Lifestream
A railway line running across golden grasslands toward snowy mountains at dusk, a lone farmhouse beside it and a green aurora rising over the sea.

The route across the Planet

The Journey

Eighteen stops in the order the 1997 story first reaches them, from the plate city to the top of the world. Two of them are optional detours, and spoilers stay hidden until you ask.

How to read the line

  • A stop on the main route
  • Optional A detour you can skip
  • Spoiler Hidden story details

Disc 1From Midgar to the Forgotten Capital

  1. Midgar

    The plate city where the story begins, with a bombing raid on the No. 1 Mako Reactor.

    Sources: Final Fantasy Wiki, Final Fantasy VII script; Square Enix (Steam store)

  2. Kalm

    A small village near Midgar and the first stop after leaving the city.

    Reveal spoiler

    Kalm is where Cloud tells the party his story of what happened in Nibelheim.

    Sources: Final Fantasy Wiki, Kalm

  3. Chocobo Ranch

    A family farm in the grasslands that breeds chocobos. The 1997 game calls it the Chocobo Farm.

    Sources: Final Fantasy Wiki, Bill's ranch (Chocobo Farm)

  4. Mythril Mine

    The passage the party takes on the way to Junon. Fort Condor, an optional stop, comes before Junon.

    Sources: Final Fantasy Wiki, Final Fantasy VII script

  5. A grey military city on a sea cliff at sunrise, a colossal cannon reaching far out over the water above a small village on the shore.

    Junon

    A major Shinra military city built beside, and partly above, an old fishing village now called Under Junon.

    Sources: Final Fantasy Wiki, Junon

  6. Costa del Sol

    A sunny resort town that is also Shinra’s main port on the western continent, linked by ship to Junon.

    Sources: Final Fantasy Wiki, Costa del Sol

  7. North Corel

    Built at the foot of Mt. Corel by survivors of Barret’s destroyed coal mining hometown.

    Sources: Final Fantasy Wiki, North Corel

  8. A glittering amusement park on top of a towering rock above a night desert, a ferris wheel and golden domes lit by fireworks, a cable car climbing toward it.

    Gold Saucer

    A huge amusement park with its own currency and minigames, built over the ruins of old Corel. Cait Sith joins here.

    Sources: Final Fantasy Wiki, Gold Saucer (Final Fantasy VII)

  9. GongagaOptional

    A jungle town south of the Gold Saucer with a destroyed Mako reactor nearby.

    Reveal spoiler

    It is the hometown of Zack Fair.

    Sources: Final Fantasy Wiki, Gongaga; Final Fantasy Wiki, Final Fantasy VII script

  10. A red rock canyon village at dusk built into towering cliffs around a great bonfire, an observatory dome at the top of the spire under a starry violet sky.

    Cosmo Canyon

    A village and pilgrimage site for students of planetology, with an observatory. It is Red XIII’s home.

    Sources: Final Fantasy Wiki, Cosmo Canyon

  11. A quiet mountain village at night ringed by snowy peaks, a wooden water tower in the square and a gloomy mansion on the hill under a cold moon.

    Nibelheim

    Cloud and Tifa’s mountain hometown at the foot of Mt. Nibel, with a Shinra reactor and mansion nearby.

    Reveal spoiler

    Years before the story, Nibelheim was the scene of an incident that is the key to Cloud’s past.

    Sources: Final Fantasy Wiki, Nibelheim

  12. Rocket Town

    Built around the launch site of Shinra’s No. 26 rocket. Cid lives here.

    Sources: Final Fantasy Wiki, Rocket Town

  13. WutaiOptional

    A nation on the westernmost continent that became a tourist town after losing a war to Shinra. Yuffie’s home.

    Sources: Final Fantasy Wiki, Wutai; Final Fantasy Wiki, Final Fantasy VII script

  14. Temple of the Ancients

    An ancient temple the party reaches after a return trip to the Gold Saucer for its Keystone.

    Sources: Final Fantasy Wiki, Final Fantasy VII script

  15. Bone Village

    An archaeological dig site on the road to the Sleeping Forest and the Forgotten Capital.

    Sources: Final Fantasy Wiki, Bone Village

  16. An ancient city of spiral shell shaped buildings in a forest of white trees, glowing pale blue and green beside a still pool.

    Forgotten Capital

    The ruined former capital of the Cetra, also called the City of the Ancients, on the northern continent. The first disc ends here.

    Reveal spoiler

    Aerith comes here alone to pray at its altar, and Sephiroth kills her there.

    Sources: Final Fantasy Wiki, City of the Ancients; Final Fantasy Wiki, Aerith Gainsborough; Final Fantasy Wiki, Final Fantasy VII script

Disc 2Into the frozen north

  1. Icicle Inn

    A snowy town on the northern continent that opens the second disc. The Great Glacier and Gaea’s Cliff lie beyond it.

    Reveal spoiler

    The town holds the story of Aerith’s parents and her birth.

    Sources: Final Fantasy Wiki, Icicle Inn; Final Fantasy Wiki, Final Fantasy VII script

  2. A vast ice crater in a blizzard, rivers of glowing green energy spiraling down into its depths beneath a green aurora.

    Northern Crater

    A vast crater on the northernmost continent left by an ancient impact.

    Reveal spoiler

    Deep inside lies the Northern Cave, the final dungeon, which the party enters on the third disc.

    Sources: Final Fantasy Wiki, Northern Crater; Final Fantasy Wiki, Final Fantasy VII script

The route above follows the chapter order of the 1997 English script. Disc 3 returns to places already listed here, so it adds no new stops to the line.