Final Fantasy VII Remake has the benefit of several decades worth of game design to call upon, unlike the original Final Fantasy VII, where it was possible to miss out on items if the player wasn't careful. The world of Final Fantasy VII changes over the course of the story, which means that the player loses access to different areas of the game as they pursue Sephiroth across the planet.
Final Fantasy VII comes from the strategy guide era of gaming when developers would put secrets in their game that would be impossible to find to all but the most diligent of players. The fact that websites started to crop up that had their own fan-made guides did little to deter Square Enix (formerly known as Squaresoft) from hiding the best items behind ridiculous methods of acquisition. The developers also made it easy to miss items if the player isn't careful, which is why we have created this guide to make sure that you don't miss out.
There are many parts in the city of Midgar that the player only has a brief chance to visit in Final Fantasy VII, so it's easy to miss things during a first playthrough. The easiest way to get Ghost Hands (an item that drains MP from the enemy) is by stealing them from the Ghost enemies in the Train Graveyard, but Gi Specters and Sneaky Steps can be morphed into them before the end of Disc 2. The player can also miss out on one of the Enemy Skill Materia in the Shinra Headquarters after the Sample:H0512 boss battle. Iron Bangles can only be bought during the period of time when the player can access the stores in Sector 7. It's impossible to acquire every version of each item during the cross-dressing section in Wall Market, as the player is restricted to one of each dress, tiara, etc.
Midgar is equally frustrating when AVALANCHE return there during the raid on Disc 2. The most annoying of these is the Missing Score, which is Barret's strongest weapon. The player needs to have Barret in their party when going up the stairs leading up the Sister Ray, which will cause a green chest with the weapon to appear. It's also possible to miss Cait Sith's most powerful weapon (the HP Shout) during this part of the game, as the player needs to go out of the way to return to the Shinra Headquarters, use the elevator to reach the 64th floor, and search the lockers in the gym. The player can also miss out on the Turtle Paradise flier in the Shinra Headquarters after defeating Hojo, as well as the Behemoth Horn, Grow Lance, Pile Banger, and Master Fist weapons. The tunnels beneath Midgar can only be visited once during this section and they have the only Aegis Armlet, Barret's Max Ray weapon, and Cait Sith's Starlight Phone.
The player only has a small window of time to claim a Vagyrisk Claw, as it needs to be stolen from a Vagyrisk enemy near Cosmo Canyon, but the game will eventually stop the player from being able to steal them if their level becomes too high. It's also possible for the CMD.Grand Horn enemy from the Fort Condor quest to drop one, but that only works when battling it at level 19.
The Temple of the Ancients can only be visited once before its destroyed, which means that the player only has once chance to claim the Bahamut Materia, the Morph Materia, the Luck Plus Materia, and the Princess Guard. Any weapons and armor equipped to Aerith after the events of the Temple of the Ancients will also be lost, but her accessory and Materia will be returned to the party.
The Whirlwind Maze can only be visited once, which means the Earth Mallet item can only be found in the area (as it's dropped by the Gigas enemy in this location), the MP Turbo Materia, and the Neo Bahamut Materia can be missed. Gaea's Cliff can only be visited once, which means the Javelin can be missed. The Curse Ring can only be found in Mideel before its destruction and then stolen from Ultimate Weapon. The player can only win the Umbrella Weapon for Cloud in the Battle Square before the end of Disc 1. The Battle Trumpet and Scimitar weapons can only be found on a screen that can never be returned to in the Junon Underwater Reactor, while failing to acquire the Leviathan Scales in the same area means that the player cannot acquire the Oritsuru and Steal as Well Materia in Wutai. The player can only buy Vincent's Shotgun weapon in Rocket Town before the end of Disc 1.
There are some items that can only be stolen from enemies using the Steal Materia, like the Graviball item from Shadow Makers in Sector 8 (which are also dropped by Deenglows in the Train Graveyard), the 8-inch Cannon from Attack Squads and the Submarine Crew (and are also dropped by Grosspanzer and Cromwells), the Rising Sun from Diamond Weapon, the Warrior Bangle from the Eagle Gun (fought on the train during the Huge Materia quest), the player only has four chances to steal the Ziedrich Weapon from Rude during the various battles against him in the game, as well as the Tough Ring from Reno.
The player can start the Wutai event once they acquire the Tiny Bronco with Yuffie in the party, but it's possible to be locked out of this quest if it isn't started before Disc 3. If the player is locked out, then they cannot acquire the HP & MP Absorb Materias, and the final Turtle Paradise flier.
In terms of Materia, it's possible to miss out on a few by leaving the room. The player only has once chance to claim the Ifrit Materia in the Cargo Ship, the Ramuh Materia in the Chocobo races waiting room, the Added Effect Materia in the Cave of the Gi, the Ultima Materia (if the player failed the Huge Materia quest), Bahamut ZERO (if the player didn't claim the other Bahamuts), and it's possible (but highly unlikely) to lose the Kujata Materia in the Sleeping Forest if they try to pick it up with a full Materia inventory.
None of the missable items in Final Fantasy VII are necessary for finishing the game, as people have worked out numerous methods for defeating the likes of Safer-Sephiroth and the Weapon monsters, but it's frustrating that Squaresoft made it possible for the player to miss out on so much gear.
Final Fantasy VII is available on PC, Xbox One, Playstation 4, and Nintendo Switch