Tiny Bronco) and drops to 32,000 BP late in the game.
• Aeris's Great Gospel: get the Mythril key item from the sleeping man in the cave near Junon, then trade it to the weapon seller in the small house southeast of the Gold Saucer and open the small box on the second floor for the Great Gospel. Do it before the Temple of the Ancients; it's fully missable because of what happens at the end of Disc 1.
• Tifa's Final Heaven: play the piano in Tifa's room in Nibelheim, but only after Cloud rejoins the party at Mideel on Disc 2.
• Vincent's Chaos: from Lucrecia's Crystal Cave (Vincent in the party), once you have the submarine after the Underwater Reactor on Disc 2.

Enemy Skill Materia

Equip it and let enemies hit you with learnable moves. The ones everybody gets:

Skill | Learned from | Use

Beta | Midgar Zolom | Huge early fire damage to all enemies

White Wind | Zemzelett | Party heal plus status cure

Big Guard | Beach Plug | Barrier + MBarrier + Haste on the whole party

Trine | Materia Keeper | Strong lightning damage to all enemies

Matra Magic | Custom Sweeper | Early damage to all enemies

Bad Breath | Malboro | Status ailments

Magic Hammer | Razor Weed | Steal MP

Laser | Death Claw | Removes a fixed share of HP

Mighty Guard | Stilva | Late-game Big Guard plus

Dragon Force | Dark Dragon | Defence buff

Pandora's Box | Dragon Zombie | Big non-elemental damage

To learn a skill that normally doesn't target you, cast Manipulate on the monster and use the skill on your own party.

Disc-by-Disc Outline and Missables

Disc 1

• Midgar: Reactor raids, the Sector 7 plate, Wall Market and the Shinra Headquarters. The Wall Market dress-up quest changes how the Don Corneo scene plays out, but nothing permanent is lost.
• Midgar Zolom: In the marsh just after Kalm. Buy a Chocobo at the Chocobo Farm to cross safely. Learn Beta here only when you can survive it (much later).
• Yuffie: She shows up in random encounters in forests once you're past the early world map. Beat her, then give the right replies, which means not being eager to leave and not falling for the trick. She's optional.
• Junon, Costa del Sol, Mt. Corel and the Gold Saucer: Get into Battle Square early for the tougher Limit items and accessories.
• Gongaga, Cosmo Canyon and Nibelheim: In Nibelheim's Shinra Mansion, the safe puzzle leads to the boss Lost Number and the key to the basement, where Vincent is found.
• Rocket Town, the Temple of the Ancients and the Forgotten Capital: Disc 1 ends here.
• Aeris missable: Any gear and Materia on Aeris when Disc 1 ends is gone for good. Take her Materia off beforehand, and finish the Great Gospel trade before entering the Temple of the Ancients if you want it.

Disc 2

• The Highwind airship brings real exploration. Now you can breed Chocobos seriously, do Wutai (Yuffie's quest, where she steals all your Materia; it's also reachable on Disc 1 with the Tiny Bronco), Lucrecia's cave, the sunken Gelnika, and Tifa's Final Heaven in Nibelheim (after Mideel).
• Key story stops include Mideel, the Underwater Reactor in Junon and Rocket Town again. Some one-time enemies show up only during certain story segments. Enemy Skill hunters should check which ones they're still missing before moving the story forward.

Disc 3

• The final stretch through Midgar, then the Northern Cave. You can still leave and do side content before the last descent.
• You can split the party at forks in the Northern Cave. Each route has its own items.

Chocobo Breeding (for Knights of the Round)

• Catch good Chocobos using a Chocobo Lure Materia on Chocobo tracks around the world, and rent stalls at the Chocobo Farm.
• Feed Greens (from Mimett up to Sylkis) to raise stats, then race at the Gold Saucer to rank them up.
• Breed with Nuts (for example Carob Nut or Zeio Nut) at the Farm. The Chocobo Sage sells information and some nuts.
• You work up through the colour-coded types. Gold Chocobos can cross any terrain and reach the island where Knights of the Round is. Other Chocobo-only spots have the Mime Materia and other rewards.

