100% Story Route — 5 Chapters
Pick a chapter below, then use the Previous / Next buttons at the bottom of each one to move through the game.
How to read the tags. Every pickup in the walkthrough carries a coloured tag, and the number inside a tag is a permanent ID — click it and it takes you straight to that entry.
| Tag | What it marks | Number |
|---|---|---|
| DRESSPHERE | A dressphere — every one is a single-window pickup | 1–19 · opens Dresspheres |
| GRID | A Garment Grid worth going out of your way for | Grids tab — no ID |
| SPHERE | A Crimson Sphere — you need all ten to open the Den of Woe | 1–10, the game’s own Crimson Sphere numbers |
| % | A step that adds Story Completion and is easy to skip | Completion flag — no ID |
| ENDING | A Good Ending flag — do not skip and do not mash buttons | Good Ending flag — no ID |
| BOSS | A named fight | 1–21 · opens Bosses |
| FINAL BOSS EPISODE BOSS | The last fight, or a boss inside a side episode | Fight marker — no ID |
| MISSABLE | Gone when the chapter ends | Warning flag — no ID |
| HOTSPOT | A required story location — always save these for last | Route flag — no ID |
CHAPTER 1The sphere hunt beginstarget: 25.2%
Chapter 1 is a tour: you visit almost every location in Spira once. Nearly all of the percentage here comes from talking to people rather than from fighting, and several conversations must be run to the end without skipping.
Prologue and the Celsiusbefore anything else
1
% In Luca, touch the moogle standing behind the crates at the dock, then win the fight against the impostor. That gives you your first Garment Grid and the DRESSPHERE 4 Songstress.
2
% On the Celsius, speak to Brother, Buddy, Shinra, Rikku and Paine on the bridge, then the Barkeep in the cabin, then rest, then view the Treasure Sphere. DRESSPHERE 15 Speaking to Brother here also hands over Festivalist in the HD version.
Fiend Arena. In the HD version, talk to Shinra on the Celsius to open the Creature Creator. Win the Standard Cup once for the DRESSPHERE 16 Psychic dressphere, which the Sphere Hunter trophy needs. A cup never gives a Game Over, so it is safe to try early.
3
Mt. Gagazet Floating Ruins: reach the top inside the timer and beat the Leblanc Syndicate. Afterwards, back on the Celsius, comfort Brother while lying down.
4
DRESSPHERE 6 Black Mage comes from the fight with Boris on Mt. Gagazet.
Luca, Mi'ihen and Mushroom RockMushroom Rock is the biggest single block of percentage in the chapter
5
% Luca: watch Yuna's concert flashback, then speak to Rin in the eastern blitzball corridor about Sphere Break. Mi'ihen Highroad gives an automatic scene on entry.
6
% Mushroom Rock Road, in order: talk to Clasko at the entrance; accept Yaibal's mission; follow Ormi and Logos down to the Den of Woe for SPHERE 9 Crimson Sphere 9; talk to Maroda; talk to Elma at the lift; talk to Lucil twice outside HQ.
7
ENDING Maechen is here. Listen to his whole story without mashing buttons — wait for the handshake prompt at the end. Talking to Maechen at every appearance is part of the Good Ending chain and the Good Listener trophy.
8
MISSABLE Run back and let Clasko board the Celsius, then talk to him again in the cabin. If he never boards, the Alchemist dressphere and the whole Chocobo Ranch chain die with him. View Crimson Report 9 at Shinra's station.
Djose, Moonflow, Guadosalam and the Thunder Plainssmall steps, easy to skip
9
% Djose: wait for the queue at the tent to clear, then talk to Gippal and take the Letter of Introduction.
10
DRESSPHERE 7 Moonflow: talk to Tobli, then run the Hypello escort mission without losing any cargo for Gun Mage.
11
% Guadosalam: walk toward the Farplane entrance for the scene. Thunder Plains: the entrance scene alone is worth percentage.
Macalania Woodsthe one that ends the most runs
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MISSABLE DRESSPHERE 19 Full Throttle, Paine's Special Dressphere. Find Tromell at the second spring and talk to him four separate times. This is available in Chapters 1 and 2 only, and it is the classic reason a file cannot reach the Sphere Hunter trophy.
13
% Talk to Bayra, Donga and Pukutak, then run the O'aka chase mission. MISSABLE Let O'aka board the Celsius and talk to him in the cabin — his debt has to be paid before Chapter 3 or his shop and the associated percentage are lost.
