Coal Train is an unrevisitable field map in Final Fantasy VII. It is visited briefly for "Struggle for the Huge Materia". In it, a party led by Cid must catch up to the train and attempt to board it for the Huge Materia. Catching it and stopping it nets the Huge Materia and Ultima for free; catching but failing to stop it loses the Huge Materia and puts Ultima behind a 50,000 gil price tag; failing to catch it loses both.
Layout[]
Pursuing Train[]
This is the train that Cid drives to pursue the train with the Huge Materia.
To catch up with the train Cid should alternate between levers, [Directional button Up] and [Menu] (or 
and 
in the PlayStation version). The quicker this is done the faster the train is caught up with.
If the player catches up to the train the party will leap the cars of the Huge Materia train. If the player fails to catch up withe train then they depart in the Town area of North Corel.
Cars[]
Cars.
This screen on the Huge Materia train contains four cars. The player enters the screen after leaping from the pursuing train. Each car has an encounter occur when the player runs over them.
Exiting off the left side of the screen takes the player to the engine part of the train. If the train gets to North Corel before the player stops them then the train crashes into North Corel and the player appears in the Inn.
Engine[]
An engineer driving the train is found here. The party will encounter him as an Attack Squad. After that the player will attempt to stop the train to prevent it from crashing into North Corel.
After this the player will find themselves in the Town area of North Corel. If the train does crash then they will instead find themselves in the Inn of North Corel.
Quests[]
The North Corel Huge Materia portion of "Struggle for the Huge Materia" begins once the party approach the reactor on Mt. Corel, where the Coal Train exits the reactor after a battle with a pair of Attack Squad enemies.
While pursuing the train, a ten minute timer is given and the party must catch up to the train. After reaching it, the party will jump onto the cars of the train holding the Huge Materia. On each of these the player will encounter a battle (detailed at #Cars). After reaching the front, after defeating the engineer, the player must stop the train.
Depending on player performance during the quest, there three possible outcomes:
- If the player successfully reaches the train and stops it before it hits North Corel, the town is saved and residents thank the party, becoming more hopeful about their future. The Ultima Materia in North Corel is granted for free.
- If the player reaches the train but cannot stop it, North Corel is destroyed, and the Huge Materia is lost. Ultima can be bought for 50,000 gil.
- If the player was unable to reach the train, the Huge Materia is lost and Ultima is missed unless the player obtains the Huge Materia later in the rocket.
Regardless of outcome, the Catastrophe item becomes available from a standing woman in the Rundown Hut in North Corel thereafter. If the Fort Condor portion of "Struggle for the Huge Materia" was also completed, "Searching for the You of That Day" can then be begun in Mideel.
Encounters[]
| Encounters | !Areas |
|---|---|
|
Cars |
|
Engine |
The party will not pose after defeating enemies on the Coal Train across Mt. Corel.
Musical themes[]
"Hurry!" plays on the train. "Hurry Faster!" plays when Cid tries to pull the brakes.