Great Glacier (Final Fantasy VII)

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Great Glacier
(大氷河, Daihyōga?)
Background information
Type	Glacier
Region	Icicle Area, Gaia
Residents	Holzoff Snow woman
Gameplay details
Items	Mind Source Potion Safety Bit Added Cut Materia Alexander Materia Elixir All Materia
Enemies	Shred Frozen Nail x2 Bandersnatch Ice Golem Snow Lessaloploth Hungry x3 Magnade Jumping
Quests	Find Mr Holzoff's cabin Traversing Great Glacier Platforming minigame Navigating the Snow Field Acquiring Alexander Infinite pickups

The Great Glacier is a large frozen waste north of Icicle Inn in the Icicle Area in Final Fantasy VII. It is a maze of wilderness trails around several landmarks, such as trees, icy water, and caves. Crossing the glacier is required to reach Gaea's Cliff and later the Whirlwind Maze of the North Crater. Cloud Strife and his party pass through the glacier in the last leg of their world-wide pursuit of Sephiroth.

Depending upon which way was taken on in the snowboarding minigame, the party will land in different locations in the glacier (see below). They collapse after wandering through the snow and are saved by Mr. Holzoff. The party can find the Alexander Summon Materia in the glacier by touching a hot springs and then finding a snow woman in a cave. Due to the cold, Cloud passes out after every 544 steps (equates to 145 seconds of movement in the NTSC American version or approximately 174 seconds in the PAL version), and will wake up in Holzoff's hut. If a player intends to collect all items, it's common, if not almost certain, for Cloud to pass out two or three times before everything has been collected.

The Great Glacier is temporarily unavailable during the times where Tifa and Cid are party leaders, as the player cannot snowboard or enter the glacier from the world map. Entering Icicle Inn from the back is also not possible during this time.

Locations

Frostbite Cave

Path

Slope

Heading slightly right gives the option to exit the glacier. Doing so will have Cloud run and roll through a path that leads him off screen and outside on the world map. Selecting to stay will move the player slightly left (back over the dialogue trigger line). The area the player can move in is small, but encounters still exist in this area matching the path area of the cave.

Holzoff's Cabin

Front Room

Back Room

Paths

There are six types of path screen: Snow, Ice, Forest, Rock, Upward, and Downward. Snow and Ice paths share their formations, while the remaining four share theirs. Each type of path is used many times with no distinguishable difference, however, some items are set to only appear on certain paths between certain areas.

Ice Gate ↔ Forest

1. Forest

Ice Gate ↔ Frostbite Cave Entrance

1. Rock
2. Rock

Ice Gate ↔ Directional Sign

1. Snow
2. Snow
3. Snow

Forest ↔ Directional Sign

1. Forest

Forest ↔ Frozen Lake

1. Forest

Frostbite Cave Entrance ↔ Frozen Lake

1. Rock

Frostbite Cave Entrance ↔ Crossroads

1. Rock
2. Rock
3. Upward
4. Upward

Directional Sign ↔ Ice Rocks

1. Snow
2. Ice
3. Snow

Frozen Lake ↔ Tree

1. Forest

Bridge ↔ Tree

1. Snow
2. Ice

Bridge ↔ Ice Rocks

1. Snow
2. Snow

Bridge ↔ Cliff Face

1. Snow

Tree ↔ Crossroads

1. Upward
2. Upward
3. Upward

Ice Rocks ↔ Cliff Face

1. Snow
2. Snow

Crossroads ↔ Hot Spring

This is the upper left exit of the Crossroads, and either of the south-western exits of the Hot Spring.

1. Upward
2. Upward

Crossroads → Hot Spring

This is the northern exit of the Crossroads.

