Sanctuary of Amusement
This next section is both massively dark, and at the same time, the likely light relief and flamboyant heart of Part Two. From Costa Del Sol our team travel through Mount Corel, home to another mako reactor and an old abandoned railroad. Crossing the rails and the areas it leads to are pivotal to Barret’s story and so I am pretty sure this section will be included. After this dungeon, you arrive in North Corel, the remains of Barret’s hometown after it was destroyed by Shinra in order to build Gold Saucer. Cue poignant scenes and again, probably a quest hub section.
The team take the ropeway to Gold Saucer, Shinra’s towering monument to amusement and capitalism. If you thought Wall Market was hedonistic madness, you haven’t seen anything yet. Gold Saucer will be the flamboyant over-the-top centre of Part Two, and it’s likely to be even crazier than Wall Market. Divided into seven lands like a theme park, the original is full of wacky arcade minigames, shows, rides, haunted houses, arenas and crucially, Chocobo races. If there isn’t another dance-off minigame, I’ll eat my Gryshal Greens. This is also where you finally meet up with Cait Sith, the little cat that was seen briefly in Part One, who we can safely say is still canon.
The trouble with this first visit is that Barret is accused of a massacre in the battle arena, and the whole party is dropped into Corel Prison. Another perfect quest hub area for the remake, this prison episode fills in all the blanks of Barret’s past and how Corel was destroyed and he joined Avalanche. In order to win your freedom, Cloud participates in a Chocobo race, and wins a swanky buggy. I wouldn’t be surprised if players are locked out of most of the Gold Saucer content such as the battle arena and quests until after the race.
