How to Beat Bosses 7, 8, and 9 in Final Fantasy VII

So, this kind of continues from the last article (boses 4, 5, and 6), but it’s a different battle. We just pick up where we left off with Cloud and Aeris being left behind in the Shinra Tower while the rest of the party fights on the elevators.

Rufus (and his pet panther-type thing)

Rufus isn’t too tough of a battle. You don’t get to save from the last two battles you did with the other party members, so it would be really tough if the game made you fight a really tough guy with only cloud. Just use magic to attack him since he has a barrier around him. Cure yourself when needed and use limit breaks when available. You should have him defeated in a manner of minutes and he’ll escape into his helicopter.

The next battle comes soon after. You finally get to escape the building. Once you do and you make it to the end of the highway, you’ll encounter the Motor Ball…

Motor Ball

He’s not really all that difficult. I was a little irritated when he nearly killed me while I was playing. I didn’t want to do the motorcycle thingy again. But it all worked out. Just make sure to heal your characters as his flame attacks can cause quite a bit of damage. Again, limit breaks and attacks when you can really go a long way in this battle. That’s going to be the way it is until you and your characters develop a bit more throughout the game. Just disperse your material in a fashion that allows you to heal with one character, and magic attack with the other two. That way, you don’t immediately lose all the MP one character has to offer. Battle with this setup and you should have the boss taken care of in a timely manner.

FINALLY! We’re out of Midgar!

Now, you’ll head over to Kalm Town and into the Inn with everyone so Cloud can explain all about Sephiroth. You’ll then rest up, head out to the Chocobo Farm, and begin battle with the Midgar Zolom.

Midgar Zolom

Just off to the side of the Chocobo Farm is a marshland that is guarded by a gigantic snake called the Midgar Zolom. You can avoid this battle completely, but it’s such a pain to catch a chocobo and then you don’t get the exp points, now do you? So, if you want to avoid it, go catch a chocobo and just try to stay away from the snake shadow you see. He can still attack you if you’re struck while riding a chocobo, so watch out. I once avoided him while running on foot, but I’ve not been able to do it since, so just be prepared to fight him if you try that.

You’ll enter into the battle with the thing and already, it’s size is intimidating. He can use his Tail Swipe attack, which knocks a character out of the battle completely. It’s actually quite a nice thing for him to do, though, because if he knocks someone out, they’ll just come grab everyone and drag them out of the marsh if you lose the battle. Pretty Handy!

He also has his Beta Enemy skill which causes 1000+ damage to a character. If you have weak guys, you might want to steer clear of this altogether. I’ve beaten him plenty of times at this point in the game, but it’s much, much easier later on. Just attack and heal yourself as needed. That’s all you can really do. If you have the Enemy Skill materia, try to obtain his Beta Enemy attack.

Once the battle is over and you leave the marsh, you’ll come across one of the Midgar Zolom creatures, but he’s been beaten and impaled on a giant tree trunk. Since we’re following Sephiroth, we know how tough he must be, right? He’s the only one who could have done such a crazy thing!