Temple of the Ancients is an unrevisitable field map in Final Fantasy VII. Located in the Woodlands Area, on an island reachable by the Tiny Bronco, the area is visited only for the chapter "Within the Temple of the Ancients", after which it is replaced by a crater on the world map. During the chapter, Aeris is a required party member, with Cloud as the leader. The dungeon contains a number of items obtainable through its puzzles.
Layout[]
Location of the Temple of the Ancients, indicated by crosshair.
The Temple of the Ancients is located to the south on the planet's eastern continent.
Outside[]
Refers to the area outside, with a bridge leading to the outer temple and then steps up to the altar room.
Altar[]
A small room at the top of the temple, the altar provides entry into the temple itself below, by interacting it with the Keystone. In the chapter, this is done by talking to Tseng.
Labyrinth[]
The labyrinth is the first area in the temple entered from the altar. It comprises staircases and vines used to navigate the path to progress forward, obtaining rare items and progressing through the temple.
The player can find Ancients here, which can heal HP/MP completely and prompt save, and one leads to the Item Store. A number of items and weapons are found hidden.
Item Store[]
This room has an Ancient's spirit that acts as an inn, restoring MP, HP and removing status effects. The Ancient is also a save point and a basic item store. The chest in the room has the Silver Rifle.
Well of Knowledge[]
Then name in the menu of the area is simply "Temple of the Ancients". The debug room refers to the area as "The Rock" (岩転がり, Iwa Korogari?, lit. Rolling Rock). The Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Omega titles the room 廊下 (Rōka?, lit. Corridor), though it labels the well of water as 知識の井戸 (Chishiki no Ido?, lit. Well of Knowledge).[1]
This room contains a path with hollow cylindrical rocks rolling towards the player, which the player must escape from during the chapter. Each has a gap the player can stand in as the rock rolls over them safely. Halfway through this room is a pool with the Morph Materia on the ground in front of it. Reaching the end of the rolling boulders in the chapter leads to a story sequence, and an Ancient that acts as a save point and inn awaits. The exit leads to the Void of Time.
Void of Time[]
The location of the clock puzzle, a the room comprises a circular room shaped like a clock. The end of each number leads to a room. It is possible to move the hands of the clock, but only one at a time, moving the opposite hand depending on whether the player entered from a room connected through the minute hand or the hour hand.
The ends of each room are:
- I = Enemy encounter (Toxic Frog x2, Jemnezmy)
- II = Dead end
- III = Enemy encounter (8 eye x2)
- IIII = Princess Guard
- V = Ribbon
- VI = Puzzle with doorways
- VII = Trumpet Shell
- VIII = Megalixir
- IX = Dead end
- X = Well of Knowledge
- XI = Dead end
- XII = Demons Gate/Temple Exit
Being knocked off the clock can lead to the Bottom of the Hole.
The riddle of the clock is harder in the original Japanese version, because the player can't initially wind the clock. After being knocked off the clock three times, a flag is turned on which changes it to the version of the puzzle the player can control. This flag is always on in other versions of the game, so if the flag was turned off via hacking, the original version of the puzzle can be played on the other versions of the game as well.
Bottom of the Hole[]
The bottom has a chest with the Nail Bat, Cloud's joke weapon, after defeating the Ancient Dragons that attack upon landing in the room. The exit leads back to the Labyrinth. The mural on the wall depicts a dinosaur.
Gate Room[]
This room has 10 cave openings on 3 levels, with a locked gate at the top. After winning the short game of hide and seek with an Ancient, the gate will unlock, and the Ancient will serve as an inn and save point. The chest at the bottom level contains a Work Glove, Tifa's joke weapon. The gate exits to the Mural Room.
Mural Room[]
This room has a plot progression segment followed by a boss battle with a Red Dragon. A Bahamut Materia drops after defeating the dragon, which the player needs to pick up or it will be permanently missed. A floating hologram of the temple is found at the end of the mural room, and examining it triggers the next story development. The murals on the wall depict the Meteor.
Exit[]
The final room of the temple, reached through the XII hand from the Void of Time, is a short room where Demons Gate is fought.
Quests[]
The location is visited only during the chapter "Within the Temple of the Ancients". Inside, the player has an opportunity to obtain a number of rare items obtained by completing the temple's many puzzles, including Aeris' ultimate weapon Princess Guard. Other weapons are primarily the party member's joke weapons, which have strong stats but no Materia slots, meaning they should only be used if the player uses that party member solely for physical damage. There are also a number of rare Materia, and the Ribbon accessory.
The weapon and armor Aeris has equipped at the end of Temple of the Ancients visit are lost.
Encounters[]
Labyrinth[]
| Encounters | Areas |
|---|---|
|
Labyrinth |
|
Mural Room |
| Ancient Dragon x2 (ambush) (boss) (appears each time Cloud is pushed off the clock) | Bottom of the Hole |
|
Room I |
|
Room III |
|
Room VI |
| * Demons Gate (boss) | Room XII |
The majority of enemy encounters occur within the labyrinth at the beginning of the temple, while most others are primarily bosses or battles that the player can trigger.
Due to the Toxic Frog, it is important to resist or have an ability to recover from the Frog status, as this can greatly impair a party member's ability to battle. It can be healed with Maiden's Kiss items, or by using the Heal Materia with Esuna or Resist available. The White Cape or a paired Added Effect and Transform Materia can be used to protection against the status, and anyone equipping a Heal Materia should have it on hand.
Battles in the Mural Room are only available after examining the device that turns the temple into the Black Materia.
Items[]
| Items | Area |
|---|---|
|
Altar (story sequence) |
| Labyrinth | |
| Item Shop | |
| Well of Knowledge | |
| Void of Time (room IIII) | |
| Void of Time (room V) | |
| Void of Time (room VII) | |
| Void of Time (room VIII) | |
| Bottom of the Hole | |
| Gate Room | |
| Mural Room (after boss battle) |
Items in the Temple of the Ancients are obtained from each of the puzzles within. In addition to items obtained during the puzzles, the bosses also drop powerful armor: Red Dragon drops the Dragon Armlet, while Demons Gate drops the Gigas Armlet.
The receipt message for the Luck Plus Materia erroneously reads "Lucky Plus" in the PlayStation version.
Shops[]
About halfway through the maze, there is a room with a chest containing the Silver Rifle and also a little man which to talking twice with him can help the party out by restoring their health, and serving as a save point. He also has a small item shop.
Item Shop[]
| Name | Cost |
|---|---|
| Potion | 50 gil |
| Hi-Potion | 300 gil |
| Phoenix Down | 300 gil |
| Ether | 1500 gil |
| Hyper | 100 gil |
| Tranquilizer | 100 gil |
| Maiden's Kiss | 150 gil |
| Tent | 500 gil |
Musical themes[]
The theme of the Temple of the Ancients is the "Forested Temple".
Citations[]
- ↑ Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Omega, p. 288