Bikanel, Bevelle, Calm Lands and Gagazetset-up for later chapters
14
% Bikanel: complete one successful dig before the timer. Bevelle: walk to the temple and meet Baralai.
15
MISSABLE Calm Lands: sign up for the Publicity Campaign with either company. You must reach Level 5 with one of them by Chapter 5 or the Calm Lands Episode Complete is unreachable.
16
MISSABLE Mt. Gagazet: talk to Kimahri and pick the second dialogue option. You must do this in Chapter 1 and Chapter 2, or the Trainer dressphere in Chapter 3 never appears.
Hotspots — do these lastthey end the chapter
17
HOTSPOT Besaid: talk to Wakka, visit Lulu's hut, rest, work the cipher door in the cave, and beat BOSS 3 Flame Dragon with ice magic and NulBlaze for DRESSPHERE 5 White Mage.
18
HOTSPOT Zanarkand: go to the elevator, talk to Cid, and answer "You bet I do!" Take the Treasure Sphere.
19
HOTSPOT Kilika: Dona in the hut, then forest to temple, and beat BOSS 4 YSLS-Zero — it is machina, so lightning and Rikku's Steal tear it apart.
CHAPTER 1 OF 5
CHAPTER 2The Awesome Sphere and the uniformstarget: 44.8%
Give the Awesome Sphere to the YOUTH LEAGUE. This is asked on the Celsius at the start of the chapter. New Yevon caps the file at roughly 99% permanently — there is no way to undo it and no way to reach the Perfect Ending afterwards.
1
% Rest on the Celsius, then hand the sphere to the Youth League. Take it to Nooj at Mushroom Rock, then return for the uniform-hunt briefing.
2
% Besaid: beat Beclem's record in the Gunner's Gauntlet. Kilika: talk to Dona and the villagers. Luca: go to Central Square and accept Shelinda's interview, skipping nothing.
Gunner's Gauntlet. The window for reaching the maximum level in the Gauntlet is limited to certain chapters. Push it as far as you can now, because the Gunner trophy needs the maximum level.
3
MISSABLE Mi'ihen: complete stage 3 of the chocobo capture mission, rescue Calli in time, watch the Rikku scene, and let Clasko and Calli board the Celsius.
4
SPHERE 7 MISSABLE Mushroom Rock: talk to Nooj at the Den of Woe for Crimson Sphere 7 — one of the two genuinely missable Crimson Spheres. Then Elma and Lucil at HQ, and view Crimson Report 7.
5
% Moonflow: sell all ten of Tobli's tickets. Guadosalam: trigger the chateau-guard scene — and this is the convenient place to clear O'aka's debt using the innkeeper's expensive item.
Do both here. Selling all ten tickets gives DRESSPHERE 7 Gun Mage if you missed it in Chapter 1. O'aka's debt is 100,000 gil and must be paid before the Chapter 3 Macalania mission, or the Millionaire trophy is lost.
6
% Thunder Plains: talk to Cid. Macalania: find all three musicians — at the butterfly rings, at the walkway junction, and south of the four-way.
7
DRESSPHERE 8 Calm Lands: arrive by airship so the Clasko scene fires, clear the old Monster Arena for Alchemist, capture a chocobo with Gyshal Greens, and talk to Lian and Ayde at the Travel Agency.
Tricky Trapper. Help Clasko catch a chocobo before Chapter 3 ends. This only works if he boarded the Celsius in Chapters 1 and 2.
8
% Zanarkand: talk to Isaaru in the dome and finish the monkey-matching mission.
Hotspotstwo Special Dresspheres and the third uniform
9
HOTSPOT DRESSPHERE 17 Djose Highroad: after the goons' conversation, take the glowing orb from behind a rock and beat Ormi for a uniform and Floral Fallal, Yuna's Special Dressphere.
Special Dresspheres. To use a Special Dressphere, link every node on a Garment Grid that has a special node. The character then transforms for the rest of the battle, splits into a main body plus two limbs that act on their own turns, and cannot be swapped out.
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HOTSPOT DRESSPHERE 18 Bikanel Oasis: take the orb and beat Logos for a uniform and Machina Maw, Rikku's Special Dressphere.
11
HOTSPOT Mt. Gagazet: talk to Kimahri twice and pick the second option again. % Do not follow the Syndicate into the hot springs — climb to the upper northern overhang instead for the hidden extended scene. Then beat Ormi for the third uniform.
