It’s highly unlikely that Part 2 of the Final Fantasy VII Remake will tackle Huge Materia (read: basically impossible,) but it’s something to look forward to as the Huge Materia arc stands out as one of the most important sections in the original Final Fantasy VII– and one of the most fun.

Beginning shortly after Cloud and Tifa take a leave of absence from the party, the player is tasked with hunting down all the Huge Materia in the world before Shinra can get their hands on them. Hunting for Huge Materia is a highlight of Final Fantasy VII, but it’s full of crazy secrets that make the PS1 classic even more fun.

10 The Party Can Fail At Obtaining Huge Materia

One of the defining features of the Huge Materia quest line in Final Fantasy VII is the fact that the party can simply fail at obtaining each piece of Huge Materia. The premise sees the party competing against Shinra to snatch all four pieces of Huge Materia. Each quest features its own unique mini-game with the potential for success and failure.

It’s worth noting that failing at obtaining Huge Materia not only changes the story to even the odds in Shinra’s favor, it actually locks the player out of (some) content. Not as permanently as some might initially believe, but the fact players can fail at all when it comes to obtaining Huge Materia helps with building tension into the last act.

9 Collecting The Huge Materia Sabotages Shinra’s Plan To Stop Meteor

Interestingly, while succeeding at collecting each piece of Huge Materia is in the player’s and the Planet’s benefit, it’s not done with the best interests for humanity in mind. It’s strongly implied that if Meteor makes impact with the Earth, mankind will be wiped out. Shinra’s plan is to use all four pieces of Huge Materia to fuel a rocket into Meteor– potentially destroying it.

It’s worth noting that even if Shinra obtains all four pieces of Huge Materia, the rocket still fails and Meteor still makes impact. That said, this doesn’t stop the party from wondering if going after the Huge Materia was the right thing to do. In the end, though, it’s in the player’s best interests to get all four, which is what matters most.

8 The Player Can Permanently Lock Themselves Out Of Bugenhagen’s Observatory

One key reason for collecting all four pieces of Huge Materia is that players can lock themselves out of a key area if they fail to obtain any. Bugenhagen’s Observatory is a haunting, mystical area which allows players to take in the galaxy as they look upon their Huge Materia.

Unfortunately, if the player has no Huge Materia to interact with, the Observatory stays firmly shut. While there are ways to earn the major rewards lost from missing the Huge Materia, opening Bugenhagen’s Observatory simply won’t happen on this playthrough. It’s not a major loss, really, but still a pity.

7 The Huge Materia Are The Four Crystals

The Four Crystals were at the center of Final Fantasy’s lore for quite some time. Even as the franchise branches off into new universes with every numbered entry, these four Crystals would find some way to appear. They’re notably absent in Final Fantasy VII until one stops to take in what the Huge Materia actually look like.

They do not like regular Materia. Instead, they look like the Four Crystals. They’re even broken down into the exact same color schemes: Yellow, Green, Blue, and Red. It’s pretty obvious in hindsight, but it’s a very clever way of incorporating the Four Crystals in a fresh manner.

6 Cid’s Huge Materia Can Be Collected In Either Order

The Huge Materia quest line notably begins after Tifa leaves the party to take care of Cloud is Mideel during Disc 2. Although Barret would seem like the natural leader, the party elects Cid to take charge. It’s up to him to decide whether to go for the Huge Materia in Fort Condor or Mount Corel first.

It’s worth noting that the player is nudged towards doing Mount Corel first, but there’s nothing stopping a player from heading to Fort Condor right away. More importantly, there’s nothing stopping the player from finishing off any active side quests with Cid as the party leader– there’s even dialogue specific to him being in charge.

5 Players Have The Whole Game To Prepare For Fort Condor

Considering it’s optional and heading to Junon almost immediately locks players into a sequence of events they can’t break out of that leads them into crossing the ocean, many players end up neglecting Fort Condor until the Huge Materia quest line forces them to head there as Cid.

An RTS challenge, Fort Condor is actually available the moment players see it. Not just that, Fort Condor has dozens of battles over the course of the game that reward the player with items– nothing too special, but it’s interesting just how expansive Fort Condor is. It gives players plenty of time to prepare.

4 The Code For Shinra No. 26’s Huge Materia

Although Cid can tackle the first two pieces of Huge Materia in either order, as soon as players gain control of Cloud after the second, Final Fantasy VII does follow a specific sequence. Hijacking Cid’s rocket, Shinra plans to launch it into Meteor, using the Huge Materia as fuel. Cloud is given an opportunity to steal the Huge Materia, but he needs to input a password.

Cid will very slowly remember bits and pieces of the password, but the player is otherwise forced to guess. On PlayStation consoles, the password is Circle, Square, Cross, Cross, and on the Nintendo Switch, the password in B, X, A, A.

3 Master Materia

Materia is the lifeblood of Final Fantasy VII’s combat, and Huge Materia can actually offer some excellent Materia-related rewards– but it’s going to take a lot of grinding and a lot of AP. The party can create Master Materia from their Huge Materia by mastering (almost) all the Materia included in a single set.

For Master Magic– which allows whoever equips it to use every spell in the game with no penalties– players need to master every piece of Magic Materia. For Master Summon, players must master every piece of Summon Materia, and for Master Command, players must master seven specific Command Materia. Miss out on the Huge Materia, and miss out on Master Materia… maybe.

2 Bahamut ZERO

Interestingly, while there are four pieces of Huge Materia in the game, there are only three pieces of Master Materia to collect. This doesn’t mean there’s no benefit to collecting all four, however. The last piece of Huge Materia gives players access to one of the best Summons in the game– so long as they have two other Summons.

Any players who picked up the Bahamut and Neo Bahamut Summons will gain immediate access to Bahamut ZERO so long as they’ve managed to snag all four pieces of Huge Materia. Bahamut ZERO makes for a nice endgame Summon for anyone who doesn’t want to put in the work for Knights of the Round.

1 The Kalm Traveler’s Master Materia

Although Master Materia is intimately linked to Huge Materia, it should be noted that Huge Materis is not the only way to obtain Master Materia. There is a traveler in Kalm who will actually grant the player the Master Materia they missed. That said, this is much easier said than done. The Kalm Traveller specifically requests an Earth Harp, which can only be obtained by defeating Emerald Weapon.

As Emerald Weapon is one of the game’s two superbosses, it goes without saying that this is quite the challenge. Not helping matters is the fact that Master Materia is more than likely something players will want for their battle against Emerald Weapon. Good luck!

NEXT: Final Fantasy VII Remake: 5 Changes Fans Loved (& 5 That Should’ve Stayed The Same)