A man wearing clothes decorated with a gaudy dragon emblem. He appears to be looking for something in the Sector 7 slums with his cohorts.
Enemy Intel
Hoodlums are mini bosses in Final Fantasy VII Remake. They are lackeys of Don Corneo, the mafia boss running Wall Market, and sport his dragon symbol on their clothing. Cloud Strife fights the group when they come to the Sector 7 slums to ask about the local Avalanche faction and their leader. The player faces them during quest "Ominous Shadows" during Chapter 3, "Home Sweet Slum".
There are four versions of the Hoodlum (referred to as Hoodlums A, B, C and D). They mainly have the same attributes, only the C and D have more HP. They all have a unique appearance, but only the leader who speaks to Cloud in cutscenes appears in the Enemy Intel. The leader and his goons also appear in "Episode INTERmission" as a storyline fight, but are called "Corneo Lackeys" rather than Hoodlums, whereas the Corneo Lackeys in the base game have a different appearance.
Stats[]
Attacks[]
= Physical damage- = Magical damage
| Attack | Description | Block | KBKnockback |
|---|---|---|---|
 Fighting Kick
|
Kicks a target. More impactful when "doped up". | ||
| Wild Stab
|
Stabs with a knife. | ||
| Wild Slash
|
Knife slash at a target five times. | ||
| Full Nelson
|
Bind his target, allowing others to attack the victim. | ||
| Grenade
|
Throws a grenade. | ||
| Spiderweb
|
Inflicts  Slow on a target for 40 seconds.
|
||
| Open Fire
|
Fires 9 gun shots at a target. | ||
 Orb of Gravity
|
Gravity orb on a target. | ||
| Potion | Uses a potion on an ally. | - | - |
| Hi-Potion | Uses a hi-potion on an ally. | - | - |
Battle[]
Hoodlums are basic enemies that fight in groups. While they're not very strong on their own, they can pose a threat in high numbers due to their versatility and tendency to surround the player. They mainly use physical attacks, and some fight equipped with submachine guns, while others wield knives. Both types of Hoodlums can throw grenades, spiderwebs and orbs of gravity. If left unchecked, the player will be overwhelmed by a barrage of different attacks. They can also use Full Nelson, binding the player temporarily; this move is often used from behind.
The knife-wielding Hoodlums are more agile and will attempt to approach the player head-on, using kicks and knife attacks, while the gun-wielding Hoodlums will stay at a distance and open fire. They often coordinate attacks to constantly pressure the player and leave little room for reaction, as well as lob potions and hi-potions on each other.
Once they lose about half of their HP, they'll attempt to buff themselves to a state where they no longer build stagger; when buffed, they sparkle with an orange visual effect, and all their moves will deal increased damage, as well have a higher interrupt power. Once they start drinking the concoction, it is very hard to interrupt them in turn.
Much like most of the human enemies, Hoodlums are weak to 
Fire.
Strategy[]
Ideally, the player should not allow the Hoodlums to surround the controlled character, to prevent flanking and being hit by multiple attacks. The most effective way to dispose of the Hoodlums is to focus one at a time, to prevent them from drinking the concoction in succession. Triple Slash works well to quickly knock them down and give the player more breathing room.
Due to their minimal 
Magic Defense, 
Fire or Fira will instantly pressure them and greatly raise the stagger gauge. The player can then follow u[ with Focused Thrust, followed by Braver, to dispose of them. Since most of their attacks can be blocked, 
Steadfast Block Materia helps mitigate damage, as well build ATB quicker.
If they start drinking their concoction, the player should cast Fire to interrupt them.
Hard Mode[]
On the hard difficulty, the Hoodlums are more aggressive, using their abilities more often, specially grenade and Full Nelson. They'll be even more powerful under the effects of their enhancing drug.
The player can link 
Magnify Materia with 
Fire Materia to hit them all at once. Elemental Materia paired with Fire in Cloud's weapon is also effective, specially when using Triple Slash.
Gallery[]
Related enemies[]
- Bandit
- Corneo Lackey
- Beastmaster (boss)
- Beck (boss)
- Burke (boss)
- Butch (boss)