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Crisis Core Missables & Points of No Return explained

by Alex Donaldson on 15 December, 2022

There's a handful of missables in Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, content where if you don't see it at a certain time, you never will.

Lucky for you, this Crisis Core missables guide willl detail all Crisis Core missables in this FF7 spin-off, plus offer a warning about the Points of No Return in the game.

This guide will function for both Crisis Core on PSP and Crisis Core Reunion, the newer Remaster - but keep in mind that the chapter numbers differ slightly between the games. On PSP, the game has 11 chapters. In Reunion, PSP's Chapter 1 is now the prologue, and PSP's Chapter 2 is now Chapter 1 - meaning all of the chapter numbers are shifted back for a Prologue and 10 numbered chapters. Keep that in mind.

Missables in Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII

There's a few Missables in Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, but we'll help to make sure you don't miss a thing.

Crisis Core is a linear chapter-based game, and though the chapter numbers do differ slightly between the PSP original and the remastered Crisis Core Reunion, the core balance of the game remains identical, including the items, side quests, and story scenes that are missable.

Broadly speaking, missables divide up into a few categories:

  • Side Missions, which in a handful of cases are unlocked by talking to specific NPCs in specific locations
  • Items, as though most items found out in the world can be obtained in multiple ways, a few are exclusive to specific places.
  • Shop Access, which is obntained in most cases through acquiring a particular key item.
  • Emails, which update depending on your progress with fan clubs and other side content.

While there are many shops and even some DMW Summon & Chocobo Mode characters that are 'missable', they're not really, as they're attached to sidequests you can go back and replay - with one exception, listed below. 

Remember, if you miss anything, it will be made available again in Crisis Core's New Game Plus mode.

Here's a brief list of things that are missable in Crisis Core - where if you progress the story too far, too fast, you might accidentally miss out on something:

Midgar Missables (Chapter 2-7)

There's a whole handful of missions that are only available in Crisis Core while you have the ability to free roam throughout Midgar. You can do this from chapter 2 (Reunion)/Chapter 3 (PSP) and up until the end of Chapter 7 (Reunion)/Chapter 8 (PSP), when Zack, Cloud, and Sephiroth leave Midgar for Nibelheim together. At this point, everything in Midgar is rendered unavailable, including side missions unlocked by speaking to NPCs around town.

  • The Cursed Ring: You can only get this item right at the start of the game, when Kunsel explains the SOLDIER Floor to you and introduces the provision lockers. Check our guide on how to get the Cursed Ring for more information.
  • The Fan Clubs: There are five Crisis Core fan clubs Zack can join, and all of them are in Midgar, and are therefore missable:
    • Three - two for Genesis and one for Angeal, can be joined in Chapter 2 (Chapter 3 on PSP).
    • Sephiroth's fan club can only be joined in Chapter 5 (Chapter 6 on PSP).
    • Zack's fan club can only be joined in Chapter 7 (Chapter 8 on PSP), but only if you first follow specific steps in Junon, outlined later in this page.
  • Squatting Minigame: Available in Shinra HQ's SOLDIER floor, this is unavailable after you leave Midgar. There's a trophy/achievement available for beating every challenger that is therefore also missable.
  • Number-Guessing Game: Available to play in the Sector 5 Slums Market area. Unavailable once you leave Midgar. There's an achievement for this mini game. 
  • Materia Pick-up & Delivery: Available in the Sector 5 Slums Market until you leave for Nibelheim. There's another achievement for this mini game.
  • Perfume Blending: Also available in the Sector 5 Slums Marketplace until leaving for Nibelheim, again with ah optional achievement.
  • Building Aerith's Flower Wagon: The three wagons can be built and given to Aerith until you leave for Nibelheim. Once again, there's an achievement for doing everything that can be missed.

