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Stage 9: An Empire in Ruins
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Stage 9: An Empire in Ruins
Location: Shinra Building
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Stage Missions:
Collect top secret Deepground data files!
Destroy the surveillance mines!
Memory Capsules: 5
Accessories/Weapons/Key Items:
Auto Reloader
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Shelke contacts Vincent on his cell phone and informs him that the Mako reactors are still operating... the ground forces haven't gotten through. She tells him that he'll have to find the president's personal entrance to Deepground if he wants to get in. Suddenly, Chaos tries to take control again. Shelke explains that the Protomateria that Rosso stole at Shinra Manor was what had previously allowed Vincent to control Chaos, and Shelke replays one of Lucrecia's data files for him.
The computer shorts out as an alarm sounds on board the Shera, and Shelke goes investigate. In the engine room, she finds another Tsveit... Nero the Sable. The crew has been taken into Nero's darkness, and Cait Sith lies motionless on the floor. Shelke challenges him, even though she knows it is a losing battle.
Meanwhile, Vincent enters the Shinra Building.
Before you go anywhere else, head to your left. Grab the rifle bullets over there and then move around the rubble and look through the large grate. Off farther to the left is MEMORY CAPSULE #1. On the right side of the area, there is a limit breaker, machine-gun bullets, and a Shop Kiosk, and in the back portion, you can find a Phoenix Down, a Red potion, 1000 gil, a Mako Point, and some Handgun bullets.
Kill off the soldiers that attack you, then head upstairs. On your way up to the third floor, more enemies will enter the room from below. Since you have the high ground they shouldn't be too hard to finish off. Watch out for the dog-guard that comes up the stairs after you, though.
Standing on the third floor by the stairs you came up, aim for the southeast corner for MEMORY CAPSULE #2. Drop down the shaft at the back of the room, pick up the handgin bullets and a potion, and then drop down to a lower level passage over on the left. Enter the next hallway, and kill the bug up on the ceiling. Then turn and look at the wire mesh. Aim through the wire mesh near the pole against the wall for MEMORY CAPSULE #3. Follow the hallway, and kill two more bugs.
In the next hallway, grab the rifle bullets to the right, and then head down towards the grate in the floor to trigger a cutscene. Vincent will drop down to the next level. There is a Red Ether in the case behind you.
Kill the three soldiers at the end of the hall, grab the 1000 gil in the case by the lockers, and go through the door. The room is full of snipers. Use the crates for cover, and snipe them back. Pick up the machine-gun bullets and go through the door. Go through this room and into the next to kill a couple of bugs, and then through the next door.
Shoot the bug in the corner and several more will drop from the ceiling. Finish them off and collect the Mega-potion before moving on. There's a Mako Point at the end of this hallway, and two soldiers will ambush you as you move towards the next door. Kill them and enter the next room.
A dog-guard will leap over the lockers at you, and two more soldiers are waiting on the other side. There's 1000 gil in the case on the bench. In the next room, are a couple of red potions. Follow the hallway around to the Shop Kiosk and resupply if you need to.
The next room has one measly sniper, and a bunch of exploding barrels. DO NOT blow them up. Kill the sniper, then look up. There's a case floating in mid air. Jump onto the barrel right below it, then double jump to collect 5000 gil. Sweet... Ok, now you can blow up the barrels.
Exit the room and run down the hallway. Push the button on the left to open the door. Run through and a cutscene will trigger. Bugs will start coming after you. No matter how many you kill, they just keep coming. The trick is to use the button on the other side of the door, to shut it, and seal them off. If you're quick about it, you won't have to fire a single shot. Head through the next two doors and down the hallway. Run through the Mako Point and open the door. Enter the next room for a boss battle.
------ Boss Battle ------
Boss: Black Widow TW
You've seen these guys before... only this time there's two of them. It doesn't add too much to the difficultly, though. In fact, they're easier than ever. Target the lower one first. The upper one probably won't even move until the first one is destroyed.
You shouldn't have much trouble with these guys, really.
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Use the panel to activate the elevator and go upstairs to activate the "Collect top secret Deepground data files!" Stage Mission. Go to the room immediately ahead of you on your left for the first Data File. Moving counterclockwise from this room, the next room contains machine-gun bullets and three enemies, the next has 3000 gil, and the fourth has Sentinal bots, a limit breaker, rifle bullets, and a Mako Point. Go back into the main room, and look for the glowing blue rectangle on the wall. This marks the door to the next room. Go up to it and press X.
