Final Fantasy VII Guides

Gold Saucer Date Night

The purpose of this guide is to give you information about how the game chooses Cloud's date the second time you get to the Gold Saucer.

There are four characters that can go on the date: Aeris, Tifa, Yuffie and (as odd as it may seem) Barret. Each of these characters, throughout the course of disc 1, has an hidden parameter that we will call "affinity" with Cloud. This parameter changes during the game for each character, and can go up and down depending on two factors: your responses when given multiple choices questions, and the composition of your party at certain stages of the game. When the date event occurs, the character who has the highest affinity with Cloud goes on the date with him.

Each of the four characters has a starting affinity: Aeris has the highest, then Tifa, then Yuffie - finally, Barret has the lowest. This means that if you don't work to change your affinity levels, you will probably end up dating Aeris, or possibly Tifa. To ensure that you will have the date you want, this guide is divided into four chapters, each describing the general behaviour you must have, and important actions to take in order to date this character.

Aeris

Dating Aeris is easy, as she has the highest starting affinity of all, by far. However, Tifa can be a threat to this date if you are not careful.

General Guidelines
When you have to create a party, always take Aeris and always leave Tifa aside (except when you don't have a choice, at the early stages of the game). This alone should make it so that Aeris is chosen, but it doesn't hurt to overdo it, so read on.

When given the choice, always talk to or think about Aeris first.
Whenever asked about your feelings towards Tifa and Aeris, always lean towards Aeris (for example, when Aeris asks you if Tifa is your girlfriend, select the answer "No way!").

Specific Actions
When you are on the train to blow up the second reactor, get yourself caught by the security lockdown.
During the escape from the Church, when Aeris is alone against the guards, save her so that she needn't fight at all.
Do not engage in the Wutai sidequest until after the date.
Finally (and this is an intended repetition of the general guidelines), choose Aeris to accompany you and Barret when going to see Dyne in Corel prison: you'll get the most affinity benefit from this choice of any in the game.

Tifa

Dating Tifa only requires that you put Aeris out of the game: in the process, you will raise Tifa's affinity with Cloud high enough so that the other characters don't stand a chance.

General Guidelines
When you have to select party members, always take Tifa and always leave Aeris aside whenever you have a choice.
When given the choice, always talk to or think about Tifa first, and Aeris last.
Whenever asked about your feelings towards Tifa and Aeris, always express feelings for Tifa (for example, when Aeris asks you if Tifa is your girlfriend, select the answer "Yeah, that's right").

Specific actions
After Jessie's explanation about the train, answer her "Thanks anyway".
The first time you meet Tifa, a lot has to be done correctly to improve you relationship with her: you must have bought a flower from Aeris, and give it to Tifa. Just a little bit later, when Tifa is alone behind the bar, talk to her and ask her to "Give [you] something hard". A little later too, when she tells you that you left your childhood friend, answer "How can you say that?". Finally, when waking up the next morning and asked how you slept, be the a charmer and answer "Next to you, who wouldn't?".
When you are on the train to blow up the second reactor, don't get caught by the security lockdown.
When Tifa asks you if you can break out, answer her "Leave it to me". The best part is that you can do it multiple times, so with patience you can raise Tifa's affinity to the maximum (this guide considers that you told her this answer at least once, and you didn't answer anything else).
Do not engage in the Wutai sidequest.

Yuffie

Dating Yuffie is harder to achieve than the previous two dates. In order to date the teen ninja, you'll have to lower the affinities of both Aeris and Tifa. This means that you will have to be a jerk toward both of them. And of course, you can only date Yuffie if you got her to join you in the first place.

There are no general guides here - you have to do everything very specifically!

In Midgar:

1. Do not buy a flower from Aeris.
2. Say to Jessie that you're "Looking forward to it" after she tells you about the train.
3. Avoid talking to Tifa in the bar. When she tells you that you left your childhood friend alone, answer "...Sorry". Don't talk to her on the following morning.
4. Get caught by the security lockdown in the train (this will force Barret and Tifa to jump early).
5. After the battle against Air Buster, before Cloud's fall, answer "Be strong" to Barret.
6. When Aeris is fleeing from the guards, always ask her to wait and push the wrong barrel each time.
7. When Aeris asks you if Tifa is your girlfriend, answer "Yeah, that's right".
8. When you're in the playgound with Aeris, say that you will "Take her home".
9. Make sure that Tifa gets chosen by Don Corneo. In The Don's house, tell Aeris "We gotta help Tifa".
10. In the sewers, talk to Aeris first.
11. When Marlene asks how you feel about Aeris, answer "I don't know".
12. When you meet Red XIII, ask Tifa to take care of Aeris. After the battle, form a party consisting of Cloud, Red XIII and Barret.
13. When Tifa asks you if you can break out, answer "Kinda hard".
14. When you're asked to think about people, think about Red XIII first, then Barret, and finally Aeris.
15. When escaping Midgar, form a party consisting of Cloud, Barret and Red XIII.

