Do everything in the main story sections as they appear, as there’s no going back for them.
For the Open World sections, assuming that everything will become unavailable after Chapter 7.
If you haven’t picked up certain missions or items before the end of chapter 7, they will be permanently inaccessible.

In each chapter starting with Chapter Two, you’ll generally be doing the side content in the open world before the main story content.

You should try beating missions when you can, as I won’t list all their rewards here, however I will mention when shop-unlocking missions are obtained, as well as a select few missions that give you things like more accessory slots.

There is nothing much to note about the prologue. It’s just one fight and a boss battle.

Note for people replaying the game on New Game Plus: You’ll notice that you have less materia/equipment slots, going back to four and two respectively. You’ll have to get these again the normal way, starting in Chapter Four.

Before heading to Wutai, Kunsel will tell you about the Supply Pods. Once you’ve taken something out of it, keep checking it (you’ll have to do this about 20 times) and eventually you’ll find the Cursed Ring. You’re definitely not going to want to equip this yet (or for most of your playthrough), but it can only be obtained here.

When in Fort Tamblin, you’ll see a marker on the hud for 11 groups of enemies you have to kill. However, you actually need to defeat 16 groups. As you go through the fort, you’ll eventually find a revolving door you can interact with, as well as a guard tower. Interacting with these will allow you to find the remaining enemies behind other revolving doors and at the other tower. Once you see that 16 groups of enemies have been defeated, you can progress. If you go too far, there will be a scene where you can choose to continue, or go back and finish clearing out the area.
You’ll get some bonus items as well as an achievement, though the achievement won’t appear until you’re finished at the fort and are back in the forest.

Before speaking to Tseng and starting the main mission, head outside the briefing room and speak to Kunsel, who will take you to Sector 8. There’s a couple of things you’ll want to do here.

Head to the right where the three women are discussing their favorite member of SOLDIER. After the conversation ends, two of the women will invite you to join fanclubs. Join both of these. Afterwards, go through the passage on the opposite side of the fountain to Loveless Avenue. Go down into the alleyway directly ahead of you and speak to another woman, who will invite you into a third fanclub. Join this one too. Getting all the mail in the game will get you the “Mail Completionist” achievement.




Near the entrance of Loveless Avenue on the way back to the fountain area, you’ll see a Shinra Security Captain. Speaking to him will unlock the missions 1-2-1 through 1-2-6. Completing these and speaking to the Captain again will get you Craftsman Monthly, which is something you’ll want for an important side quest involving a Flower Wagon later in the game.



Finally, go back into Shinra HQ (making sure to speak to the woman giving away free potions, which is always a good idea whenever you come through here, as her potions give you the “Raise” status, which is essentially a free revive), and go back to the SOLDIER floor. But before entering the Briefing Room, enter the Materia Room and speak with the scientist. This will unlock missions 8-2-1 through 8-2-6. Completing these missions and turning the Mako stones in to the scientist will earn you some materia, as well as the “Master Mako Stone Miner” achievement.



It’s also a good idea to complete Mission 8-1-1 before starting, to unlock Summon Materia.
When you’re done, head back to the briefing room and speak to Tseng to continue the story.

Before entering Angeal’s house, interact with the three orange glowing items in town. Zack will mention that he can’t pick them up now, but it’s important that he at least touches them here. After leaving Angeal’s house, there will be two more orange glowing items on the way to the clifftop. Interact with these as well for a total of five. Their locations are shown below.



Continue the story inside the factory (making sure to save your game while inside). Once you leave, you’ll see a chest to the right of the factory that isn’t too important, but when going back to the village you’ll start a minigame where you have to cut artillery shells with your sword. Cutting all ten will earn you an extra 500 gil, as well as the “Slicin' SOLDIER” achievement. If you don’t manage to get all of them, you can load your last autosave (or manual save) from the options menu.

After slicing the shells, a 45 second timer will start. Run back to each of the five orange glowing items and Zack will pick them up (though he’ll mention he doesn’t have time to check them right now). Once you’re back at the house, you’ll receive your reward for slicing the shells, as well as being able to check out what all those orange items were.