1. Downward
2. Downward (Added Cut)

Hot Spring ↔ Snow Field

1. Downward
2. Snow

Cliff Face ↔ Snow Field

1. Snow
2. Snow

Snow Field ↔ Snow's Cave Entrance

1. Snow
2. Ice
3. Rock

Snow's Cave Entrance → Crossroads

1. Upward
2. Upward

Quests

Traversing Great Glacier

The Glacier Map is a key item found at a house in Icicle Inn. The map helps the party navigate, but it does not show the current location. If Cloud walks around too long, he collapses and is transported to Holzoff's cabin. To get through Great Glacier one merely needs to walk around, although it does contain many treasures if the player knows where to look.

The items available according to letters on the map are A: Elixir, B: Mind Source, C: Potion, D: Safety Bit (in a cave, also), E: Added Cut Materia (to find the player must head up from Crossroads and on the second screen of the path between numbered areas), F: All Materia (in Snow Field Cave), and lastly, the Alexander Materia, be found in Snow's Cave, after defeating her. The Hot Spring must be touched prior to this encounter.

Most of the items in the glacier can be obtained infinitely by exploiting a programming oversight. Only the Safety Bit and Mind Source can be obtained in a single instance. Therefore, one may want to opt to not pick up items on their first visit so they can pick up multiple instances later. See the infinite pickups section for more details.

Map of Great Glacier with screenshots for easy referencing.

A solution to figuring out this maze can be found here:

The different courses the player can take in the snowboarding game can take the player to four different areas of Great Glacier upon arrival.

• Taking left twice leads to the Forest (Green 3 on the map).
• Taking left then right leads to the Ice Gate (Green 1 on the map).
• Taking right then left leads to the Tree (Green 4 on the map).
• Taking right twice leads to the Frostbite Cave Entrance (Green 2 on the map).

Platforming minigame

This section about a quest in Final Fantasy VII is empty or needs to be expanded. You can help the Final Fantasy Wiki by expanding it.

Navigating the Snow Field

This section about a quest in Final Fantasy VII is empty or needs to be expanded. You can help the Final Fantasy Wiki by expanding it.

Acquiring Alexander

The easiest way to get Alexander is to first make the way to the hot springs and touch it, then explore around the glacier collecting treasures until Cloud passes out and wakes up in Mr. Holzoff's hut. From the hut the player should head south to find themselves in the Snow Field.

The player should head directly onwards from the starting place until they come across the cave with an All Materia inside. Once they come out of the cave they should head directly to the right of where they start, and keep on going right till they arrive in Snow's Cave. Snow will be inside and fight the party, and drop the Alexander Materia. The Alexander can be picked up repeatedly so one may want to avoid picking it up when it is first dropped.

First the player must touch the spring.

Snow's cave.

Snow will be mad.

Infinite pickups

A number of items in the Great Glacier do not prevent the character from moving. These are the Mind Source, the Potion, and the Elixir. Due to the scripts of the latter two, these items can be picked up infinitely. This is known as the Infinite Elixir glitch. The item can be picked up but movability is not prevented, and at the point of receipt the item has been added to the inventory and the flag has not been set, and while the receipt is not dismissed the script does not continue. Therefore, if the player picks it up and then exits the room (either via the door or by passing out), they will have the item in their inventory and can pick it up again when the room is re-entered.

The script set-up for the Elixir and Potion is also the same for Alexander, Added Cut, and All, though movability is disabled. These items can still be picked up infinitely if they are picked up as the player takes the last step before passing out. The item will be added to the inventory, the receipt displayed, and if it is not dismissed the player will eventually end up at the cabin with the item in their pocket but the pickup still available at the original point. This method is time-consuming and often requires thought-out plans, though some step-plans have been discovered that guarantee obtaining some of the items on the last step.

Items

Item	Location
Mind Source	Forest.
Potion	Frozen Lake. Can be obtained infinitely due to a programming oversight.
Safety Bit	Island Cave.
Added Cut Materia	Crossroads → Hot Spring Path 2. Can be obtained infinitely due to the pick-up pass-out trick.
Alexander Materia	Snow's Cave. After touching Hot Spring and defeating Snow. Can be obtained infinitely due to the pick-up pass-out trick.
Elixir	Ice Rocks. Can be obtained infinitely due to a programming oversight.
All Materia	Snow Field Cave. Can be obtained infinitely due to the pick-up pass-out trick.

