The Gold Saucer is one of the premiere locations in Final Fantasy VII, and fans of the original are surely foaming at the mouth to see how the Remake expands on the beloved area after seeing how much love Wall Market was given. Filled with mini-games the players can indulge in, the Gold Saucer offers some of the best rewards in the entire game.
Better yet, several of the mini-games are just genuinely fun to play. Not only are the motorcycle and snowboarding games available to play at the Gold Saucer whenever (come the end of FFVII, at least,) the Battle Square offers players an arena where they can purchase Cloud’s Level 4 Limit: Omnislash.
All this said, perhaps the cherry on top of the Gold Saucer is the date Cloud gets to go on near the end of Disc 1. Returning to the Gold Saucer for some R&R, Cloud gets to take one lucky lady (or Barret) on the Gondola ride of a lifetime in Final Fantasy VII. All four dates are extremely memorable, but two in particular might be worth more trouble than most players are willing to put in.
4 Yuffie Kisaragi
Of the four possible dates Cloud can take with him when the party returns to the Gold Saucer, Yuffie is the single hardest character to go out with. There’s a hidden affection system in the background specifically for Tifa, Aerith, Barret, and Yuffie– ultimately affecting who Clouds goes on the Gold Saucer date with– but everyone but Yuffie starts with points already.
To tip the scales in Yuffie’s player, Cloud has to actively be a jerk to Aerith, Tifa, and Barret for a good chunk of Disc 1. All the while, there’s no guarantee Yuffie will have more affection than Aerith, who naturally has the highest. Players need to make sure to get Yuffie as soon as possible and to keep her in the party over the other girls (and Barret.)
Interestingly, Yuffie is the most affectionate with Cloud, kissing him on the Gondola. Cloud remains silent as is the case with most the dates, but his silence is especially noted here as Yuffie tries to make smalltalk. Of all the girls, Yuffie is by far the most forward, but it’s worth pointing out that she’s 16 and Cloud is 21. (Considering she was originally designed to be in her mid-20s, there’s a chance Remake Part 2 might age her up.)
3 Barret Wallace
Getting a date with Barret isn’t as difficult as going on the Gold Saucer date with Yuffie, but it does require rejecting both Aerith and Tifa’s advances while generally impressing Barret. Which in itself is something to make note of. With Cloud, it’s always pretty obvious which answer will increase affinity because it’s mostly dialogue.
In the case of Barret, he’s mainly looking at Cloud’s actions and reactions to the world around him. Cloud can win points with Barret after the fight with Air Buster if he stays strong and holds onto the railing, for instance. That said, their date really is just two friends hanging out, with Cloud a bit more talkative than on his other dates.
If anything, it’s nice to see Cloud and Barret actually have a real conversation. The two talk about the girls in the party, with Barret asking Cloud his preference (something which gets no answer,) before going on about Marlene, wishing he were able to bring her on the Gondola instead of Cloud.
2 Aerith Gainsborough
For all intents and purposes, Final Fantasy VII wants players to believe that Aerith is Cloud’s real love interest. She may not be the first woman in Cloud’s life, but she was the first one introduced in the game, she serves as the classic healer ala Rosa in FFIV, and she has the highest natural affinity with Cloud. If someone just plays the game naturally, they’ll likely end up going on a date with Aerith at the Gold Saucer.
Meaningfully, the developers recognize this and make Aerith’s date quite important in regards to understanding her character, Cloud, and their connection to Zack. Aerith sees so much of Zack in Cloud that she instinctively fell for him, but then she began to notice the real Cloud underneath– the Cloud who periodically breaks free from his pretend psyche.
In retrospect, this scene ends up being the most Aerith goes on about Zack– which in itself is important as it helps round out Zack as a character. He was her first love (boyfriend in the English localization,) and Final Fantasy VII makes the player believe she’ll find that again in Cloud.
Aerith wants to meet this Cloud more than anything, to get to know the real him– the one who isn’t just putting on airs. Cloud says nothing, simply letting Aerith talk at him. This could and should have been Cloud’s opportunity to open up to her, but he instead stays silent. Tragically, Aerith dies without ever meeting the real Cloud.
1 Tifa Lockheart
Nowadays it’s common knowledge that Tifa is Cloud’s true love interest, but Final Fantasy VII does a great job misdirecting the audience to focus on Aerith specifically. Tonally, Tifa’s Gold Saucer date takes cues from Aerith’s– she wants something more from Cloud, but she can’t muster it. Or so the player might believe.
Keep in mind that Tifa has already had doubts about Cloud’s personality for quite a while by this point. Not just that, this is the point in the narrative where Cloud’s psyche begins to slip more and more, ultimately resulting in his unraveling at the hands of Sephiroth. Taking into account Tifa’s longtime feelings for Cloud, and her suspicion that something is wrong, there’s a deep sadness to their date.
With Aerith, there’s still a cheerful quality to the date in hindsight, but Tifa’s hesitation in the Gondola speaks to a deeper layer of her character that really removes any positive romantic tinge from the scene. It’s the good kind of heavy, though, and a nice stepping stone for the relationship Cloud and Tifa do end up developing.
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