Before going to the Director’s Office, go back into the Briefing Room to find a SOLDIER 3rd Class. He’ll give you Missions 7-1-1 through 7-1-6. Completing these and speaking to the SOLDIER 3rd Class again will give you another Flower Wagon part, the “Premium Tires”



Now, if your conscience allows it, enter the training room on the same floor. You meet Hojo inside, who has some trials for you to complete. This will earn you the “First-rate SOLDIER” achievement.



Take the elevator to the Director’s Office, and after the cutscene, you’ll learn about Materia Fusion, as well as gain the ability to equip six Materia at once. You’ll be asked to return to Lazard’s office, but before you do, take the elevator down to the entrance and go back to the Sector 8 fountain.

Go to the entrance to Sector 1 and turn right. You’ll find a man who hates Shinra. Speak to him to unlock Mission 2-1-1.



Now go over to Loveless Avenue and speak to the woman in grey. She’ll give you Mission 2-1-2.



Consider completing Missions 8-1-4 and 8-1-6 for more Summon Materia, Bahamut and Odin respectively. When you’re done, head back to the Director’s Office to continue the main story.

After the cutscene, the elevator to the entrance will stop at a different floor. When prompted, choose to get off and look around. There’s three sets of people to save on this floor: The researcher as you exit the elevator, the SOLDIER member laying on the ground, and the couple inside the training room. After saving the couple in the training room, choose not to tell anyone about the man slacking off and you’ll earn an extra 5000 gil. Now it’s time to go to the entrance.

After some combat and a few cutscenes, you’ll find yourself at the Sector 8 Fountain. Go forward into Loveless Avenue. Once there, instead of going forward, look to your left and right. You’ll see two sets of civilians who need help. If you’ve helped everyone, you should get the “Everyone's Hero” achievement.

In Mako Reactor #5, turn left from the first save point to receive a spam email. This will unlock some missions.

Once you’re able to walk around in the church, before doing anything I’d suggest completing some missions to get some important items and abilities. Nothing in this section is missable, though I’d suggest doing what you can as soon as possible.

• Mission 7-2-1 will allow you to add items to Materia Fusion.
  
• Mission 7-2-2 will allow you to equip a third accessory.
  
• Mission 7-2-5 will allow you to equip a fourth accessory (this is the maximum).
  
• Missions 8-4-1 through 8-4-6 have some Summon Materia listed below, as well as having some fun cutscenes that carry on into 8-5-x- and 8-6-x, which in turn unlock Missions 9-x-x.

You can get more Summon Materia from missions, though these are for a special “Chocobo Mode” that grants special effects (though some still deal damage).
You can get the following right now:

• Chocobo - Complete Mission 8-4-1
  
• Cait Sith - Complete Mission 8-4-3
  
• Moogle - Complete Mission 8-4-4
  
• Cactuar - Defeat a Cactuar in Mission 10-1-3 (unlocked by defeating a Cactuar in 3-1-3)
  
• Tonberry - Defeat a Tonberry in Mission 10-2-3 (unlocked by defeating a Tonberry in 6-1-5)
  
• Magic Pot - Defeat a Magic Pot in Mission 10-2-3 (alternatively, defeat it in 2-2-6, 2-5-1, or 7-6-6)

Note, if a set of missions aren’t available for you, try completing the previous ones in the overall set. For example, completing 4-1-6 will unlock 4-2-1. Completing an entire set (for example, everything in 4-x-x - To End the War with Wutai) usually won’t unlock the next one, apart from finishing all the 8-x-x missions, which unlocks the 9-x-x missions.

Finally, some shops will also open once you complete certain quests.
At the moment, you can get the following, though you may want to wait until later before trying some of the difficult 9-x-x missions that are unlocked from beating Mission 8-6-6:

• Wutai Secret Shop - Complete Mission 4-2-6
  
• Sector 7 Shop - Found in a chest in Mission 4-4-3
  
• Nibel Accessories - Found in a chest in Mission 6-4-4
  
• Bone Village Outlet - Found in a chest in Mission 7-5-3
  
• Online Shop Duo - Found in a chest in Mission 9-3-3
  
• Online Shop Shade - Found in a chest in Mission 9-5-4

Again, everything mentioned above ISN’T missable, but try to get them when you can.