Bum Rush. With all three Syndicate uniforms you can build the Bum Rush Garment Grid.
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HOTSPOT SPHERE 10 Guadosalam: infiltrate Chateau Leblanc and take Crimson Sphere 10 from Ormi's room while you are inside.
13
HOTSPOT MISSABLE DRESSPHERE 9 Bevelle Underground: in the tower room, light the blue towers; each one starts a Precepts Guard fight, and the final tower brings BOSS 5 Georapella. Moving every ledge into place opens the bottom chest with the Ribbon, which the Treasure Hunter trophy needs. Then solve the pillar and lift puzzle and open the chest for Dark Knight. This is the only chance in the entire game. The path beside the Dark Knight route leads to BOSS 6 Baralai, and after him you beat BOSS 7 Bahamut — its pattern is fixed: two attacks, two Impulses, then a five-turn wait before Mega Flare. Heal to full during that wait and you cannot lose.
CHAPTER 2 OF 5
CHAPTER 3The temples — and both Good Ending flagstarget: 59.6%
Both Good Ending triggers are in this chapter. One is a conversation in Guadosalam, the other is a button press at the very end of the chapter. Miss either and no amount of percentage will give you anything better than the Normal Ending.
1
Visit Djose before it becomes a hotspot. Rest on the Celsius and take the automatic scenes.
2
DRESSPHERE 13 Luca: enter the Sphere Break tournament. Save after round two, then beat Shinra for Lady Luck.
3
% Mi'ihen: destroy the rogue machina, and kill the extra machina too. Mushroom Rock: talk to Yaibal and Lucil at the entrance. Djose: approach the temple for the Gippal scene. Moonflow: Tobli by the wagon.
Guadosalamthe first Good Ending flag — follow this order exactly
4
Talk to Logos and Ormi in the lounge, then to Leblanc upstairs, then to Logos and Ormi again. Take the secret passage.
5
% Watch both Ormi's sphere and Logos's sphere.
6
ENDING Talk to Maechen. Let the entire conversation play out — do not skip, do not mash. This is the first hard requirement for the Good Ending.
7
SPHERE 4 Crate-hop up to the upper awning for Crimson Sphere 4 and Report 4, then view it on the Celsius.
The rest of the mapbefore the hotspots
8
MISSABLE DRESSPHERE 11 Macalania: O'aka's debt must already be paid. Defend the Travel Agency and always choose "Keep Going" for Berserker, plus an X-Potion chest.
9
% Thunder Plains: Cid, then Lian and Ayde. Bikanel: talk to Marnela at Cactuar Nation to start the Gatekeeper hunt.
10
MISSABLE Calm Lands: rescue the trapped tourist, and make sure Shinra plants CommSpheres at both the Travel Agency and the upper floor of the Chocobo Ranch — Chapter 4 needs them.
11
DRESSPHERE 12 Mt. Gagazet: go to the summit and beat Garik to stop the Ronso war, then collect Trainer from Kimahri. Zanarkand: talk to Isaaru and confirm the monkey mission is finished.
Hotspotsand the second Good Ending flag
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HOTSPOT Besaid: clear the temple and beat BOSS 8 Valefor.
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HOTSPOT MISSABLE DRESSPHERE 10 Kilika: sneak from port to forest to temple, and pick up Samurai lying on the floor in the Cloister — it is easy to walk straight past. Rescue Barthello, then beat BOSS 9 Ifrit with NulBlaze and ice magic.
14
SPHERE 1 Bevelle: spot Gippal on the Highbridge and again in the Antechamber, watch the underground scene with Nooj, Baralai and Gippal, and take Crimson Sphere 1. View Report 1.
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HOTSPOT SPHERES 2 & 3 Djose ends the chapter: clear the temple and beat BOSS 10 Ixion — Shell first, then water magic and stat breaks. Crimson Spheres 2 and 3 are here.
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ENDING The second flag. After Ixion, Yuna falls into the Farplane Abyss and says she is all alone. Press X repeatedly until you hear the whistle four times. This is the other hard requirement for the Good Ending.
CHAPTER 3 OF 5
CHAPTER 4CommSpheres and the concerttarget: 75.6%
Chapter 4 is almost entirely about sitting at Shinra's console and watching CommSphere feeds. There is very little combat and a great deal of percentage, and the single largest block in the game lives here. Work through the feeds patiently — many locations must be viewed several times, and the scene changes each time.
OpeningCelsius
1
% View Crimson Reports 2 and 3, talk to Paine on the deck, then rest.
