In Chapter 9 of the Final Fantasy VII remake, Cloud and Aerith end up having to fight for their lives in Don Corneo’s Colosseum, ending with a challenging fight against the Hell House.
If you’re interested in more arena-style combat, the Colosseum is willing to accommodate you, with a few one-of-a-kind rewards locked behind some vicious enemy gauntlets.
Final Fantasy VII Remake Colosseum Challenge Tips
Each fight in the Colosseum is a vicious gauntlet of standard enemies, and you must defeat five waves to clear each challenge. By the time you’re in Chapter 9, you’ve seen most of the enemies in the Colosseum before, often multiple times, so there isn’t much here that should surprise you. It’s a pure endurance match.
You aren’t allowed to use items during a Colosseum fight. However, you do receive a limited restorative effect between rounds, which will replenish 50% of your HP and 30% of your MP. You can’t go totally crazy, but you can count on a little pick-me-up at the end of each round.
It’s worth mentioning here that on your first trip through the game, it’s well worth taking the time to clear out the solo fights for each character. The rewards for victory are each character’s second Limit Break, as well as volume II of each character’s line of Manuscripts.
Due to story progression, you’ll only have Cloud and Aerith to work with in Chapter 9, and Aerith won’t be around when you can revisit the Colosseum in Chapter 14 with Barret and Tifa. If you miss something character-specific from the Colosseum, like Aerith’s second Limit Break, your only option is to return in the post-game via the Chapter Select option. Be sure to hit up Aerith’s solo fight while you’re here in Chapter 9.
| Name | Rank | Cost | Opposition | Reward |
| Cloud vs. Wild Animals | 1 | 100 gil |
| Manuscript: Ascension |
| Tifa vs. Wild Animals | 1 | 100 gil |
| Manuscript: Dolphin Flurry |
| Barret vs. Wild Animals | 1 | 100 gil |
| Manuscript: Catastrophe |
| Aerith vs. Wild Animals | 1 | 100 gil |
| Manuscript: Planet’s Protection |
| Two-Person Team vs. Slum Outlaws | 2 | 200 gil |
| Clarity Pendant |
| Cloud vs. Shinra Thugs | 3 | 300 gil |
| Manuscript: The Art of Swordplay Vol. II |
| Tifa vs. Shinra Thugs | 3 | 300 gil |
| Manuscript: Way of the Fist Vol. II |
| Barret vs. Shinra Thugs | 3 | 300 gil |
| Manuscript: Sharpshooter’s Companion Vol. II |
| Aerith vs. Shinra Thugs | 3 | 300 gil |
| Manuscript: Telluric Scriptures Vol. II |
| Three-Person Team vs. Shinra Warriors | 3 | 300 gil |
| Tarot Cards |
| Two-Person Team vs. Team Payback | 4 | 400 gil |
| Moogle’s Amulet |
Notably, the fights in Don Corneo’s Colosseum are not particularly different on Hard Mode. You still can’t use items either way, so much of what you have to take into account here will remain the same across difficulties.
You do have to take on all the fights in the Colosseum in order to reach some of the secret bosses that are waiting for you at the end of Hard Mode, however.
We’re still working hard on the Final Fantasy VII remake, particularly now that we’re trying to figure out what the ending could possibly mean. If you’re still working through it, check out our game hub for more guides and news:
We’ll be revisiting the Colosseum later as we continue to revise and fill out the fine details of our full guide to the Final Fantasy VII Remake. Have you cleared the Colosseum yet, or was the Hell House fight enough arena combat for you? Let us know via our official Twitter, @PrimaGames.
