Gongaga

Gongaga is a foothill town in Final Fantasy VII, located south of Gold Saucer. Due to a disaster, the town has been badly damaged. As a visitor enters, they will see a fork in the road; the left path leads to the town, and the right leads to the burned-out Mako Reactor.

In Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-, the village path leads farther, going into some houses on the outskirts, and eventually to a mountain-side path that ends in a cliff overlooking the village. The village and the remains of the reactor are all visible from the cliff.

Story
Gongaga was the hometown of several characters from Final Fantasy VII, including Zack Fair, as well as one of the playable Turks from Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-, Katana (Male), at which time the village was home to one of Shinra's Mako Reactors. After Zack and Cloud escape Nibelheim from their four-year imprisonment during Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-, they pick up a motorcycle from Cissnei. Taking random highways throughout the continent, trying to avoid the Turks, the Shinra army, and the Genesis Copies who are all pursuing them, Zack stumbles upon his hometown, most of which had been destroyed by the Mako Reactor explosion.

Despite realizing the likelihood of a trap, Zack's concern for his parents is overwhelming and he enters the town, leaving Cloud in the motorcycle on the reactor outskirts. Cissnei intercepts Zack, as the Turks had sent her to Gongaga to wait for him. She lets him go, but Zack does not leave, as he sees what he thinks is Angeal Hewley back from the dead. It turns out to be Lazard who has become an Angeal Copy, and was protecting them from Genesis and Hollander. Zack kills Hollander and chases off Genesis before either are able to harm Cloud.

During Final Fantasy VII, the player learns the Mako Reactor explosion killed most of the townsfolk. The explosion was said to be caused by the original AVALANCHE.

When the party enters Gongaga in Final Fantasy VII, they encounter the Turks, Reno and Rude. Cloud and the party realize that since there was no hint of anyone following them to tip off the Turks to their arrival, there must be a traitor among them who tipped them off instead. Cloud refuses to believe there is a spy, saying he trusts everyone. If Cait Sith is in the party he will try and divert attention from himself, expressing his hopes that Cloud will not blame him just because he is the new member.

Later, the party overhears the first mention of the Huge Materia during a conversation between Scarlet and Tseng. The party can go to Zack's house and meet his parents, and if Aeris is with the party, it is revealed she used to be Zack's girlfriend. If Tifa is in the party she runs out and asks Cloud about his decisions to join SOLDIER if Cloud chases her.

Location
Gongaga is located to the South on Gaia's Western continent.

Date Mechanics
If Aeris and Tifa are in the player's party during the first visit to Gongaga, they will walk out once the player enters Zack's parents' house. Talking to them afterwards earns the player affection points toward them that count toward determining Cloud's date at Gold Saucer, and a scene with Tifa at the end of disc 2. Ignoring them reduces the points.

Treasures

 * Titan Materia (in the destroyed reactor. Not visible until Meteor is summoned)
 * White M-phone (upper left house)
 * X-Potion (in the inn)
 * Deathblow Materia (on left hand path leading out of the village)

Final Fantasy VII
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Weapon Shop

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Item Shop

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Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-
In Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- shops can only be visited from the menu. Gongaga Trading opens after completing Mission 2-3-1.

Jungle (1st Screen)

 * Flower Prong
 * Touch Me
 * Kimara Bug
 * Kimara Bug x2
 * Flower Prong (Side attack)
 * Turks:Reno, Turks:Rude (Boss)

Jungle (2nd Screen)

 * Kimara Bug
 * Touch Me
 * Kimara Bug x2
 * Touch Me x2 (Ambush)

Wasteland

 * Heavy Tank
 * Heavy Tank (Back attack)

Reactor

 * Heavy Tank
 * Heavy Tank (Back attack)

Grassland

 * Gagighandi x2
 * Gagighandi x3 (Ambush)
 * Grand Horn
 * Grand Horn (Back attack)
 * Grand Horn x2

Jungle

 * Gagighandi, Touch Me x2
 * Gagighandi x2
 * Gagighandi x3
 * Touch Me x6 (Ambush)
 * Mystery Ninja

Beach

 * Beachplug x3
 * Beachplug x4
 * Grangalan (Grangalan Jr., (Grangalan Jr. Jr.))

Skies

 * Ultimate Weapon (Boss)

Dummied Content
Originally Final Fantasy VII was going to contain a traveling salesman as part of a sidequest, who would appear in Gongaga. The salesman would give two Key Items to the player, one titled "Letter to a Daughter", and another, "Letter to a Wife". While cut from the final version, the script for the character was still written and translated and exists in the game's data. The salesman also says, "I came because I heard near this village was Materia strong enough to shake the earth", which would supply the player with knowledge of the Titan Materia's existence, and likely the reason the Materia was moved from Kalm.

The traveling salesman also has some unused lines in Rocket Town, but only in the Japanese game.

A developer who worked in the Final Fantasy VII project at Squaresoft has said that the traveling salesman's Gongaga lines were created to inform the player of the Materia in the ruins of the Mako Reactor and the reason it wasn't used was because the staff only had five months to implement the data in the game. This wasn't enough time to link it to the event it connected to, so it was cut.

Musical Themes
The background music in Gongaga Village, like in Nibelheim, is "Heart of Anxiety".

Trivia

 * In Final Fantasy VII Gongaga is the only major location that is not marked on the world map with a dot.