2
% First CommSphere pass: Besaid (Wakka), Kilika (Dona), Mushroom Rock (Yaibal), Bevelle (Maroda). Then talk to Buddy and Paine on the bridge and take the concert decision.
The main CommSphere block4.4% — the biggest single block in the game
3
Besaid, about seven views. Two specific ones matter: Wakka leaving the tent on roughly the third view, and Beclem berating the Aurochs on roughly the sixth.
4
Kilika Temple: zoom in on the entrance. Luca: three views, one of which is the Shelinda interview.
5
Mi'ihen: view every area to work out who has been damaging the tree. The culprit is Rikku, and you need to have seen the evidence before Chapter 5 can pay it off.
6
Djose (the Al Bhed technician), Guadosalam (Ormi), Thunder Plains (the chocobo, via the Choco-Porter), Macalania Entrance (the musicians) and Macalania Travel Agency (O'aka), Bikanel Camp (Nhadala), and the Calm Lands Chocobo Ranch three times (Clasko).
7
% Mt. Gagazet Hot Springs is the long one — cycle it around fifteen times until you have seen Tobli, Buddy, the Barkeep, Isaaru, Maroda, Pacce, Lucil, Elma, Maechen, Cid, Nhadala, Rin and Dona. Also view the Gagazet Gate feed for Kimahri.
The concertand the second CommSphere pass
8
% Moonflow: chase Tobli all the way to the Guadosalam entrance. Back on the Celsius, rehearse with Rikku by mashing the face buttons.
9
% Second CommSphere pass: Besaid (zoom in on Beclem's head, then Lulu and Wakka), Kilika Port three times plus the Temple (Barthello), Mushroom Rock (Lucil and Yaibal), Moonflow twice (the second has the Hypello and Elma), Guadosalam (Ormi), Macalania Travel Agency (O'aka), and Zanarkand three times (Isaaru).
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BOSS 12 Thunder Plains: find the secret cave and beat Zalamander — it is fire-based, so NulBlaze and ice.
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% On the Celsius, listen to the crowd argument, then talk to Tobli to start the concert. Play the Thunder Plains concert and take SPHERE 5 Crimson Sphere 5 from Leblanc.
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ENDING Back on the Celsius, talk to Maechen on the bridge and let him finish, then find Leblanc in the engine room.
CHAPTER 4 OF 5
CHAPTER 5Episode Complete everywheretarget: 100%
Two ordering rules. Do Zanarkand early — a known glitch can deny you the Mascot dressphere if Zanarkand is the last area you complete. And do not set foot in the Calm Lands until your Publicity Campaign company has reached Level 5, or that Episode Complete is lost.
1
% Celsius: view Crimson Report 5, talk to Buddy on the bridge, rest and be woken, talk to Buddy in the engine room, then step to the foot of the bed for Brother's scene.
2
ENDING Zanarkand first: Episode Complete, and Maechen's final story — the last one you need for the Good Listener trophy.
3
% Besaid, Kilika, then Luca — in Luca you follow the invisible moogle to complete the episode. Blitzball opens up here; it does not count toward completion, but winning a single match at the counter outside Luca Stadium earns the Teamwork! trophy. Mi'ihen: Rin names the tree culprit.
4
SPHERES 1–10 Mushroom Rock, worth 3% on its own: win the mini-tournament, talk to Lucil on the Observation Deck for Nooj's Sphere, and view the Deathseeker scene. With all ten Crimson Spheres you can open the Den of Woe and fight Rikku, Paine, Baralai, Gippal and Nooj for the episode.
Reward. Clearing all the Den of Woe bosses gives the Supreme Light Garment Grid (Auto-Life and Holy).
5
BOSS 15 Djose: beat the Experiment while it is still below level 5, collect machina parts from the yellow-marked Bikanel digs, return to Djose, repair it to level 5 and beat it again. Doing both is what gives the second volume of Magical Dances.
6
% Moonflow: Episode Complete. Guadosalam: join the musicians in the square, then find Tromell outside, take Baralai's Sphere, and view the Yevon's Secret scene.
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EPISODE BOSS Thunder Plains: kill the ten tower fiends, then go to the secret cave, rescue Cid and beat Machina Panzer. Cid's tirade plays afterwards on the Celsius.
8
% Macalania: scenes at both springs, then O'aka and Wantz at the Travel Agency.