When you progress to the next area after defeating the Hedgehog Pies, Aerith will point out a Market. Before heading through the large gate, go to the other side of the area (Aerith may say something, but continue anyway) and speak with the kid, who will give you Mission 2-1-4.



Once you’ve got it, go through the large gate to the Market.
After a short cutscene where you’re waiting for Aerith to return, Zack will decide to look for Bruno himself. Go through the exit on the other side of the market, and someone will suggest asking the shopkeepers. There’s a small “affection” counter here that can lead to you getting the useful Steal Materia. Some of these things will also get you achievements.

Here’s how to get the maximum amount of affection points, do them in the order listed below. Consider making a separate save file in case you miss something:

• Speak with the owner of the Fifth Arm shop.
  
• Speak with the owner of the Item World shop.
  
• Speak with the owner of the Shopping Paradise shop.
  
• Speak with the girl wearing blue. She’ll take a while to come back, but keep choosing to wait (you’ll have to do this 10 times) until Zack gets impatient.
  
• Make sure you have at least 5 potions (you can buy them through the shop on the pause menu) and speak to the boy standing by the boxes. Keep trading him potions until Zack refuses.
  
• Aerith will be waiting by the Market entrance. Speak to her.
  
• Run around to the other side of the market, and when the dialogue choice appears, choose “I’ll buy the medicine for you”.

You’re not done yet, but for now continue the story by defeating the monsters and collecting Bruno’s wallet. When you’re back in the market, make sure to save your game, as you can lose affection points by failing an upcoming minigame.

• Speak to the owner of the Shopping Paradise shop again. You’ll be put into a perfume-blending minigame. The goal is to stop blending at a specific amount of drops. The drops can fall in sets of 1 (Drip), 2 (DripDrip), or 10 (Splash!). If you go over or under the correct amount, reload your save file.
  
• Speak to the owner of the Item World shop. The owner will ask you to run around and pick up 20 Materia. Do it in under 15 seconds to get the affection points. You’ll have to sprint the entire time, and press Interact to pick up each piece of Materia.
  
• Finally, speak to the boy by the boxes again and play his number-guessing game. Ask Aerith and the boy for their predictions, then choose the number that they both say. (It’s possible that they’ll both say more than one of the same number, but you can simply try again if you lose)

You should have the maximum amount of affection points now, assuming you did everything correctly and didn’t lose the perfume-mixing minigame. You should also have obtained the “Master Blender”, “Godlike”, and “Bingo!” achievements. Before continuing to the park with Aerith, speak to the girl in Blue at the market once again, and she’ll give you Mission 2-1-3.

Carry on with the story, and after the scene at the park you’ll be told to return to the Shinra Building. Bruno should speak to you as you leave the market. He should give you the Steal Materia if you have high affection points, but with maximum affection points he’ll also say that “You and Aerith make a great couple”, giving you the “Good Match for Aerith'' achievement.

Back at the Shinra Building, continue until you meet Hojo in the Fusion Chamber. There are three achievements and some items you can earn here.
Speaking to him will show a quick cutscene where he tells you he’s not worried about the Genesis attacks, before giving you control again. Don’t speak to him again, otherwise you’ll progress the story. You’ll want to interact with three machines in this area.

First, interact with the machine to Hojo’s right.



Hojo will tell you that you’ve unleashed some monsters on the floor below, but you have three minutes to steal the keys they hold to get items from inside the detention cells.
You’ll want to equip the Steal Materia you got from Bruno, then save your game. Take the elevator down to floor 67. You will be able to steal a total of six keys from the monsters. If you don’t get all six or run out of time, reload your save. Once you have them all, open all the detention cell doors and claim both the items and the “Cell Raider” achievement.

Back in the Fusion Chamber, head to the pod in the center and interact with it.



Hojo will ask you three questions. The answers you should give are:

• A SOLDIER operative like Sephiroth.
  