Plan on a few hours of racing and breeding. The 2026 version's 3x speed helps a lot here.

Optional Superbosses

Boss | Where | Prep

Ultima Weapon | Flies around the world map in the late game | Fight it several times as it flees. The kill gives Cloud's Ultima Weapon.

Emerald Weapon | Underwater (sub required) | Underwater Materia removes the time limit. Trade the Guidebook from the sunken Gelnika to the Kalm Traveler for it.

Ruby Weapon | Desert near the Gold Saucer | Enter the fight with two characters KO'd so its tentacle mechanic backfires, then revive them.

The standard endgame kit for both big Weapons is Knights of the Round with Mime and W-Summon, plus Final Attack + Phoenix and HP Plus.

Gold Saucer Essentials

• Battle Square: Arena fights paid in Battle Points. Points buy Omnislash and top accessories.
• Chocobo Square: Racing for breeding ranks and prizes.
• Wonder Square: Arcade games. The prizes are mostly minor.
• The date: Your choices through Disc 1 decide who asks you out on the Gold Saucer date (Aeris, Tifa, Yuffie or Barret).

Mods and PC Tips

• Popular fan projects such as the 7th Heaven mod manager and the FFNx driver are built around the 2013 Edition and older PC releases. They add modern rendering, higher-resolution backgrounds and other improvements. Check each project's supported versions before modding the 2026 version.
• Turn on Steam Cloud or back up your saves, especially on the 2013 Edition, where uninstalling can delete local saves.
• The 2013 Edition's Character Booster maxes out HP, MP and Gil, which trivialises the game. Keep it for when you're truly stuck.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Leaving Materia on Aeris at the end of Disc 1.
• Skipping Yuffie and Vincent. Both are easy to miss, and both have content later.
• Using 0x-growth weapons for a long time while you're trying to level Materia.
• Ignoring Enemy Skill until late. Several skills come from rare or one-time enemies.
• Having Aeris or another character at a low Limit level for the entire game because you never swapped them in. Rotate your party, or at least let each character use their Limits.
• Mixing save versions. 2013 Edition and 2026 saves aren't compatible.

Advanced Tips

• W-Item duplication: A long-known trick with W-Item lets you duplicate some items by choosing an item, cancelling, and choosing again. It's useful for Elixirs and rare sources. Test it on your version first.
• Morph turns certain enemies into rare items, like the Ribbon or stat sources, when you kill them with it.
• Steal from bosses. Many good early accessories and weapons can be stolen.
• Counter Attack + Mime + Knights of the Round is a common superboss loop.
• Grind with 3x speed on in the 2026 version, near Mideel or in the Northern Cave, for fast AP and XP.

FAQ

Is this the original game or Remake? The original 1997 game (PC port 1998), updated for Steam. Remake and Rebirth are separate releases.

I bought the 2013 version. Do I have to pay for the 2026 version? No. Owners of the 2013 Edition got the new version at no extra cost. Both stay in your library.

Can I move my 2013 Edition save to the new version? No. Square Enix confirmed that saves aren't compatible between the two versions.

How do I get Vincent? In the Nibelheim Shinra Mansion, solve the safe puzzle, beat Lost Number, take the key and open the coffin in the basement.

Where is Knights of the Round? On an island that only a Gold Chocobo can reach, after the breeding chain.

Is Aeris's death avoidable? No. It's fixed story. Take her gear and Materia off before the end of Disc 1.

What does battle enhancement mode do? It restores HP/MP during battle and keeps the Limit gauge full. It's in the 2026 version only.

Sources

• FINAL FANTASY VII on Steam
• Steam announcement: FINAL FANTASY VII Re-Released on Steam (24 Feb 2026)
• Steam announcement: An Update Regarding the Re-Release of FINAL FANTASY VII – 2013 Edition (29 Jan 2026)
• Final Fantasy VII — Wikipedia