Down the hallway and through another door, and you'll be on a bridge. Some Shrikes will attack from above. Shoot them and then look over at the far bridge on you left for MEMORY CAPSULE #4. Cross the bridge and go through the door.
Kill the soldiers in this room, and move into the next. More soldiers will come out of a door. Finish them and then collect the second Data File by one of the pedistals on the right. The next room is clear, so head for the hallway. Kill the soldiers that get in your way, go through the door, and cross the bridge for a cutscene.
Vincent will attempt to call Shelke, but can't get through. A moment later his phone rings. It's Tifa. She hands the phone to Cloud, and he gives Vincent an update on what's going on outside. Tifa sends a map of the area to Vincent's phone. Grab the handgun bullets on the far side of the room, and then use the panel on the left side of the elevator to activate it.
The "Destroy the surveillance mines!" Stage Mission will begin as the platform decends. Shoot as many as you can before you reach the bottom. Also, pay close attention to the northwest as you decend. MEMORY CAPSULE #5 is between floors about midway down.
At the bottom, go out the door and across the bridge for a Shop Kiosk, then enter the next area. Run down the hall and enter the offices with the glass walls. The third Data File is just beyond the door in the first room. Kill the soldiers and go into the next room. Kill the soldiers here and go through the door.
The fourth Data File can be found in here, so grab it, and move on. Kill more soldiers in the next room and pick up the fifth Data File, then exit into the hallway.
Some more of them nasty barricade robots are here. It's probably easiest to just use ice or fire magic against them from a distance. Get rid of them and the soldiers hiding behind them and continue on. Head through the door, across the bridge and onto the elevator. Time to shoot more of those mines. There are some snipers this time, too.
When you reach the bottom, go through the door, follow the path across the bridges and down the hall to a room with some very large soldiers. Kill them and exit through the next door. Go down the hall for a Mako Point, and then head to the right. Through this door is a room with two guys with rocket launchers. Use the barrels to blow them up, and exit to the right.
Approach the door in here, and it will open by itself. Sentinal bots will swarm out. Kill them, but do not move forward far enough to trigger the next door or you'll release more enemies into the room. When they're gone, move forward and dog-guards will come out. The next compartment will be empty, so move ahead through the next door.
Here you will find machine-gun bullets, handgun bullets, an x-potion, and a Shop Kiosk. Restock if you need to, then go out the door and across the bridge. The game will Auto-Save.
------ Boss Battle ------
Boss: Neo Azul
Azul is back. If you're low on limit breakers don't use them right away. Save them for his second form. This is much like your first battle against Azul, except that this time you don't have the luxury of exploding barrel to shoot at. You'll have to take him out the old fashioned way.
Double jump to avoid his shockwave when he hits the ground, and try to keep the central piller between Vincent and Azul when he starts shooting. Just when you think you've drained his HP and won, he transforms and you get to start all over.
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------ Boss Battle ------
Boss: Arch Azul
Ugh... this guy is nasty. He's immune to bullets. Use your limit breaker to take off some serious HP right from the start. Using ice spells from you Blizzard materia is also useful, and there are Mako Points under the barrels if you can get Azul to break them for you. If you're out of both mako energy AND limit breakers, you better hope you've got enough healing items to last long enough to melee him to death...
His attacks do some pretty heavy damage. He'll hit you with his head... with his tail... and he's even got and energy blast that homes in on you. So whatever you do, don't stop moving.
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When you beat him, you'll see a cutscene. Turns out Azul still isn't out of the game. But that's about to change. Chaos takes control of Vincent, and he transforms... leading to the coolest death scene in the game as Azul gets pwned, and impaled on his own BFG and then blasted into oblivion. Nero has been watching from the sidelines, be decides not to intervene... he does, however, drop Shelke's cellphone for Vincent to find. Lost in his own mind, Vincent relives still more memories of Lucrecia. When he finally returns to himself, he has arrived in Deepground.
When the stage ends, and you have access to the shop, you will now be able to purchase the Auto Reloader accessory. At 24000 gil, it's not cheap, but it's a very useful little gadget.