• State-of-the-art science and technology.
  
• A person unafraid to challenge Shinra.

If you answered correctly, Hojo will give you 1000 SP and you’ll get the “Of Significant Worth” achievement.

Now, interact with the screen to Hojo’s left (furthest from the save point).



When you flip the switch, a timer will start going down from 5. When it reaches 3, you’ll no longer see the timer. You’ll want to press interact when you think the timer hits 0. If you fail, you can simply try again. Once you reach 100% mako delivery, you’ll gain 100 SP and the “Precise Restoration” achievement.

There’s one more machine that isn’t tied to any rewards, but if you want to do it, interact with the screen on Hojo’s left, closest to the save point.



You’ll be transported to a desert area where you’ll have to fight some monsters while equipped with different materia.
When you’re done with everything here, speak with Hojo a couple of times to progress the story.

Once you get control of Zack, go to the training room and speak with the scientist at the end of the room.



There are four levels of squat challenges you’ll need to beat. Each level will get you a new part for the Flower Wagon you’ll be making later (that’s tied to an achievement).
You’ll want to press Triangle (or the equivalent on other controllers/keyboard) when Zack’s hands are just behind his ankles to make him carry on and go faster, otherwise he’ll stop and slow down. The moments where the camera changes can throw off the timing a bit, but keep at it!
Along with the four Wagon Parts, you’ll also earn the “Shinra's Squat's Champion” achievement.

When you’re done, head to the Briefing Room to see what’s in the supply pods, then go down to the Shinra Building Entrance to unlock some permanently missable missions.

First, speak with the Shinra Trooper on the upper floor of the entrance. He’ll give you Mission 2-1-5. You can complete this whenever, as the Trooper won’t give you a reward for doing so, though he will have some unique dialogue if you speak to him after completing it.



Next, speak to the City Planning Executive on the bottom floor to unlock Mission 6-2-1. Completing this and the following quests will unlock some shops, but we’ll go over those in the next section. They do also have some mail, so make sure to complete them!



Take the elevator/door to the Exhibit Room, and speak to the scientist who’s looking at the screen.



You’ll unlock Mission 2-1-6 after speaking to him. Do this mission now (as well as 2-1-1 through 2-1-5 if you haven’t already), then speak to him again to get another Flower Wagon Part (Mythril Tools).

Grab another free potion (for the Regen effect) from the woman at the Shinra Building Entrance before making your way outside to the Sector 8 Fountain.

Head to the alley in the south-east part of the area and speak with the Reporter by the lamppost (not the same man you spoke to in Chapter 3) and choose to let him go. You’ll get some mail from him.



Go to Loveless Avenue and ignore the SOLDIER member in front of you for now. Go to the alley at the end and speak with the woman who signed you up for the fanclub. She’ll send you some more mail.



Go back to the SOLDIER 2nd Class member you passed and speak with him and he’ll ask you to find six Wutai Spies. Every spy you find will unlock one of the 4-3-x Missions. These missions aren’t missable once you obtain them, but are unique in that the final mission has a cutscene.



The six spies must be spoken to a few times to reveal their identity. They can be found in the following locations, and must be found in this order:

• Loveless Avenue - Speak to the man in the green jacket and grey shirt walking back and forth by the theatre.
  
• Sector 5 Market - Head to the Sector 1 Train Station from the Sector 8 Fountain, then carry on forward to reach Sector 5 Market. You’ll get a cutscene with Angeal (as this is the path to the next main mission). When the cutscene is over, speak to the Shinra Trooper who’s walking around the market.
  
• Shinra Building Entrance - Head to the upper floor of the entrance and speak to the man in the grey suit to leave the elevator. It may take a little while before he comes out of the elevator, and he may not appear if you’re too close to it.
  
• Sector 8 Fountain - Speak with the woman talking to the man near the Sector 1 Station entrance.
  
• Shinra Exhibit Room - Speak with the man staring at the rocket model.
  
• Sector 6 Park - Go back to the Sector 5 Market, then through the slums to the Park where you took Aerith in the last chapter. Speak with the boy in the camo hat.

