Final Fantasy 7: 10 Best Side Quests In The PS1 Classic

While a strong action RPG in its own right, Final Fantasy VII Remake really dropped the ball when it came to actually remaking what made the original Final Fantasy VII so special. Beyond the story not being beat for beat (that’s honestly the least of VIIR’s problems,) the side quests are an enormous disappointment across the board.

Most side quests in modern games are bad, but Final Fantasy VII Remake’s source game has some outstanding side content. Originally released in 1997, Final Fantasy VII for the PS1 still has some of the best side quests in the RPG genre– actually expanding on the story, characters, and themes of the game in a meaningful way.

10 Lucrecia’s Waterfall

Both Yuffie Kisaragi and Vincent Valentine were ultimately related to secret character status due to the developers running out of time to include them as mandatory party members. Where Yuffie was able to have her questline salvaged into side quests (more on those later,) Vincent had virtually all his character development consolidated into one scene.

After gaining access to the submarine, the party can gain access to Lucrecia’s Waterfall, where players will be able to watch Vincent’s backstory unfold so long as they have him in their party. It’s not the best use of Vincent, but it makes for a very cool secret. While finding the waterfall requires exploring underwater, it’s not particularly difficult to find unless Emerald Weapon corners the sub.

9 Returning To Sector 5

Upon leaving Midgar, the party finds themselves locked out until the very end of Disc 2. Even then, returning at the end of the game only allows players to tackle a specific part of Midgar. Anyone who wants to go back to Sector 5 and Wall Market, can do so, but it requires unearthing the Key to Sector 5 at Bone Village’s dig.

Once the Key to Sector 5 has been found, players can return to Midgar in earnest. Aerith’s ghost can be seen in Disc 3, Tifa’s Ultimate Weapon can be unlocked here, along with Sneak Gloves which make enemies more susceptible to theft.

8 Chocobo Breeding

Chocobo breeding is far and away the most time consuming side quest in Final Fantasy VII, but it’s also the most rewarding and arguably the RPG’s defining quest. Anyone who wants to get the most out of their FFVII experience owes it to themselves to breed a Gold Chocobo at least once. With the recent re-releases on modern consoles, Triple Speed makes it easier.

Still, players need to catch Chocobo, raise them, feed them, and breed them to get new colors. Yellow Chocobo are the basic breed and have no special abilities, but Blue Chocobo can cross rivers, Green Chocobo can cross mountains, Black Chocobo can cross both, and Gold Chocobo can cross everything including the ocean. Getting these different colors requires quite a bit of breeding, though.

7 Chocobo Racing

And racing! As soon as players have a Chocobo in their stables, they’re welcome to start racing at the Gold Saucer. Cloud actually has to win a race earlier in the game for the story to move on, but racing on a whole is far more in-depth than FFVII lets on. Cloud’s Chocobo can actually rank up from racing, which affects what the Chocobo passes on as a parent (necessary for getting a Gold Chocobo.)

With plenty of rewards to unlock (along with the thrill of raising super fast Chocobo,) Chocobo breeding and racing really help round out Final Fantasy VII’s post-game. It’s also worth noting that Chocobo stables can’t be purchased until players gain access to the Highwind. Only then can the side quest properly begin.

6 Wutai Pagoda

Yuffie Kisaragi was originally intended to play a much larger role in the main game (along with being in her mid-20s instead of 16,) but time constraints ultimately resulted in her becoming a secret character. Even then, the developers managed to relegate most of her story to side quests in Wutai.

Upon clearing the first major Wutai side quest (more on that later,) Yuffie will be allowed to challenge the Wutai Pagoda. A series of five boss fights that players can tackle at their leisure, Yuffie fights alone, requiring players to spec her Materia properly. The rewards include a Leviathan Summon, Yuffie’s Limit Break, and some (light) development for the ninja.

5 The Sunken Gelnika

After completing Junon’s Underwater Reactor and gaining access to a submarine, players are actually allowed to explore the bottom of the sea. While the Emerald WEAPON stalks the waters, he’s rather easy to avoid and the Sunken Gelnika is very much an optional dungeon worth exploring.

Not only does the Sunken Gelnika include a battle against the Turks, it’s home to some of the toughest enemies and best items in the entire game. Yuffie’s Ultimate Weapon is here, as is the Double Cut Materia and a fairly powerful sword for Cloud, the aptly named Heaven’s Cloud. It’s not that long an area, either, perfect for a quick diversion near the end of the game.

4 Wutai

Tucked away on the western side of the map is Wutai, a completely optional area players never have to so much as look at. Anyone who tries to even get close to Wutai, however, will soon find themselves robbed blind of all their Materia by Yuffie (should she be in the party.) The player now has to do their best to survive the genuinely difficult Wutai wilderness with no Materia.

While frustrating, this is an incredibly memorable side-quest that helps flesh out Yuffie and the Turks while offering a bunch of world building and a short but sweet dungeon to top it all off. Toss in further characterization for Yuffie & a legitimate challenge, and Wutai makes for a great side quest all around.

3 WEAPON Battles

The WEAPON superbosses are some of the most interesting beings in Final Fantasy VII. Kaiju-esque monsters, the Weapons pose a serious narrative and gameplay challenge for the main cast. While Shinra takes out Sapphire WEAPON themselves, it’s up to the party to take out the rest.

Diamond WEAPON is defeated as part of the story, but Ultimate, Emerald, and Ruby WEAPON are all Final Fantasy VII’s superbosses. Ultimate WEAPON in particular is the easiest and drops Cloud’s ultimate weapon, while Emerald & Ruby WEAPON are considerably harder and will require a lot of grinding (and a Gold Chocobo for the latter.)

2 Cloud’s Backstory

Although the audience becomes privy to the fact that Zack Fair is someone who exists and that Cloud modeled his personality after him once Tifa enters Cloud’s subconscious, the main story doesn’t really go out of its way to flesh Zack out. That’s something relegated to side content. After Cloud and Tifa rejoin the party, return to Nibelheim and head down into the Shinra Mansion basement.

There, Cloud will flashback to Zack breaking them out of captivity and getting them as close as they possibly can to Midgar. Unfortunately, Zack is shot down and killed before they can ever make it, with Cloud’s psyche breaking and leading him to where Tifa finds him prior to the start of the game.

1 Gold Saucer

Alright, so maybe Chocobo breeding isn’t the defining side quest of Final Fantasy VII, but the Gold Saucer is really a beast in and of itself. So rarely does a game pack itself with so much optional content, let alone in one area where it can all exist in a beautiful theme park ready for the player to indulge in.

From the Battle Square to Chocobo Racing and all the mini-games, there’s so much to do in the Gold Saucer. There are dozens of rewards to unlock, dozens of games to play, and a ton of secrets. Best of all are the dynamic NPCs who take note of the player winning in the Battle Square. While it takes a few hours of play time to open up fully, the Gold Saucer is a legendary time sink for a reason.

NEXT: Final Fantasy 7 Remake (PS4): The 5 Best Side Quests (& 5 That Are Just Annoying)