Final Fantasy VII Remake has a few. Some might argue too many, but that’s not for us to decide. What is for us to decide is which side quests are better than all the others! Like I said, there are quite a few in the game – so it’s totally worth it to pick and choose which ones are worth your time. Let’s look into some side quests from Final Fantasy VII Remake and see which ones stand above the rest.
10. Chapter 3 – Just Flew in From the Graveyard
Sometimes the true value of a quest isn’t in the official reward, but rather in what other opportunities become available upon completion. Such is the case with Just Flew in From the Graveyard, one of the game’s very earliest quests. Finishing the quest gets you a Star Bracelet, which is fine, but it also opens up the Factory area of the Slums for you to explore at your leisure. The factory area is a prime location for early-game leveling – and one of the few areas that they respawn fast and reliably enough to grind. With some patience you can get Cloud and Tifa easily to level 20, and master all the materia you have on you. This is achieved by running from warehouse to warehouse, hunting the enemies as they spawn.
9. Chapter 8 – The Mysterious Moogle Merchant
While making your way through chapters one through eight, you’ll be gathering these curious little moogle medals. I’d wager if you’ve been intrepid enough in your exploration, you’ll have a lot of them by the time you arrive at the Sector 5 Slums. Helping out some slum kids with a few prerequisite quests will open up their hideout. And in there you’ll discover a kiddo dressed as everybody’s favorite mascot. The quest she gives you is really easy: Just spend a single moogle medal. But the difficulty is not the point, the reward is, and that reward is access to the Moogle Store.
8. Chapter 14 – Wavering Heart
So far, we’ve discussed that a quest can be worth more than its innate reward, like opening a new area or shop. Now let’s talk about the third kind of special value that a quest can have: personal achievement. The Wavering Heart quest in Chapter 14 does have a material reward – but the real reward is the self-satisfaction of completion. Wavering Heart is perhaps the most infamous of Final Fantasy VII Remake’s side quests. It tasks Tifa with stepping up to the bar and competing in a pull-up competition against resident gym rat Jules. You’ll have to complete two rounds of the minigame to win. Good luck! Keep your eyes on the screen and say the button order out loud. Learning the pattern, pace, and timing is super important. It’s also important not to get discouraged. This is a very tough task and can be mighty frustrating. You can do it, though!
7. Chapter 8 – Kids on Patrol
Helping out the kids of the Sector 5 Slums has lots of benefits. But Kids on Patrol is the only one to give us a new weapon – and a doozy, at that. It also unlocks further quests, but that’s not quite as immediately cool. Accept the quest at the Leaf House and you’re on your way. It’s not too taxing of a quest. Search the Slums for the kids with swords, an easy task, and then go fight a hedgehog pie enemy out back. Simple. You get the satisfaction of helping some children, and get the Nail Bat weapon as a reward! It excels in big burst damage. Don’t think too much about the implications of a bunch of young children making a nail bat weapon, though. Look – life in Midgar is tough, okay?
6. Chapter 6 – Chocobo and Moogle Materia
This quest won’t appear in your quest log, yet it’s totally worth it, as it gets you one of your first summon materia. And the more you have of those, the better. Near the end of the chapter, go backwards a bit and head towards the giant fans on the back wall and the service tunnel next to them. Barret will mention going on a treasure hunt if you’re going the right way. Behind the fans is a series of rooms that task you with clearing them under a time limit. At the end of it all you’ll be rewarded with the Chocobo and Mog materia! It’s not too far out of the way, so I’d say this quest is worth doing every time.
5. Chapter 14 – Tomboy Bandit
This is a side quest that doesn’t give you equipment, materia, or anything like that… but instead two very important key items. Start the quest by returning to Aerith’s Church and meeting our totally-not-annoying friend, Kyrie. There’s some drama between Kyrie and Corneo and even Johnny. This involves a fight in the Corneo Colosseum which isn’t too hard, and then some light running around afterwards. The quest will feel like busy work, sure. But at the end of it all you’ll be rewarded with two things: Corneo’s Vault Key and Johnny’s Wallet. Corneo’s Vault Key opens up those annoying Corneo doors you’ve been seeing, like in the sewers and in Sector 5. It’s also key to completing the next few Chapter 14 quests, so yay! Johnny’s Wallet can be returned to him so he can continue his own misadventures, which can get you a trophy.
4. Chapter 7 – Waste Disposal
Here’s another side thing that won’t show up in your logs.
You can simply ignore all parts of it and finish the chapter sight unseen, but honestly why would you do that?
Going through Mako Reactor 5, you’ll start collecting special keycards and learning about a fearsome new Airbuster weapon.
The game will tell you that you can use these keycards to divert Airbuster parts to make that upcoming fight easier – as well as to gain plenty of good items.
Not only does doing this make the fight with Airbuster that much easier, but if you play it right and divert enough parts to your pockets, you can do a little timing minigame near the end and score yourself a Magic Up materia.
Hey, maybe this whole eco-terrorist thing is worth it after all!
3. Chapter 9 – A Dynamite Body
To unlock this side quest, you’ll need to do both the Burning Thighs and The Party Never Stops side quests. Then return to talk to Chocobo Sam and he’ll fill you in on what needs to be done. You’ll have to fight a special colosseum match against two bombs. If it’s your first time through the game, then this fight can be pretty annoying. Best to ready yourself with fire-resistant armor, ice magic for attacking, and generally as much punch as you can pack. Summons are a great help here! Once you beat the bombs, return to Sam and get rewarded with Aerith’s Arcane Scepter weapon. This has a tremendous amount of magic power packed into it – and that’s always worth the effort.
2. Chapter 14 – Subterranean Menace
So you’d like to fight a boss? And one that’s tough, optional, and gives great rewards? Buddy, have I got the quest for you. In Chapter 14 talk up Wymer in Sector 6. He’ll tell you about a scary thing in the deep underground and, well, you get the idea. Head to the lab areas that Barret and Tifa escaped from earlier. Remember that scary roaring you heard? Time to face the owner. In one of the big empty rooms, you’ll come face-to-face with a Type-0 Behemoth who wants to fight. It might take you a few tries. But with enough good gear, higher levels, and strategy, you can topple the beast. And you’ll feel pretty good when you do! It’s a tough fight, but it can be done. And look how cool it looks, too. The rewards for defeating the beast and making the underground safe(er) are both Barret’s Wrecking Ball weapon (which makes him a melee beast) and a Behemoth Horn, which can be used to complete another Chapter 14 side quest Secret Medicine. All in all, it’s a great experience, both for yourself and the rewards.
1. Chapter 14 – Chocobo Search
Getting weapons and materia is fine and dandy. But the greatest rewards are those that save you time. And there’s no better time saver than a classic Fast Travel system! Talk to Sam and he’ll tell you that a few of his Chocobos have gone missing. So naturally, you’d strike out into the world and start searching! The missing Chocobos are hidden in tricky spots all around the slums. And one of them is even being held hostage by a very tough group of monsters. You can handle it, though. Freeing and finding all the missing birds pleases Sam so much that he rewards you with a lifetime pass for his porter service. This means you can fast travel as much as you want, for free! Like I said, weapons and goods are fine rewards… but time-saving convenience is probably way better.
