Lots of FF7 Questions (Spoilers?!)

[FinalBob42]

These are a lot. I've been wondering about them for a while.

1) For some reason, the enemy skill materia isn't working for me - it's greyed out in battle. Why is that?

2) What do the grey ''barrier'' bars in battle do?

3) After the plate collapses, is there any way to return to the 7th heaven area?

4) Do my materia level up at the same rate no matter how many I have, i.e. does having 8 materia level each one up as quickly as having only 1 equipped?

5) I remember a scene involving a bunch of "gay guys" and Cloud taking a bath together in the one building (before going to the Don's manor). Why is it that I managed to miss this part (and getting into that one building with the horny guys out front and the colorful signs) even though I've talked to all the people in the area several times?

6) Is there anything you can do to help the sick guy in the tunnel in the slums? Is there a reward for this?

7) When you leave to do the 2nd reactor mission there is a lot of commotion in the 7th heaven area. What was that all about?

[TheAbominatrix]

1) You need to aquire skills. When an enemy uses an applicable skill on your character, the materia will learn the spell.
2) They show when you have the right spells on, like shell and protect, and how long they have left before they wear off.
3) Nope.
4) Not sure.
5) I cant remember the exact specifications to get the Honey Bee Inn card.
6) No and no.
7) Johnny was leaving home, and everyone turned up to see him off. If that's the right time i'm thinking of. Not to mention that a reactor blew up, and everyone was scared and anxious and excited.

[My name is...something..?]

After Aeris says Cloud has to dress up as a girl to get into the mansion go talk to the fat guy down on bottom right part of the screen of the main area. He'll give you the card and all you have to do is go into the Honeybee Inn and choose the bottom left door.

[sayen]

1) You need to aquire skills. When an enemy uses an applicable skill on your character, the materia will learn the spell.
2) They show when you have the right spells on, like shell and protect, and how long they have left before they wear off.
3) Nope.
4) Not sure.
5) I cant remember the exact specifications to get the Honey Bee Inn card.
6) No and no.
7) Johnny was leaving home, and everyone turned up to see him off. If that's the right time i'm thinking of. Not to mention that a reactor blew up, and everyone was scared and anxious and excited.

aww i know all of those oh and the answer for 4 is

no the ap is the same no matter how much materia you have equipped so they all level up at the same rate overwise you would be level 99 befor you have even comet 2 let alone ultima

[Sepho]

To clarify on number four: Each materia, even if they hold the same spells (i.e. two Lightning materia being equipped on the same character), are treated as seperate materia. Equipping more than two won't help you gain more AP for the spells and consequently learn the spells faster, but you'll still be gaining AP for two materia, which isn't a bad thing. Say you have a Fire materia equipped that has earned 5000 AP and then you equip another Fire materia that has earned 0 AP. If you fight battles and gain 2000 AP from that point on, the first materia will have earned 7000 AP, while the second materia will have earned 2000 AP.

It doesn't follow the same logic as, say, the Esper system of FF6, where the focus is on individual spells. The character in this system learns the spell and will always have it, while in FF7, a piece of equipment (for all practical purposes) learns the spell or ability, and you can only hold so much equipment. That's the biggest drawback of the materia system, I think.

[FinalBob42]

Thanks for the info. There is no way to ever return to the Honeybee Inn again is there (if you never gained entrance to begin with)?

EDIT: Also, can you still open the safe in the mansion in Nibelheim, get the Cosmo Memory limit break for Red XIII and have Vincent join your party if you do not kill the Lost Number when you first get the chance to - perhaps waiting until disc 3 instead?

[Sepho]

Thanks for the info. There is no way to ever return to the Honeybee Inn again is there (if you never gained entrance to begin with)?

Uh uh.

Also, can you still open the safe in the mansion in Nibelheim, get the Cosmo Memory limit break for Red XIII and have Vincent join your party if you do not kill the Lost Number when you first get the chance to - perhaps waiting until disc 3 instead?

As far as I know, you can do it at any point in the game where you can access Nibelheim. I know I've fought the Lost Number on the first two disks, and I may have done it on the third.

[TheAbominatrix]

The Honeybee Inn is only accessable once.

[SadisticStreetSoldie]

5) You have to talk to the chunky guy who keeps walking up and down who is in the lower right-hand corner of the main Wall Market area (he's on the opposite side of the inn). After getting the dress, talk to him and he'll give you the card. To get that sequence in the brothel go into the "Group" room (I think it's called that I can't really remember)

[IAmSephiroth]

What do I do after I get to Kalm and go through Cloud's story?

[Squall of SeeD]

You go to the Chocobo Ranch.

[Madame Adequate]

These are a lot. I've been wondering about them for a while.

1) For some reason, the enemy skill materia isn't working for me - it's greyed out in battle. Why is that?

2) What do the grey ''barrier'' bars in battle do?

3) After the plate collapses, is there any way to return to the 7th heaven area?

4) Do my materia level up at the same rate no matter how many I have, i.e. does having 8 materia level each one up as quickly as having only 1 equipped?

5) I remember a scene involving a bunch of "gay guys" and Cloud taking a bath together in the one building (before going to the Don's manor). Why is it that I managed to miss this part (and getting into that one building with the horny guys out front and the colorful signs) even though I've talked to all the people in the area several times?

6) Is there anything you can do to help the sick guy in the tunnel in the slums? Is there a reward for this?

7) When you leave to do the 2nd reactor mission there is a lot of commotion in the 7th heaven area. What was that all about?

8 ) Also, can you still open the safe in the mansion in Nibelheim, get the Cosmo Memory limit break for Red XIII and have Vincent join your party if you do not kill the Lost Number when you first get the chance to - perhaps waiting until disc 3 instead?

1) You need to have the materia equipped, and whilst it is equipped, you need to have a learnable skill/spell used on you. A simple example would be Matra Magic. Have one of your characters equipped with the spell, and go to the Midgar region (Ie the dead, brown area around the city.). Wander around getting into random fights - when you meet an enemy named 'Custom Sweeper' (Big robotic dude with spikes and machineguns.), pick off his allies and wait. Sooner or later he should use Matra Magic on you, which usually hits every character. If he's not willing to, do a little damage to him but don't kill him. If it hits the person with the Enemy Skill materia equipped, they'll do a little spin and an info bar at the top of the screen will tell you you have learnt it. Some ES are more tricksy to get, however; for example to get White Wind you need the manipulate materia, and you need to take control of a Zemzellett (Big cactus/bird thing near Junon.). And chocobuckle is so obscure to get that I can't even remember the method.

2) If you use the spells 'Barrier', 'MBarrier', 'Wall', and a couple of others, you'll recieve bonuses to your defense. These bars show how much battle time there is left before they run out - when the bar is empty, that effect has disappeared.

3) Nope, it's gone.

4) Yes, each materia is treated individually and each one receives the amount of AP shown on the battle result screen. The AP is not divided amongst characters or materia. However the number of AP can change, as certain weapons and armors have 'Double-AP', one has 'Triple-AP', and many have 'No-AP', which all have various effects on your materia growth rate.

5) Has been explained. Just remember there is more than one room you can go into, and the other one is not full of a bathtub of men.

6) No way to help him (Though his illness is expained much later on.), and therefore there can be no reward for doing so.

7) I believe that was a combination of Johnny setting off, and the large terrorist attack you had just carried out.

8 ) Yes, you can get Cosmo Memory, and Vincent, at any time that you can access Nibelheim, unless there are special circumstance I am not aware of.