Stage 9: An Empire in Ruins
Location: Shinra Building
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stage Missions:
Collect top secret Deepground data files!
Destroy the surveillance mines!
Memory Capsules: 5
Accessories/Weapons/Key Items:
Auto Reloader
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shelke contacts Vincent on his cell phone and informs him that the Mako reactors are still operating... the ground forces haven't gotten through. She tells him that he'll have to find the president's personal entrance to Deepground if he wants to get in. Suddenly, Chaos tries to take control again. Shelke explains that the Protomateria that Rosso stole at Shinra Manor was what had previously allowed Vincent to control Chaos, and Shelke replays one of Lucrecia's data files for him.
The computer shorts out as an alarm sounds on board the Shera, and Shelke goes investigate. In the engine room, she finds another Tsveit... Nero the Sable. The crew has been taken into Nero's darkness, and Cait Sith lies motionless on the floor. Shelke challenges him, even though she knows it is a losing battle.
Meanwhile, Vincent enters the Shinra Building.
Before you go anywhere else, head to your left. Grab the rifle bullets over there and then move around the rubble and look through the large grate. Off farther to the left is MEMORY CAPSULE #1. On the right side of the area, there is a limit breaker, machine-gun bullets, and a Shop Kiosk, and in the back portion, you can find a Phoenix Down, a Red potion, 1000 gil, a Mako Point, and some Handgun bullets.
Kill off the soldiers that attack you, then head upstairs. On your way up to the third floor, more enemies will enter the room from below. Since you have the high ground they shouldn't be too hard to finish off. Watch out for the dog-guard that comes up the stairs after you, though.
Standing on the third floor by the stairs you came up, aim for the southeast corner for MEMORY CAPSULE #2. Drop down the shaft at the back of the room, pick up the handgin bullets and a potion, and then drop down to a lower level passage over on the left. Enter the next hallway, and kill the bug up on the ceiling. Then turn and look at the wire mesh. Aim through the wire mesh near the pole against the wall for MEMORY CAPSULE #3. Follow the hallway, and kill two more bugs.
In the next hallway, grab the rifle bullets to the right, and then head down towards the grate in the floor to trigger a cutscene. Vincent will drop down to the next level. There is a Red Ether in the case behind you.
Kill the three soldiers at the end of the hall, grab the 1000 gil in the case by the lockers, and go through the door. The room is full of snipers. Use the crates for cover, and snipe them back. Pick up the machine-gun bullets and go through the door. Go through this room and into the next to kill a couple of bugs, and then through the next door.
Shoot the bug in the corner and several more will drop from the ceiling. Finish them off and collect the Mega-potion before moving on. There's a Mako Point at the end of this hallway, and two soldiers will ambush you as you move towards the next door. Kill them and enter the next room.
A dog-guard will leap over the lockers at you, and two more soldiers are waiting on the other side. There's 1000 gil in the case on the bench. In the next room, are a couple of red potions. Follow the hallway around to the Shop Kiosk and resupply if you need to.
The next room has one measly sniper, and a bunch of exploding barrels. DO NOT blow them up. Kill the sniper, then look up. There's a case floating in mid air. Jump onto the barrel right below it, then double jump to collect 5000 gil. Sweet... Ok, now you can blow up the barrels.
Exit the room and run down the hallway. Push the button on the left to open the door. Run through and a cutscene will trigger. Bugs will start coming after you. No matter how many you kill, they just keep coming. The trick is to use the button on the other side of the door, to shut it, and seal them off. If you're quick about it, you won't have to fire a single shot. Head through the next two doors and down the hallway. Run through the Mako Point and open the door. Enter the next room for a boss battle.
------ Boss Battle ------
Boss: Black Widow TW
You've seen these guys before... only this time there's two of them. It doesn't add too much to the difficultly, though. In fact, they're easier than ever. Target the lower one first. The upper one probably won't even move until the first one is destroyed.
You shouldn't have much trouble with these guys, really.
-------------------------
Use the panel to activate the elevator and go upstairs to activate the "Collect top secret Deepground data files!" Stage Mission. Go to the room immediately ahead of you on your left for the first Data File. Moving counterclockwise from this room, the next room contains machine-gun bullets and three enemies, the next has 3000 gil, and the fourth has Sentinal bots, a limit breaker, rifle bullets, and a Mako Point. Go back into the main room, and look for the glowing blue rectangle on the wall. This marks the door to the next room. Go up to it and press X.