Missable Missions in Midgar (Chapter 2-7)

As well as the above items, mini-games, and fan clubs, there's also a range of Crisis Core Missable Missions - all of which are found in Midgar between Chapters 2 and 7. Here's the full list:

  • Mission 1-2-1 'Challenge from Security': You must speak to a Shinra Security Officer in Sector 8 of Midgar to add this mission to your menu
  • Mission 2-1-1 'Beginnings': Speak to a man in Sector 8 from Chapter 4 in order to get this mission.
  • Mission 2-1-2 'Approaching the Outskirts': Talk to a woman in Sector 8 in Chapter 4.
  • Mission 2-1-3 'Sightings in Sector 5': In Chapter 5, chat to an NPC in the Sector 5 Market.
  • Mission 2-1-4 'Defend the Slums': In Chapter 5, chat to an NPC in the Sector 5 Slums, near the park entrance.
  • Mission 2-1-5 'Highway Closed': In Chapter 6, talk to a Soldier NPC near the elevators in Shinra HQ.
  • Mission 2-1-6 'Truth in the Wasteland': In Chapter 6 and after completing all of the other 2-1 missions, talk to the scientist standing in front of the map of the world in the Shinra HQ Exhibition Room. 
  • Mission 4-3: 'The Crescent Unit': This entire mission line is locked behind encounters in Midgar, and makes up a specific quest line. We've got a separate guide to the Wutai Spy Locations which will help you through the quest, and they must be unlocked and completed sequentially. Available from Chapter 6.
  • Mission 6-2-1 'Slum Development Plan 1': In the Shinra HQ Lobby, speak to employee NPCs in Chapter 6. 
  • Mission 7-1-1 'Freight Recall': In Chapter 6, chat to the SOLDIER member in the briefing room of Midgar HQ's SOLDIER floor.
  • Mission 8-2-1 'SPR Mako Stone': From Chapter 4, talk to the Materia research scientist in the SOLDIER floor's Materia room.

Junon Missables (Chapter 6/7)

In Chapter 6 of Crisis Core Reunion, and Chapter 7 back on PSP, Zack finds himself defending an attack on Junon. During this process, there is a single area that you have only one opportunity to enter - and if you do, this unlocks your ability to later join the Zack Fair Fan Club back in Midgar.

If you miss this optional exit, which is away from the story objective at the time, you'll miss a cutscene with Cissnei and all of the Zack fan club emails. Check out our Crisis Core fan clubs guide for more detail.

Nibelheim Missables (Chapter 8/9)

You visit Nibelheim in Chapter 8 of Crisis Core Reunion, and Chapter 9 of the PSP original. There's a handful of missables in town, because as the story proceeds the nature of the town and your visit there changes rapidly.

  • Nibelheim Wonders Quest: You can only complete this mission as you first reach Nibelheim, and advancing the story even a little bit at the wrong moment can lock you out of it. Check our Seven Wonders of Nibelheim quest guide for more help.
  • Phoenix DMW Summon: Obtained via the Wonders quest mentioned above.

Gongaga Missables (Chapter 9/10)

In Chapter 9 of Crisis Core Reunion and Chapter 10 on PSP, Zack revisits his home town of Gongaga. While there, there's a crucial Crisis Core missable that can easily be skipped:

  • Research Dept. QMC+ Shop: available from a chest in Gongaga Village in this story segement. If missed here, it can't be obtained without starting the game over. 
  • Waterfall Chaser Minigame: After meaning the two characters at the hilltop, fight seven random battles in the area and a scene will take place near the exit when you try to leave. Here, collect ten chests to get the achievement. If you fail, fight more battles and the minigame will appear again.

Crisis Core's Point of No Return explained

Crisis Core has one major point of no return, but there's a few other minor ones.

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII is a fairly linear, chapter-based, story-driven game - and that means just as advancing Zack's journey opens new doors and new areas for him to visit, doing so can also slam shut doors and access to places you've visited in the past. That makes playing the game a little dicey sometimes, where you might want to make sure you've cleared everything out before advancing further.

That's what leads to many of the Crisis Core Missables above - but beyond that, we wanted to just quickly list Crisis Core's main points of no return, so you know when advancing the story really changes things:

  • Midgar - Chapter 7/8, talking to Kunsel to leave with Sephiroth. Kunsel will offer to delay Sephiroth so you can go see Aerith again, and this is actually your last chance to mop up anything in Midgar. This is in Chapter 7 of the Reunion Remaster, and Chapter 8 on PSP. Once you tell Kunsel you're done, 
  • Nibelheim - Continuing with Sephiroth. In Chapter 8/9, you'll be in Nibelheim with Sephiroth. If you want to advance the Wonders side quest, don't talk to Sephiroth in the Inn until you've completed four wonders. After that, complete the fifth wonder in the Manor basement before meeting Sephiroth there.
  • The Finale - Banora Underground's Door. Unsurprisingly, there's a huge door in Banora Underground that screams final boss - and behind it is, er - the final bosses. Once you proceed past this point, it's off to New Game Plus - so tackle missions first!