If the Gold Saucer were a place in the real world, it would be, by far, one of the most popular theme parks. Final Fantasy 7's Gold Saucer is full of side quests, mini games and, of course, fun!
"Welcome to Gold Saucer! Many attractions await you here at Gold Saucer. You will be moved and excited, thrilled and terrified! Led from one zone to another...Unlike anything you've ever experienced! Make YOUR memories...Today"
Ok � first an overview. The Gold Saucer is the huge plant-like thing you can see when approaching Corel - but the only way to get to it is by going through North Corel. There you'll find the ropeway station and the entrance to the fantastic-ness that is the park (the FMV you'll get to see when going for the first time will say it all).
To enter the park you can either pay 3000 gil for a single pass (allows you one entry into the park) or a lifetime pass/gold ticket for 30000 gil. You can also get a gold ticket with 300GP, but more on that later. You'll see a save point � which you won't be able to use until you get some GP � like Disney Land, Gold Saucer is a bit of a rip-off when it comes to prices, but it's definitely worth it. If you're lucky, you'll see a little bloke right in the far corner of the screen near the save point � if you talk to him and have enough gil, you can exchange it for GP. Winner!
The park is made up of 8 'squares': Chocobo Square, Battle Square, Wonder Square, Event Square, Ghost Square, Round Square, Station Square (haha...Oh I'm so easily amused) and Speed Square. I'll go into detail of each one:
"A number of games await you here. Collect GP at Wonder Square and play some more!"
If this is your first visit to the Gold Saucer, you'll meet the fantastic Cait Sith right here. He'll entertain you with a great fortune-telling dance and eventually join your party. Unfortunately, a lot of the best mini-games will be locked.
However, if you're on the later discs, then they'll all be open and you'll be able to relieve those fantastic quests like Snowboarding or the Highway Chase - You get GP for beating them as well...Well, for most of them...
Once you're done enjoying yourself with these mini-games, check the first screen and talk to the woman in the corner. She will sell you things for GP:
"Go to the limits in heated battles! Try your hand at the special Gold Attack!"
At the cost of 10GP for turn, this is a really good place to test not only your battle skills, but also your battle strategy. This square takes place gauntlet style: one character of your choices goes into the battle arena and takes on a number of battles, each time gaining a handicap:
Battle Square Handicaps Lucky 7 - No Handicap Cure - Some HP restored Small arrow down - Down Five Levels Big arrow down - Down ten levels Boot - Speed down Poison - Poisoned Small sword - Minimum -> character is put into a mini status Green Materia - magic materia is locked Blue Materia � support Materia locked Red materia � summon materia locked Yellow materia � command materia broken Pink materia � independent materia broken All materia icons � All materia locked Item sack � Item command locked Frog � toad status inflicted Watch � x30 damage -> a lot of HP is taken from you MP � MP is reduced by half HP � HP reduced by half HP/MP � reduced by half MP0 � Zero MP Armour symbol � Armour broken (defence is lessened by a lot) Accessory symbol � Accessory broken Weapon symbol � Weapon broken (weapon does less damage)
The handicaps that you choose from the slots decide how much BP you get after the battles. Here's a hint: tap the square button a bit during the slots sequence; they'll slow down slightly and you\;ll get a chance to see all of the options. Choose them well. It's handy to have a ribbon as well, as that nullifies the negative effects (except level decreases, x30 damage, speed changes, etc.).
With your new-found BP, you can buy some items from the machine slightly below and across from the information desk.
* These items can only be bought once
Be warned: Once you leave the Battle Square, your BP count goes back to 0. Make sure you have plenty of GP before-hand!
Also, if this is your first visit, you'll encounter a pretty big event here, but I'm not going into it. Find out for yourself!
"Chocobo Racing takes you into the world of Virtual Reality! Wark! Wark!"
Here, you can bet on Chocobos. Just talk with the lady at the front desk at any time and bet on a specific chocobo of your choice. Should you win, you're offered either an item or some GP.
You can also ride your own Chocobos here, which is helpful both for GP purposes and for the Chocobo Sidequest. You'll learn all about this type of racing soon after your first visit to Gold Saucer.
"An entertaining show is awaiting you."
Not much happens here if you pop in randomly -- HOWEVER, on 'Enchantment Night', you and that special someone will be the main parts of a play -- But I'll let you find that one out.
"Please come and stay at the hotel...ha ha ha..."
Take a breather or buy some items (maybe tel la story if you're at that point of the game) in this tacky, themed hotel.
"Take a tour of the park and see the beautiful night scenery of Gold Saucer."
Not much happens here unless you're at a specific point in the game. If you go at any other time it'll just be you and whoever you choose, going around and generally doing nothing.
"A shooting Roller Coaster is waiting to take you into the world of excitement."
Now if only this was real -- It would be so cool. Costing 10GP, you and your party go on a roller coaster and shoot random things that appear -- if you get enough points, you cna earn several useless items. BUT, if you earn over 5000 points, you'll get an item called "Flayer", which is a decent weapon for Cid.