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EPISODE BOSS Bikanel: find the first nine Cactuar Gatekeepers, return to Cactuar Nation, then take Cactuar Hollow — Jumbo Cactuar, then Angra Mainyu. Talk to Benzo afterwards.
Angra Mainyu. It has 333,444 HP and two escorts. Perdition's Flame hits ten times, so never field a large creature. Use two Dark Knights on Darkness with an Alchemist healing, or drain its MP with Soul Spring. It drops the Ribbon and unlocks the Mercurial Strike grid.
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SPHERES 6 & 8 BOSS 18 Bevelle: the Via Infinito. Crimson Sphere 6 is on floor 0 and Crimson Sphere 8 comes from Aranea on floor 20. Beating Trema on floor 100 completes the episode.
Before you go down. Be level 75 or higher and have Break Damage Limit in place before floor 60. Beating Humbaba in Chapter 5 gives the Valiant Lustre grid; carry it or Tempered Will. A good party is an Alchemist using Mix for Miracle Drink plus two Dark Knights spamming Darkness, or a Gunner with Cat Nip and Trigger Happy. You can only go down. A blue glyph on every enemy floor restores HP and MP and teleports you to the surface to save; the dungeon resumes from the last multiple of twenty, so plan five sittings of twenty floors. Save on the surface before every boss floor.
Boss floors. Floor 20 Aranea (about 18,000 HP) stops the whole party, so bring status protection. Floor 40 Black Elemental has only 9,999 HP but huge defences, and its Ultima cannot be Reflected, so heal through it. Floor 60 Concherer (about 343,000 HP) hits with Megaton Press for 50,000 to 65,000 and drains MP with Gunk. Floor 80 Chac (about 435,000 HP) petrifies with Stony Glare, so bring Ribbon or Stoneproof.
Floors in between. Floor 40 has a bracer cache. Walk around the sides of the Mega Tonberries on floors 41 to 99 instead of fighting them, because their knife is a flat kill. Cactuars and Jumbo Cactuar on floors 47 to 59 give good AP.
Floor 100. Paragon (200,000 HP) and Trema (999,999 HP) come back to back with no healing in between. Beat Paragon with Soul Spring from a Thief, which drains his MP, or bribe him for roughly 800,000 gil; his Big Bang can deal 99,999 and is baited by attacks that bypass Protect and Shell. Trema has extremely high Evasion, so build for accuracy before damage. His first Meteor comes at 50% of his HP gone, the second at 75%, and Ultima after about 83%. Get everyone above 9,000 HP before the first Meteor and use Shell, since Meteor is magical in the HD version. Cast Mighty Guard, make Dark Matter through Mix, use Soul Spring to strip his MP so he is reduced to physicals, then grind him down with Darkness or Mascot. The reward is the Iron Duke accessory (double HP and MP, plus 100 to most stats).
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% Calm Lands: Publicity at Level 5, run the chocobo ranch dispatches through all five levels without a single runaway, then the secret dungeon and Anything Eater. Mt. Gagazet: Episode Complete.
Calm Lands extras. Catch the Amazing Chocobo in the Ruin Depths for the Chocobo Whisperer trophy and the Higher Power grid (Break HP Limit and Break Damage Limit). The catch is missable and depends heavily on luck.
12
DRESSPHERE 14 With Episode Complete everywhere except Bevelle, return to the Celsius and you are given Mascot. Talk to Brother to choose your Farplane entry point.
13
% Farplane: reach the Glen and find Leblanc, Ormi and Logos. Back on the Celsius: Shinra on the bridge, Buddy and Brother on the deck, the Cid confrontation in the cabin, and Rikku on the deck.
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ENDING Farplane, the end. Beat FINAL BOSS Vegnagun and then Shuyin. Press X during the flower-field scene in the Farplane Glen, and when the fayth makes the final offer, answer "Yes!" — the first option.
Vegnagun. Tail: its damage is a fixed percentage of your HP, so out-damage it. Leg and three Nodes: ignore the Nodes (green heals it, yellow makes it immune to physical, red to magic) and burn the Leg down. Core and two Bulwarks: the Bulwarks counter heavily, so kill them before Memento Mori finishes its three-turn charge. Head: the Bulwarks return one turn later each time, so cast Mighty Guard, clear them, and put everything into the Head. Shuyin hits nine unblockable times per attack, so Mighty Guard, heal and hit hard.
Ending. The first option gives Good Ending A. With 100.0% story completion, Good Ending A becomes the Perfect Ending, which adds a scene after the credits.
CHAPTER 5 OF 5