Down the hallway and through another door, and you'll be on a bridge. Some Shrikes will attack from above. Shoot them and then look over at the far bridge on you left for MEMORY CAPSULE #4. Cross the bridge and go through the door.
Kill the soldiers in this room, and move into the next. More soldiers will come out of a door. Finish them and then collect the second Data File by one of the pedistals on the right. The next room is clear, so head for the hallway. Kill the soldiers that get in your way, go through the door, and cross the bridge for a cutscene.
Vincent will attempt to call Shelke, but can't get through. A moment later his phone rings. It's Tifa. She hands the phone to Cloud, and he gives Vincent an update on what's going on outside. Tifa sends a map of the area to Vincent's phone. Grab the handgun bullets on the far side of the room, and then use the panel on the left side of the elevator to activate it.
The "Destroy the surveillance mines!" Stage Mission will begin as the platform decends. Shoot as many as you can before you reach the bottom. Also, pay close attention to the northwest as you decend. MEMORY CAPSULE #5 is between floors about midway down.
At the bottom, go out the door and across the bridge for a Shop Kiosk, then enter the next area. Run down the hall and enter the offices with the glass walls. The third Data File is just beyond the door in the first room. Kill the soldiers and go into the next room. Kill the soldiers here and go through the door.
The fourth Data File can be found in here, so grab it, and move on. Kill more soldiers in the next room and pick up the fifth Data File, then exit into the hallway.
Some more of them nasty barricade robots are here. It's probably easiest to just use ice or fire magic against them from a distance. Get rid of them and the soldiers hiding behind them and continue on. Head through the door, across the bridge and onto the elevator. Time to shoot more of those mines. There are some snipers this time, too.
When you reach the bottom, go through the door, follow the path across the bridges and down the hall to a room with some very large soldiers. Kill them and exit through the next door. Go down the hall for a Mako Point, and then head to the right. Through this door is a room with two guys with rocket launchers. Use the barrels to blow them up, and exit to the right.
Approach the door in here, and it will open by itself. Sentinal bots will swarm out. Kill them, but do not move forward far enough to trigger the next door or you'll release more enemies into the room. When they're gone, move forward and dog-guards will come out. The next compartment will be empty, so move ahead through the next door.
Here you will find machine-gun bullets, handgun bullets, an x-potion, and a Shop Kiosk. Restock if you need to, then go out the door and across the bridge. The game will Auto-Save.
------ Boss Battle ------
Boss: Neo Azul
Azul is back. If you're low on limit breakers don't use them right away. Save them for his second form. This is much like your first battle against Azul, except that this time you don't have the luxury of exploding barrel to shoot at. You'll have to take him out the old fashioned way.
Double jump to avoid his shockwave when he hits the ground, and try to keep the central piller between Vincent and Azul when he starts shooting. Just when you think you've drained his HP and won, he transforms and you get to start all over.
-------------------------
------ Boss Battle ------
Boss: Arch Azul
Ugh... this guy is nasty. He's immune to bullets. Use your limit breaker to take off some serious HP right from the start. Using ice spells from you Blizzard materia is also useful, and there are Mako Points under the barrels if you can get Azul to break them for you. If you're out of both mako energy AND limit breakers, you better hope you've got enough healing items to last long enough to melee him to death...
His attacks do some pretty heavy damage. He'll hit you with his head... with his tail... and he's even got and energy blast that homes in on you. So whatever you do, don't stop moving.
-------------------------
When you beat him, you'll see a cutscene. Turns out Azul still isn't out of the game. But that's about to change. Chaos takes control of Vincent, and he transforms... leading to the coolest death scene in the game as Azul gets pwned, and impaled on his own BFG and then blasted into oblivion. Nero has been watching from the sidelines, be decides not to intervene... he does, however, drop Shelke's cellphone for Vincent to find. Lost in his own mind, Vincent relives still more memories of Lucrecia. When he finally returns to himself, he has arrived in Deepground.
When the stage ends, and you have access to the shop, you will now be able to purchase the Auto Reloader accessory. At 24000 gil, it's not cheap, but it's a very useful little gadget.