Now that you’ve found all the spies, you get another Flower Wagon Part (Walnut Wood) and the “Wutai’s Nemesis” achievement.

While you’re in the Sector 6 Park, speak to the woman behind the slide to join Sephiroth’s Fanclub. She’ll quiz you on your knowledge of Sephiroth. The answers are as follows:

• Masamune
  
• Super Nova
  
• Left Hand

As you enter the Sector 5 Slums, you can speak to the girl on your right again if you completed the mission she gave you (2-1-4). There’s no reward for speaking to her again, just some unique dialogue.

Before continuing with the main story at the Sector 5 Church, you may want to unlock some of the shops from the missions you’ve unlocked. You can see these in the next section.

Assuming you’ve picked up all the missions shown in previous chapters, nothing here should be missable. But you’ll still want to do them as early as you can to unlock the shops. Some of the 6-2-x missions will also get you mail.

• Sector 8 Materia Shop - Complete Mission 6-2-1.
  
• Sector 5 Materia Shop - Complete Mission 6-2-3.
  
• Sector 6 Accessory Shop - Complete Mission 6-2-6.
  
• The Happy Turtle - Found in a chest in Mission 4-3-6

When you’re done (or if you’d rather do these later), head to the Sector 5 Church to meet up with Aerith.

Continue the main story until you’re tasked with infiltrating the facility at the Modeo Ravine.
Save your game here, as you only have one chance to do this next part.
You’ll need to infiltrate the facility without getting spotted to earn the “Master Infiltrator” achievement. There’s also some items outside you can get while you’re sneaking around, but they aren’t required for the achievement.
If you get spotted, reload your save.

The video below by PowerPyx shows a good way to do this:

After the boss battle, you’ll soon find yourself inside a bathhouse. Listening to all 23 voicemails on the answer machine next to the bar (hopefully without canceling out of them and having to listen to them all over again) will tell you the location of a secret package.
Once you’ve listened to the messages, you’ll see the Power Armlet sitting in a trunk next to the stage. You can get these elsewhere, but you may as well grab it as it’s free.



Again, not missable, but make sure to grab the Boiler Handle in the lobby. You can use on the Bathhouse 2nd Floor (just before going outside where the next save point is).




Once you’ve used the boiler handle to turn off the steam, you’re able to get two items. One is a Lightning Armlet, found on the lower floor of this room in one of the huge boilers (you likely passed it on your way here). The other is a chest with Dispel Materia in the water in the previous room where Tseng was.

After defeating the General’s Tank boss you’ll see a save point. Make sure you save your game here.
In the next area you’ll have to defend a gate from enemies. If you defeat all 30 enemies before they reach the gate you’ll earn the “Immovable Object” achievement and you’ll get something else later. If any of the enemies reach the gate, reload your save.

Before heading to the airport, you’ll see a small gate next to where you came from that’ll take you up to Upper Junon Level 8. Go up there and you’ll have a small conversation with Cissnei. This won’t give you anything just yet, but it’ll be important later.



When you’re done, go back down to Level 6 and continue onwards to the airport to continue the story.

During this chapter you’ll get some more materials for the Flower Wagon sidequest. These will be the Used Tools, Old Lumber, X, and Y. These are all part of the story, so don’t worry about missing them.

From the church, before heading to the Sector 5 Market, go to the park and speak to the woman behind the slide. She’s the one you spoke to back in Chapter 5. You’ll receive some more mail.



When you get to the Sector 8 Fountain, you’ll be able to start a multi-part side quest involving the fan clubs. speak to the woman by the fountain and she’ll tell you that her fan club’s running low on funds. Tell her to “Merge with a rich fan club!”
Next, go to Loveless Avenue and speak with the woman in the alley at the end and tell her about the other fan club’s suggestion. When you’re done, speak to the first woman at the Sector 8 Fountain again to tell her the good news.


You’re not done yet. You’ll see a boy running around nearby. Speak to him and he’ll tell you his mother is missing. You’ll find her at the Sector 1 Station. Tell her that “A mother without honor is nothing but a monster.” Go back to where the boy was and speak with the mother once again, and (assuming you also helped the other fan clubs merge) you’ll get the “Fan Club Savior” achievement.


