Note: This post contains light spoilers for Chapter 9 of Final Fantasy 7 Remake. We recommend you’re at least playing through this chapter before reading this guide.
Compared to previous chapters in FF7 Remake, there are more questions presented to you during Chapter 9, and that’s because the answers you give influences how the story proceeds. Below we detail how this all works and what exactly it impacts.
How Your Choices Impact Chapter 9
The choices you make determine the side-quests you get to do after completing the Corneo Colosseum section halfway through Chapter 9. The two sets of side-quests are broadly either aligned with Chocobo Sam or with Madam M–two of Don Corneo’s closest confidants.
There are three pivotal decision-making moments that impact which side-quests you get. The first is your encounter with Johnny after seeing him sprint past you as you’re heading towards Don Corneo’s mansion, the second is the coin toss with Chocobo Sam, and the third is the massage course you choose at Madam M’s.
Which side-quest group you get is determined by how many answers you gave for each set. So if you mixed two Madam M answers with one Chocobo Sam answer, you’ll still get Madam M’s set of side-quests. Below we’ve detailed a rundown of the answers you need to give to mostly guarantee you get either Chocobo Sam’s or Madam M’s side-quests.
| Decision | Chocobo Sam | Madam M |
|---|---|---|
| Johnny Encounter | Yes | No (Or don’t follow Johnny) |
| Coin Toss | Heads, Tails | No Deal |
| Massage Course* | Poor Man’s Course (100 gil) | Luxury Course (3,000 gil) |
*The Standard Course (1,000 gil) seems to be a neutral choice, counting toward neither Chocobo Sam or Madam M.
Other items may also factor into which set of quests you get, but based on our experiences, it’s still hard to say how much. Talking with Johnny’s dad in the inn and outside Corneo’s Colosseum seem to count toward Chocobo Sam’s quests. How you describe Tifa also may influence the decision; saying Tifa is in great shape seems to count for Chocobo Sam, while saying Tifa is a great bookkeeper seems to count for Madam M, with the “great fighter” option being neutral. In general, it seems that if you want to access the Madam M set of quests, you should side against Chocobo Sam and generally pick options respectful of women.
If you’re eager to experience the other pair of missions, you’ll need to replay Chapter 9 using the Chapter Select menu that becomes available once you finish the game. Doing both sets is required to complete the “Best in the Business” Trophy.
Below you can find a walkthrough detailing each pair of side-quests and some of the rewards you can earn along the way. For more guides, be sure to check out our FF7 Remake walkthrough and guides roundup. Otherwise, read our FF7 Remake review for our full thoughts about the game.
Chocobo Sam’s Side-Quests
The Party Never Stops
Just north of the gym on the same side of the street is the clothing shop. Talk to the owner, who will dispatch you to go find his father at the bar across from the gym. You mostly just need to follow Johnny around Wall Market, talking to people. Your performance will be based on the quality of your materia: Assess, elemental materias like Fire and Ice, and Cleanse. If you’ve leveled them up, you’ll earn Moogle Medals at each step.
The Materia Shop owner will send you to the Inn to use a vending machine, where your Assess materia will be tested. After that, drop by the restaurant and help the owner with whatever your best elemental materia is. Finally, the Item Shop owner will send you to deliver medicine; depending on the level of your Cleanse materia, you’ll deliver more medicine for more rewards. Check the bathroom at Drunkard’s for your first delivery to get a sedative. The second goes to the alley behind the gym, accessible from the northwest side of the map, and gives you a celeris. The third is for the narrow alley just north and east of the Item Shop, which will earn you a pack of three Big Bombers. After you’re done with the medicine, the Item Shop owner will give you the “Inspiration” to bring back to the dressmaker and complete the quest.
A Dynamite Body
After speaking with Sam, go to the Colosseum for more fights. If you can, combine a Fire and Elemental materia on your armor to give yourself additional protection. You’ll fight two Bomb enemies, which don’t have any major weaknesses, but are strong against Fire attacks. How you fight these guys is the key, though–you’ll want to catch them with attacks while they’re in the middle of doing attacks of their own, like the Flamethrower or Fireball, to raise their stagger meters. The best way to do this is to stay out of range, flinging Blizzara spells at the Bombs when they blow fire your way.
Avoid hitting the Bombs when they do the Inflame move, because that’ll cause them to grow in size, making their attacks more potent and expanding their range. Do your best to keep away from the Bombs and keep pushing their stagger meters up until you can close the gap and take one out with Punisher attacks and ATB abilities. At that point, finishing off the other should be pretty simple. You’ll get an Arcane Scepter weapon for Aerith for your trouble.
Madam M’s Side-Quests
The Price of Thievery
Head just outside of Wall Market and talk to Mirielle. Return to Evergreen Park and enter the Collapsed Highway again, where you’ll find Beck’s Badasses. This time, they’ve got a big Grungy Bandit backing them up, who will like to charge at you and pick you up. He’s slow and weak to fire, however, so just avoid him and hit him with magic attacks or Punisher strikes until you put him down.
Shears’ Counterattack
Once you finish both side-quests “The Price of Thievery” and “Burning Thighs,” head to Madam M’s to get a new challenge in the Colosseum. You’ll face the Jury-Rigged Cutter in the battle. It’s a powerful but slow opponent, and at this point, you’ll have fought through a bunch of Sweepers and Cutters–deal with this one the same way, with Lightning magic and Punisher melee strikes. Keep clear of its attacks by dodging and you shouldn’t have much issue.
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