Corel Prison is an unrevisitable field map in Final Fantasy VII. It is an internment below the Gold Saucer seen only in "The Desert Prison". The player will face random encounters anywhere in the town whenever not within a building. The enemies here can steal items from the player's inventory, and thus need to be defeated quickly.
Layout[]
North[]
At the start of "The Desert Prison", Cloud's party will land here initially, where a short scene takes place. The southern gate leads to the main part of the prison, while the northern gate leads out to Corel Desert. A well is located near the northern exit, leading to a room titled "Basement". As with the rest of the prison, encounters can be fought here, against 2-Faced and Bandit.
Basement[]
Entering the well in the north area leads to the "Basement" room. This room has many interesting qualities, even if it only has an empty treasure chest in most game versions. In here, the player can discover a skeleton resembling a Guard Hound as part of the background.
The well with the red man.
In the game's original Japanese version four êúô0(äñ) enemies could be fought here. These are believed to be test enemies left in the game, since the battle takes place in an unrelated jungle background, the enemies do not attack, and yield an extremely high HP count, but also EXP, gil, and AP. The êúô0(äñ) enemies were removed from any subsequent releases.
The well's pre-rendered background has a hidden layer containing a little man in the corner that is not present in the playable version of the location. The little man is referred to as "doll" and there is no in-game script to turn the layer on.
South[]
The south area is the main portion of Corel Prison. Though it resembles a town, and several buildings can be entered, the area also has random encounters against Bandits and 2-Faced.
The area is home to several non-player characters. On the player's first visit, a man will follow Cloud around, running and walking as they do, laughing if spoken to, but there is no special significance to him. Three men standing in a row will also give the player tips, though these tips are all lies, and the actual hint is the opposite of what they suggest.
Coates's Container[]
Coates's Container is a trailer in the southernmost portion of the area. Coates will let the player leave on the elevator after progressing "The Desert Prison", but prior to this, rebukes their request.
Driver's Seat[]
The driver's cab of the truck connected to Coates's container is a free inn where the party can rest.
Pub[]
The Prison Pub has an item shop.
Mayor's Old House[]
In the Mayor's Old House, located on the southeastern end, Barret tells his version of the town's history. This is the same house that was seen in the flashback in "Barret's Past".
Desert[]
Past the northernmost gate of the prison, several different areas exist in the desert beyond the prison. One of these areas is an endless Corel Desert screen, where the same screen repeats indefinitely. This desert screen as well as the canyon screen are the only areas of Corel Prison that can be revisited later on in the game.
Canyon[]
Every time the player leaves the desert screen through the north or east, there is a chance that they will reach a screen with a canyon, where heading east will lead to the Junkyard. If the player leaves the canyon screen through the south or west instead, they will be returned to the desert screen. If the player enters Corel Desert from the world map (see below), this is the first screen they will come to, entering it from the east. Again, taking the southern or western exit will lead to the endless desert, whereas heading back east will return them to the world map.
Corner[]
Corner.
The corner is found immediately after leaving through the north gate. If the player leaves through the north (on either side of the fence) or west, they will enter the infinite Corel Desert area. However, if they go through the fence gate and leave through the east, they will be taken to the Junkyard.
Corel Desert[]
In the endless desert, the player can encounter, at a 15/16 chance, the Land Worm, and at a 1/16 chance, the Cactuar, which drops 10,000 gil when defeated. On the ninth consecutive desert screen the player comes to, a carriage (of the same design as the one that carried Tifa to Don Corneo's mansion) will approach and offer a ride. During the prison event, this returns the player to the corner.
The endless desert can still be accessed after the party obtains the buggy, by driving it into the small buildings at the base of the Gold Saucer model on the world map in the middle of the Gold Saucer Area desert. As before, the party can fight Cactuars and Land Worms, and, to return to the world map, they must reach the canyon screen and take the eastern exit. The prison carriage also still shows up after nine desert screens in a row, but this time, it will take the party back to the world map. There is no way to access the main prison area or the Junkyard after obtaining the buggy, and, after gaining the Highwind and losing the buggy, the whole area becomes completely inaccessible. The Laser and Matra Magic enemy skills can be obtained elsewhere, though the former not until the game's final dungeon, Northern Cave.
Junkyard[]
Junkyard.
East of the prison fence is the Junkyard, required to reach Dyne. This screen has an assortment of vehicles piled high on either side of the path to Dyne's Hideout. Here, Bullmotors may attack the party with the Matra Magic enemy skill, and Death Claws with the enemy skill Laser. Both of these can be learned for the Enemy Skill Materia.
Dyne's Hideout[]
Dyne's Hideout is a graveyard resembling a church, possibly the remains of the church previously seen in Barret's flashbacks. Upon entering, Dyne is fought here.
Quests[]
Main scenario[]
Corel Prison is visited only for "The Desert Prison", and is never returned to at any point in the story. During this quest, the player listens to another story from Barret, who is then a required party member and must defeat a boss, Dyne, solo. After this, the party leaves to the Chocobo Square in the Gold Saucer.
Date mechanics[]
Final Fantasy VII has a hidden affection value that determines whom Cloud will go on a date with in Gold Saucer later. The value is determined by the dialogue and party member choices made prior to the date.
The character chosen to accompany Cloud and Barret to fight Dyne gets a boost: Aeris gets a +10, Tifa gets a +3, and Yuffie gets a +2. Picking Red XIII or Cait Sith does nothing.
Enemy Skills[]
With the Enemy Skill Materia, the player can learn Matra Magic from Bullmotor, and Laser from Death Claws. It is best to get the latter as soon as possible, as Corel Desert becomes inaccessible after the player loses the buggy, and the next place to learn the E.Skill is in the final dungeon.
Shops[]
General Store[]
Found in the Prison Pub.
| Name | Cost |
|---|---|
| Potion | 50 gil |
| Phoenix Down | 300 gil |
| Tent | 500 gil |
Enemies[]
Battle background.
Corel Prison[]
Main Area (North and South)[]
Basement[]
- [64/64] 2-Faced x4 (Ambush)
- êúô0(äñ) x4 (JORG version only, in Attack from Both Sides slot but is a normal battle)
Corner[]
- [18/64] Death Claw x2
- [17/64] Bullmotor x4[note 1]
- [15/64] Death Claw x2, Bullmotor
- [14/64] 2-Faced, Bandit x2
Junkyard[]
- [18/64] Death Claw x2
- [17/64] Bullmotor x4[note 2]
- [15/64] Death Claw x2, Bullmotor
- [14/64] 2-Faced x2, Bandit
Dyne's Hideout[]
- Dyne (boss)
Corel Desert[]
Corel Desert battle background.
Only available before getting Highwind.
Behind the scenes[]
Concept art of the prison.
Corel Prison has a Shinra Electric Power Company sign that appears to have the word "fuck" sprayed over it in black paint, and again painted over to censor it, into "pyck". The uncensored version of the sign is still seen in the concept art to the area.
Gallery[]