After getting the next Flower Wagon part in Loveless Avenue, speak to the receptionist at the Shinra Building Entrance to gain entrance to the greatest fan club of all.



As usual, before you leave you’ll want to check the Supply Pods in the Briefing Room, as well as grab a potion from the woman in the Shinra Building Entrance to gain the “Raise” status effect. Then it’s time to go back to the outside of the Church to look for the last Flower Wagon part in the Shinra Helmet.

You should now have all the parts you need, you can check them in your Key Items list:

• Craftsman Monthly
  
• Walnut Wood
  
• Premium Tires
  
• Mythril Tools
  
• Shinra Lunch Cart Specs
  
• Shinra Ceramic
  
• Shinra Treads
  
• Shinra Solder
  
• How to Build a Wagon
  
• Old Lumber
  
• Worn Tires
  
• Used Tools

If any of those are missing, you should still have time to go back and get them. When you’re ready, speak to Aerith to start building. You’ll make the first wagon in the cutscene, but before you have a chance to make the other two, you’ll be summoned back to Shinra HQ. You’ll then go back to the church for story reasons, but after another cutscene you’ll once again be sent back to HQ before you can build the last two wagons.

This is a point of no return. Kunsel will ask if you’re ready, but tell him “Wait, I need a little more time!” Now you can finally return to the church and build the other two flower wagons.


Once they’re built, you’ll get the “Midgar Full of Flowers” achievement.
Before speaking to Kunsel again, check the next section to make sure you haven't missed anything before the point of no return.

Make sure you’ve done everything you can in this guide so far, as anything missed so far will be unavailable once you leave for Nibelheim.
Missions you’ve unlocked will stay available, but any rewards gained from speaking to NPCs in Midgar will be unobtainable after this.

If you’ve been following the guide, you should have already unlocked these missable missions:

• 1-2-x
  
• 2-1-x
  
• 2-2-x
  
• 4-3-x
  
• 6-2-x

As for achievements, the following minigames are still available if you didn’t complete them already:

• Sector 5 Market - Perfume Blending
  
• Sector 5 Market - Materia Race
  
• Sector 5 Market - Counting Game
  
• Shinra Training Room - Squats

When you’re sure you’re ready, grab another potion from the Shinra Building Entrance then speak to Kunsel again and continue to Nibelheim

When you start Chapter 8, you’ll unlock Mission 3-2-2. Completing this mission will unlock a mission chain starting with Mission 10-2-1. These aren’t missable, but do have some cutscenes if you’re interested.

Before going into the inn with Sephiroth, speak to the boy to the right of the Nibelheim entrance. Tell him that you’re interested in the town’s Seven Wonders.



For the first wonder, you’ll have to check the water tower in the middle of town. Inside, you’ll find the Phoenix Summon Materia. This is essential for 100%ing the DMW, so make sure you pick it up.

Speak to the boy again, and he’ll tell you to look at the painting of the girl on the second floor of the inn. Talk to Sephiroth to gain access to the inn, then go upstairs, ignoring Sephiroth this time.
Check the painting then return to the boy, who will tell you that the girl in the painting will sometimes vanish.

Check the painting again to see that the girl is now gone. Keep going between the two floors of the inn until you see one of the owners start walking upstairs. Follow him and his secret will be revealed.



After solving the second wonder, head back to the boy outside. Agree to keep investigating the wonders. He’ll tell you about a mysterious Bomb enemy on Mt. Nibel.
NOTE: If you’re on New Game Plus and have already completed this quest on a previous playthrough, this wonder will be skipped, as the item required will already be in your inventory. That said, you can still fight the bomb as shown below.

Take either the northern or western exit to the Nibelheim Outskirts, and from there take the northern exit to Mt. Nibel.
When you come to a fork in the road, you’ll see some kids. Talk to them for some info on the Wonder Bomb, then take the right path leading to a dead end.
At the end of the path, you’ll enter a fight with three bombs: A Remedy Bomb, a Gray Bomb, and a Touchy Bomb.
Defeat all three of these before they explode and you’ll get the “Gold Shard” item.
If they explode, you can leave the area and come back. They should respawn.