In Kalm:

16. After the flashback, tell Barret to "Wait a sec", and then choose "Is that all?".
17. Form a party consisting of Cloud, Tifa and Aeris. Find a woman who says that Mako energy is convenient, and tell her "Yeah, maybe". Afterwards, find the little girl upstairs talking about old life, and tell her "No way".

After Kalm

18. In Fort Condor, disagree twice with the old man. You can still go back after that and then agree with him to do the sidequest, but you must first disagree.
19. Find Yuffie in Junon's forest. Every answer that keeps her waiting raises her affinity with Cloud. This means that you can fail on purpose at the last question and repeat the process of finding Yuffie to raise your affinity an infinite number of times (this guide only takes one attempt into account, but if you missed several points before this one, this is an easy way of correcting it. Take advantage of it, you won't have the same chance with Barret's date!).
20. On the Cargo Ship, give Yuffie a Tranquilizer (make sure you have at least one before boarding). Talk to Aeris, and tell her "I dunno..." when she asks about the Airship. Talk to Tifa, and tell her "I don't know" when she asks you about war (clueless hero, really...).
21. At the Gold Saucer, talk to Aeris first, and take her with you. Leave the other girls alone.
22. When going to see Dyne in Corel Prison, form a party consisting of Cloud, Barret and Yuffie.
23. Enter Gongaga with a party consisting of Cloud, Tifa and Aeris. Meet with Zack's parents, and then leave town without speaking to any of the two girls.
24. Complete the Wutai sidequest.

If you are unsure, repeat step 19 as many times as you want, and fail at the fifth question. When you get tired of it, finally take her with you.

Barret

Herein lies the big challenge: are you strong enough to lure Barret into your net? Are you willing to put in the greatest effort in order to take this strong man home? Well, don't worry: we'll tell you how it goes step by step. As for Yuffie, there are no general guidelines. Instead, follow EXACTLY the steps below in order to get Barret to date you.

In Midgar:

1. Buy a flower from Aeris.
2. Say to Jessie that you're "Looking forward to it" after she tells you about the train.
3. Give the flower to Marlene.
4. Avoid talking to Tifa in the bar. When she tells you that you left your childhood friend alone, answer "...Sorry".The following morning, speak to her and answer "Barret's snoring kept me up...".
5. Don't get caught by the security lockdown, and get to the end of the train.
6. After the battle against Air Buster, before Cloud's fall, answer "Be strong" to Barret.
7. When Aeris is fleeing from the guards, always ask her to wait and push the wrong barrel each time.
8. When Aeris asks you if Tifa is your girlfriend, answer "Yeah, that's right".
9. When you're in the playgound with Aeris, say that you will "Take her home".
10. Makes sure that Cloud gets chosen for Don Corneo's date. When asked if there's someone else, answer yes, and say it's Barret.
11. In the sewers, talk to Aeris first.
12. Marlene asks how you feel about Aeris, answer "I don't know".
13. When you meet Red XIII, asks Barret to take care of Aeris. After the battle, form a party consisting of Cloud, Red XII and Barret.
14. When Tifa asks you if you can break out, answer "Kinda hard".
15. When you're asked to think about people, think about Barret first, then Red XIII, and finally Aeris.
16. When escaping Midgar, form a party consisting of Cloud, Barret and Red XIII.

In Kalm

17. After the flashback, tell Barret to "Wait a sec", and then choose "Beautiful, just beautiful!".
18. Form a party consisting of Cloud, Barret and Red XIII. Find a woman who says that Mako energy is convenient, and tell her "You're full of it". Afterwards, find the little girl upstairs talking about old life, and tell her "Yeah, maybe".

After Kalm:

19. In Fort Condor, agree twice with the old man.
20. Don't go after Yuffie yet. Or if you do, make her join your team the first time around.
21. On the Cargo Ship, don't give Yuffie a Tranquilizer. Talk to Aeris, and tell her "I dunno..." when she asks about the Airship. Talk to Tifa, and tell her "I don't know" when she asks you about war.
22. At the Gold Saucer, talk to Red XIII first, and take him with you.
23. When going to see Dyne in Corel Prison, form a party consisting of Cloud, Barret and Red XIII.
24. Enter Gongaga with a party consisting of Cloud, Tifa and Aeris. Meet with Zack's parents, and then leave town without speaking to any of the two girls.
25. Do not go near Wutai, so that you don't trigger the Wutai sidequest if Yuffie is in your party.

Be sure to enjoy your date!