The rare accessory Circlet can be stolen from Snow.

Enemies

Battle background.

Ice Gate, Forest, Frostbite Cave Entrance, and Snow and Ice Paths

• [15/64] Shred x3
• [14/64] Frozen Nail x2
• [13/64] Shred x2, Frozen Nail
• [12/64] Bandersnatch x2
• [10/64] Frozen Nail x3

Directional Sign, Frozen Lake, Lake Island, Island Cave, Tree, Crossroads, and Snow Field Cave

• [15/64] Bandersnatch x3
• [14/64] Ice Golem
• [13/64] Bandersnatch x2
• [12/64] Snow
• [10/64] Ice Golem x2
• [4/64] Bandersnatch x2 (Back attack)
• [8/64] Bandersnatch x2, Snow (Side attack)
• [4/64] Bandersnatch x3 (Ambush)

Forest, Rock, Upward, and Downward Paths

• [17/64] Shred x3
• [16/64] Frozen Nail x2
• [15/64] Shred x2, Frozen Nail
• [12/64] Bandersnatch x2
• [4/64] Frozen Nail x3
• [4/64] Bandersnatch x2 (Back attack)
• [4/64] Bandersnatch x3 (Ambush)

Battle background.

Frostbite Cave (both screens)

• [24/64] Lessaloploth
• [22/64] Hungry x3
• [18/64] Bandersnatch x4
• [8/64] Hungry x3 (Ambush)

Bridge, Ice Rocks, Cliff Face, and Snow's Cave Entrance, and Snow's Cave

• [14/64] Magnade
• [12/64] Lessaloploth x2
• [11/64] Bandersnatch x4
• [10/64] Snow, Lessaloploth
• [9/64] Snow
• [8/64] Magnade x2
• [4/64] Magnade (Back attack)
• [4/64] Bandersnatch x3 (Ambush)

Snow's Cave

• Snow (boss)

Snow Field

This is a World Map area.

• [22/64] Lessaloploth
• [21/64] Ice Golem x2
• [21/64] Jumping x3
• [10/64] Jumping x3 (Side attack)

Musical themes

"Buried in the Snow"

"Buried in the Snow" plays in the Great Glacier.

Behind the scenes

The stone face Easter egg is used in the Great Glacier in the snow area.

Great Glacier sign.

The sign in the first area reads:

ICE GATE

CLASS OF 1996

Top of the

MOUNTAIN

Elevation 717FT.

62°05 N. 12°25 W

Aeris has lines in the scene where the party arrives at the Great Glacier for the first time, but to view the lines the player must obtain her into the party via hacking or via a glitch, such as the "Yuffie warping glitch". Aeris's field model exists in all Great Glacier fields, but disappears once the player reaches Holzoff's cabin and proceeds onward to Gaea's Cliff.

In Holzoff's cabin the game forces the party to sleep, which will restore everyone's HP and MP. An unused option for this event is found in the game data, giving the player the option to choose whether to rest or not. If this event is activated the option outcomes are reversed: choosing "Rest" will lead the party not resting and vice versa.

The Great Glacier Cola freezer.

Final Fantasy XV has old freezers at shops that store "Great Glacier Cola".

Gallery

Party arrives at Great Glacier.

Crossroads.

Hot Spring.

Frostbite Cave Path.

Frostbite Cave Slope.

Ice Rocks Cave.

Icebergs.

Outside Holzoff's cabin.

Prerelease shot of an unused cave. Possibly from Great Glacier's exit, from below the Ice Slope.

Great Glacier in Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-.

Great Glacier in Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-.

Etymology

A glacier is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight; it forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation (melting and sublimation) over many years, often centuries.