Return to the boy and show him the gold shard. He’ll tell you about the fourth wonder, a creepy laughing safe in the Shinra Manor.
Take the northern exit to the Nibelheim Outskirts and take a left to reach the manor.
Go to the upper floor, turn left, then enter the right door to find the safe along with a note hinting at the combination.



The combination will be randomized in each playthrough, so you can’t just look it up. The hints you need can be found by looking through different keyholes in the manor. Make sure to zoom in and out, as well as move the camera while searching. Here’s how to figure out each number of the combination:

• Look through the keyhole of the door to the north-east of the upper floor. Count how many books are NOT on the bookshelf. (If books are on top of the bookshelf, count those as “not on the bookshelf”)
  
• Look through the keyhole of the door to the east of the lower floor. Count how many enemies you see. You may need to look for a few seconds, in case any of them are doing animations that make them harder to see.
  
• Look through the keyhole of the door to the west of the upper floor. Count how many apples and juice cans there are.
  
• Look through the keyhole of the door to the west of the lower floor. Count how many chairs there are.

When you’ve got the correct combination, open the safe and you’ll get a Vital Slash+ Materia. If the combination is wrong, try looking through the doors again to make sure you’ve got the correct number. Head back to the boy to tell him what you’ve learned.
He’ll tell you about another wonder in the Shinra Mansion, but you’ll be unable to obtain it at the moment. Instead, continue on with the story and speak to Sephiroth at the inn.

After heading to the reactor and back, then resting at the inn (in a cutscene), you’ll be told that Sephiroth has gone to Shinra Manor. Exit the inn and speak to the boy again (just to make sure he’s told you about the wonder) before heading into the mansion yourself.

In the mansion, head down the secret staircase on the second floor and defeat a Sahagin. They may drop a coffin key (if they don’t drop it, there are more down the ladder, and you can just run around until more spawn).
After climbing down the ladder, take the door on the left, then interact with the coffin on the right. The other coffin in this room (and the two in the other room) will just have enemies in them.



After Zack sees the man sleeping inside, you’ll be ready to return to the boy in Nibelheim. Do this now, rather than continuing the story. He’ll tell you about the next wonder, the “Treasure Within the Flames”. Now that he’s told you about it, you can go back to the mansion’s secret basement and interact with the door at the end. You’ll be told that this is another point of no return.



If you’ve completed all the wonders so far, and spoken to the boy about the next wonder, you can proceed.
After speaking to Sephiroth, you can open the door behind you to grab an Elixir in a chest to the left, then head to the exit.

When the cutscene ends, you’ll find Nibelheim not looking too great. The boy will be to your left, and he’ll ask you to help save his mother from a burning house.
You won’t be able to see inside the house, so you’ll have to move in the following directions while inside. Move in each direction until you can’t go any further, then go the next direction:

• Reaching the boy’s mother: Up, Right, Up, Right, Up, Left, Up, Left, Down, Right, Down.
  
• Escaping the building; Up, Left, Up, Right, Down, Right, Down, Left, Down, Left, Down.

Once you’ve rescued the boy’s treasure within the flames, you’ll have figured out the sixth wonder. There’s still one to go, but you’ll have to wait until the next chapter for that.
Turn around to Nibelheim’s entrance and you’ll see a chest with a Fire Ring inside next to the inn. When you’ve got it, follow Sephiroth back to the Mako Reactor.

If you completed the first six wonders in the previous chapter, you’ll receive some mail for the Wonder Hunter after you leave the mansion, telling you he’s left you a gift. Head to the houses in the northeastern part of Nibelheim Outskirts, and you’ll find the orange glowing item by the fence. After picking it up, you will receive the “Seven Wonders Expert” achievement.




Out in the Nibel Plains, you’ll get to a section where you’ll need to use a sniper rifle to destroy robots. In order to obtain the “Zack the Sniper” achievement, you’ll have to defeat all of them before they escape.
This can be pretty complicated, so a more detailed guide for each set of robots written by "Rebourne07" and "RaveNScythE18" on PSNProfiles can be found here[psnprofiles.com].

In short, whenever you defeat a robot you’ll gain a “kill point” that can be spent on upgrades for the sniper rifle. There will be 8 sniper rifles at each area with robots, but your upgrades will carry over between them. If any of the robots escape, load your autosave.

• After the third sniper rifle, run back and forth killing robots with the buster sword until you’ve got 40 kill points. Upgrade Damage to maximum, then put the remaining points in accuracy/wide target.
  
• After the fourth sniper rifle, take the right path.
  
• After the fifth sniper rifle, buy a smart bomb for 6 points.
  
• When using the sixth sniper rifle to defeat the two boss robots (Biggs and Wedge), destroy one with headshots, then the other with a smart bomb.
  
• After the sixth sniper rifle, take the left path. The remaining sets of robots will be quicker than before.

If you’ve defeated all the robots before they escape, you’ll earn the “Zack the Sniper” achievement.

Eventually, after a boss fight, you’ll find yourself at the Gongaga Mako Reactor. On the opposite side of the reactor from where you start, you’ll see a man who tells you about chests hidden behind debris. Interact with all the debris to collect the items from the chests.



When you progress to the Gongaga Outskirts, you’ll be greeted with a cutscene. Afterwards, look to the south slightly and you’ll see a chest with a missable shop: “Research Dept. QMC+”



Now go to the hills area (with the waterfall) and follow the path to the end and you’ll enter an encounter with two Genesis Copies. After another cutscene, stay in this area and complete 7 random battles. Then, when you try to leave, Zack will notice chests flowing down the waterfall. You’ll start a minigame that’ll let you collect the items in the chests.

Make sure to pick up all the chests by walking into them without missing any or touching the enemies. They’ll always come down the same way. Middle, left, right, repeat. Keep doing this until you’ve picked up all the chests. If you miss any or touch the enemies by mistake, you’ll have to do another 7 combat encounters in this area before you can try again. Getting all 10 chests will earn you the “Waterfall Chaser” achievement.



After this, you can continue to the end of the chapter.

When you start the chapter, you’ll unlock Mission 2-2-5. Complete this to unlock more missions, some of which will earn you three more shops:

• Gongaga Trading - Complete Mission 2-3-1.
  
• Junon Souvenirs - Found in a chest in Mission 2-4-1.
  
• Mythril Mine Trading - Complete Mission 2-4-5.

When you reach “The Depths of Judgement”, there’s another achievement to obtain. For the first half of the achievement, you’ll have to find and interact with four stone tablets that have Loveless written on them.

• The first is right next to the save point in the “Depths of Judgement” area.

• The second is in a cave filled with water. On your map, it’ll be at the very south of the “Depths of Judgement” area.

• The third is in the “Howling Fang” area. Take the east exit from the “Depths of Judgement”, and you should see it directly ahead of you on a staircase.

• The final tablet will be in the “Portal of Severance” area. Take the west exit from the “Depths of Judgement”, and you should see it to your left.

Once you’ve interacted with all four tablets, go to the “Lake of Oblivion” area. You can find it from the south exit of the “Depths of Judgement”, near where the second tablet was. Inside, you’ll need to interact with five Mako Springs, and defeat the enemies that appear. One of them will only be available after interacting with the other four, and Zack will simply say “Mako?” if interacted with too early. If Zack says “Mako?” for more than one spring, you may have missed a tablet.



When they’ve all been defeated, a new pathway will open, earning you the “Gate Opener” achievement.
Going through the pathway you just opened will lead you to an optional part of the final dungeon.



There's no achievement tied to going through this optional part of the dungeon, but there are some items. When you’re ready to beat the game, make a save and continue towards the final battle in the room where you found the fourth Loveless tablet.

Once you complete the game you’ll be asked if you want to save your data. MAKE SURE TO SAVE THIS IN A SEPARATE SLOT. Loading this save will start the game over in New Game Plus. If you want to go back to before the final boss, you’ll have to load a save made before the boss, rather than the “clear-game” save.